David Mosse on Alexi Lalas State of the Union: "Rodri got a little bit insulted of having to wait around for Real Mad...

You can't have it both ways. If MOS truly believes that that's their job, then you've got to do move heaven and earth to make sure that each and every time that they get together, you're sending the best, even at the expense of your own league or your own teams. Looking at someone, whether it's Kevin Sullivan or anybody else, and saying, hey, look at what he's doing right now. This could be the answer. This could be the messiest type of player. I'm not saying it's going to be, but it's okay to have those wishes and dreams. Renewers comfort food. And you just have to have it. Hello, Sunshine. I'm Alex Lollis for what? For the State of the Union show. This is where we look at the beautiful game on and off the field through the lens of red, white, and blue colored glasses. This show will be talking, oh, yeah. We got some conka cap under 20 action, leagues cup. MLS's responsibility. The next generation of US men's national teams, Moreno, Vinny, a messulous Miami. Let's see, MLS Pro Rail. Yeah, we're back to that again. Europe kicking off and so much more. But first joining me is always my friend, my colleague, my guiding lights. David Mossy, a soccer savant, and a Fox soccer researcher and writer, extra na, Mossy, how you doing on this Monday, August 10th in the year 2026? I'm doing well. I've come to you from New York. I'm here visiting my parents. As you know, despite the fact that I'm from New York and I've been here a million times, I still treat every visit as if I was a tourist. So we have all sorts of activities planned. I'm going to see a Broadway show this week. Also, we'll be dining at Peter Luger's on Tuesday night. Very excited about that. Well, we know you are a kind of sewer when it comes to all foods, but in a particular place is to eat. Mostly out here on the West Coast, but you have to give us a little review on that. Do you have you decided what show you're going to out there? Yes, it's called Titanic. It's a French show, I guess, a comedy poking fun at the movie Titanic. So looking forward to that. Of course you are. Of course you are. All right, well, you know, have a good time over there. Should we like this kind of my friend? Let's do it. Where should we start? The Conca Calf under 20 championship, Brutal Clothes on Sunday, Mexico claimed that 2-0 final win over the U.S. at the Azteca Cristobal Alfato scored both goals, one in each half. The U.S. had two big VAR decisions go against them on the first Mexico goal. There was a question by the ball crossed the line or not. VAR said it did. And then late in the first half, Chris Applewhite was controversially sent off. Mexico had already clinched the Olympic birth by beating Canada on Fridays. It'll be the U.S. and Mexico representing Conca Calf at the 28 Olympics. And then the U.S. Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica will play in the U20 World Cup next year in Azerbaijan and New Uzbekistan. We should know, the U.S. didn't send even close to its strongest squad. That's led to some hand-wringing on social media that eternal debate about clubs not releasing players. So you can talk about that. You can talk about the game. You can talk about the refereeing decisions. Take it any way you want, my friend. Well, first off, just and for those that have listened and watched over the years, you will know that you're truly here. Youth tournaments, youth teams, do not get my juices flowing, OK? I am much more excited about not the completely finished product. But I don't always care or want to see how that sausage is made. And I know there's other people out there that are completely different from me. Having said that, maybe it's a residual effect from the World Cup, kind of desperate for something when it comes to U.S. national team, although we have plenty of club stuff going on. I thought myself drawn to this particular tournament and probably because also, but the conversation and the narratives that kind of came out about, are we doing this right? And what's the future look like and all of that? So, but with all of the things that you mentioned there, a couple of things when it comes to this tournament. I want to make sure that when it comes to major league soccer, that there's an understanding. You can't have it both ways, OK? If you truly believe that you are responsible for improving the U.S. men's national team at all levels, that's fine. You should come out and say that. I know what times they've said it, but you should come out and say that you believe that that is your job. And if that is the case, then you need to be doing everything in your power to send the best teams in these types of situations. Now, in this case, the U.S. did not send their best team and they still kind of accomplished everything that they wanted. To your point, Mosse, obviously qualifying for the Youth World Cup, qualifying for the Pan Am Games, and they already qualify because they're hosting for the Olympics. So, we didn't lose out on anything, but a U.S. team in Mexico, playing against Mexico, lost in a final. And so there's that element of pride. But I'm just kind of setting it up here because when you started to watch this, and it was made very apparent that this is not our full team, it changes the way that you view it. And again, if Mosse truly believes that that's their job, then you have to move heaven and earth to make sure that each and every time that they get together, you're sending the best, even at the expense of your own league or your own teams. And if it's not your job, then you should come out and say that. And by the way, I don't believe that it's Mosse's job. Mosse has their mandate at what they need to do. A nice byproduct is that the U.S. national teams are good. So anyway, I know I'm prefacing it all here. I enjoyed the tournament. I enjoyed watching this team with the knowledge that when it ultimately gets to the youth world cup, I mean, maybe half of these players are going to be around. So there's going to be big changes and there's other players that we didn't see here. But it was still fun to see these players play, fun to see and extrapolate it out, fun to see what their path is, maybe dispel some of those development types of criticisms that are out there. So anyway, that's the way that I watched it here. But doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter how old you are, doesn't matter what you man, woman, losing to Mexico from a U.S. perspective is never fun and it's never good. But they maybe lost this battle, but still ultimately won the war of the qualifying. In Mexico, it really flecks you. There are muscles on social media. They now hold a title of every conca-caf youth level. They also hold the gold cup and the nation's league titles. And to look, of course, won the most recent edition of the conca-caf champions cup. So as far as they're concerned, they completely dominate this region right now. They do. Can we get a little bit into the final here in Massipha? And for those that watched it, yes, it was a two-nothing loss. The game fundamentally changed on a red card in the first half. And Chris Applewite from Nashville over there, the captain, it's an ill-advised challenge. And people were screaming and yelling about, should this be a red card? The red card was given because it was determined by the VAR that this was a denial of a obvious school scoring opportunity here. And by the letter of the law, you can certainly argue it. I don't think anybody would have had a problem, had it just been a foul. It's undeniably a foul, okay? By the way, you don't have to have contact for it to be a foul. But I posted something this morning about teacher children well. For this group of players, this was a big, big game and a big environment. And for them to understand how, yeah, you're not going to get the call in that type of situation. That's important in terms of blooding some of these players at who knows? Maybe they'll be involved going forward, but maybe Mr. Applewite at some point down the line is in that same type of situation and recognize, I can't do that. Because while me and my parents and my family and the US fans out there might believe that that's not a red cardable type of offense. In that moment and the moment matters, the environment matters. You got to be smart in that moment. I thought the US was poor, defending set pieces in particular. They got mulled in terms of the air, the aerial game. And that's not something that you necessarily traditionally associate with the US. And then we've talked before, I'll see about the goalkeeping situation going forward for the US. Rizvanovic did not acquit himself well. It went right through his hands, which ultimately ended up into the second goal. I thought they at times played well, even down a man. And certainly nothing to be ashamed of for this tournament because of ultimately what it did produce. But it just wasn't a good day. And it should sting. And I hope that it stings. And I hope they learned individually and collectively from going through this process. And so they were taught, if you will. One topic that's come up on social media. Jesse Marsh coached Canada. I have some thoughts on that. Rafa Marquez, a new Mexico coach was there supporting the team. Puchatino nowhere to be found. Does that bother you? It doesn't bother me because I think the visibility and the appearance of Mauricio Puchatino. Well, understandable, especially given this, I'm assuming new role that includes much more of a vertical integration and much more say in terms of that vertical integration. It wouldn't have been crazy for him to be there at some point. And certainly in a final, what you do risk overshadowing and almost burdening and backbentching or backseat drivering a coach in this point in this moment. Now, it's different if you're Jesse Marsh that they made it very, very clear that he was, they didn't call him the head coach, but he was overseeing the existing coaching staff. But he was right there, he's right on the sideline, he's going on the field, he's coaching. So this was him coaching in that moment. That's different. I would actually, as I said before, I think our head coach, the coach, the Olympic team. And if he wants to coach the under 20 team, that's fine. And the more opportunity he has to see these players, but he can get the information from afar. So I'm not, I would have liked to see him there in a, you know, in a, I don't know, not a hidden capacity, but just in a much more supportive type of vein. But I recognize how he might not have wanted to encroach almost because it's kind of like a business policy. You have to give your, he's not an employee, but you have to give the people that you work with autonomy. And in doing so, you embolden them with trust and belief in them, as opposed to kind of always looking over their shoulder. I actually don't love the Jesse Marsh thing for this reason. Youth national teams, for me, can be a good way to develop coaches. We just had a World Cup final hitting two guys, Luis Delafonte and Lino Escaloni, whose pathway to the senior job for their countries was through youth national teams. So I'd like to see Jesse give some young up and come in Canadian coach, the space to coach this team and see what he could do. If Jesse Marsh is on the bench, he's going to be the one coaching team. Yeah, you know, and it's different. I mean, I don't think that Canada is going through a complete reboot and a reset. That's different if you're saying, hey, listen, we're throwing everybody out and we're starting from scratch. And therefore, I have to get down to where that next generation is coming from. I don't think that's the, that's the case. So I understand what you're saying, but both Canada and that case lost it and the US lost in the final here. But everybody's going to be okay in terms of that greater good, which is there. And as I mentioned, the US didn't send even close to its strongest team. As we talked about on our last pod, there is a very exciting crop of teenagers coming up. We put together a list, let me rip through it and then we can talk in general about integrating these players. You've got Xavier Gozo, 19-year-old, who can play as a winger and a wingback, six goals, five assists for RSL. This season, he's now off to Crystal Palace to hold in the big fan. He was campaigning for him to be on the World Cup squad this summer. You've got 16-year-old Kevin Sullivan, who's really coming into his own with the Philadelphia Union, had a golden insist this past weekend in their league's cup win over the Caxa. He's already agreed a deal to join Manchester City. He can go once he turns 18. You've got Matisse Albert, 17-year-old winger, place for Dortmund. Late last season, became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga. That's her passing, Geraintis record, and he's been featuring for them in the preseason. Mr. Palmyk is RSL, but looks like he could have something of a role to subcommon campaign. He, by the way, eligible for France and Germany, but he told Bill that he's pretty solid with the US. So that was good to hear. You've got the Red Bulls, Pear, 18-year-old striker, Julian Hall, nine goals and 18-game, and a molestice season, and then 17-year-old midfielder Adder Dometti. On our last pod, we got a question comparing Tyler Adams to Rotary, we kind of dismissed that. With Mometti, there is a stylistic fit. He's very much that type of player. In fact, he sights blue skets and Rotary as his heroes. And then you've got 19-year-old defender Noah Kai Banks, who plays for Augsburg, eligible for the US and Germany. Couldn't make up his mind before this World Cup. We'll see which way he chooses. And there's other guys in Fascha, Betakeem has always been a fan of, a link with Bayern Munich. I got injured in this last Kunkakavu 20. So a lot of talent there. Is there one player on that list that intrigues you the most? Yeah, there's a couple of things that stand out here, but I just want to preface it by saying, until a player is brought in, it's very difficult. And I know we all do it. I do it. Everybody does it. Say, hey, this is what he's done from a club perspective. Let's just extrapolate it out, or let's just transfer it to the national team. And we know, especially in this moment, where I think there's going to be some upheaval and some positive change going forward, that until it gets in front and with others out there, it's very difficult. But I'm here for it in terms of all of these players. At some point, I would like to see all of them there of good enough quality. And the moment is right for them to at least be seen. It's not always going to work out. It doesn't mean they're not good players again. Form his fallacy and all that kind of stuff. And it works both ways. You could be an OK player for your club team and star for the national team. And you could be an incredible club player. And it just doesn't work with the national team. But either way, I want to be able to at least judge these players in the context of the national team. And even that's different, given friendly games, and tournaments and all that. The Noah Kaybanks thing still fascinates me. Had that, I guess nobody, I'm trying to think of anybody that's ever been given more of a kind of golden ticket type of scenario. And I guess to his credit, recognize that at least in that moment, this was not something that he wanted to do. Fair enough. And we can be sensitive. And I think understandably sensitive about that. But if time changes his attitude, he's still a good quality player. And you don't want to be forever jilted and cut off your nose despite your face if it's a good player. And if he truly is committed, that this is what he wants to do now. Sometimes it takes time. You mentioned the Red Bull guys over there with Harlem and Medi. And we saw them earlier this year. And what they are doing and the excitement that was at such a level that even stew and others were talking about the possibility of a last second roster choice when it came to this national team. Now, I think that that was a bridge too far. And I think that was right not to do that at that point. But look, those guys are really, really good. And they're showing they're really, really good. And I think that there's a swagger that comes with a lot of these players that we're mentioning here, including Kevin Sullivan, who was really, really good the other day for Philadelphia and keeps getting better and better. I saw someone today kind of worrying and warning against, again, propping up a young phenom. No, this is what all countries and cultures do. And it's OK, even if he doesn't live up to it, that's OK. What if he does live up to it? Maybe that's the missing ingredient is the phenom that actually does live up to it, and does become that superstar. But looking at someone, whether it's Kevin Sullivan or anybody else, and saying, hey, look at what he's doing right now. This could be the answer. This could be the messiest type of player. I'm not saying it's going to be, but it's OK to have those wishes and dreams. You're not going to break him in what's the movie with Matt Damon. Good will hunting. Good will hunting. We've talked about this before, where the professor and the doctor are arguing about, you're putting too much pressure on him. No, no, it's OK. He actually is good enough and potentially could be good enough that that pressure from an early age is a good thing. And then goes are going to, you know, Crystal Palace. That's a really interesting and a big, big move. For him. So I'll really be interested to see what he looks like. If he can, if he plays there, I don't know. I guess they have plans for him. And he has had a hell of a glow up here very, very quickly. And Sullivan, I mean, I'm assuming, Masi, that he would get loaned out at a certain point if and when he goes to Man City, but you never know. I'm a big fan of Gozo. My favorite players on this list are Gozo Sullivan and Mehmeti, who I think have the highest ceiling. Now, I said on our last pod that the US, it's not just about these players developing into good depth pieces and complimentary figures that the US needs to couple of them to really break through and become stars in 2030. There were one or two commenters that did not like that take at all. They even said, I should be stripped of my soccer guru status because it was such a bad take. Wait, so they didn't believe that that that should happen. And again, you were putting too much pressure on it or putting just too many eggs in a basket and they wouldn't be ready at that time or what? I'm not entirely clear what the criticism was, but one of them said that I should no longer be referred to as a soccer guru when I had to take that bad. But no, that's kind of how I feel. I just think this nucleus US brought to this World Cup, they were playing it on home soil, right smack in their prime and it wasn't good enough. So to think that's going to be good enough in 2030 when some of these guys are in their 30s, I think the US, it's not just about improving the depth and adding more complimentary pieces. I think they need a couple of these young guys to really break through in the major ring and be among the stars of the team in 2030. I stand by that. You're a big enough man to take the criticism out there. And every once in a while, those slings and arrows will come your way. Despite your, I don't call you a guru, but you're much more than that. But I still believe in you, Monty. Now, let's did be late. In banks from a positional needs standpoint, you could argue he should be at the top of the list because some of these other players play in spots where the US has some pretty good talent already, but at center back, my God, what would it do if banks chooses the US and he's the real deal and becomes a towering figure at the back for the next several years? Yeah, but then you know what's going to happen is it's like, well, what if? What if? Well, you know, why? What is, what changed in a month? Whatever, okay, but we'll see. All right, what else we got here, Monty? The league's cup rolls on. We're through the second set of matches in the league phase. We've picked out somebody notable results. Inter Miami suffered a two on defeat to Monterey. We're dribbled up Paul scored the Inter Miami goal and dedicated to Leonardo Messi who just lost his father or condolences to Messi on that. Two former MLS stars, Kipers and Diego Rossi scored the Monterey goals. I'll pause there for a second. Inter Miami minus Messi going down. Yeah, you know, a, a Messi list Miami is always going to be different. And for the most part, it's not going to be as lethal and that's completely understandable. Although they have had moments where he's been injured or he's been gone, where they have certainly plenty of talent and this is no different at this point, but you know, it wasn't a, wasn't a good result for them. Wonderful moment for Rodrigo de Paul who, you know, he had the two jerseys on. So he must have had an inkling that at some point he was going to use it. I wonder if it was, well, if anybody scores, then I'll just kind of do it and take it off. But either way, it was a nice tribute. And we know how important Rodrigo de Paul has been in Messi's career and almost, you know, the protector and, you know, I would argue his biggest fan in a good way from somebody on the field. So it was a nice heartfelt gesture, you know, for someone who means so much and everything that Messi does and everything that happens within the Messi sphere is magnified and multiplied, as is the case here when he's, you know, dealing with, you know, incredibly sad situation with his father and we know that it was obviously weighing on him throughout the, the World Cup. So our condolences to him and to the entire Messi family out there for the loss of his father and it was nice at least in that moment that his teammates and others showed a moment of respect there on the field. I remember when Paley passed away, Antony, right before kick off of a Manchester United game, he lifted up his jersey and he had a message devoted to Paley. And even that became a source of mockery because, you know, Antony was struggling at the time, he was a giant flop at United, and everybody thought to him as well. He's not confident enough, he's gonna score during the game. So he has to do it there. So yeah, take that for a while. Eddie Segura with a stoppage time winner for L.A.F.C. who beat Raning Konka Cup champions to Luca 1-0. Farrington got a second half winner for FC Dallas who beat Chivas 1-0. Robert Lewandowski among the scores for Chicago who beat Santos LaGuna 3-1. Chris Brady did not cover himself in glory in these centers LaGuna goal coming out when he shouldn't have staying on that goalkeeper tip Matt Freese and goal for NYCFC who lost 2-1 to Kuzasu. Paradella with a late winner there. Matt Freese had this to say recently about his national team future. The very obvious focus for me is to be back there in four years. I'm not going to take a breath for four years. I'm not going to stop. I mentioned Brady with a mistake. We saw it Freese did at the World Cup. You've already expressed concern about the goalkeeper position. I'll let you do it again. I just think that the goalkeeper position for the U.S. men's national team is wide open. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But again, for multiple cycles right now, we have yet to see someone on par. And maybe we've just been spoiled over the years. But even close to those that we have been spoiled by. And so it's opportunity. If you're a goalkeeper out there in American, a young American goalkeeper out there, it's an opportunity. I just, again, I think I said this couple weeks ago, I worry that it's not just a bad moment. It's something that maybe we're doing or not doing when it comes to our goalkeepers. And maybe we lost sight or lost focus on goalkeeping. But if I was a goalkeeper, I would be looking at it as, hey, again, the goalkeeping position. It's not like you can play multiple positions. That's the only thing that you can do. And there's only one of them. I would be saying, hey, I'll be licking my chops for this opportunity. By the way, just a couple of points over there. Some really good results from an Emma's perspective. Again, this league's cup was something that was strategically brought about. And it grew over the last few years into what it is right now, where it's the top 18 teams in Emma less than the top 18 teams in League of Max, strategically the relationship, the connection, the benefit of these two leagues working together. This is what this league has been about. We are seeing this year for the first time games being played in Mexico. And that can be a game changer. I think both leagues and fans for that matter are taking it seriously. And maybe with time and understanding comes a little bit more of that. But it's been fun to watch. And I think it's still a work in progress with what's going on. But again, it's a very different proposition for teams, any teams, to have to play down in Mexico against some of these teams as opposed to the kind of constant home games that we have had. I use that in quotations because when you watch the games, it's hard to sometimes understand who the home team is graphically and geographically with what you're seeing. Yeah, and a good example of that. Brian Rodriguez, among the scores for Club America, who beat Portland 3-1 in Portland, but Club America fans took over the stadium. Valdi, the goalscorer for Portland was remarking afterwards. He said, part of my language. I've never seen anything like it on the massive America support. Let me just say this. If John Strong was still the head of Timbers Army, that would not have happened. So, well, I think MLS and then the individual MLS teams, their charge is to make sure that their fan base understands the importance of it. And especially when you're coming, well, first off to, you know, to, Mr., what was his name, Valdi, over there in Portland. A rudimentary perusal through Google or anything else out there would tell you about the club support and the massive and historical support of Liga Mx teams, but in particular, about Club America. So, while it may be an incredible surprise to him, it's not a surprise to any of us that have been around here for any length of time. You know, then it happened in this, you know, Portland backyard, which prides itself on supporting its team. It's not, it's not great, but it happens. You think for Sean Sullivan, it'll be four different bleeps or just one long one that will cover the four S words, I just said. That's grab Sean can chime in. An interesting dilemma for the crew there. Maybe you do it a long one. And then it actually works out better from an editing perspective and a content perspective because it almost, it almost makes people think that you used other words, other than the same word over and over and over again. You know, I think people want to always get into the mind of Masi and are always curious about if and when Masi were to be angry because I mean, look, I'm hard pressed to find a moment in our history at the State of the Union where I have seen or heard Masi angry. Animated? Yes. But angry, that's just not something that Masi does. I'm sure you have your moments like everybody else out there. I wonder what your go-to cuss words are. By the way, Club America fans taking over Portland, I have not seen an away fan base take over a venue like that since the nicks did that to San Antonio and the NBA final shout out to Sean and Christina back in LA. Just to put some numbers on what you were talking about early, we know MLS teams have won the last three editions of the league's cup so far. And this one, MLS 22 wins three draws 11 defeats. So they've clearly had the upper end. I'm counting those decided by penalties as draws. But we'll see, it's going to be four MLS and four Liga and Max in the quarter finals regardless. We'll see if maybe Liga and Max can break through this year. And please correct me if I'm wrong. But like you said, the top four from each league go through into the quarter finals, the semi-finals and the finals. But if, for example, the soccer gods have conspired to have all the Liga and Max teams lose every single game, that would just be the top four relative to yellow cards or whatever it is. Correct. The tournament organizer are sensitive to the fact that MLS dominating this competition is such a degree is actually undermining the credibility of it in a way because nobody thinks MLS is that much better than Liga and Max. So they're trying to manufacture a little bit of parity here in a way. I guess the thinking is, Liga and Max teams are ready to disadvantage because most of the games are in the US and when the tournament is played. So let's do whatever we can format wise to kind of even it out of it. Well, and just as a note to finish this off here, when people say, well, it's not organic. It's not historic. It hasn't come from whatever. Every tournament is organized, all right? Every tournament, somebody has to sit down and say, well, what does this tournament look like? Let's do this, let's do this. Let's just some things here in order to get an outcome that is beneficial to make it the most exciting or to make it the most competitive or to make it the most lucrative out there. So nothing ultimately is really organic when it comes to a tournament out there. And I think as it's shown is going to continue to be a work in progress and that's an okay thing. So the league phase concludes this week. We'll know who the quarter finalists are. We'll be able to talk about that on our next pod. That is it. Okay, all right, let's take a quick break. We come back. It's time for Ask Alexi. Don't go in. Okay, welcome back. It's time for Ask Alexi. That part of the show where you send in your comments, questions and concerns. Keep in mind that our handle out there on all the old social media platforms is SOTU with Lexi. You can use that hashtag Ask Alexi or you can call into our state of the union podcast Hotline which is 657-549-2297. That's 657-549-2297. Mosse, what are the folks out there want to know today? First up, it's not really a question. It's more of a statement on X. A lot of people discussing in light of this new commissioner arriving MLS and the possibility of ProRail in the future. B Austin K said on X. MLS could and should expand to 3016 to adopt intra MLS ProRail with two single tables of 18. This also allows for a balanced schedule. Then go full in on supporting the US Open Cup. And then he did an emoji like throwing his hands up. Does that mean like, this is obviously what they should do? Why can't they figure this out? I'm not good with emoji, so somebody can explain that. Yeah, so look, this is an evergreen type of, not just topic, but suggestion. We've talked about this before about this intra MLS possibility. And we're actually seeing it or the experiment of it in terms of what USL is going to do going forward, where they are gathering USL teams and putting them in different leagues and having promotion relegation. And as I've said time and time again, if somebody wants to try to build a better mouse trap, I will 100% support it. In this case, it's USL, so I'm supportive of it. I'm curious, I'm fascinated to see what it ultimately looks like. If it is this silver bullet, if it is this panacea, then I'm sure that people will flock to it. I'm being a little flipped there, but I am here for it. And I want to see it not just in practice, but I'd like to see it be successful. More people playing soccer, the better. And whatever structure you decide is fine. Now, an intra-league intra, in this case, MLS or USL type of promotion relegation to a lot of the zealots out there, is a bastardized version of promotion relegation. And they want no part of it. They want to mandate that everybody has to be into this pyramid. And while I've said time and time again, I've lived promotion relegation. I support promotion relegation. I think it's a wonderful and interesting structure. I don't think it should be mandated on anyone. Now, we sit here at 30 teams with Major League Soccer. We have heard Don Garber talk about the fact that he does not think that they are going to expand. We've heard that before. And we also know that there is a new commissioner and who knows what Larry Berg thinks when it comes to expansion. I don't think any commissioner worth their weight is going to come in and completely say there's no more expansion. I don't think that that's prudent, smart, business-wise or competitive-wise. I do think that when it comes to promotion relegation, everybody's going to guess this question as Larry Berg did, too. And I think he answered in an incredibly straightforward and honest way. Keep in mind, Larry Berg is a, well, he will be a former owner of LAFC. And he said, quote, I can understand the appeal for the fans, but I don't think it's a great way to build a league. I don't think it's a way to get stadiums built, get training facilities built, and to have owners invest in rosters and all the other things that you need to do. The great thing about promotion relegation for fans is that the jeopardy is quite severe. But I think there are other ways to create jeopardy during the regular season and during the playoffs to get to the next round. This is what we want to focus on. I think that that is incredibly succinct. The one thing he also leaves out there, though, and this should be said, is that owners like himself have, in many cases, paid a tremendous amount of money to, in an already risky proposition, which is professional ownership, to mitigate being relegated. And he actually talks about it here. If you are a team that is under that pressure of being relegated, why are you going to spend more money on facilities, on, like I said, a new stadium, or invest even more money? Because that type of investment requires, to the extent that you can have it, long-term assurance. And that's what, in this case, MLS or a league without promotion relegation, that's what it gives. And so all of this expansion that we talk about when it comes to managed league soccer, all the infrastructure, that in many cases will go away, because it's not a prudent investment to do that, given the risks. And I know the risks are exactly what many people are saying need to be there. And that's the fire that lights people under the ass to get them to do things and get them to compete. And Larry Burke to his credit mentioned it's here when he talks about the jeopardy is quite severe. So it would be interesting to see what he wants to focus on, and what he brings about to increase more jeopardy in a league that doesn't have promotion relegation. It's a fascinating, like I said, an evergreen type of subject. I think that I look at MLS as a company that works within the soccer business. And every company within a business goes about their business in a different way. Every company that works within a business, in this case, the soccer business, has a different way of creating their product and selling their product and sustaining their product. And you don't go into that business until I'm, no, you can't have that type of structure. No, everyone has a different one and may the best structure win. Or who knows, maybe multiple structures can win. That's the way that I look at this situation right here. But either way, I, I am here for it if MLS were to do it and have a, I don't know, an MLS one and MLS two and MLS three, given the fact that we're such a huge league geographically and the sheer numbers right now at 30, who knows where it could get to. The problem is, if you bought in, and in many cases you paid what, half a billion dollars just to get in, maybe another half a billion, so you're now you're at a billion just to be involved in MLS. Who wants to be associated with something that is second tier? You can say, oh, well, it's MLS two. All right, why do I want to be MLS two? When I have assured myself that I can be MLS one, I don't know, maybe there's a way. Maybe there's a, a slow way, you know, five years or a 10 year type of plan that everybody buys into. If the MLS owner's all buy into it, then it's fine. That's great, no problem. Then you can certainly have that. But if I'm an MLS owner, make it worth my while to buy into that. And I think that's where the interesting conversations come. And I know people are listening to this and watching this and saying, this is why, okay, fine, let us know. Let us know here on the state of the union. Why do you, what would your persuasive argument be to these owners that have spent so much money? Other than, well, that's what they do over in Europe. That doesn't change or do anything. Sit down there in front of the MLS owners, like I said, that have spent all this money and prove to them that this is the structure that they should have for Major League Soccer. Boss. You've basically summarized Larry Brooks' comments. You think it's still worth it for me to read them in their entirety? No, I don't think so, but hey, by the way, the train leaves the station, by the way, and it's very, very difficult to get it back when it comes to something like, you know, down with Liga Max, right? Correct, they got rid of Pro Row and the fans took to the streets, campaigning for it to be brought back. We'll see if that happens, but it shows this debate is going on down there as well. All right, all right, what else we got here, Boss? Next order of business, this is a request of mine. We've got the Fabrizio Romano posts from a few days ago announcing that Venizio's junior will stay at Real Madrid, he's signed a six-year contract extension. I brought this up last Monday, so I wanted to pay it off. Listen, I have a lot of time for Arsenal. I was very happy they won the Premier League this past season. I'm happy Bruno Guimarães went there. I think that's a good signing for them. But I'm pleased that Venizio's junior is staying, I think, Brazilian switch clubs far too often. They always think the grass is greener. They always imagine the best case scenario at these other places. It never occurs to them that the behavior that causes friction in one place might cause it somewhere else. I've heard a lot of like airbrush takes the last couple weeks of what life would have been like for him at Arsenal, as if it just would have been everything. Perfect, you know, this petulant, inconsistent flashy Brazilian, whose tricks don't always come off, as if the English media would just be so embracing of a player like that. I'm not so sure. He's settled at Real Madrid. He's built up a lot of currency there. It's the greatest club in the world, so I think keep building on your legacy there. And this whole business of being the man, you have no idea who Arsenal would sign in upcoming winners. If they got it, Venizio's junior, they would probably be in Bolden and look to get other stars as well. I remember in the summer of 2017, Neymar left Barcelona, went to PSG, ostensibly, so he could be the man. And two weeks later, they signed in Bapé. No wonder he wasn't clearly the man there either. So in this super club, Europe, if you're at a top club that's ambitious, that's going for Champions League titles, you're probably gonna have to share the spotlight with other stars. It's like an atelist actor in Hollywood. If you wanna be in the biggest movies, then you're gonna have other big stars too that could potentially outshine you, that's something you have to live with. And as somebody who watches an inordinate amount of Real Madrid, when Venizio's is in top form, playing well scoring goals, he gets plenty of attention there. It's not like he's completely an in Bapé shadow now, where nobody talks about him. So I'm fine with Venizio's thing. Yeah, Venizio's is gonna be just fine. Don't you worry about Venizio's. Well, speaking of Real Madrid, that's a good segue into what's coming next, right? Unless you got something else, you got something else? Well, yeah, I know a couple of things. Real Madrid were so focused on getting the Venizio's thing sorted. And on signing this young Ivorian player, Jan Diomande, who we watched at the World Cup, they're exciting, they signed them for 125 million euros. They kind of took the eye off the ball with Rodri, who wanted to go to Real Madrid. Rodri, it sounds like got a little bit insulted of having to wait around for Real Madrid to get this other business done first. Barcelona swooped in, and now Rodri has changed his mind. He's in form Manchester City, the only club he wants to go to is Barcelona. So Barcelona City now trying to thrash out of there. Looks like something will get done. So Rodri will head to Barcelona instead. Keep in mind, remember, Barcelona loaded with national team players, he knows well, you're Pedro's and Danny Omos and Laminia Mals and Cubarsis and company. So it's actually, you could argue, a better fit there. And they had buskets for many years. Rodri will just slide in and play that role in that midfield. So interesting development there. Well, I will just say this. If Real Madrid, given its stature, can't operate on multiple fronts when it comes to the most important part of the year in terms of signing players, then it's a completely dysfunctional disaster. Right? So no, one thing, if you don't get into the money that you want or somebody who just rubbed you the wrong way or whatever, but that you didn't feel it was timely or you didn't feel that you were getting the attention that you deserve. That should never ever be a problem, especially for the players that we are talking about here. So I don't know, I don't know. All right, anything else, Malsi? By the way, Sean also put in the rundown, Andrik staying at Real Madrid. That's the latest, but reports. But we'll see what actually happens there. Aston, Villain, Roma are trying to get them on loan. On the topic of teenage Brazilians, I made a bit of an acquisition today. My parents, there's a store near where they live that sells soccer jerseys. They bought things there. And so it's a long story, but they accrued some credit at that store where they could get a jersey for free today. So they took me there. And for those of you watching us, I'm going to hold this up. Uh, Esteval. Esteval Chelsea jersey. I got to say, not only is this a cool jersey, but it might be the nicest shirt I own. This is like something I would wear in like a fancy party. This is very classy stuff. But so do not wear that to a fancy party. So I've added that to my collection. Esteval Chelsea jersey. We'll see how he does under Shabia Lanzo this season. Hopefully this is a good long-term investment. Oh my goodness. All right, let's take our final break here. And when we come back, I'll give you my one for the road. Like I tease me, there might be some real Madrid in it. Don't go anywhere. Okay, welcome back. It's the end of our show. And at the end of each and every show, I'll give you my one for the road. It's been a hell of a summer, Mossy, as we know. But the summer ends and the fall begins. And the return, in many cases, when it comes to a lot of the club soccer that is going around, we are incredibly fortunate, especially over here in the US, to be able to ingest games and leagues from all over the world that the, you know, not just our fingertips, we're right in the palm of our hand, more so than many other countries around the world. And so we are, and I will speak for you, and everybody here at the US, David, we're excited about what is upon us when it comes to the European leagues and seasons kicking off. And there are plenty of storylines out there. A couple of things that I'm looking forward to when it comes to what's going on. You know, I mentioned it right before the break there. Just a merino at Real Madrid. I mean, this is, it's almost at this point, merino is comfort food. And you just have to have it. And you are just pulled in and mesmerized by what he still is. And the way he still commands attention and even if at times you've had your heart broken, the possibility of something to use the term special happening over here. So I'm here for that. We talked a little bit earlier in the show about Americans and Americans abroad and Americans that are going abroad. And so the Americans that either are already in the EPL or in the case of your Sebastian Burr-Halters and your Maxes and over there coming to the championship, which gives me, and I think probably a lot of other people out there, a reason to tune in. And don't think for a second that this isn't important. And this isn't strategic for these players. So I'm here for it. You got an American on your team. I am much more likely to follow much more closely with what's going on. It doesn't mean that I'm going to be a fan of your team in perpetuity. But while the Americans are playing there, yeah, I'm all in. Man City off to a new era without Pep and with Morescar. And how does this happen? How does this look, especially, Mossy, given the history of the once great Manchester United when Sir Alex left? And I think Pep is certainly at that type of level in terms of his success and his impact and his aura. So what does this still great team look like going forward? And is there a dip? And is that problematic? You know, I worked over the summer with our friend's Lahton. There seems to be a reset going on over there with AC Milan. So that's the other thing that would interest me as to how that relates to Christian policy, how that just relates to Italian soccer and what they ultimately are. But I'm here for it. And then there's going to be a million other stories that either we just don't know about yet, they are going to develop both on and off the field. So the content creation because of this is something that I am looking forward to. Mossy, anything from your perspective as we head into this fall? A couple of things. PSG in action on Wednesday against Aston Villa in Salzburg and the UEFA Super Cup. They're going to be trying to win a third straight championship title and that would be rarefied air. Raul Madrid did it, 16, 17, and 18. Then you got to go all the way back to IACs and Bayern Munich in the 70s, one, three for European cups. And then Raul Madrid obviously won the first five editions of it. So we'll see if Luis Enrique PSG can continue this incredible domination in Europe. I'm curious to see if Arsenal can retain the Premier League title. Is this the dawn of an Arsenal era of domination? As you mentioned, some of the other top clubs in transition you've got City, Chelsea, Liverpool, all with new managers, Mardesca, Itawala, Shabi Alonzo, taking over Chelsea. So we'll see what happens there. But I do think Arsenal are in good position here to retain the Premier League title. And obviously they're going for their first ever Champions of the Crown. They lost the final penalties to PSG last year. But I agree with you, I find Jose Modinho's return to Raul Madrid endlessly fascinating. We'll see Hansi Flick at Barcelona is such a nice man. We'll see if Modinho can get under his skin over the course of the season. I'm sure he will. I'm sure he's got something to play in. And obviously, Modinho very much in the news this week, because this Netflix documentary is dropped on him, which I'm really looking forward to watching. That's, yeah, I'm looking forward. Speaking of watching stuff, you got anything before we go here in terms of what you've been watching? Well, my father and I last night watched the finale of season three of House of the Dragon. It was a pretty epic. I thought this was the strongest season of the three. I haven't loved this show, actually, as much as I love Game of Thrones and Night of the Seven Kingdoms. But I thought this was a pretty good season and it ended with a pretty epic finale. And then the next season will be the final one, House of the Dragon. I also finished this. Have you watched any of this Larry David show on HBO produced by Barack Obama about the history of the United States, all of these comedic sketches? You know. Not great. Some of the sketches were funny, but most of them, not all that great. But the finale of that was this past weekend as well. So that's all I've got. But as this week progresses, and my parents and I do fun stuff around New York, I'll have plenty to report on the next couple of shows. All right, we'll talk to you in the next show. I only got one thing. It's Legends over there on Netflix. It's a, let's see. It's six episodes over there. And it stars Steve Cougan, who you might know from a bunch of different things. By the way, an incredible, not just actor, but also an incredible comedian who I think has done a really interesting and again, an incredible job of transitioning to just being able to do a lot of different things. Because it's this fascinating story about undercover British customs agents that went and infiltrated a drug network. And it's just, I think they did a really, really good job on it. It's called Legends over there on Netflix. So I cannot, yeah, that's a two thumbs up for me. I thought it was really, really good. I actually did Legends as my, what are we watching a month or two back? And we talked about social media haters. I actually had a guy that week who said, Mosse, I usually love your TV recommendations, but I tried this Legends and I could not get into it. What are you talking about? It's an awful show. So I'm glad you backed me up on that terrific program. Backed, yeah, I'd definitely, definitely backed. I can't keep track of everything that we talk about. So please, please forgive me. But yes, I backed you up. I thought it was really, really good. Could it have been better? Yeah, but I liked it. And it certainly kept my attention in that I wanted to binge it. And I wanted to go to that next episode and that next episode to see what was going on. Anything before we go, Mosse? That's it. All right, listen, we will be back again later on in the week with all sorts of new stuff to talk about. As we mentioned, a lot of stuff is starting to happen both on and off the field as we head into this new season over there in Europe, but also also other things that are happening here and around the world that we love to cover. Keep downloading and reviewing and rating and subscribing and doing all the different things that you do out there. Keep smashing that button up and down. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe over there on YouTube and Spotify and Apple and all the different social media platforms, what do you have there? We love interacting. If you agree or disagree with us, let us know. Let us know out there. And who knows, you might appear on a state of union. Until later on in this week, though. And as always, my friends, size the debt.