Nico as always, what cup of coffee are you on?
I did a number of those, my friend, halfway through Cup number two. So getting in there feeling pretty good, pretty good today. You know it's been I don't know. I bet it was slow week because you know, there was a separation there between games. So we got a lot out of the way on Monday, and now we're just getting ready to finish up the last round of the playoffs of this first base out of playoffs. So it's been a little bit slow, but happy to be here at he On Beyond with Nino and of course John.
All Right, so the handoff has to do with Nino's beloved Columbus Crew to we took it in the chops in two and done with red Bulls. So Nico, I will let you ask the Columbus Crew based question to Nino, who is still smarting even though his universe Atario won the title in Peru, his Columbus Crew got bounced.
I will yield the floor and.
Let you have the handoff question about Columbus to Nino.
Nino, is there a number that you would allow Coucha Hernandez to leave Columbus or do you do whatever it is that you have to do to keep that man around and try to get you another title.
I'll try to keep Kucho at any cost.
Man.
I will try to keep him because he has been the leader, has been the US player for the club, and he's gonna be a hundred for another title in next season.
So I would love to keep him because he's just not only he leads the team on the pitch, but he's a leader in the locker room. And that that's what you need. You need that kind of player to lead you to another championship.
And that's why I'll I don't want to try to keep on us at any cause we'll see what they do it in the Let's see what they're doing Columbus.
But uh, I don't.
Know if the ten mel fifteen meal coming in is gonna be hard to keep him.
Uh Okay, And so let me follow that up. What about Wilford Nanci is? Is nanci maxed out? Does he go back home? And John Texter at like lyon sit there and go yo, bruh, come home?
What about that?
No? He stay, He's gonna stay.
He's gonna stay.
He's gonna stay, all right, all right?
Uh So what is what if folks need to keep an eye on with Gold TV and find out with you this weekend.
What's the rundown as.
The old Plastico ben Icom versus port of Selh Lousey's Bone three forty.
East of the time.
That's gonna be a mothic gain. You can't miss that one.
You cannot miss that one because I'm gonna be coming.
It so exactly.
See, we have our priorities here, so as always, my friend. Great to catch up with you, and we will see you again next week. We will talk stuff. That's the official term. Love you, my friend. Be safe.
We'll see you soon.
Guys.
All right, that is Nino.
And by the way, Nico, I got to hit a breaking news sounder because we got breaking news. And let me check my volume level. Okay, volume level is good. I got to hit this. Various sources out of Philadelphia, Jim Curtain gone, Oh, Philadelphia Union the parted ways with Jim Curtin. The Union signed Curtain to a multi year extension through next year. Just last season, Jim Curtin out in Philly.
What do you think?
I think sometimes you can only take a team so far. And I've said this about many coaches. There is a points, there is a time, a a just momentum that fades away as a coach, and it doesn't matter how good you are, how long you've been there, the titles that you've gotten before, the success that you've had with the franchise. If you cannot take a team at a certain level, the organization, the club needs to look elsewhere. And it depends on that organization what their thranch hold for successes.
If it is just getting to A or B depending on where you're at, if you're some Hoose, if you're Philadelphia, if you're the Seattle Sounders, there's always a threshold of business. Was a successful season. It feels like for a long, long, long time Philadelphia it has been that second option, that team that looks so good, that provides us with all
these players coming out of their system. But at the end of the day, no sold, no titles, no real success to with fans and everybody in general thinks the successes which is getting titles. And because of that, I understand the decision. No, there's not an indictment on him. You just weren't able to get over a certain hump. But at one point club has to ask itself, what else can we do? We need to change things up? And you know that makes sense.
So do you think?
And this goes, you know, kind of dovetailing into our next topic involving coaches and vacancies. Who do you think? And I'll go ahead and give you four cards? Question four card wants to know who broke up with whom? Was it the front office and the ownership Sugarman at all breaking up with Curtain because of what he has thinly veiled in his press conferences at points this year where there needs to be more investment. Do you think it was front office breaking up with Curtain in this case?
Yeah, I really do, because Curtain has too much pride for the organization and for his work and what he was able to accomplish. I mean, he was regardless of whether he missed the opportunity to get into the playoffs, he was there. And there was a point where we didn't even think they were going to be in the conversation, and it was embarrassing and they just didn't seem to be able to put two and two together, and all of a suddenly they got enough momentum to be in
the conversation. So I know that he believes in this young team, and he believes in a lot of what
he has built there. So I think there was if I had to choose and decide and guess, because I really have no insight information on it, whether it was the club finishing up the contract or vice versa, I really do think that it was the club just looking elsewhere, and if the conversation was had, maybe Kernin himself just admit it that he wasn't able to get through certain points and get the team to where they've wanted to give to it, and you just move on.
Which brings me to my second coach, who is now a coach back in the league. Plus he gets to add technical director or whatever title you want to give Bruce Arena, according to Jeff Carlisle back in San Jose or back in Major League Soccer in San Jose, dual title. Chris Leach, who was general manager, now reports to Arena, not any other way around. But Bruce Arena back at San Jose was apparently given assurances by the ownership group,
specifically John Fisher, we will be investing. We're going to invest in players because we're twenty eighth right now in the league. According to spot Track, when it comes to cap we're going to invest in infrastructure. And there were some things in the Carlisle alread call that stunned me that apparently San Jose didn't have already that made common sense, like a player meeting room, better facilities, better locker room
in a new state of like PayPal park. Apparently you need to improve your locker room already or needed to improve it from the beginning. But Bruce Arena now back multiple titles, given the reins to bring San Jose back after a twenty one point season this past year where they gave up too and a third goals a match.
Yeah, I read the article fantastic piece, by the way. Quite honestly, it is beyond you know, my own understanding how a club with such a great fan base, and actually this year I've been talking to quite a few people down there from San Jose, both on the media side and on the organizational side, and man that there's the soccer community down there that is just aching because of the you know, horror that the club has been
over the last couple of years. And so with that said, it is kind of impressive that they've been able to do as much as they have with so little and so little investment and so little resources, and things that are just common sense for other clubs or just the basics for other clubs. So when it comes to Bruce,
I still don't think is a great fit. I understand that you were giving all kinds of assurances, and you know, I'm sure that Bruce is one of those coaches that you can't really like to because he's gonna call it in your face and he's gonna probably throw you under the bus right in front of the media if he doesn't feel like things when as he was told. But Lucicon Sales was also given some reassurances that did not come through when Almeida had a lot of problems with
that front office. So excuse me if I don't trust your war and excuse me if I'm apprehensive about you telling us and him and you know everyone that you're gonna just change things up. Now. Have they made some differences in the way they approached the season, Sure, and the aluis An move was a fantastic or was it good for what you had previously invested in the past.
Sure?
Absolutely, But I'm still very skeptical that San Jose is all of a sudden gonna start spending La Galaxy money, New England Revolution money, which is what mister Bruce Arena is accustomed to. So I just don't feel like it's a good fit. And as much as I understand that in soccer and in sports we love to recycle coaches and recycle people that have done this, done that, he's seventy three and I don't know if the way he approaches the game is a little antiquated for what MLS
is today. And when we look at the coaches that have been success successful as of late, is the younger coaches, the coaches with different ideas, with different mythologies. So I don't know if there's gonna be another killerb Porter situation over there in New England, where you know, mister jokester in the staff room is going to come into in San Jose. So we'll see. I just don't think is a very good fit.
Follow up from Tom Boger Tommy Scoops at Gimme Sport. He is saying that it was the Union that pulled the trigger on this one. This was not Jim Curtin saying, you know, peace out boy Scout I'm done. This was the front office who gave him a deal through next season did not, and Jim Curtin specifically said, it's an It was an aging roster to begin with. Yes, you do have some development with your academy and Philadelphia Union two, but this was an aging roster. Curtin had to run
it back. That was the phrase, We're going to run it back one more time. And the aging roster did not run it back. They kind of stumbled and didn't even run it back. They just stumbled and ran. And now you have an ownership group that doesn't invest, then they're going to be looking for a coach. And it wouldn't surprise me, honestly, it would not surprise me one bit if Marlon LeBlanc gets promoted from Philadelphia Union two to be the new head coach, because A it fits
them financially and be it fits them philosophically. He knows everybody at the academy and he can probably have Cavin Sullivan and whomever come up from Union two to be a part of things, and that relationship is already there. So I'll go ahead and say for me, Marlon LeBlanc is going to be the leader in the clubhouse to become the new Philadelphia Union head coach and go from
second team to first team. I have no information on that, but that's just my gut from what we get to see and how Philadelphia has been operating and how they don't want to invest. So to me, that means it's Marlin LeBlanc. Because you've still got to pay Jim Curtin for one more year and you give Marlon the keys. It's like, you know the system, you know the kids, you want to go ahead and rebuild it. We can
give you a mix and we'll see what happens. That's just what my gut is telling me with this instant thought here with Jim Kirkin gone in phillip.
Is the Philodephi thing to do. I mean, we've had I don't know, three four minutes to think about it since we heard the news, and he makes all kinds
of sense. The dads who would take over, who would make more stands, who would understand the identity of the team, the players that are coming up in the system, and that kid potentially put this team on their back because against Philadelphia is another club that is very particular in their way of doing things, and it's very unlikely that you're going to go and get a coach that is either four into the league or four in to the club and he's going to come in and be okay
with everything that the Philadelphia Union do. So I would like to praise the decision. I think that a lot of clubs need to look at themselves and understand if we can get over a certain hump, and I need
to put my team higher than that. I got to make some sort of change because complacency is a highway to mediocrity, and I feel like a lot of clubs are okay with just being mediocre, or if you had been there, done that, then all of a sudden you become has been rather you know than maybe I never was, but it has been still a bad way for your club to not progress. And in MLS today, you need to progress.
Let's get into the playoffs and the playoffs series. The West is kind of staring at the East. It's like, oh, what's taking you so long? Oh what's going on?
Man?
We're most of our stuff's in the bar.
Want to I want to start with your playoff series because the announcement yesterday from Houston Dynamo about not renewing Hector Herrera for the twenty five season and the idea that the last memory that folks have of Ace Ace is him spitting at the feet of Armando Virel. And it was a series that was tight. We anticipated that it would Seattle makes it through. But now that the
series is over, Houston's making roster decisions no more. Hector Herrera from thirty thousand feet with your series being over, what sticks in what sticks in your head?
From this particular series.
From well, let me just puch real quick on on Hyper Herrera is the fact that is no surprise to me that they are not going to keep that huge salary when you've really had one impressive season, which was last year. In my opinion, it was the one season that Hector Herrera seemed to have it all put together, the physical part, the psychological, the mentality, the way that
the team gravitated towards him. He didn't have a bad one this year, but injuries, I think handicap a lot of what he could have done for this team in general sensus, but that attitude, that childish moment that he had, that unprofessional moment of a guy that's had over two hundred career games in Europe. That is a Mexican team legend, that is a Mexican team player today and someone who should know better in that specific moment. It is a shame.
It is a shame that this is the way he goes out and he lets his team down, He lets the Frankis down, he lets himself down. So hopefully Hector Areera can find another team and other path and reflect on the irregular time he had an MLS and if he stays an MLS in Houston when it comes to the series, I just think that Houston couldn't get out of their own way. They couldn't get out of their
own way. It's that simple. I feel for Ben Olsen because I feel like he had a lot of belief in this team and the team didn't let him execute the game plan that he wanted. Seattle in that second game was very fortunate, and Stephen Fry was fantastic when his name was called upon when his number was needed, three huge saves. But I thought that even with ten men, the Houston Dynamo were executing the game plan better than
the Seattle Sounders executed their game plan. I'm not sitting here telling you that Houston was brilliant or so much better than the Sounders. But if I had to choose, and I've watched that game over three times now, which team executed the game plan better, he has to be Houston. I think that Bryan Smetzer set up the team, not poorly, but maybe incorrectly. Incorrectly, I like that incorrectly. I just didn't understand how you move Christian to the ten, because
you're making two changes, right. You're putting a player that had been doing so well at holding midfield into a creative position that whether he has played it in the past or not is irrelevant. He hasn't played it this year, and you kind of exposed him because he looked he didn't all look good a christanal that gets the goal, but he was not effective. He was a little bit lost. He was too deep, too far down where he's supposed
to be. When you had a player like Danny Leva that you had been putting in for Albert rus Knight, you had told us Brian Smetzer that you were putting in Danny Leva for Albert Rustnight. He's a guy that has all those attributes of the ten. He's actually of a Danny Leva has all the attributes of a player that's in his instinction that is no longer in our soccer world, that's dying with time, which is that riquelman about the rama Quow. That type of ten we don't
really have anymore. That's what Dannie Leva is. He's a guy with vision, with fantastic passing skills with the IQ that's fantastic. He comes in and makes a difference as soon as he comes in. He makes a difference when he gets pulled off. When the change gets put in, he goes to the ten and Christian Rodun drops to holding midfield. That's when Seattle starts to cook. That's what starts to match. So the fact that Seattle had so many issues with them their own way of setting up
this game does concern me. There's still a very anemic team offensively and if you can't find goals. I really do believe that defensive win championships is the thing in the past, and I know everybody loves to say it in every sport, and you know it's the biggest cliche in sports. In the MLS of old. Maybe in this new MLS, maybe you gotta bring it. You gotta be able to go and get me a game. So because of that, I think Seattle continue the same path of inconsistencies, limitations,
and concerns we've had since January. So it was a very even match. I think it came down to the little things Seattle did more. Credit to Seattle, credit to those penalty kick shooters that were fantastic. But man, oh man, there's a lot of work to do if Shatto wants to get anywhere close to a conference final.
And it's gonna have to be against either the winner of either Vancouver and uh and l A f C. That you're gonna that you get to watch. But I know that a lot of folks are probably rooting for Vanny Startini in the Caps to take out l A f C.
Like they did in gain two of that series.
Oh yeah, Uh, at least folks here in Seattle, man, everybody put their White Caps on. I mean, it's it's really.
You get that home game, brother, that's what you're hunting for.
Absolutely, is it gonna happen? Is it a uh, you know, a long shot? Absolutely? Uh? Do you feel like it's more possible today than you did? You know a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, I mean, if if Ryan Gold can continue to be the Scottish messy for this team and uh just doing all kinds of wonders uh on the pitch, and then you know, I guess Kay's the limit. But I do think that Steve Cherlanda will figure it out. I think that there's two things that have hindered LAFC.
And again this is just Nico Moreno. I have no coach, I have no Steve. I have never coached anything other than my kids in red soccer. But when I look at the game and I try to give my idea of the players that are in their roster, I feel like Tillman and O'Brien are too similar and they play at one specific pace and there's nobody to hold that ball and give you pause and provide you with a little bit of possession for me Ilier or a twest that need to be on the field to be in
control of that game. And I think that's a change that Steve would make. And the other one call me crazy, but I've told you guys over and over again, Jerud has not been good. And as much as he's very talented and as much as.
He's and very pretty and very pretty.
I would love to have that you know, beautiful hair on me and that you know, the striking frame for all my you know five to four self. You know, I would love to have that frame. But the reality that he hasn't been good and there's a lack of chemistry, there's a lack of pressing of trigger moments that he doesn't quite see. So for me, I guy like Kai Kamara right off the bat would really put Vancouver under
high heels, and I think that's what you want. So to me, the changes are there, the tools are there, and I think the Steve will figure it out and take this game in Los.
Angeles minus one seventy two in the juice boxes. By the way, Vancouver is north of plus four to ten.
The other they don't take that, no, don't don't take it.
Stay away.
The other half is lag and Minnesota making it through. So Minnesota gets to go to Dignity Hill Sports Park and go hang out with our buddy to Tino for that one. In the next round, they're gonna kind of wait and everything diego. Luna, by the way, was named a Young Player of the Year that just came out a couple of minutes ago, So big honors at RSL Eastern Conference before we get you out of here. Atlanta
United f e a blank them all. They get to force a Game three at the Erector Set in Fort Lauderdale.
You're in a big sip of the coffee. I see where this is going.
Game three in the Eastern Conference seems to be a thing where after talking Columbus and Red Bulls, all the other are threes. Game three, Messy and Friends at Landy United, Game three, Purple Team and Charlotte Game three, Cincinnati and NYC all on Saturday.
Look, man, let's start with the big one, and it's Miami Atlanta, and I think that's the one we're all gonna be watching regardless of what's going on with our day. I know I will, And let me tell you this,
it is unlikely and everybody would be shocked. And I'm going to sit here and tell you that when I break down the game, regardless of the liability that the fullbacks for in Miami are and the huge problems they have on defense, I think that they're when you have Messi on the other side on an elimination game like this one, you have to take Messi and friends. But I hope and I put that Atlanta jersey on because man, oh man, did they give them hell in the last game.
And just seeing the way they played that game, and you know, seeing Garth and Blank just go crazy after the Shan de Silva go in the press box just gave me goosebumps. Baby, And I I'm all for the Atlanta fans to dream big and get this game, man, I really do. It's gonna be difficult. I think he's going to take a lot of Saba, who sacrifices his body and his play and everything in the last game, playing the way he did, the position that he played.
But baby, when it's sabatime's sabatime, and I think Shonda needs to be that Shanda is decisive that takes on players that is going to stretch that in the Miami defense, that's gonna make with John try to defend the one, let him get so forward on the other side again, Saba, you know he talked about how difficult it is to cover Jeordan. You got to make him defend, you got to make him chase you. So all in all, I think in Miami will take it but I'm all in
on Atlanta. I really hope that they take this game. The other two are a little bit more simple in a certain regard because I feel like you you know what you're gonna get. You don't know who's gonna get the result, but you know what you're gonna get, specifically Charlotte Orlando. I still take Orlando to go through because I believe in the talent, I believe in the game changers.
But Oscar Pareja is gonna have to do some serious video study of what went wrong in the last game because Charlotte, let me tell you, they eraised you from the map, Orlando, that first half, zero shots on goal. They put o'heeda in a jail cell that he was never able to come out of. Fundata was irrelevant. There was no services to denye. Charlotte did a wonderful job completely eliminating Orlando from that pitch, and if that happens again, they're gonna have a real hard time, whether it's at
home or not. Because the thing iout being at home is that the more time that goes by, the more air that runs out of that stadium, and it becomes pressure. So because of that, I think that Orlando's gonna want to take care of this real early, get in there with all the intensity possible in order to at least get one in the first half, because if you go into the second half at zero zero, it's going to be a difficult night for Orlando. But I do think
Orlando will end up doing it. Cincinnati New York City that one. You really don't know what you're gonna get out of these teams. They're both very inconsistent dmatic. You don't know what you're gonna get ever out of either one of these teams. Being at home, I got to give it to Cincinnati, but New York you know, they showed us in the last game that they have the talent, that they have the tools that they can definitely break
down Cincinnati. But I think at home, I got to give it to the home team.
Understood.
Both home sides remind us one nineteen FC Cincinnati and Orlando City, so purple team and FCC minus one nineteen.
The visitors.
NYC is a plus two to ninety Charlotte is a plus three hundred ninety minute draw for Cincinnati, and NYC is a plus two eighty two ninety minute draw for Purple team, and Charlotte is a plus two seventy four enter Miami.
I think probably.
Because the juice boxers were probably just a little lazy. They took the minus one nineteen and doubled it, because that's what inter Miami is. Right now, Messi and friends are minus two thirty eight ninety minute draws a plus four oh one Atlanta a plus five forty three in the composite.
Oh hey, just for fun, I might just throw something in there, just for fun. I mean it's it's not going anywhere, but just because I really am putting that Atlanta United Jersey when it comes to that game, I might just throw some dollar bills in there for Orlando's Charlotte. What's the tie? What's a draw?
All right, Hang on just a second. It was in the plus two eighties. Let me double check to see if he did.
So.
Let's get into Orlando and Charlotte ninety minute draw plus two seven four in the composite.
Yeah, that might be a good one too. I mean, look, the adjustments that Smith made for this game were very good. Agimen instead of Carol, Danny Diyanni Di Johnny instead of Orso. I think both of those were really good. I thought Vargas was excellent. Uh, defensively, when it comes to that shape, I feel like they really wore down Orlando so that one could go into into peaks and it'd be interesting if you go. So I might take that draw. And when it comes to Cincinnati, was.
Their numbers FC Cincinnati minus one nineteen ninety minute draw plus two eight two and New York City FC A plus two ninety.
I want to know that. I want to know that. But yeah, it's going to be a difficult one this time around. You might want to go with some parlays in this one or just who to score that. That's been really friendly for me. Uh when he comes to the juice boxes, Uh, I've hit those pretty consistently. Uh. So Yeah, I've been doing all right on the juice box.
I'll tell you as you should.
So what is coming up with soccer bar and Pulsar Sports hit me soccer bar.
We're gonna break this down. We're going to talk about Bruce Arena very deeply into what he could do. Uh, what is the idea there in in San Jose. Uh, We're going to talk about some of these matchups. How can LA f C prevent a Columbus Crew situation on their end because it would be another big blow Miami. We're gonna have Redundo. We heard from Dundo, so we're gonna have him on of course in this one talking about a difficult matchup against Atlanta, So go ahead and
check that out. And then today that's gonna be in Soccer Bar hearing about it now and then in PULSL Sports will be at the training facilities. We'll talk to Brian Smetzer. There is some press conference for the Rain. We'll try to get there and have that on at POOLSL Sports as well. But yeah, go ahead and check it.
Out what he said.
As always, my friend, it's great to see you during Cup number two out on the West coast. It is eight twelve in the morning. Be safe, have great broadcast, enjoy Providence, Swedish and the rain and the NWSL and all the above. We will see you next week where we get to talk about One and Dons the opening rounds of three. They'll be out the door and it's One and Dons from now on. Be safe, my friend, love you very much. We'll see you next week.
Thank you, John. Take it easy.