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Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to football Americas. I am Hercules Gomez, your host, Lake Colock, Marisa Pedroza, called in injured. Or maybe a little bit sick, but we wish him well. I am with a... Three? Yeah, you wish him. All right, okay. I am with a three-time MLS Cup champion and veteran of the Venezuelan national team Alejandro Moreno. We're going to be talking about a lot of things today, Alej. A little bit of Major League Soccer. Let me guess. Policic and Messy are there somewhere. They got to be there. Okay. Christian Policic, big afternoon. Messy, big afternoon individually. Maybe not so much your inner Miami. Kevin Sullivan, I don't know if you've heard of him. The kid is tearing it up. We're going to talk a lot about him. But first, you mentioned it. It's got to be Christian Policic. And to talk about Christian Policic, we got to bring in a veteran of the U.S. men's national team. A four-time World Cup player and Seattle Sounder legend. Casey Keller. Casey, how you doing, man? I'm not just Seattle Sounder legend. Just a Seattle legend. Yeah, yeah. Just a legend in general. Legend in general. Casey, how you doing? You good? Thank you. All right. Let's get to it. Let's get to it. We're going to talk about some Christian Policic. Who is not too happy about his playing time or lack of their level. Get into that. Down to zero at the Olympic gold. The Olympic gold. I made a half-time triple-sub. Policic, Moussen, what are you on? And Christian Policic in the 65th minute does this. A beautiful ball. Locked the back. It finishes it off. Those one. Exactly. What is this? We'll get to it. Yes, yes. Okay. He floats the ball to the back post. Beautiful. A more floated ball than he would have won it. That was fixed by the finishing player who actually put it into the back of the net. And made it look like a great ball. Come on, Ali. You're going to have that discussion that that was a great ball from Christian Policic. Put it into a week side with a load of players. You get a goal. Let's go this angle. Christian Policic, obviously he was upset. Per his coach, Amarin, had a discussion. He wasn't happy that he did not play in three straight games, Alejandro Moreno. He comes off the bench, 45 minutes in. And as part of this, come back for AC Milan. Talk to me about what you saw from Christian Policic in his response to the lack of playing time. What you would hope to see from a player who is frustrated, who hasn't had the minutes that he would have won it. You give him an opportunity. You put him on the field to make a difference, to have a positive impact. And I think what you can say with certainty is that he did have a positive impact on the game for Milan coming off the bench. If you're a manager, what do you want from players coming out of the bench in general? Go and change the game for me. Go and impact the game for me. Have a positive impact. Participate in the game. Certainly if you're an offensive player, participate in the build, or participate in creating opportunities. Get yourself on the score sheet somehow. Maybe find yourself a goal, or maybe have an assist. Well, Christian Policic did that. And so, all in all, if you are a fan of Christian Policic and the US national team, or in general Christian Policic, the player, you have to be encouraged by the fact that he did his job. Well, let's not get crazy. And this is where I have an issue. He puts his ball to the far pole, that ends up being an assist because of the great finish. And now it's like, that's it. He's back, baby. He's back. I'm merely suggesting that this is a building block. In whatever stage of his comeback, this is a building block. And it's something that is positive for him. It's positive for Milan. It's positive for Amarin. And so, next time around, when there's an opportunity to make a decision on Christian Policic, whether he starts or comes up the bench, Ruben Amarin feels a whole lot more confident in making that decision. I want to come back to you in the second. Okay. He's recovering from a broken bone micro fracture. He's on the list for the first three games. He does not play in those first three games. There are two wins for AC Milan and a well fought draw. Should he really be upset that he wasn't playing? Is there some equity that goes with Christian Policic here that he deserves? Well, there is some equity, but we also know that he missed more or less all the precies in recovering from the injury and the World Cup. And then when a team starts well, there's no reason for a manager to change. Why would you take out a player that's played well to help you get results? So, what happens? It's the first opportunity when the team needs a kick in the backside at half time. Christian comes on, makes a difference. And I think if Christian stays fit and keeps pushing, then it'll be sooner rather than later that he gets his starting spot back. But I want a fit Christian Policic frustrated and hungry and fighting. And then what I want is a starting Christian Policic putting on numbers. But yes. You know, I mean, first of all to your point, no, he shouldn't have been thrown straight back in. And second of all, yes, I like the idea that he's frustrated because the last thing I want is a player happy that he's not playing. And then as long as it's done in the right way. And then I want a player like Ali said that makes a difference when he comes off the bench to help your team get a result. I think we're in a perfect situation right now. Now the key for Christian is to kick forward, to keep working hard, to keep forcing Almarin into making difficult decisions, and to show that every time you're called upon, you contribute in the right way. I'll let you get the idea of being a team player and you can't move anything if the team is playing well. That wasn't done here. But let me play devil's advocate with you for a second. Okay. Christian Policic is easily the face of AC Milan for about two and a half, three years. Not my opinion, pure numbers, the most productive player in Milan. And Latavar Martin is the only more productive player in Sedia. Should he not feel that he has certain equity to win his position back, at least come off the bench and help in some sort of capacities fully fit? No. And the answer to that I think is a very obvious one. This is a new manager. A new manager has taken over Milan and that owes nothing to Christian Policic. That has no relationship with Christian Policic at Milan. And while you appreciate the fact that Christian Policic has been an important player for Milan in the past, it's also fair to say that he faded towards the end of last season. And when I mean he faded, I mean he disappeared. So much so that he was carrying no momentum in terms of his level of play going into the World Cup. And that was a big question. Well, this guy's not playing well. He's not getting underscoreshy. He's not scoring goals. He's not assistant. He's not impacting the game. How is he going to impact the US men's national team come to World Cup? And so while the things that you have said there about Christian Policic may be correct, they may have been correct going back in time. But not as of late. And not as of late with Milan and not as of late with a new manager who's coming in and saying, this is my team. I'm going to make my decisions. And up until this guy proves that he can be fit enough for me to take him into consideration, then there is no need for me to put him on the field. When I put him on the field. And he has a positive impact on the game. Now he's now making my decision a little bit tougher. And it's something that Casey talked about. What is your job? Making the decision of Ruben Amorin tougher. And if he does that sooner than later, because of the history that he has in Milan, then that equity will be on the Ruben Amorin. And then there will be a decision to be made. But this is step by step by step. And I cannot tell you how important it is. The fact that Ruben Amorin does not owe anything to Christian Policing. Whatever Christian Policing did in the past with others, that doesn't affect Amorin. He has to see it himself on the field consistently, on the training ground, as well as the playing field. Casey, let's draw a parallel with the U.S. men's national team here. If you read the room, he's not exactly in good standing with the U.S. men's national team fan base. And if you read the comments of Marisa Pochettino, of players taking time off, one could argue that the U.S. men's national coaching staff didn't see that in a favorable light. If you're Christian Policing right now, what kind of Christian Policing do you feel we're going to get if and when he gets called up in these FIFA fixture windows for the U.S. men's national team? Well, I think there's a little similarity with the kind of a situation in Milan. He needs to kind of come back in and re-prove himself. I think he was trying to do that. We saw Tally's point. Yes, he did not have a lot of momentum coming into the World Cup. He kind of broke out of that funk in the pre-season, in the pre-World Cup friendlies. Obviously had a great first half against Paraguay, and then obviously got the injury. And I think the frustration for the fans isn't the ability of Christian. It's just that how often can you count on him to be on the pitch to perform the way we all know he's capable of performing. So if I'm Christian, I do exactly what I did. I voice my frustration, I get out on the pitch, I play well, I come in with the national team in the break, I say to the coaching staff, you play me every minute that you want to play me. Don't start making demands, don't start telling the coaching staff, oh Milan only wants me to play this much, they only want... No, come and say, I'm here, I'm ready to play. I'll play 490 minutes if you want me to. Tally? Yes, and that in itself will be a shift in the overall attitude of Christian policy with the national team. I say pertains to call-ups in the past, in which it felt like it was a conditional call-up. I'm part of this, but I'm not exactly needy elbow deep into all of this, unless it's a World Cup. And what I think is important, and I believe the frustration that you're talking about with the fan bases, is the optics of him sort of hobbling off the field when your team is getting house and just about to be eliminated. And post-match, it came the report that he had the micro-fracture that you're talking about, but the optics of him just hobbling off the field as the United States were getting destroyed by Belgium, it just wasn't a good look. And I don't think people really care whether days later they found out that his injuries was this fracture or what have you. I think people had already made up their minds as to, hold on a second, this is our guy. This is our flag bearer, this is the reference points on this national team. The team needs some now, and he's over there. And he didn't play most of the World Cup because he had an injury here, an injury there. And in that sense, I think it's important for him to build momentum for himself. See, we focus on the fans, and we focus on the media, and we focus on this, and pochettino, and the coaches, and Casey Geller, and Seattle legend, and Portland legend. We focus on everything, but about Christian Policic focuses on building momentum for himself, doing it for himself, so that he is part of what I think would be a very good national team, at least by the standards of Conquercaf and by the standards of the USman's national team. And he can be at the forefront of that, but in order to do so to Casey's point, it cannot be a conditional column. It can be that we have sort of pre-packaged answers as to how long he's going to play, and if we are to use the baseball analogy, he's in a pitch count. No, no, no. If you're going to be here, then you're here to play, and you're here to play for however long it is required. And that I think is going to be critical for what we think as a perception of Christian Policicic with this national team. I've got to be honest, I think it's wild that we're at this moment right here where Christian Policic, a couple of workups in, who in my estimation is already the best American player to ever play, at least at the club level, is here with the fan base, is here with this toxicity. And it goes back to what you said, Alec, of not only the lasting image of him limping off the field, and the words that maybe were taken out of context where he can go rest now, but the taking the summer off, the gold cup. And all that water under the bridge where I've never seen this with the fan base and any U.S. men's national team players, so to be interested to see what happens, he's the present, he is the best player at the moment that the American squad has. But let's move on to maybe the future, a player that could be the best player that they could have maybe. It's Cobb on Sullivan, the 16 year old again. Hello. Nasty, finish, hello. I do not even know how to explain the audacity to do this in a game. That's the left back hill here, Alec. What are we doing there? It's a little bit of filth, is what I'll say. And then the second one here, gets it, is it five hole here? This is on the goalkeeper, I assume, case, but Cobb on Sullivan, will not care. Yeah, come on. Yeah, of course, but I mean, but hey, you still take your shot. You see what what happens and you get your goal. Okay. It's five to zero win against San Diego FC San Diego has their own problems, but that's not Philly's problem. Since the World Cup where Philly was dead to rights, Cobb on Sullivan wasn't playing, he's playing now. He's absolutely part of this research and ten games in, they are flying. They are playoff bound most likely, five goals, six assists. Alec, talk to me about first, the response to the manager who didn't single him out by name, but per the athletic was talking about arrogant comments of the new generation, and many assumed that he was alluding to Cobb on Sullivan. The six-year-old's response to being called arrogant was a back hill finish. That was borderline arrogant in the best possible way. Let me just touch very briefly on San Diego. It's Mike Yvara still trying to say hi to Chuki Lozano. He was. He must be. He was. He's got to be. As a pertains to Cobb on Sullivan. Or any 16-year-old for that matter. Look, if you're not confident and arrogant at 16, you never will be. If you don't believe in yourself at 16, if you don't believe that you're a World Leader at 16, you're never going to believe it. I honestly don't think it's a big deal that he is saying the things that he's saying. He is delivering on the field, which I think is the most important thing, but what I do think is critically important for his continued development and his sustained development is that while he may be confident, while he may be arrogant, while he may be delivering on the field, he still needs people around him, whether it's the season veterans, whether it's the coaching staff, whether it's his family structure, whether it's the people around him that still are able to get on his ear and say, come down. Come down. You got to. We're going to have to sustain this. We're going to have to build upon this. You're not the superstar just yet. And even if you were, I would still be telling you, you're just a kid, dude. You're just a kid. And so you need a season veteran in that locker room that is willing to give you the cold shoulder every so often, and every so often put his arm around your shoulder. You need that balance, but you need reminders that you're still a kid. Come and solve it and it could be mine. It could literally be my child. Your kids are older. Yes. And so, frankly, as I'm looking at this situation, I think, how would I deal with this? If indeed he was my son and he were doing the things that he was doing, how would I deal with this? Well, what about if you're his teammate? Because I think that's more important here, how those guys address him. Okay. First of all, you don't get to say what's more important to me. I want to tell you, as a pairing, it's more important that I deal with my son. As a teammate, I would do what I just told you. I would remind him every so often, if we're in training, and we're playing small-sided, which is something that is done in training all the time, and he's part of my team, and he's not tracking back, or he's not doing what I'm asking him to do, or what I need him to do, I need to tell him. I need to remind him. Even when he's doing good things, I need to tell him. I need to remind him. But I need to challenge him. Challenge him because in challenging him, I think that's going to allow him to develop, and I'm nurturing his talent, I'm helping him grow his talent, but I'm also helping the team by getting the best and squeezing the best out of a player that I think can be special for us. So, as a teammate, that's the way I would approach it. I would not let him take shortcuts. And whenever he takes a shortcut, even if it is one time, it's one time too many, and he needs to be reminded that that's not acceptable. Case Ali says he's just a kid. Let me jump in on this. Yes. But also what you need as a teammate, Ali, is when you make those points to that young player, and you say to him, hey kid, you got to track back, you got to do this. You also need the backing of the coaching staff, because if the coaching staff are afraid to help the senior players, get the kid. The kid will look at you and go, coach doesn't care. Coach, let's me do whatever I want. You don't worry about it. You just be quiet. I'm going to run this show. So, it's that combination between the senior players, and the coaches backing the senior players, and then making those comments themselves, and saying, hey kid, you can't get away with this. You also need a willing participant here, because you can help the veteran who gets after the young player. You can have the backing of the coaching staff, but you also need to have a player and a kid in this case who's willing to listen. And that, I think, can sometimes be a problem if you're doing as well as he is. You feel as important as he does. You feel like everything is right in front of you, and you're controlling everything. You feel more powerful than everybody else. How do you manage to keep that in perspective? And that, Hercules, is when parenting comes in. Yes, it is. Parenting is important. Listen, the kid is on the, he's got his own trading card, which is the most expensive trading card ever sold. I believe it was just sold at auction for over $300,000. Oh. He's part of a merchandising line sporting, and leisurewear. He's got the hair. He seems to have all these types of different promotions. But on the field, that workman-like mentality that you've mentioned, I see it from him. There are things this kid has, his ability to be a spark on both ends of the field, that I think is contagious in the best possible way. Casey, you're a U.S. men's national team coach. You're part of the staff. Do you call them in for these next FIFA fixture games? Yeah, I mean, I think it always starts with how your club form is. And you mentioned, he's had, since the World Cup, he's been one of the hottest players in MLS. And I think you reward that. I also think with some of those, you know, let's just say, it's a lot easier to start with good habits than fix bad habits later in your career. So if you can get him into that national team environment, get him around some other guys, make sure that it's the right guys and the right guys are saying, hey, this is how we do things. Pochotino can get that into his head as well. Then I would much rather see that than being a situat. Let me back up just a step. I'd also like to see him come in and maybe not play. And maybe come in to camp and say, hey, okay, here's your first taste. And it's going to take a little while for you to get on the pitch. It's going to take a little while for you to show me that you belong on the pitch. Just kind of have that little bit where everything doesn't come easy. And you're going to try to do that with Pulasik as well. Not just say, okay, you're our guy here, you go play. Let's go step by step and make sure, you know, I remember having a conversation about Freddy I do one time. And I said, well, why doesn't he earn a starting spot before he starts getting called up to the national team? And you're like, well, he's getting called up to the national team before he could even start on an MLS team. And you wonder why the problems came later. And so those are those little things that I think you can fix or at least get right first before you have to fix them later. Ale, Pugetino mentioned that this next callup would be a mixture of players who played in the World Cup and some younger faces, some of this new generation. Who's the one player you want to see, Kevin Sullivan gravitate towards? I actually would enjoy having Kevin Sullivan and Christian Pulasik on the same room. And the reason I believe this helps both of them. It helps Christian Pulasik, in a sense, is a reminder of who he was, what he was, what the game meant to him at that point in his life, what how the game felt to him at that point in his life. And I think if he can rekindle some of those things, it would benefit him in the latter part or in the second half of his career. I think he would help Kevin Sullivan to be with Christian Pulasik because Christian Pulasik is a standard. This is a level you need to reach. And if indeed this is a standard, why do I need to do to be that guy? And what can I do to be even better than that guy? And when Christian Pulasik walks in the room, regardless of what you may think of him at this point in his career, he is still the best player in this team. And his presence alone is going to dictate and attract the attention of younger players in this case, Kevin Sullivan. So I think they can both help each other with the presence of both in the same camp. Okay, quickly, you got anybody else? Say that again? Quickly, do you have anybody else? I mean, I'd like to see him just around veterans, right? I mean, I'd love to see him, you know, around Tyler Adams a little bit on how to present yourself. I mean, obviously Tim Rehm was a big part for so long of kind of being that kind of that veteran quiet leader, you know? And Chris Richards as well. You know, I think for him, it's just to get into the camp, see how the dynamic is. See how you compete in training. To all these points, see how you measure up against the standard. And see, you know, if you can be the impact player that you think you can be. Or do you say, oh, okay, I think I'm close, but there's a few things I need to work on. And I look, I could care less about age. If you're 16, if you're 17, if you're 37, I could care less. If you're the main man performing, then go perform and do it. And so I could care less if he's 16, but he has to see what the standard is first and see where he measures up. Kevin Sullivan, 16 year old, tearing it up in Major League Soccer. We'll remain to be seen if he gets called up with Marisa Puccettino. Some guys who may be on that list have been tearing it up this weekend. In our running back edition for the US men's national team we're going to start off with. Sebastian Perhalter, full 90. He scored the first two middles of goals. Here's one of the two, Ali. Manages to keep it under the crossbar. I think he was a little nervous when he first made the comms. He's like, oh my. Oh, did I miss it? No, off the crossbar and in. Oh, I like it. Oh, that's your kind of ride. This is a hip throw special. A goal is a goal. Hey, they'll count the same better. He would go on a win four to three. How about this one? We got McGlin versus Wildpert case. He's got a beautiful left foot, but he's going to cut it back on the right and put it away. Yeah, no, I mean, it's the composure right to be able to say, hey, the angle's not there. Let me cut it back inside. Great contact, great finish. Beautiful finish by Jack McGlin. Go lasso. And he gets his first goal for Stoke. All right, it's good news and bad news. He's got his second consecutive assist in his many games. Beautiful ball right there. Great finish. There's some bad news, Ali. Maza. He came out before half time. Oh, no. He couldn't put weight on his foot. Oh, no. This is going to compromise a possible call. I'll tell you what, who's got weight on him is a core. Yeah. He's a teammate. Good luck. We see John Luke and Buzio. Yeah. It looks like a ham, you know. And he's, he's a sweet and subtle out of sight out of mine. A little bit of John Luke at Buzio. Yeah, that's not going to help. No, no, no. I'm going to leak Tillman. Off the bench, gets an assist. Leverkusen's equalizer in a 2-2 draw with Osberg case. Yeah. I mean, you know, Tillman who had a very good world cup now needs to kind of kick on again for club. And, you know, make sure that you're in the starting lineup. But again, like we said with Christian, coming off the bench, making an impact is key. All right. If you want to see more European soccer, seven days a week with Armand Alejandro Moreno, ESPNFC is available daily. Is there a hotter player in world football today? Yeah. This is Barcelona, Chevy. It's part of there with a, well, fortunately go off of deflection, but it's a Rafinha assist. I don't know how much you knew about it, Ale, but he will take it. I think both Rafinha and Barcelona have played much better this season than they did against Levante, in particular. This was a sloppy game for Barcelona in which they like control. And frankly, I think they got fortunate to be able to get out of Levante with a win. They didn't play well, still score four goals. Rafinha didn't score himself, but was always dangerous. The performance of Barcelona, not good. No, the Levante crowd was amazing. You can really feel the energy like they were about to do something until other yemi puts that one away. The constant here for Barcelona is how good they've been offensively. And it starts and finishes with Rafinha. He's not a nine, but he's scoring goals like a nine. He's not a nine, but he's moving like a nine. He's not a nine that they wanted, but he's the nine that they needed. So leads us to our question if Ancelotti might be keeping a close eye. Because per my estimation, Mateus Cunia, Richarlas and Joao Pedro, Victor Roque, Kao George, Igor Thiago and Igor Jesus, seven different nines, over 800 minutes combined, zero goals, Casey, what thinks you? Ancelotti, to use Rafinha as a nine, is that the answer? Well, I mean, didn't Spain win two World Cups without a true number nine? Clearly, it can be done. And what was the big conversation with Barcelona in this off season? Oh my god, they don't have a number nine. Are they going to score goals? Oh, they're only averaging like close to five goals a match so far to start the season. So in a lot of ways, we talk about formations, we talk about where players are. It's really just how players connect with one another, how the movement is right and how it works for that specific group of players. The question mark is, in that Brazilian side, can Ancelotti get that team to play in a way without a number nine? The way Barcelona is playing without a number nine, the way Spain is played without a number nine. And if that's the case, absolutely no question. Because there is no Ronaldo for Brazil right now. There is no Roberto Romario. There is no real true marquee world class number nine for Brazil. So why not? Why not just see if it works for Brazil the way it's worked for Barcelona? Vinnie, Estavao, Rodrigo's on the men, but he surely will be back, could be in one of those wings. It's a crowded room when it comes to the wingers. Why not play as a nine, Ali? I would play as a nine now. Let me just back up for a second here. It's a sad. Sad. Sad reality. Sad referendum for Brazil. The land of the players that Casey just mentioned, Ronaldo Fenomeno. Romario. Carica. And you can go further back and further back and further back. And everywhere there's been a number nine that you go, Lord, that guy is good. And you don't get that player right now with Brazil. It's a sad reality for Brazil. And for the standards of Brazil. Now, I see pertains to Rafaña. Look, he's hot. He's playing at a high level. His movement has been excellent for Barcelona. His instincts have been excellent, even if he's not a number nine. He's finding himself in good positions. And more importantly, he's scoring his goals and taking advantage of the chances that Barcelona have created for him. And even if he's not getting the opportunities, his movement is also open in space for other. But to Casey's point, I can make a very comfortable argument. And it's a comfortable argument. I think this there is debating this. Barcelona and their attacking core group of players, even including their attacking midfielders, are far better. Yeah. Not just better, but far better than whatever Brazil can put on the field. And that's including Joao Pedro and Vinic Jr. And Rodrigo and Mateus Cunha. And this guy and that. Those guys are not better than what Barcelona has available. And what makes it even worse, or even better for Barcelona, is the fact that the movement of those players and the understanding, the place interchange, the rotation, although that works really well together for Barcelona, whereas if Brazil tried to do this, it would look like a big old mess. Because they don't quite have the same sort of movement. As Vinic Jr. to have this freedom to move in and out of spaces and have the discipline to understand, I'm not just here on the left hand side. I can appear on the right hand side. I can appear in the middle. But when this guy gets out, why? I'm going to take his position as a number nine. Does that happen? No, because he'll park himself on the left hand side. And then Mateus Cunha, you ask him to roam. He'll roam. He'll roam everywhere except where he needs to be as a finisher inside the 18-yard box. And so, while you think that this player is maybe talented enough to do this, I'm not quite sure that that's the case. If the question is about a finia playing number nine, I have no issues. What's around him, I have concerns. What's his best position? He doesn't know what his best position is. He doesn't know what his best position is. Right now, I ask you because he's played on the left. He's played underneath the nine for Barcelona. He's played on the right. He seems to do everything so well, which is why I ask. I think that right now, in this team, there's no doubt that playing centrally for him seems to be a natural fit. But with the freedoms that he has at Barcelona where he can drop underneath, and he knows full well that now, then he's almost going to take that space. I mean, Lopez is going to take that space. And even if he goes and combines that, why would Lamine Yamann? Then other players are going to take the inside channel. If he goes on the left hand side, you know he has certainty that Anthony Gordon is going to shift inside. These things are happened naturally for him and for Barcelona. And that's why, beyond the fact that he has all this movement, beyond the fact that there's plays interchange, beyond the fact that there's player rotation, he's finishing his chances. He's cool. It was a static because we were doing the game yesterday. There was a stat that came up. He has scored in eight out of ten shots that he has taken on goal. Look, that's 80%. 80%. 80%. I mean, that's not sustainable. But come on now. This is silly. Highly productive. Silly. And it is. It is playing on an elite level. This is elite level sort of performance so far from Rafini. Yeah, I got to be honest. I'm very surprised we're even having this conversation. I would have thought Mateos Cunia would have been, even though he's not your traditional nine, somewhat of an answer. And Hendrick, who I think is a logical choice, who most reminds me of old-school Ramaria with his traits, hasn't really established the club career, so I can't even believe we're here. Case. Hey, hey, man. The disrespect to Romario. Don't put Hendrick in the same category as Romario. There are versions of a case last word with you for Rafini. Yeah, I mean, I agree. He has an unbelievable cast with him at Barcelona. But no more than that, a cast that understands the system the way they're all playing. And when Ali makes the perfect point, is when somebody moves in one position, somebody else understands they need to go in a different position. And there's no ego involved. And Hansi Flick has that team playing incredibly well. It'll be difficult to replicate that for Carlo Ancelotti. If anybody can, he probably can. But it's definitely all clicking perfectly for not only Rafini, but all of Barcelona. Don Carlo Ancelotti, we gotta let him know the formula Hansi Flick has established. Maybe we'll let him know at Carnival. Which is where Casey Keller, I hear, is going after this. He's got an important dinner. So Casey, thank you very much, my man, for being with us. Until next time. Wow. Casey's going to Carnival? Thanks, guys. Wow. Well, you know who? Not exactly. Well, upcoming La Liga schedule. Listen, we got Tuesday, Raya Vallecano, Spaniol, Real Madrid 3PM. Wednesday, you got 1,100, Osasuna, and then Thursday. You've got Levante, Athlete Club, Real Betis, Hitafe, and Malaga, bien real. It's not Carnival quite, but it is Miami. Enter Miami versus Nashville, Sam Search gets in behind and breaks off with the scoring. Oh. What a surprise. Somebody gets in behind the enter Miami back behind. Outside, tell me. And there's technology available. Apparently what's not outside is a good finish, one nothing. All right. Tell me what you think. Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? I'll tell you what else is automatic. Enter Miami giving up a lead. It's the 91st minute there, Ale. Ah, the game went in 2-2 at New Stadium. And here are the recent results for Enter Miami. As you can see, only one win in their last six fixtures. A lot of those games at home. They are still second place in the Eastern Conference. 45 points behind. National SE, which is on a ridiculous pace at the moment. Nobody is stopping them. All right, Ale. Hmm. Enter Miami. They've been on this skid. They can't even win at home. Hmm. It seems every game they play at home doesn't matter if Messi's playing or not. They cannot win. Hmm. And you mentioned the defense, the leaking goals. They seem to get in behind. But that's not stopping Messi. 18 goals. 13 assists. The individual output is not the problem here. Casimito scoring goals. Radigo Paul scoring goals getting assists. But there is no balance. Which leads us to the question. Can you find that balance with Messi on the field? Well, they found it last season. They found it late in the season. And they found it more importantly into the playoffs. With guys that were willing to sacrifice their work offensively. And give this team a lot of work defensively. Now, you mentioned Casimito and Radigo de Paul. While there is no disputing or arguing the resume of the players. I think there's an argument to be made that in order to fit those guys on the field, you are sacrificing your ability to cover the ground defensively. And while we focus on the back line of Inter Miami as we should. And the goalkeeper, too. Let me just tell you, he gives out goals all the time. Both of them. Yes, yes. It doesn't matter who they play. Whoever they put in Raco Rio's Novo or is, yes, Dane's in Claire. Whoever plays in goal is having difficulties. And that's why you're having guys in and out. Neither one of these guys that really hung on to the position and say, I'm the goalkeeper of this team. You can focus on that. You can focus on the back line. But also, you have to put some, I think some focus on the fact that in the midfield. They get played through all the time. Not some of the time. All the time. We focus on the run by Sam's turrets there. And thinking about, well, I see on the side. I see none on the side. Let me just tell you. It doesn't matter whether he's on the side or off the side. How much time does a guy on the ball have in order to play that ball? And so, search guys in behind and you kind of go, well, it's the back line. It's the goalkeeper. Yeah, but there's no pressure on the ball. And that's happening regularly. So, when you have a team that is giving as many goals as they are, it's not just a goalkeeper. It's not just the back line. The midfield has a lot of holes in them as well. And the question is not going to be as to whether you can have balance with Leon and Messi on the field or not, because he's going to be on the field. So, it becomes the job of everybody in this team and figuring out, let's give ourselves balance. He's going to be there. He's going to be a problem solver for us in the attack. Like, let's us resolve the issue behind him and that hasn't happened. Yeah, I'll be honest. I'm very surprised with some of the moves that Inter Miami has made. Some of those legs you mentioned last season, one of those Noah Allen. He's with the Chicago Fire now. You've got players who identify with the city, players who identify with the program. He's one of leading, leading appearance record holders in Inter Miami's history, only behind Messi, I believe. And yet, you ship him off. Any type of player that has had that balance or those legs for you is no longer there and you bring in star power. And that star power should equate to goals, should equate to wins, should equate to entertaining play at home. And yet, Ale, I look at this team. They're a much better team away from home than they are at home. What does that tell you? Well, I don't want to make this into a weather forecast, but it's hot in Miami. It's hot. It's human. And so Casamito has to get around in that. But the goal of the point has to get around in that. And it hurts to do it. And so while Casamito scoring goals, see, here's part of the issue. So Casamito scored a couple of goals and people are saying, wow, look, Casamito scoring goals. But that's not why he's there for. Yeah, it's nice that he does it. But that's not why he's on the field. He should be the guy who's in front of the back line protecting that back line. And I can tell you with confidence that he hasn't been doing that. With any sort of consistency. Rodrigo de Paul tends to wonder all over the field. And while I don't mind Lionel Messi wondering everywhere, you can go here, you can go there, feel the game, Leo. You do, you have no issue with that. Well, you can't have Rodrigo de Paul doing that, too, because in that, now you start getting into a situation in which that balance that you're talking about is not existing. Very quickly, I see Messi, and I don't see the best version of Messi, even though the numbers reflect that. I actually think this hurts Messi. It's much more difficult for Messi to do what he does when he's going against a lead. When the opposing team feels very good about their posture and they keep attacking at well this inner Miami side, it's not been the best version of Messi yet he's still scoring those goals. Yeah, again, I don't think Messi is going to be the issue, nor should he be the issue. Because whatever you may think of his level of play right now, he's scoring goals. The productivity is still there. If you're going to find issues with Inter Miami, you've got to look behind Leonid Messi, and it would also help you, if you get Bertadames scoring goals with consistency, it would also help if goals come from somewhere else, which is also part of the issue. It has become very Leonid Messi or nothing, and then defensively it has become very nothing. What do they hang on to defensively? What is it that they do defensively? How do they go about closing out a match? There was an opportunity to close out a match against Nashville, who you just said is so hot, and they're playing so well. There was an opportunity to get those three points at home. You're in the 90s, something minute. How can you have so much time and space in an opposition which now Nashville, not only can they get a shot on goal, they are also able to get an opposition to get on the rebound after the goalkeeper makes it safe. Where is Inter Miami defensively all over the place? Inter Miami does have an opportunity to win a trophy. Actually, this week, Gali is Camponis Cup. Inter Miami is a Scruza Sule at New Stadium in Miami, and as you can see, Inter Miami is a favorite in this one. Minus 150, the Cruza Sule plus 115. There is a bit of reports coming out of Mexico City that Cruza Sule, the players were not able to travel today. They will be there tomorrow, which doesn't give them too much time. Who are you taking here? The odds makers have Inter Miami and Messi in this one. Well, I think we're going to show some of the highlights of Cruza Sule, global America. Yes, we are. And what a game that was. Yes, it was. And I think it is a game that became far more physically taxing and mentally taxing for Cruza Sule that needed to be because they were hanging on where they felt like they were in control of the match. That may hurt. Yeah. Because I think they may have overextended themselves in having to close out of that match, and then you add some of the whatever travel issues that are going on, and you have Inter Miami playing at home, logically speaking, and I'm just going with a logical thought process here. It feels like Inter Miami should be the favorite and should win this. Yeah, I learned my lesson. I don't bet against Messi when it comes to this type of competition. If you remember, if you recall, Inter Miami vs. Cruza Sule, it was Messi's debut. He comes off a flight literally that week. My tie in hand comes on the field and scores a game-winning walkoff free kick. I'm not betting against him in this one. I will take Inter Miami. All right. We got to talk about L3. We're going to do a little something, nothing or everything. Rafa Marquez was just named officially head coach of the Mexican national team. Now, there is a little bit of a caveat with this, Ali. What's that? In this next call-up, the fixture window, these next four games. Call-up wherever you are, Rafa Marquez. But you get two per club with the Liga Mekis because we don't want you messing with Hornado. Yes. Is this something, nothing or everything? Well, I don't know what the premise of something, nothing or everything is. But I can just tell you that if you're going to name somebody a head coach of a national team in his first call-up, which is an extended call-up. Yeah. Historically so. An extended call-up. Well, this one even more so. Yes. Yes. You can't be limiting what he does. So, I think it's something, nothing and everything all together. It's all of it. How, if you're a manager, right? And you're trying to establish yourself as the manager of this team. The first thing that you want to do in your first call-up is make sure that you go and reach the players that you want to be and that you think can be part of your program going forward. And this is going to be the introduction to how we're going to work together. These are the things that I believe are going to make our team successful. I need you guys to buy into all of this. And in this case, what the making information are saying is, well, not you guys, just two of you, two of you, two of you, and two of you. It limits what Rafa Marquez can do as a manager. And it hinders his ability to create the culture that he wants within the Mexican national team if you are indeed saying, by design, that you can only get two players from this team and this team and this team. What about if there are four players that belong in the national team? In any specific club, whether that's glue or medical, that's GWAS or wherever it may be? You're saying, no, it makes zero sense. It does make zero sense. One of the things that makes Rafa Marquez such an intriguing hire is he inspires hope. He gives the new generation, gives Mexican fans that there's potential change looming. He was part of the regime with Javier Aguirre. In many eyes of the fans was the guy responsible for bringing over the younger generation and having Javier Aguirre actually pay attention to him. So they're hoping things will change. Now you're going back to much of the same alley. Now you're thinking, why should I put faith in this program to keep Rafa Marquez around the same program that from 2022 to 2026 hired three different presidents of the league, three different presidents of the federation. How you're three different coaches, there was Diego Coco, there was Jimmy Lozano, and then there was Javier Aguirre. Why should this be any different? And you've said it. If you're going to allow him to work, allow him to work. And the reason this happens is because there's no separation of church and state here. The league ownership group have a saying what happens to the federation, which is the national team. And when they have that say, they can impose these things. And you're already starting off with these handcuffs, if you will. It's much of the same. And this is white to me, it's everything. It doesn't feel like things are going to change. Now, and honestly, I mean, to take it even further, I think we can agree that the league, that city, that Bundesliga, that the Premier League, that this are bigger, more important products than League I make. And with bigger clubs, with more history, a budget that goes well beyond whatever League I make, and the individual clubs can handle, these teams are allowing their players to be called up and go and play with the national teams. And so when you think about some of the limitations of Mexican soccer, it is rooted at the fact that they can't help themselves. Here's a national team coach, let's get excited. Here comes the call-up, oh, by way, you can't do that. And instead of actually taking two steps forward, and continuing with the momentum, which was a positive one following the World Cup, I think the Mexican national team rekindled that fire within the Mexican fan and the faith of the Mexican fan. And then now you're saying, yes, see that momentum. Well, let's bring it back, baby. Let's bring it back because we cannot handle success and we cannot get out of our own way. That's what it feels like. Well, that only applies to League of Mekis. It does not apply to Europe where our next ballers are put in the ball in the back of the net. Let's run it back here with the likes of Jonathan David. Oh, look at that. Oh, I hope I'll agree on that. You know, to the homies, he would have to see Jonathan David come on in the second half, and then Jonathan David here, on Skate, maybe, I don't know, you tell me Ali about the defending, but a beautiful upward finish. You know, Jonathan David, he's a deceptive player because he doesn't seem to move all that quickly. And somehow he is able to just get defenders of balance it is for defending. But it is a good finish on Jonathan David, made a difference, scored a good goal, and a big win for Tadeco Madrid. And from Julián Hutu, Raúl Ciseñor, Raúl Jimenez wolves a logo with a beautiful finish there, Ali. This is such a my kind of range. But it's a position in which you expect Raúl Jimenez to be in, and to be able to finish, he did that perfectly. All right, all right. Cruza suy, clua. America, classical home in Estadio, Azteca, and there's always goals. Balls cut back to Eric Lira, failed Monica Move, but does not fail here. That's a really good finish. Well taken, cleanly taken, opens up his body, generates a whole lot of power behind the gorgeous. Yeah, and how about this from Paradella? Balls going to come back to him, left footed, finished, it's a banger. Okay, just copy and paste what I just said. It's so cleanly by the time the goalkeeper tries to react to his already passed him. Oh, how about this, creates contact with Paradella, and is there contact, Ali? Yeah, that qualifies the contact. And we're going to the spot, then. As we should. And Rodolfo Cota, who is known for a saber, two from the spot, comes up big. What he does, and at this point, kind of sort of kept club America in the game. Until Jesús Orozco at this corner kick. Oh, no, goalside. Everybody gets sucked into the near pose, tapping from my kind of range, but wait a minute, is there a comeback? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Is there a comeback? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. What a goal, this is. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to be the movement on this is ridiculous. We're in the second half now, three to one. Hi. How about a defender here? Dude, honestly, you did the hard work. You got it yourself in a position, which finished though. Yeah, it's a good finish, but the defender is there. He's got it cleared. Oh, no, oh, no, Orozco Paradella. Oh, el colombiano, with the left foot, and then the rebound, who gets it? Oh, Borja Miguel Borja. It's Orozco Paradella, no Paradella. Oh, it's a Paradella. What is a Paradella? Run it back. Run it back. It's more than three. It's more than three. Oh, geez. You could feel how tense that stadium was. Yeah. You mentioned those demons. You mentioned. Oh, the skeletons of that closet. They almost, almost gave that one away. All right. Another classic go. I don't even know what the name of this go. I don't even think it's a classic, because Chivas Pumas is a big game. And Chivas would be all over here. Santiago, San Loval. 18-year-old. 18-year-old, with the header, he's not a nine, but he gets up like one. All right. Okay. I can't come with him. Give him a full carbon solvent segment. Well, we'll give it some time. All right. Look at that. We will come bettos and him, there are buddies. I can't sit over that. What's another slick pass? And how about this, Viniciali? San Loval. That's a double. That's a brace. Mmm. Mmm. The combination play, but it's really does it by the finish. Full stretch, courtesy dive. Ever. Ever getting there to nothing? Yeah. Efraín Álvarez, Mexican-American, to Mexican-American here. And it's going to be Brian Gonzales, El Cotoro, with a left-footed blast. Oh, that's just a sexy finish. You know, it's a guy for Acruvasul. He's called Chiquete. Found it funny. Oh. This way. Cotoro. Green. Chivas. Who are leaders of Liga M. X? All right, my man. We survived. We survived. I think we thrived. I think we did thrived. He put Alexis and Mauricio on notice. I don't know. I don't charge that much either. Her hosting duty. All right. Next show. I'm sure we'll come up with something. Catch us on the Football America podcast. Oh. The U.S. men's national team. And Mexican national team. roster reveal. Next move of the Americas. This Thursday. See you then. I won't be there. You're off? No. I'm gone. You're off. You're off. You're off. You're off. You're off. You're off.
