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Extra time is exactly how I find

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Get lost, get lost. Maybe

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this podcast has influenced me a little

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trying to cook up some great stuff for

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you guys. That's why he's here! Ah,

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ahead of these conference finals on Saturday, November

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30th. The Audi

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four guys to help us preview it. Maya Yoshida of

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the Galaxy, Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders, Robin

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Yontz of Orlando City and Danny Edelman

1:03

will join me to go through the

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biggest keys from the match, their Thanksgiving

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must-haves and a whole lot more.

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So enjoy the show everyone. Full coverage at

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on Saturday. All

1:17

right, it's an absolute pleasure to have Jordan

1:19

Morris on the pod ahead of a massive

1:21

game in Sounders history. And there have been

1:23

so many Jordan you've been involved in. Let's

1:25

start with the last game. You

1:27

got the monkey off your back. That LA MC narrative

1:29

as you called it is over. What did it mean

1:31

to you to be the one that scored the goal

1:34

that got you over the hump? Yeah,

1:36

I mean, it meant a lot. Obviously

1:38

that narrative was there before the game

1:41

and for a good reason, they had

1:43

had our number for a long time. And

1:45

you know, I think the message leading into the game

1:47

was just to have belief to know how good of

1:50

a team we are and that we can compete with

1:52

them and go down there, kind of

1:54

replicate what we did in 2019 and try to get

1:56

a win. And unfortunately, we were able to do that.

1:58

But yeah, obviously happy to. to

2:01

get on the score sheet to help the team win

2:03

the game. Tell me about the goal

2:05

from your perspective. How does it come about? What does it

2:07

take? Yeah, I

2:09

think it was a lot of just instinct, you know. So

2:12

I've been working on a lot, obviously, since moving up

2:14

to being more of the number nine,

2:16

just working on that instinct

2:18

inside the box. You look at all the

2:21

top strikers, they have that

2:24

instinct inside the box and it's something that

2:26

I want to continue to develop. So something

2:28

I've been working on, definitely. And when

2:31

the ball fell to me, you know, my

2:33

first thought was, how can I turn and shoot? And

2:36

knew kind of the angle that I was at

2:39

that trying to go high near post was probably

2:41

the best option. So fortunately I

2:43

was able to sneak

2:45

it in there. And, but

2:47

yeah, it was a great feeling. I

2:50

watched the goal and I remember thinking that has

2:52

some Raul in it in terms of Rui Diaz,

2:55

just in terms of the snapshot of creating space

2:57

quickly with a pivot. And

2:59

the goal was your ninth and postseason play that ties

3:01

you with Rui Diaz for the most among active players

3:03

in MLS history. Little birdie told me you

3:05

might've been tracking that

3:09

particular number being in the same realm and

3:11

now being tied for the top in this

3:13

entire league. Yeah, I

3:15

mean, that's obviously, that's very cool to

3:17

be up there with Raul. You

3:19

know, Nico was on that list too, with our

3:21

runs in the playoffs,

3:24

you know, obviously being up at the top of

3:26

that list. But again, something that I've been trying to

3:28

work on is

3:30

yeah, I mean, you look at Raul and

3:33

his instincts in the box, his finishing ability,

3:36

you know, something that I've again, been trying to work

3:38

on it, is learning from him in that sense and

3:41

just trying to be better in that area of

3:43

the game. So to see it come off

3:45

in the field, you know, in a game

3:47

after working hard on it and training feels

3:50

great. And then yeah, I definitely have, you

3:52

know, goals and things that I,

3:54

you know, follow. And it's cool to see,

3:56

you know, see my name out

3:58

there with so many great players. And

4:00

then you get to share the moment with

4:02

a young worse, perhaps a goal scorer in the

4:05

future, baby Theo. I mean, I

4:07

see my microphone here. I'm trying to resist

4:09

baby. Theo could not resist. What's it like

4:11

to share those little moments with your son

4:13

success for the big Morris and just a

4:15

moment that the little one won't remember, but

4:17

you will forever. And that was, to

4:20

me, that was the best part of the, of,

4:22

of the game. Um, that's what it's all about

4:25

is, is, is, is playing for, for my family

4:27

and for my son. And you know, I've mentioned

4:29

this before, um, I think

4:31

since I became a dad, I played with

4:33

more freedom on the field. Um, you know,

4:35

really realizing what's, what's truly important in life

4:38

and going home to him after a tough

4:40

trainer, a tough game, and he's smiling and

4:42

laughing. Doesn't care how the game

4:44

went. Um, just his, his dad at the end

4:46

of the day. But to have him there at

4:48

that game, um, definitely brought me some calm, calm

4:50

before the game. And I think, you

4:53

know, I don't think it's a coincidence that maybe

4:55

my, my two best seasons have come since, since

4:57

he's been, he's been born. I think I've, I've

5:00

been playing with a lot more and more freedom and confidence.

5:02

Um, like I mentioned, so to have him there at that

5:04

game to get to share that moment with him, we have

5:06

a bunch of pictures and videos that will show him in

5:09

the future, but it meant a ton to have

5:11

him and my wife there. And, um, yeah, it's

5:14

just, just really cool, cool memories. There's

5:16

a little bit of a before and after, even

5:18

for this year, Jordan, when I was going back

5:21

and looking at the game splits, I think it

5:23

was like one goal through about mid-May. And then

5:25

you're talking about instincts and playing the nine position.

5:27

You sort of assumed that mantle. And now we're

5:29

looking at 14 goals in all competitions in MLS

5:32

that ties your career high from 2016, your 18,

5:34

all comp goals. That's one shy of the club

5:36

record. What has this year

5:38

been like in terms of position, in terms of

5:40

responsibility and the way that affects your production? Yeah,

5:43

absolutely. I mean, it was a tough start

5:46

for sure. You know, missing some chances and,

5:49

um, definitely, you know, I think confidence comes

5:51

in a lot. Once you get, I

5:53

remember when I scored the first one, I was like, okay, you know,

5:55

I think I'm going to go on a run from

5:58

here. I remember talking to Precky a little bit about that it

6:00

was just once you get kind of monkey

6:02

off your back and you can you can get

6:04

that first one it's gonna be a bit of

6:06

a run from from there and and you know

6:08

I felt that for sure I put a lot

6:10

of pressure on myself and so when things aren't

6:12

going well sometimes you feel that

6:14

a bit but you know once I got the confidence

6:16

to get going and then at the beginning of the

6:18

year you know obviously no excuses I play

6:20

out wide as well but I

6:22

was out wide a little bit and again I you

6:25

know maintain that I think the number

6:27

nine is my best position so so switching up to

6:29

playing up there I think helped

6:31

helped as well and once

6:34

you know again with some confidence once you get on a

6:36

run of scoring some goals I just kept going and you

6:39

know it's it's cool like you like you mentioned

6:41

one shy of the club record having things like

6:43

that that you're kind of chasing for helps to

6:46

keep pushing you you know pushing you forward and

6:48

in every game so yeah it's been

6:51

an awesome year and and got a you know a

6:53

couple more days to go nine years

6:55

now you've hit your 30s you're

6:57

like the old head in the locker room

6:59

and you've been a part of the Sounders

7:01

for this incredible era that has been extended

7:03

and now will continue on I

7:05

saw a quote from Greg Vani after the galaxy

7:07

one and he basically was saying that the Sounders

7:09

understand big moments and how to win in them

7:11

and we are trying to build the culture that

7:13

they have he's trying to flip this on you

7:15

Jordan he's trying to flip the underdog tag he's

7:18

trying to say don't wait hold on we're not

7:20

the ones that win it's the Sounders that win

7:22

look at them they're the favorites yeah

7:24

I didn't see that I mean obviously going

7:26

back to playing when he was the coach

7:29

in Toronto we had some some some some

7:31

battles against against him

7:33

during those during those those

7:35

days so he we're familiar with with each

7:37

other I think it just

7:39

shows a mutual respect obviously

7:42

their front front four are flying and

7:44

the talent that they have on that

7:47

team are incredible but but to

7:49

have what we have as well which is

7:51

experience in these in these moments knowing how

7:53

to win win big games like like

7:56

last weekend and going into this weekend I think they

7:58

both you know have their their advantages. So it's going

8:01

to be a really interesting game,

8:03

one that we're, you know,

8:05

really looking forward to. And again, I think that that

8:07

quote just shows the respect that both teams have for

8:09

each other. I read that quote. And the first

8:11

thing I saw it is this Sanders team.

8:13

And by extension, you, the first thing people

8:15

think is a winner, like, you

8:17

know, the goals come, the individual moments come. But when

8:19

you think of the Seattle Sounders over the last decade,

8:22

you think winners. And when I think of

8:24

Jordan Morris, I think Seattle. So to be

8:26

a winner in your hometown and to have

8:28

this opportunity on Saturday, when you

8:30

go into those moments, when you just reflect on your

8:32

career and then look at the present, how does that

8:34

make you feel? Honestly,

8:37

you got, you got chills a little bit when you

8:39

were talking about that. It's cool to be a, a

8:41

hometown kid playing for my hometown club. And, and the

8:44

goals since I came in was to, to

8:46

help the team win trophies. And obviously we

8:49

had some success with that when, when a

8:51

couple of MLS cups winning champions league and

8:53

now having this opportunity in front

8:55

of us every year that you go into, you want

8:57

to, you want to win trophies. And again, to be

9:00

going from a fan, you know, sitting in

9:02

the stands to, to being on the field and

9:04

being one game away from, from hosting an MLS

9:06

cup is really, really special. Playing

9:08

in front of my friends and family, playing in front of

9:10

my son means the world, you

9:12

know, validates all the hard work that, that

9:15

you've put in throughout your career to get to, to play

9:17

in moments like this. Schmetz mentioned it before the game, these,

9:19

these games don't come around very

9:21

often. And so you got to really take advantage of them.

9:23

And you could sense that within the locker

9:25

room before the last game, everyone was ready to go. Everyone

9:28

knew what this opportunity meant.

9:30

And I know that'll be the same, uh,

9:32

on Saturday. So it's, it's special being able

9:34

to represent this club in big moments like

9:36

this. I love you brought up Brian, because

9:38

when you think back on his history as

9:40

a person, not just as a player, like

9:43

the city and the game in the city

9:45

just flows through him, help people

9:47

understand people that aren't as ingrained in

9:49

Seattle, the city, or the soccer

9:51

culture past and present, what Brian Schmetzer

9:54

means to, to this town, because it

9:56

is really, truly incredible. Yeah.

9:59

Again, it's. I

10:01

know he feels the same way, just

10:03

being from this area and being able

10:05

to be the coach and lead the

10:07

team to success is something that's

10:09

really special. And you can't deny what he

10:12

brings. Look at how successful we've been since

10:14

he's taken over. And I guess if you

10:16

think, going back, you think of

10:19

a winner, you think of Schmetz because look

10:22

at everything he has accomplished and everything that he

10:24

has won. And he's

10:26

a player's coach. Guys

10:29

enjoy playing for him. And

10:31

he gets everyone on the same page, gets everyone

10:33

to fight for a common goal. And

10:38

since he's taken over, we've had tons

10:41

of success and know how to win

10:43

these big games. So yeah, it's

10:45

special for him, I'm sure, to be

10:49

the coach of Seattle

10:52

and to be

10:54

leading the team to big games like this. I

10:57

think back to 1980, he drops out of

10:59

high school to play professional soccer. Dude

11:02

is a trailblazer in every way. What a

11:04

legend Brian Schmetz is. Does Seattle claim Christian

11:06

Roldan? Is he a hometown boy yet? He

11:10

tries to claim that for sure. I

11:14

count him as that. I mean, going

11:16

to school here and

11:18

going to college here and obviously being part

11:20

of the club for so long, he deserves it.

11:24

Obviously, he's one of my really good friends. Such

11:27

a great player. Just brings

11:29

everyone together, his work ethic, what

11:32

he brings on the field. Just helps to

11:35

motivate everyone around him. So yeah, I

11:37

think he likes to say he's from

11:39

here. But I think the fans have

11:41

brought him in and accepted

11:43

that. I mean, sometimes where you grow up

11:45

as an adult, you got to

11:47

claim that city that formed you. What makes

11:49

him so special in the central part of

11:51

the field? Because he's played all over just

11:54

like you. But it feels like since he

11:56

and Obed have become a partnership, there's just

11:58

something that inherently works between the team. too.

12:01

Yeah, I, um, you know,

12:03

I always thought that was his best position. He's

12:05

great on the wing too, but I always thought

12:07

in the middle was his best position because he,

12:09

his engine is insane. He never stops working. Um,

12:12

he covers so much ground and he's really

12:14

good on the ball. He gets out of

12:16

tough situations. He brings a calmness in

12:19

there that, um, you know, whether we're

12:21

playing out of the back or driving forward, he kind of

12:23

when he gets on the ball, he brings a calmness for

12:25

the group. Um, you know, his communication,

12:27

he's always communicating with guys in front of him when

12:29

to press, when to stay. Um, in big games like

12:31

this, that's what you need. You need everyone to be

12:33

on the same page and Christian's kind of what,

12:36

uh, what holds the group together from, from, from

12:38

the middle. So, um, you know, to, to go

12:40

in there and, and then you, you know, I'd

12:42

be remiss not to mention JP when he comes

12:44

in the game as similar, similar type

12:47

of thing. Um, just, just brings the group together.

12:49

And obviously Obed, you saw the game that he

12:51

had, he was, he was incredible. So we're

12:53

lucky to have those guys, but Christian just brings, you

12:56

know, I would say he brings kind of a calmness

12:58

into there. And then his work ethic just, I think

13:00

inspires everyone around him. I was

13:02

doing research before this interview because I remember

13:04

Seattle galaxy as this formative playoff

13:07

matchup. Like when I think of the playoffs,

13:09

one of the clashes, one of

13:11

the color schemes I see is sounders galaxy, but

13:13

I don't think you've played in a sounders galaxy

13:15

playoff match, but you probably witnessed it in 2010

13:18

and 12 and

13:20

14 and 15. Yeah. What memories

13:22

do you have of this particular matchup

13:24

in the, yeah, actually, yeah,

13:27

you just saying that. Yeah. I realized I haven't played

13:30

against galaxy in the playoffs. Um, a lot

13:33

of big games against them in the regular season. But,

13:35

um, I think for me, I remember the one thing

13:37

I think they beat us here in 14,

13:40

right? On the weight of the

13:42

MLS cup championship. Right. It was that Western conference

13:44

finals. I believe it was. I think it was.

13:47

And then I remember 15, I think that

13:49

was freeberg's left foot at Volley and, and,

13:52

and we ended up winning that game. I think it

13:54

was 32 or something like that. I'm pretty sure of

13:56

my memory. But I remember that volley because that was

13:58

the year before I came and I was you know,

14:01

you know, making that decision, watching that game

14:05

and knew I wanted to play in games like that,

14:07

seeing that volley from him to to

14:09

beat the galaxy. So, yeah, I'd never been a part of

14:11

one. The games that we play against them are always intense

14:14

and high level. And this is only going

14:16

to be that and more.

14:20

So I'm really, really excited about it. I like playing

14:22

against the galaxy. They're always really fun games. So it's

14:24

going to be it's going to be a battle peer

14:27

to peer. Just attacker to attacker looking

14:29

across the aisle. There's got to

14:31

be a big part of you just as a

14:33

soccer fan that enjoys watching this galaxy attack. Absolutely.

14:36

Yeah. What? What

14:39

was it? Fifteen goals in their

14:41

last three games, is that right?

14:43

Or something? They're just piloted on.

14:45

Yeah, it's it's it's outrageous. So

14:47

they're obviously incredible. That front

14:49

four you had, you had Royce into there. Yeah,

14:52

as an attacker, you you you really enjoy watching

14:55

them play. But then you come up against against

14:57

us and, you know, you

15:00

know, our defensive ability as a group, how

15:02

we work as a group. You know,

15:04

you saw what Steph brings to our

15:06

team last that well, all the time.

15:08

But last game, you know, and you

15:10

know, I think it's going to

15:13

be a tough matchup for them. We know

15:15

how great they're attacking

15:17

players are. But we know that we have the

15:19

ability to to work as a group to hopefully

15:21

shut them down and then and then provide attacking

15:23

moments for ourselves as well. So, yeah,

15:26

they're they're fun to watch. But, you know, it's

15:28

going to be a battle for them for sure.

15:31

Steph Fry in the playoffs. But

15:34

what? What? Nothing to

15:36

say, really, honestly, it just speaks for itself.

15:38

He's incredible. You

15:40

know what I love about that? He's such a humble guy

15:42

and he works so hard

15:44

and he's just a good,

15:46

good human being as well. So, you know, I

15:49

love Steph, but what he brings in the playoffs,

15:51

it's a it's a different level during the regular

15:53

season. He's great. But what he brings

15:55

in the playoffs is incredible. And he saves us so many

15:57

times and you'll look back to the. save

16:00

in 2016, but he has countless, you know,

16:02

number of massive saves that have, that

16:05

have kept us in games and helped, you know,

16:07

lead us to championships. I think Schmetz said this

16:09

after the game, like how he hasn't won a,

16:11

you know, a goalkeeper of the year is crazy.

16:14

And I, I agree with that.

16:16

He's incredible. What he's meant

16:18

to this club is, is, is

16:20

amazing. Up

16:22

there in postseason shutouts, right? I think he's won

16:24

away from, from being the

16:27

leader in postseason shutouts. So that just shows you

16:29

right there. He, he, he comes

16:31

alive when it means the most and we're

16:33

obviously going to need him again on Saturday, but

16:36

he's, he's been, been incredible. That's what happens when

16:38

you play a lot of big games, when you

16:40

win a lot of big games, there's another one

16:42

Saturday, 10 PM in LA. Yeah. You

16:45

can watch it in most season pass fill in the

16:47

blank. The Sanders will beat the galaxy and book a

16:49

place in MLS cup. If, for

16:52

me, yeah. If what's the key to the game,

16:54

how do you do it? I think similar, similar

16:57

mentality to what we had against LFC, coming

17:00

out with, with the belief that we can go there,

17:02

even though they're flying, go there and beat them. We've

17:04

had good results down there before, but just

17:06

having that, that mentality that we're going to come out and, and

17:08

outwork them and, and,

17:11

and stay together as a group. I think the

17:13

collective here is what pushes us

17:15

forward. So if we, if we work together,

17:18

work hard, have that same defensive

17:20

mentality and then be a little bit cleaner and

17:22

a little bit better in, in, in the final

17:24

third, I think we'll come out with a good

17:26

result. So we're, we're really excited. Big game. Does

17:28

it change your commitment to the Thanksgiving dinner

17:31

table? Like, do you have to, you know, to

17:33

hold back a little bit less stuffing, no rolls.

17:35

How do we approach this? Honestly,

17:37

I think going 120 last weekend helped

17:39

to allow for a little bit, a

17:42

little bit more, a little bit more eating

17:44

at Thanksgiving to, to get ready for the game. So

17:46

now I think I'll, I'll do my, do my normal.

17:49

Top top side dish. What do you got? What's at the

17:51

top of your rankings? That's

17:54

a good question. I just,

17:58

I love mashed, mashed potatoes. probably

18:01

the go to or like

18:03

a, this isn't necessarily a side dish, but like a

18:05

really good biscuit. With

18:07

you on that one. Good layers, maybe a

18:10

little herbs in there. Yeah, exactly. Butter based

18:12

it. Okay. Turkey or no Turkey is the

18:14

Morris household, a Turkey household. It's a Turkey

18:16

household. I wouldn't say I'm the biggest Turkey

18:18

fan, but it is a Turkey household.

18:20

Yeah. I think I'm in the same place as you. My

18:22

wife dictates, but I'll take a prime rib if I, if

18:25

I could. All right. Last one, man. One thing

18:27

that you're the most thankful for this year, it

18:29

can be soccer related. It can be non-soccer related.

18:31

What are you thankful for? I'm

18:34

going to go back to my son. He just

18:37

puts, you know, my son and my

18:39

wife and just the, the family that we're building,

18:41

he puts everything in perspective for, for,

18:43

for us. And like I said,

18:45

getting to, to go home to him

18:47

after, after training or games, I feel like I, yeah,

18:51

I'm just playing with a lot more freedom on

18:53

the field. He helps me on the field. He helps me off the

18:56

field, be a better person. I'm just waking up

18:58

wanting to be a good dad every day. So he's

19:00

really special. And we're, you know, my wife

19:02

and I are super thankful for him. All

19:05

right, man. Appreciate your time. Maybe you wake up Sunday

19:07

with a spot in MLS cup. Absolutely. That's the goal.

19:09

It'll be fun. Thanks Jordan. All

19:11

right. Thanks man. Big

19:14

game in the Western conference this week in

19:16

a conference final and one that I remember

19:19

fondly from, oh, about a decade ago at

19:21

this point, LA galaxy, Seattle Sanders, 10 PM

19:23

Eastern time. Dignity health sports park is the

19:25

venue. MLS season pass is where you will

19:27

watch it. Maya Yoshida will be on

19:30

the back line. Maya, welcome to extra time, man. Hi,

19:33

thank you for inviting me. Hi, how are

19:35

you? I don't want to start

19:37

you on a negative, but I do want to read your

19:39

words back to you after the end of the 2023 season,

19:42

Maya quote, I

19:44

read this is the worst season in

19:46

galaxy history. So it's embarrassing to be

19:49

honest. The last five games were really,

19:51

really embarrassing. The results and the performances

19:53

and without the passion as well. What

19:56

a difference a year makes. When

19:59

you hear those and

22:03

the thing's going good

22:05

way. That was a very positive side.

22:09

Well, now your MLS Cup favorites. That's

22:12

a true statement, at least in my mind. Would

22:14

that be a true statement in your mind? You're the top

22:16

seed remaining. If you win all your games, you'll play all

22:18

of them at home. The Galaxy, after

22:20

a decade, are back to being MLS Cup

22:23

favorites. True or false? True.

22:31

Yeah. What

22:33

is special about this team right now in

22:35

your mind? I think

22:37

we all watch these matches and see the brilliance

22:39

of Ricky and the Killer Peas

22:41

and Dejan and, of course, the defense playing well. But everyone's going

22:43

to think attack. That's just the

22:45

way that soccer fans often think. But

22:48

what's special to you about this group and

22:50

the playoffs? Of

22:53

course, it's title now. Two more games to go and

22:55

Western Cup. Western

23:00

Conference plus the MLS

23:02

champion. That's our target. It's very

23:04

obvious now. And I didn't

23:07

say that at the

23:09

beginning of the season because I don't

23:11

want to put any extra pressure on the

23:13

squad. But now it's very

23:16

obvious and everybody, I think everybody has the

23:18

same target so far. So there's nothing to

23:20

hide now. What

23:22

button has Greg Vani pushed this year with this team?

23:24

How has he motivated you? How is he different this

23:27

year than last year, if at all? How did you

23:29

reach these highs? To

23:33

be honest, he's very consistent. There's

23:35

nothing really changed me as a

23:37

thing. But from

23:39

the beginning, I was thinking his tactical

23:42

mindset is really good. But

23:45

he was missing some players

23:48

who can all

23:51

the way on the pitch. The

23:55

people can show what he wanted to

23:57

do. Like last game, The

24:00

third goal I passed the

24:02

Mickey Cross was the

24:04

absolute plan. That's Greg made

24:07

it. So, but of

24:10

course, even we have a good idea,

24:12

we needed to do it. Right.

24:15

So probably last

24:17

season also we had many plans, but

24:19

we couldn't make it on the pitch.

24:21

But this season, we have more quality

24:24

and we are more understanding each

24:26

other and we are more solid.

24:28

So this is

24:30

a huge difference between last season and this season.

24:33

It's funny to talk about plans and then to

24:35

watch Ricky Poosh. And I know so much of

24:37

this is a part of the plan, but so

24:39

much of what Ricky does seems to just be

24:42

inside of Ricky. And there was a quote from

24:45

Greg after this last match against

24:47

Minnesota. And he said that as a coach,

24:49

I had to adapt a little bit in

24:51

terms to Ricky, you know, maybe it's not

24:53

exactly how I saw his position on

24:56

paper. So Greg had to adapt to Ricky.

24:59

How do you have to adapt and all of his

25:01

teammates have to adapt to Ricky to both get the

25:03

best out of him, but then clearly

25:05

to get the best out of yourselves as well?

25:09

Yeah, we

25:12

have like the formation

25:14

on the paper, but also it's

25:17

some freedom we have. But

25:20

the defensive side, we need to adjust just

25:23

in case for the rest defense. For

25:25

example, Edwin is always our

25:28

security that something happened. He's the one

25:30

fast defender to avoid any

25:33

counter-attack. Then

25:36

also me and

25:39

the Miki's have to be really

25:41

smart to defense,

25:44

especially we

25:46

have a young center back. Also

25:49

the left back was also very young, like

25:52

Korean and Emilio. So

25:55

that is a balance. Like me

25:58

and Miki also like kind of like

26:00

Plumper, so if the water leaking happens,

26:02

we are here. And Elvane, our insurance,

26:07

that something happens, make sure

26:09

then he cover everything. Then

26:13

we can use our

26:15

attacking ability, the pec

26:17

counter-attack, and Josuke's pace,

26:19

Ricky's technical things. That

26:22

balance is very important for the

26:24

team, and it works very well

26:26

so far. What makes Ricky

26:28

special as someone who's played at the highest level? What

26:31

does Ricky do? What can he do? What is

26:33

he capable of that others just simply aren't? Now,

26:38

especially play against playoffs

26:40

is really tight games. They are

26:42

very tough

26:45

games, and the defense will be very solid,

26:48

most of the teams. But he can break

26:50

through the lines many times, and

26:53

he can create something different. Normally,

26:55

the team who doesn't

26:59

have that kind of players, it's past sides

27:01

of sides many times, but Ricky can break

27:05

the line. And break the

27:07

line means Marco is always

27:09

on the pocket, and

27:11

he is connecting mid-riders and strikers, and

27:13

our striker is waiting for this kind

27:16

of opportunity to break the line.

27:18

As soon as we break the line, we

27:20

are really thrilled to attack through

27:23

the goal. And

27:25

Gabriel Peck has been arguably the best winger in the

27:28

entire league going to goal. He

27:30

has been so effective, especially once he got plugged in

27:33

on the right side and got comfortable. Because

27:35

you've played in the Premier League, because you've

27:37

played in the Bundesliga in Syria, I'm just

27:39

curious. Can Gabriel Peck play at those levels?

27:41

Does he have that sort of talent in

27:43

your mind? Yes.

27:47

Still, he needs to

27:49

improve the other things that

27:51

I mention to him often, like

27:54

if you go to England, you have

27:56

to speak English, for example. This is

27:58

very obvious. We

30:00

need to give some information to me

30:02

or Mickey or mid-feeders. That's

30:05

kind of a communication we need to improve for

30:07

sure. Yeah,

30:09

also we are still conceding

30:11

a lot of goals, especially from the set

30:13

pieces. Next game is going to

30:15

be the, I think this kind of things are going

30:18

to be the key for next game because

30:21

Seattle is very good for the set pieces too. Matt,

30:24

you have a very high standard and I appreciate that

30:26

about you. I can just feel it the way you

30:29

talk. So I'd be curious to get your opinion. Just

30:31

overall, Galaxy defending this year,

30:33

you mentioned set pieces. We've seen that

30:35

be an issue to fix

30:37

repeatedly. Sometimes defending in space though

30:39

it seems like since that LAFC game you guys have

30:42

found a good balance in terms of ref's defense.

30:45

Grade this season from just a defensive

30:47

perspective in your opinion. No

30:51

we can improve much more. Yeah,

30:56

because we could score like three

30:59

goals every game. But

31:01

if we reduce conceding

31:03

the goal or give away, it could

31:06

be much, much easier. And

31:09

this is very important for next season

31:11

to play for the regular

31:14

season plus cups plus

31:17

the Champions League. There are many games coming

31:20

and everybody has to be fit and everybody

31:22

has to understand what

31:24

Greg wants to do plus we

31:27

have to play easier. You

31:31

have to play easier. That's the key

31:33

to maintain the 50-60 games in one season.

31:39

I heard speaking of fitness that you

31:41

do extra running every day even at

31:43

36. How much extra running do you do? No

31:48

extra running is the

31:51

beginning of the week and the end of the week. This

31:54

is not high

31:56

volume. This is a kind of recovery session.

32:00

So I focus on my recovery session a lot

32:02

after the training in the

32:05

training run plus in home.

32:08

I think this is very important. Like

32:11

what is your recovery? I'm 38 years

32:13

young man and I'm feeling it. So maybe I need

32:15

to get on the Maya Yoshida plan. Okay.

32:20

Conscious path

32:22

and hot tub ice bath. I

32:27

have a hydrogen pump also to breathe in,

32:29

breathe out. I

32:40

have the machine to activate

32:42

my mitochondria. This is

32:45

another important thing. Total

32:49

free, daily free. This

32:52

kind of a distraction if you can do

32:54

and you can still play. Yes.

32:57

Well, I didn't play in the first place. So maybe I

32:59

can't get to that level, but you know what? I'll steal

33:01

a couple of things up the Maya Yoshida plan. Look,

33:04

it's a big game for you guys. This is

33:06

a place that the club has won a gift

33:08

for a long time and Seattle's been there many

33:10

times and Greg said after last weekend and praise

33:12

the Seattle that they've built the sort of winning

33:14

culture that the galaxy want to bring back into

33:17

the club. How far along are you

33:19

guys in terms of building that winning culture and do

33:21

you think this group is ready for the challenge on

33:24

Saturday? He's

33:29

right. He's right. I

33:32

think Seattle has a winning mentality. They

33:34

last couple of years and

33:36

when we play even they

33:38

are like finished false or something. They started really

33:40

bad in the beginning of the season and

33:43

they came back really good. And I saw I

33:45

watched the game against the NFC. They are very

33:47

solid. They have a plan

33:49

to play and they are also very

33:51

good in the crossing and set

33:53

pieces. So it's going to be tough

33:56

for sure. But we are ready to dominate the

33:58

game. especially we can

34:00

play in home, which we are,

34:03

where we are unbeaten this season.

34:05

So hopefully again, they sold out

34:07

the tickets and the great atmosphere

34:10

the fans bring and

34:12

we can fight together. Best

34:14

part about living in Los Angeles is what, Maya? Son.

34:26

Sometimes we joke about this being an NBA podcast

34:28

as much as an MLS one. Who

34:30

is your favorite NBA player? I hear that you enjoy

34:32

going to Lakers games. Oh,

34:35

yeah, of course, Hachima always I watch

34:38

because he's Japanese, but

34:41

I'm 36 and I've always I

34:45

have to follow the people who play

34:47

as who's really senior. It's like Reverend

34:49

James. It's 39, 40 now. I'm

34:52

still playing and I even

34:55

he sit on the bench. I still watching how

34:57

he maintained his body and

34:59

also before the game, how he prepared the

35:02

game. Sometime

35:04

I checked the social media, how they

35:06

treat themselves. Today,

35:08

I watch the Model H still playing championship

35:11

level 39 years old. But

35:14

that's my interest

35:16

so far. How long

35:18

do you think you can play? How

35:21

long are you trying to play? I

35:25

don't know. First, I need to have a contract.

35:27

So let's let's talk after. Doesn't

35:30

seem like you're slowing down, man. I got to ask you

35:32

before I let you go. Have you done American Thanksgiving yet?

35:34

You were here last year for it. This

35:37

would be your second. Have you done the whole

35:39

turkey and stuffing routine yet? Or is that still

35:41

foreign to you? Yeah,

35:43

I know. I'm very curious, man. I'm

35:45

not sitting there so far and playing

35:49

PlayStation all night. But I

35:52

don't like the turkey so much, to

35:54

be honest. I try, you know, I

35:56

can choose and out of many. things.

36:02

But I

36:04

see. Sometimes I respect American

36:06

culture. I respect when I

36:08

go to Italy, Germany, England,

36:11

I try everything. But if

36:13

I don't like it, I don't like it. Sorry.

36:15

But this is not like Turkey either, Maya. I

36:17

don't like Turkey. It's okay, man. If I invited

36:19

you to my house for Thanksgiving dinner, I said,

36:22

Maya, you and your family, come on over. But

36:24

you got to bring a dish. What dish are you bringing?

36:26

It doesn't have to be an American dish just needs to

36:28

be something that you like. So

36:31

she is perfect.

36:33

Perfect. My son has been

36:35

rubbing or running around in the background. That's

36:38

his favorite food. He chose that for his

36:40

birthday dinner. Maya Yoshida is bringing sushi to

36:42

our Thanksgiving and my imagination, I guess in

36:44

the meantime, Saturday big game for the galaxy

36:47

10pm Eastern time, Digny Hill Sports Park, LA

36:50

hosting Seattle, Maya Yoshida on the field leading the

36:52

Lions Maya, thanks for your time, man. Thank

36:55

you. Alright, to the Eastern Conference we

36:57

go Robin Jansen of Orlando City joins

36:59

us that match a huge one for

37:01

Orlando City and the New York Red

37:03

Bulls. It starts our day off on

37:05

Saturday at 7 30pm Eastern time.

37:07

Of course, on MLS season

37:09

pass entering Co Stadium is the

37:12

site and Robin Oskar

37:14

Preah says it is the biggest game

37:16

in Orlando City history. He's not bearing

37:18

the lead. He's jumping right in.

37:20

Is there pressure? No,

37:24

not really. I think

37:27

it's maybe

37:31

a little bit, but we

37:33

just need to take it as a game. But then of

37:36

course we know what's on stake and

37:39

yeah, just focus on Red

37:41

Bulls and then see

37:43

the outcome of the game and take it from

37:46

there. So since 2019 when you

37:48

join the club, you've got

37:50

missed playoffs, quarterfinal, round one, round one,

37:52

quarterfinal and now we're in a conference

37:54

final. That has to feel

37:56

like new territory. It has to feel good to

37:59

get to this point. But it

38:01

has to feel like there's some level of unfinished business

38:03

to get over the hump as a group. 100%.

38:07

We really want to reach

38:09

the MLS Cup and lift the trophy,

38:12

but we cannot get ahead of

38:14

things. We need to

38:16

take one game at a time. But as you're

38:18

saying, since I came 2019, they were struggling before.

38:24

And even in 2019, we were struggling. I think

38:26

we ended second from last in

38:28

the conference, if I don't remember

38:31

wrong. But

38:33

since then, 2020, we

38:36

started to build something and has

38:39

been doing since. So

38:41

hopefully we can make it happen

38:43

this year. Robin, there's a

38:45

little bit of a narrative going around, and I'll be honest,

38:47

I've felt it a little bit too, but

39:20

it's been a little bit different since the summer. We

39:23

have really got together the principles,

39:25

the way that we normally do stuff, like

39:28

we didn't do in the beginning of the season. But

39:30

I also think it has been

39:32

continuous for

39:34

a longer time than

39:36

it's been doing comparing to the

39:38

years before. And

39:42

then we also have individual quality. And when

39:46

these games are coming, you need to take

39:48

the chances and you need to be solid

39:50

defensively. Because it's

39:53

tough. It's the playoffs. You never know what's

39:55

going to happen. And you're always going to

39:57

have this team on the other side.

39:59

wants to do their stuff and you have

40:02

to respect that too and take that into

40:05

into into the account and then

40:08

see how you approach the game. But

40:11

I feel the soleness in

40:13

the team and the work. Eric

40:16

in the team, I think has been brilliant

40:18

the last couple of months.

40:20

So hopefully we can continue that. And

40:22

then yeah. Feels like

40:24

June, like mid late June is when

40:26

things started clicking. You mentioned getting back

40:29

to the principles. In your

40:31

mind, what are the principles of this team? What

40:33

makes this Orlando team special? A

40:35

team that works hard defensively

40:38

all over the field and

40:40

attacking too. And

40:43

then also we have our way to do it. And

40:46

that we want to do it. But then

40:48

obviously, sometimes you cannot do

40:50

it all the time because you have opponents too, right?

40:53

That tries to do something and stop our stuff like

40:55

we try to do with our opponent. So every

40:59

game is living its own

41:01

life and you have to

41:03

adjust and do

41:05

the stuff after what the game is bringing.

41:08

Correct me if I'm off as I've watched you

41:10

guys this season. I felt in the

41:13

early part of the year, not having

41:15

Wilder and Cesar healthy and together that

41:17

entire time threw things off a little

41:19

bit. You know how important that is

41:21

for Oscar that Central midfield pairing. And

41:23

then Martino had moving into a 10

41:25

role, just getting more time, more space

41:27

to express himself. It felt to me

41:29

like getting that Central midfield healthy and

41:31

getting a number 10 that you understood

41:33

could not necessarily play through, but

41:36

play two in the final third. Turn things around.

41:38

How did you see it? No,

41:41

100%. I agree with the Wilder and Cesar. They're

41:43

in the middle of a super important for us.

41:45

And then also having Martin

41:47

doing his best season here in

41:49

Orlando since he came, which has

41:52

been a huge boost for us. But

41:54

then I also think like beginning

41:57

of the season until like, until

41:59

June when we We started to turn things around.

42:03

It was too easy to score on us and

42:05

we didn't take our chances

42:08

when we had them in games. That's

42:13

where you need to be very sharp in

42:15

this league. But

42:19

yeah, they are huge for us

42:21

and I think the

42:23

whole team, because we're depending on

42:25

everybody and everyone is working hard.

42:28

It's a team effort. What

42:30

are those two central midfielders like for you as

42:33

a center back? It feels like a warm

42:35

blanket that might jump up and punch

42:37

somebody in the face. Yeah,

42:40

it's awesome to have them there. They run a

42:42

lot. They break a lot of attacking mode

42:49

from the opponent. They

42:51

are huge for us. They're covering a

42:53

lot of space. That's super

42:55

important for us. Of course, the

42:58

backline is great to have them in front of us.

43:01

What is Facundo Torres's superpower? We've talked

43:04

about this turnaround and

43:06

what Orlando found. It

43:08

feels like Facundo found something too.

43:10

In particular, after he didn't make

43:12

that Copa America squad. Just from

43:14

that moment on, it was

43:17

like the flip switch. The goal

43:19

scoring form arrived and you had

43:21

a different player who was confident

43:23

and informed. When you see him

43:26

and try to defend him on the training pitch, what is

43:28

his superpower? What does he do so well that others don't?

43:31

He has great moments and also he

43:33

has his left foot, which is fire

43:37

when he's on it, when he has the

43:39

confidence and stuff like that. I

43:42

think in the beginning of the

43:44

season, it was the whole team that

43:46

didn't really get the confidence

43:49

going, but then we started to get it on the

43:51

same time like everybody. Almost like we jumped on the

43:54

train together and then we took it from there. But

43:56

Facundo is really good. He's smart. The way he's

43:59

doing it, he's really good. moving, finding,

44:01

finding the spaces where he

44:04

can, where he

44:06

can get his left foot to, to

44:08

work. So he's a great player and

44:10

for us crucial. You

44:12

have so many forwards, Robin, it's like a, you

44:15

know, it's a roll of the dice for Oscar every time

44:17

he puts out a lineup right now. It's for Miro Enrique.

44:19

It is of course been Duncan McGuire and then Luis Muriel

44:21

comes off the bench and is just

44:23

an absolute game changer. I

44:25

want to ask you about Luis because he might not

44:27

be playing 90 minutes, but when I see him play,

44:29

he's the sort of guy I think, boy,

44:32

I bet this guy is absurd in training

44:34

sessions. I bet the things that he pulls

44:36

off his technical ability is just

44:38

on a different level. Am I, is

44:40

my intuition right on Luis Muriel there? You

44:45

can say you can see that he's been on

44:47

the top level like playing the champions league area

44:49

with the touch he has and the flow of

44:51

the stuff he does sometimes. It's a technique

44:56

is super good. So

44:59

yeah, and also back to

45:01

that with all our options that you said,

45:04

like I think we do have

45:06

one of the best benches in the MLS,

45:08

I would say they come in and, and

45:12

changing a game or helping out in

45:14

the games which we need. And it's

45:16

going to be super important for the,

45:19

for the last couple of games here. Enrique

45:21

has got to be annoying to play against, huh? Yeah,

45:24

he runs so much. He just doesn't stop moving. Exactly.

45:27

He loves to run and he's

45:29

fast, super good in the air.

45:33

So he's putting a great shift

45:35

for the team. If

45:37

it goes to PKs, you're

45:39

Oscar Prejal, you get to make the choice. Who's going to be

45:41

in goal, Galese or Rodrigo

45:44

Schlegel? I

45:47

have to go with Calle Gose. The

45:50

save that Rodri did was fantastic, but

45:52

it looked kind of terrible actually. He

45:55

will never live that down. That's what I think

45:57

it's one of the most legendary moments in MLS

45:59

history. I just I have this feeling

46:01

that Rodrigo is the perfect person to

46:04

have stepped into that position Yeah,

46:06

100% he does everything with passion

46:08

and 110% every time

46:11

he goes out to the field and he was

46:13

like Yeah, I can grab the gloves and I

46:15

can make it happen He

46:17

said there so no that was that was

46:19

super fun. That's in the past

46:21

though That's in the past so the present

46:23

is a little bit more interesting and the

46:25

recent past actually is what I want to

46:27

ask you about here because You just became

46:30

against Atlanta the first Orlando player to appear

46:32

200 times in all competitions For

46:34

the club. What does this club mean

46:36

to you? What does that mean to you? No

46:40

for me it means a lot and I came

46:42

here in 2019 I

46:45

had a goal that I I wanted

46:47

to be jump on this ship to try to turn

46:50

it around to be a team that could

46:52

be in the top tire of the of

46:55

the standings and hopefully

46:58

I can contribute with something to the team and

47:03

No, I'm just I'm just happy that they

47:05

have have

47:07

me for Such

47:10

a long time and hopefully that means that

47:12

I that I'm doing something good at least

47:15

so I'm just trying to pay back

47:17

in the best best way that I can and

47:19

help the team in the best way that I

47:21

can and Just keep on

47:23

going and then we will see how long how

47:26

long they will keep me But

47:29

what would it mean to you to play in MLS Cup?

47:31

I was looking back on it and I

47:33

just had assumed my memory had failed me I had

47:35

assumed that you had played in the open cup final

47:37

in 2022 but but that was

47:40

not the case What would it mean for you to pull

47:42

on the purple in a final for this team? You said

47:44

you wanted to bring them to a

47:46

place they'd never been before when you signed that was five years

47:48

ago No, it

47:50

would mean a lot for

47:53

the whole team For

47:55

the city. It would be fantastic to

47:57

bring bring that to

47:59

our fans to the city and then it

48:02

will be fantastic. But back to the open cup,

48:04

I was on the bench. I

48:07

had my foot injury back then. Couldn't

48:10

make it to the final which

48:12

was disappointing personally.

48:15

But I was available off

48:17

the bench if he needed or spent a

48:19

couple of minutes in the end. But

48:22

then after that game I went to surgery. It

48:25

was a fantastic moment for the club. Personally,

48:31

you would like to be on the field but as

48:34

long as the team brought it home, the

48:38

first silverware in the MLS era,

48:40

right? So that was

48:42

fantastic. So there's an

48:44

interesting storyline at play in this game and

48:46

it's two Swedes on two sides. One is

48:49

Emil Forsberg, one is Robin Janssen. You

48:51

had much different paths to this point.

48:54

And looking back on your career, I've always

48:56

just sort of wondered about the

48:58

path that you took because in some ways

49:01

it's not traditional in any way. You

49:04

played many years in the lower tiers in Sweden.

49:06

I believe you were working another job to get

49:08

there and then you played one year with AIK

49:10

and boom, to MLS you came and we're among

49:12

the best defenders in the league. How

49:15

did you get here, Robin? If you look

49:17

back on your story, how do you sort

49:19

of internalize that? Oh,

49:23

yeah, I've been going through with my head a lot of times.

49:26

For me, it's a crazy journey.

49:28

And I'm just so happy that

49:30

I took those steps

49:32

that I took because I always follow

49:35

my heart. But

49:38

yeah, back to the question how I end

49:40

up in Orlando. That was also kind of

49:42

funny because our scout,

49:44

Ricardo Moreira, back in the

49:47

days, I think it was

49:49

2018, he was actually scouting a

49:51

player that I played against in Sweden. He

49:54

told me. So I

49:56

was not even on there like what

49:58

he was out watching for. after that game,

50:00

I did, I did pretty well. And then he told me

50:02

like, he liked, he liked

50:05

what he saw. And then from there, it

50:07

just took took

50:09

a little bit of time and then

50:11

he, they reached out and yeah, early

50:13

2019 March, I

50:15

signed here. So

50:18

yeah, kind of fun. You

50:21

said you followed, you followed your heart. Was there ever a

50:23

time that you thought you might walk away from the game?

50:27

Yeah, I mean, like, so when I

50:29

was younger, I moved to Gothenburg to do

50:31

the Academy. So I did the studying and

50:34

played with Beethoven who was in the second

50:36

second division in Sweden, the first team, but

50:38

I was just in the Academy then. But

50:43

I got my way all the all the way

50:45

up to the first team signed like, how to

50:48

say like a trial contract for

50:50

one and a half year, but

50:52

only played like under 21. I

50:54

was on the bench in the

50:57

in the let me see

51:01

first division because they went up to

51:03

the first division. But I

51:05

just trained and played with under 21. And then the

51:08

last six months of my contract, I decided

51:10

to go on loan to a third division

51:12

team, a little bit closer to my

51:14

village where I'm coming from. But

51:17

my goal to go there was

51:19

like to play real games for

51:21

real points. But

51:24

I came there and I get got injured. And

51:27

I was out like for a couple

51:29

of weeks or something. And then I come back

51:31

and I got injured again. So those six months

51:33

just passed away. And I started to lose like

51:35

the motivation for soccer. So

51:37

then I was just no, I just, I just want

51:40

to move home, be close to family and friends. And

51:42

I didn't back then

51:44

in 2000, end of 2011. I didn't felt after

51:46

those injuries.

51:49

I felt like I'm, I don't,

51:52

I'm not willing to like put down like five, six

51:54

a day. All my

51:56

weekend is going for games or

51:59

traveling. So I decided to move home,

52:01

end of 2011, and

52:04

then play for fun with my friends in

52:06

my hometown club, which

52:08

was fantastic. And I was

52:11

back home 2012 until 2016, at a fantastic time,

52:16

and started to get the

52:19

motivation back a little bit towards end of 2015.

52:24

And then in 2016, I signed for this third division

52:26

team in

52:29

Sweden. When

52:32

I moved home, it was like, OK, I'm just

52:34

settling down, and then I take it for what

52:37

it is, and we will see what's happening. But

52:39

towards 2015, end of 2015, I started to feel

52:41

like, OK, let's

52:44

jump on the train here and see if

52:48

I can catch up or whatever can happen. But it

52:50

was not like, oh, I'm going to go to the

52:52

first division. I'm going to go to Europe, or I'm

52:54

going to go to the States. I

52:57

went in 100%, because I was working on the

52:59

side to 100%. So

53:03

I just tried, and then, yeah, luckily,

53:06

we made it through to

53:08

the Swedish group stage,

53:11

where we played AIK in the preseason in 2018.

53:16

And I had a quite good game, and then,

53:18

yeah, from there is actually a crazy story.

53:22

From that moment until they signed me, which

53:25

was pretty cool. So

53:28

we played them, and then they got

53:30

two injuries on players who played on

53:33

my position. And then almost

53:35

all of the blue, they reached out, and they needed

53:37

someone, and I was that someone. So

53:43

I moved there, and I think

53:46

it was the last day of the transfer

53:48

day in Sweden, April 4th or something. I

53:50

signed. So

53:53

yeah, from there, I

53:57

went to AIK with no

53:59

expectations. expectations. I was

54:01

like probably I will be a bench player or only

54:04

just be there to train, but I was like going

54:06

from where I was, the third division to the first

54:08

division, it was no brainer

54:10

for me. I just take the chance

54:12

and then we see what's happening. So from

54:15

there I was on the bench for

54:17

two games, the first two, three weeks. And then

54:19

I had my first game and after that I

54:21

played every game except

54:23

two, one where I had the yellow

54:25

card accumulation and then one

54:28

where my body had to rest because I

54:30

was not used to train that hard. And

54:34

then from there I had a fantastic year,

54:37

won the championship in 2018 and then started

54:41

up 2019 going to the

54:43

national team. And

54:45

then a couple of months in Orlando reached out

54:48

and then yeah from there it is. From

54:50

there it is man. That's four

54:53

words to sum up an incredible journey and I'm

54:55

thinking about this journey that you took and

54:57

the flip side as you're doing this,

55:00

Emil Forsberg is doing his thing in Europe and for Sweden

55:02

and now you get to face him in this game. Do

55:04

you know Emil at all? I mean I'm not saying all

55:06

Swedes know each other, but... No,

55:09

I don't know him. I just know him by the name

55:11

and what is done for the Swedish national team. I mean

55:14

it's a European career. This has

55:16

to be fun. This has to be such

55:18

a fun opportunity too to say like me

55:21

versus you man. We might not know

55:24

each other but let's see who can get to Emil's Cup. No,

55:27

it's awesome. It's gonna be a great game and

55:29

fun to say hi to him and and

55:32

as you say and take it from there hopefully we

55:37

will win. And actually they have one more

55:39

Swedish guy there, Noah, in the Red Bulls

55:41

earlier. I think the last name is a

55:44

little bit younger. I don't

55:47

think I played against him in Sweden but yeah

55:49

it's fun. You blazed the trail

55:51

Robin for Noah to come this way. Swedish

55:54

centerbacks. Doing their thing. Now Orlando

55:56

City will beat the Red Bulls and go to

55:58

Emil's Cup if what? a

58:00

great second half of the season. The first

58:03

one will probably not go to the history

58:05

books, but hopefully we can write something into

58:07

the history here in the end of the

58:09

season. History remembers the victors, and

58:12

Orlando City have a chance for a famous victory.

58:15

The biggest game in Orlando City history, says Oscar

58:17

Preo, the conference final, hosting the Red Bulls on

58:19

Saturday, 7.30 p.m. Eastern time. Robin

58:21

Jansen, thank you, man. Appreciate your time, man. Thank

58:24

you so much. Daniel

58:27

Edelman, Red Bulls born and bred,

58:30

what does it mean, these four words, New

58:32

York is red. No,

58:36

super special feeling, especially this

58:38

time of year. That's

58:40

everything you want playing for this club, I think.

58:43

Those four words mean a lot. And

58:45

to call this city right now, red

58:48

is so meaningful. And it's

58:50

a privilege to play for this club and

58:52

to get a result like that against a

58:54

really, really good New York city team. To

58:57

a win, tell me what stands out to you. What

58:59

went into the memory banks after that one? The thing

59:01

that you'll just reflect on for the

59:04

rest of your life, maybe even. Doesn't have to be on

59:06

the field. Could be off the field, could be anywhere in

59:08

between. No, I think

59:10

for us, or for me, it's the moment

59:12

after the game, just the relief, the final

59:15

whistle blows. There's nine minutes of

59:17

stoppage time, and we're all defending

59:19

for our lives a little bit at the end. And it's

59:22

just an incredible moment then to finish the

59:24

game because we were also defending where the

59:26

New York city fans were. And

59:29

it's just a, it's a really cool feeling

59:32

to be able to do it in there, at their

59:34

home turf. But I think

59:36

what will stand out to most people is the fact that we

59:39

started the game off scoring two

59:41

goals first. And Felipe's goal was that that'll stay

59:43

ingrained in my head for a while. I had

59:45

a perfect view for that and what a hit

59:47

that was. Feels like that

59:49

thing is still rising. Just had a little bit of that

59:51

backspin on it. Just a perfectly hit ball. And I

59:53

think of that moment, and I think of the win and

59:56

all the emotions that you took out of it. And

59:58

I can't help but think back on the... five,

1:00:00

one loss at Red Bull arena. And that's a

1:00:02

game that you wore the arm band in. I

1:00:04

have to think that this match, this moment, this

1:00:07

payback, how did it just mean a

1:00:09

little bit more to you? For sure. I think

1:00:11

going into that, I had to play

1:00:13

this game, like not let my

1:00:15

emotions get to me or anything and never, never too

1:00:17

high, never too low. And yeah,

1:00:20

it was, it was very disappointing

1:00:22

for me individually to have the arm band

1:00:24

in that game and also have them miss

1:00:26

one of the mistakes and to lose five,

1:00:28

one in our arena, our fans didn't deserve

1:00:30

that performance and to come back

1:00:32

strong and come out to zero with

1:00:35

a win in the playoffs. When we needed it

1:00:37

most to give our fans,

1:00:39

they were incredible up in the up top

1:00:41

shirts off everything like they were amazing. And

1:00:43

it just feels like we read a right

1:00:45

or wrong a little bit. What

1:00:48

felt better? The New York city win final

1:00:50

whistle or bearing your penalty kick against the

1:00:52

crew? Well, New York city win for

1:00:54

sure. The penalty kicks up there,

1:00:56

but the New York city win for sure. And I'm hoping

1:00:58

that we'll have a few more, few

1:01:01

more better moments as well. What did

1:01:03

you, what would you think before that penalty kick? What was

1:01:05

going through your mind? Are you a guy on the, on the

1:01:07

training ground? That's like, yeah, I'm one of the best on the

1:01:09

team at doing this. Or was it like a, okay,

1:01:11

a little bit of a test here for me? No,

1:01:14

I, I'm, I always want those

1:01:16

like pressure moments and I think I'm a very good penalty kick

1:01:18

taker. And I think for me, I've

1:01:20

been practicing ever since I missed in the summer and

1:01:22

leaks cup. And I just think I

1:01:25

was ready for the moment and my

1:01:27

mentality had changed, including the whole, my whole walk

1:01:29

up and how I placed the ball down and

1:01:31

everything. And how I

1:01:33

took that penalty is, you know, what I, what

1:01:35

I stand for and how I go about my

1:01:37

business and just wanted to make sure that I

1:01:41

put it away and didn't let the team down in that moment. What

1:01:43

do you stand for? Daniel, how would you define that?

1:01:46

I think just always playing with the chip

1:01:48

on my shoulder and just honestly never

1:01:51

backing down to any difficulties or anything because it

1:01:53

took a lot of courage again for me to

1:01:55

step up in that moment knowing I had missed

1:01:58

in the, in the summer, not too long ago.

1:02:00

And I'd also miss the year before in League's

1:02:02

Cup as well. And it

1:02:04

was just a full circle moment for me to

1:02:06

be able to put it away. There's

1:02:09

some grit here and I'm two years into living

1:02:11

in New Jersey, but I can feel the New

1:02:13

Jersey in you, man. You've worn the

1:02:15

armband this year, you grew up going to games,

1:02:17

you're a big part of this Red Bulls club,

1:02:20

and you were that before as a fan. From

1:02:22

the outside sometimes, people I think can look at

1:02:24

Red Bull and think, oh, it's Red Bull, you

1:02:27

know, like it's corporate. Look at the crest, look

1:02:29

at the logo. I have to imagine it feels

1:02:31

nothing like that to you. How would you define

1:02:33

the soul of this club? Yeah,

1:02:35

no, I don't see that at all. Ever since I

1:02:37

was a young kid going to the games, it's just

1:02:40

immediate passion and just resilience.

1:02:42

And I think you just think like bleeding red,

1:02:44

like do anything for the badge and you just

1:02:47

view it as a family here. I

1:02:49

think everyone's so connected and it's New

1:02:52

Jersey is the heart of it. It's

1:02:54

hard work. I think that's where you

1:02:57

could see even like when it was

1:02:59

so popular, high school days in

1:03:01

New Jersey, like it was just the best

1:03:03

players came from around here. And it's always just

1:03:05

about hard work and just

1:03:08

put it in the giving your all and

1:03:11

who has the bigger heart. And I think

1:03:13

mentality wise, like this team right now

1:03:15

and how we've displayed our

1:03:18

performances against Columbus in New York City,

1:03:20

it's been tremendous. And apart from me

1:03:22

being a homegrown here, like I want

1:03:24

to make sure everyone's still upholding

1:03:27

that standard. I'll get

1:03:29

to the positive side of this, but I have to

1:03:31

revisit some of those years. You said the high school

1:03:33

years were such a high, but ultimately

1:03:35

the playoffs for this club are almost always,

1:03:37

well, always ending in a low. What does

1:03:39

the curse of curriculum mean to you? No,

1:03:43

I mean, for the

1:03:45

Rebels has definitely been tough. I

1:03:48

think in 2018, obviously when they reached

1:03:50

the conference finals again,

1:03:52

like that was a big moment for the club. And

1:03:54

I think for the fans right now, they're super excited

1:03:56

that we've got back there. And for

1:03:58

me, I... I was a, I

1:04:01

was a fan and you know, when that time

1:04:03

was around, I wasn't really involved in the team.

1:04:05

I'd always watched the rebel games on TV. So

1:04:07

it's extra cool now for me to be in

1:04:09

this position and super grateful for, for the year

1:04:11

that we've had and hoping that we can

1:04:14

make some history. I'm going to call

1:04:16

email Forsberg. And I think this is

1:04:18

the quote that's bouncing around in all of your

1:04:20

heads. Basically every time you hit the field, effort,

1:04:23

we can win. Why can't we win? What

1:04:25

does that quote mean to this team? I

1:04:28

just think it's, we're, we're not satisfied

1:04:31

and we're the underdogs gave

1:04:34

us the seven seed and it's

1:04:36

like all, everyone's counting, counting us out.

1:04:38

And we're just here to show everyone

1:04:40

that we're a bunch of dogs on

1:04:43

the field and people

1:04:45

might not like our play style. We might get

1:04:47

outshot or anything like that, but we'll find a

1:04:49

way to get the job done. Cause we're so

1:04:52

connected and yeah, why can't we? I think that's

1:04:54

been a great model for us that we're just

1:04:56

so hungry as a team. What

1:04:58

does email bring to this team? Because there was

1:05:00

a period throughout the middle of the year where,

1:05:02

I mean, I'm sure you guys felt it too,

1:05:04

but anybody watching the team felt that you're just

1:05:06

waiting for email Forsberg to come back to see

1:05:08

what the ceiling might be. And it occurs

1:05:11

to me, it's not just soccer. Like when I see Forsberg

1:05:13

out there, when I hear his words and

1:05:15

see them reverberate through your locker room, like

1:05:17

it's emotional and it's soccer. He

1:05:19

just seems like this, I don't

1:05:21

know, this, this foundation that you can build around.

1:05:24

100%, he doesn't just have an effect

1:05:26

on the field is off the

1:05:28

field as well. And how he goes about, you know,

1:05:31

just the experience that he has from playing in

1:05:33

Germany and everything, it definitely translates over to a

1:05:35

locker room here with a bunch of young players

1:05:37

that we have on the squad. And

1:05:40

he also just, he allows the

1:05:42

other players to get on the ball in

1:05:44

the games. Like he just causes havoc and,

1:05:46

you know, creates a lot of attention towards

1:05:48

himself where players will go, you know, focus

1:05:51

on him. And it allows other guys to

1:05:53

thrive and get an open spaces and his

1:05:55

leadership on the field. I think it's just,

1:05:57

you know, even his pregame talks and speeches.

1:06:00

He's been through this before and

1:06:02

he's a guy that we trust and we

1:06:05

follow. And yeah, it's been great having him

1:06:07

on the team and just

1:06:09

a great player and great guy. What's he

1:06:11

make look easy that is extremely difficult?

1:06:15

I think just getting the ball

1:06:17

under pressure. If we're talking specifically on

1:06:19

the field in soccer, you just have to

1:06:22

focus on getting him the ball and you want to try to

1:06:24

get him the ball to the right foot and then he can

1:06:26

do the work and find

1:06:29

the right pass because I think that's something

1:06:31

that we've almost been missing, like

1:06:34

that final pass these past few years and he's

1:06:36

a guy that can make it. And

1:06:38

yeah, just again, his

1:06:41

attacking abilities have been on display this

1:06:43

year and it's been phenomenal. Just

1:06:45

feels like when he gets the ball, it's like two

1:06:47

or three seconds before the ball even gets there. Luis

1:06:50

or Dante or Elias or whoever

1:06:52

it is, they're already running.

1:06:55

And to me that says it all. That's like

1:06:57

the ultimate faith of like, I don't need to

1:06:59

worry about that defensive reaction moment because you're going

1:07:01

to keep it. And it doesn't matter who

1:07:03

all is around you. No, I

1:07:05

totally feel that. I think like the chemistry

1:07:07

between the guys up front also are so

1:07:09

good. And now reading like when Emil gets

1:07:11

the ball and you know what his movements

1:07:13

are going to be and how they need

1:07:15

to make a run or make a

1:07:17

dummy run for the other striker to run in

1:07:20

behind. And it's really meshing well

1:07:22

towards the end of the year. And I think

1:07:24

it's important for me and the other six

1:07:26

is to just focus on how can we

1:07:28

get those guys the ball as quickly as possible. Help

1:07:31

me understand Sandra Schwartz because

1:07:33

he's this German guy and you would think

1:07:35

like, oh, very serious kind of dour. But

1:07:38

every time I interact with him and talk

1:07:40

with him, he's laughing. He's making jokes. He's

1:07:42

kind of goofy. Like take me inside the

1:07:44

coach's room. What's he like with you guys?

1:07:47

He's got a perfect balance. I think first and foremost,

1:07:49

he's straightforward with how

1:07:51

he want to play. And the

1:07:53

tactical side of things, he's very good at

1:07:55

that and explaining the little details and the

1:07:58

tendencies of the opponent. who

1:08:00

we're going to go up against and then

1:08:02

how we need to counter it. I think

1:08:04

that's been super helpful because honestly going into

1:08:06

every match I've been completely you know I've

1:08:08

understand that everything that we're that we're going to do

1:08:10

in the game plan but he's not afraid to make

1:08:13

some jokes and make sure that we're all having fun

1:08:15

while we're doing this I think he stresses that the

1:08:17

most and that always puts everyone in a good mood

1:08:19

and you know he we've

1:08:21

definitely had to try to have more

1:08:23

control in the ball this year and

1:08:25

he's he's allowed us to do that

1:08:27

and play out in certain areas without

1:08:30

any risk of course but he's definitely given us

1:08:32

the confidence to try things and not

1:08:35

just you know play super direct and in

1:08:37

behind for second balls but I really like

1:08:39

how you know he's worked with me this

1:08:41

year and helped me develop my game. Seems

1:08:44

like he sort of let the dogs out though to

1:08:47

use your word against the crew like that first

1:08:49

half of the first game I haven't

1:08:51

seen a team press the crew like that disrupt

1:08:53

the crew like that under Wilfred Nancy. What was

1:08:55

the message? What was the game plan and when

1:08:57

you got it like in your position as a

1:08:59

sixth knowing you're going to step high and try

1:09:01

to put these guys under pressure what were you

1:09:03

thinking? Yeah we had done it in training a

1:09:05

few a few days before and it was like

1:09:08

really exciting because honestly

1:09:11

like the the amount of running it really

1:09:13

like we felt like we could actually limit

1:09:15

the crew and stop their players and then

1:09:17

we did it in the first half and

1:09:19

it was pretty

1:09:22

awesome to be fair like me how

1:09:24

high me and Felipe were pressing and

1:09:26

then having our center backs step into

1:09:28

the midfield behind us and yeah it

1:09:31

created a lot of problems for the crew and to

1:09:34

not be able to I mean they're the

1:09:36

best team in the league and for us

1:09:38

to do that it just was inspiring and

1:09:40

gave us more energy and more motivation to

1:09:42

keep working and play another 45

1:09:45

minutes against them and then when we went back

1:09:47

to game two we realized we could do it

1:09:49

do it again all over again. What

1:09:51

are you trying to bring to any any individual

1:09:53

game like when you step on the field I

1:09:55

was listening to some interviews with Sandro and he

1:09:57

was talking about you know look we want we

1:10:00

want Daniel to be a little bit more confident

1:10:02

in combination play in tight spaces, but you cannot

1:10:04

question his quality against the ball. Like you walk

1:10:06

on the field, you want an opponent to feel

1:10:08

what? No,

1:10:10

I mean, my foundation for

1:10:12

my game is definitely defensively and be able

1:10:14

to blow up plays and cover the ground.

1:10:16

But I think, you know, I've gotten better

1:10:18

at this year and I've element myself is

1:10:20

just being on the ball and finding my

1:10:22

attacking players and get starting the play and

1:10:24

getting us started. And I think playing

1:10:27

out of tight areas, um, definitely like,

1:10:29

of course there's so, so much work

1:10:31

I want to do and continue to work on. But

1:10:33

this year for sure, I think I've made huge strides.

1:10:36

And I think I want people to know that

1:10:38

I can still make the pass forward and I

1:10:40

can still play out of certain areas and get the

1:10:42

ball under pressure and not, um,

1:10:45

not like lose it or anything. What's

1:10:47

Felipe like as a player, like

1:10:50

just peer to peer? What's your scouting report?

1:10:52

Cause he's new to MLS in a lot of ways. And

1:10:54

I think we're just starting to find out what he's about.

1:10:57

For sure. He's definitely needed some time

1:10:59

to adapt, but he's been an

1:11:01

awesome coming in. He's understood the

1:11:03

system really well. He's I've chatted

1:11:05

with him. He said he played against Bragantino a few

1:11:08

times when he was over in Brazil and, um,

1:11:11

yeah, he's, he's so very technical on the

1:11:13

ball. And he's a guy that can, can

1:11:15

make space for himself when he gets it. I think

1:11:17

he likes to go forward. You can see, he makes

1:11:20

good forward runs. And even on the goalie, he's just

1:11:22

squirt versus city. He was able to get high up

1:11:24

the field for, for the second ball. Um, so

1:11:27

he's definitely starting to understand that. And I think

1:11:29

me behind him is giving him that free will

1:11:31

to roam forward. And it's,

1:11:33

it's been great to have great to have him

1:11:35

and play alongside him. I think he's been a

1:11:37

great, great addition, um, with Frankie leaving in the

1:11:39

summer. So Daniel Edelman,

1:11:42

Felipe Carballo, whether

1:11:44

Cartagena says, or a Raho, that's

1:11:47

like a straight up brawl, midfield battle,

1:11:49

dude. Yeah. I, for sure.

1:11:51

We're already, uh, we're already getting ourselves prepared

1:11:53

for. I think it was definitely, you

1:11:56

know, again, against a city team, no matter

1:11:58

what, it's going to be a brawl. there's going

1:12:00

to be a lot of duels in that midfield.

1:12:02

But yeah, these two guys that are going to

1:12:04

start for Orlando. Yeah, they're

1:12:06

definitely going to be

1:12:09

up for it to get into some tackles. So

1:12:12

it'll be a good fight in there. How

1:12:14

do you see Orlando City just as

1:12:16

a matchup for this Red Bulls team? No,

1:12:19

they're in really great form right now. And they've

1:12:21

got a lot of good attacking players. And we

1:12:23

know they like to cross the ball in the

1:12:25

box. And they're going to move it very, very

1:12:27

well. So we just have to be able

1:12:29

to try to limit their

1:12:31

attacking players. And they have good rotations as

1:12:33

well. I like to overload a few sides.

1:12:37

So yeah, we'll just have to be prepared.

1:12:39

And communication's been the key. Sandra's been praising

1:12:41

that for this entire playoff run even

1:12:44

more so, just because we've been

1:12:47

altering our formations and whether center backs are

1:12:49

stepping out. Maybe a center defense mid has

1:12:51

to go out wide to track a 10

1:12:53

that drops deep. So there's just a lot

1:12:55

of communication that's needed.

1:12:58

Because, yeah, Orlando's going to be a

1:13:00

great team. They're super dangerous when they

1:13:02

get space going forward. All right,

1:13:04

Phil in the blank, man. The Red Bulls will

1:13:07

beat Orlando City in a book, a place, and

1:13:09

a MLS Cup for the first time since, oh,

1:13:11

wait, when you were five years old, if you

1:13:13

do what? Oh, wait. Start

1:13:16

out the game like we've done

1:13:18

in the past. I think we just have to

1:13:20

have super high energy. And if we can get

1:13:22

that first goal, that'll be huge for us. But

1:13:24

we just got to stick to the game plan

1:13:27

and the process and not focus on the outcome

1:13:29

and tell ourselves, oh, we have MLS Cup.

1:13:31

It's right there, right there for us. And then we

1:13:33

got to focus on this Orlando game and just focus

1:13:35

on the process. And then the result will come itself.

1:13:38

What does the Adam and Thanksgiving look like in the meantime?

1:13:40

You got some things to distract you. Yeah,

1:13:42

no. I got some family in

1:13:44

Jersey. I'll be able to, I got some family in Pennsylvania.

1:13:46

I won't be able to get up there. But

1:13:49

I'll stick in Jersey and try to eat some good

1:13:51

food. But can't eat too much. You got to be

1:13:53

ready to run on Saturday. What's

1:13:55

your favorite side dish? You just have a couple morsels

1:13:57

here. But what's the number one on the list? There's

1:14:00

a, my mix is really good.

1:14:02

The lemon Jell-O. Yeah,

1:14:05

pretty interesting, but it's so good. And then

1:14:07

there's of course stuffing, which I love. What's

1:14:09

what goes in the stuffing? Are we a sausage in the

1:14:11

stuffing guy? Are we a plain stuffing

1:14:14

guy out the box homemade? What do we have?

1:14:16

There's like, I think it's homemade. I don't know

1:14:18

what's actually inside. There's like lots of food in

1:14:20

it, but it's so good. It'll be the first

1:14:22

thing I probably eat other than the lemon Jell-O.

1:14:25

Don't know what it's inside. It's similar

1:14:27

to the lemon Jell-O. Last one on

1:14:29

Thanksgiving. Turkey guy or something else preferred?

1:14:32

Turkey's so dry. I'm more of a ham guy. I

1:14:36

respect the take. Not a Turkey guy in this household, but

1:14:38

my wife is. So we're eating Turkey. And last one for

1:14:41

you, Daniel. One thing you're most thankful

1:14:43

for this year? My

1:14:46

family, that's a, that'll be

1:14:48

what I'm forever thankful. I mean, there's such a dream

1:14:51

to be able to play for the rebels right now

1:14:53

as well in my home home state. And my family

1:14:55

gets to come to every game and they get to

1:14:57

watch me and be around me. And

1:14:59

yeah, I'll forever be thankful for them and their support.

1:15:03

7.30 PM Eastern, rebels going to Orlando,

1:15:05

the first of two conference finals, Attleman and a

1:15:07

brawl in the midfield. Thanks for joining us, man.

1:15:10

Appreciate it, Andrew. Thank you, man. Happy

1:15:13

Thanksgiving, everybody. If you were wondering, I'm an

1:15:16

anti-Turkey guy, give me a brisket or a

1:15:18

prime rib all day, every day. I will

1:15:20

go stuffing Sage with sausage as my number

1:15:22

one side. And I am so thankful to

1:15:25

be a part of this show, this

1:15:28

league and a part of all of your lives.

1:15:30

The number one thing I'm thankful for, coaching my

1:15:32

kids in soccer. It's an absolute joy. And I

1:15:34

hope you are finding that joy in your life

1:15:37

as well. Enjoy the games on Saturday. Again, MLS

1:15:39

countdown at 6.30 PM Eastern on MLS season pass.

1:15:41

That'll read straight into Orlando, New York rebels. Right

1:15:43

after that one, Galaxy Seattle, wrap up to follow

1:15:46

and we will know where the

1:15:48

2024 MLS cup will be held. Will it be

1:15:50

Seattle? Will it be LA? With

1:15:52

the, will the curse of curricula stand tall or

1:15:54

with the Orlando city lions have a chance to

1:15:56

win their first MLS cup TBD. We'll break it

1:15:58

down on Monday. Enjoy your weekend. Adios!