1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,600 Speaker 1: I am Jamie Rudd, and here is what is happening 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,400 in football right now. Last night was supposed to be 3 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:10,919 Robert Lewandowski's MLS coronation. Instead it was Louis Suarez's knight. 4 00:00:11,279 --> 00:00:17,079 Chicago Fire versus Inter Miami at Chase Stadium Lewandowski's debut, 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,000 and it started perfectly. In the twenty third minute, into 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,120 Miami goalkeeper Roco rios Novo tried to play a back 7 00:00:25,199 --> 00:00:29,039 pass to his defender Ian Fray. He got it completely wrong. 8 00:00:29,519 --> 00:00:33,640 The ball trickled past Frey. Lewandowski was lurking, and rios 9 00:00:33,679 --> 00:00:38,719 Novo panicked, rushed out and whiffed own goal. Chicago won 10 00:00:39,079 --> 00:00:43,359 Miami zero. Lewandowski did not even touch the ball, He 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,640 just stood there and watched Miami self destruct. But Suarez 12 00:00:47,719 --> 00:00:51,200 took over. The Uruguayan scored twice in the second half, 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,560 a poacher's finish in the fifty sixth minute and a 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,119 clinical strike in the seventy third, and into Miami won 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,399 three goals to two. Lewandowski had chances. He hit the 16 00:01:02,439 --> 00:01:05,439 post in the sixty first minute, he forced a good 17 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,879 save from rios Novo in the eighty second, but he 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,040 did not score, and on his debut in a game 19 00:01:12,159 --> 00:01:16,879 Chicago needed to win. The story became Suarez, reminding everyone 20 00:01:17,079 --> 00:01:19,760 that he is still one of the best finishers on 21 00:01:19,799 --> 00:01:22,599 the planet. Messi was not there. He is on a 22 00:01:22,599 --> 00:01:26,079 post World Cup break, along with Rodrigo de Paul and 23 00:01:26,159 --> 00:01:29,959 the other Argentina players who went to the final into 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,519 Miami one without him, which is either encouraging for Miami 25 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,120 fans because it proves they can win without their superstar 26 00:01:37,599 --> 00:01:40,599 or worrying because it proves they can win without their 27 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,879 superstar and maybe they do not need to rush him back. 28 00:01:44,079 --> 00:01:47,719 The other big MLS news is that Casamiro has joined 29 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:52,280 into Miami. The Brazilian midfielder who won five Champions League 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,760 titles with Real Madrid is now a Miami player. He 31 00:01:55,879 --> 00:01:59,159 is thirty four years old. He is past his peak, 32 00:01:59,439 --> 00:02:02,760 but he is Bill Casamiro. He still breaks up attacks, 33 00:02:03,079 --> 00:02:06,439 he still reads the game two seconds before everyone else, 34 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,479 and now he is playing alongside Busquetes in a midfield 35 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:15,680 that has more European trophies than most national teams. Miami 36 00:02:15,759 --> 00:02:19,919 are building a retirement home for legends and it is working. 37 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,560 In Spain, Barcelona are in transfer chaos. They want who 38 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:31,400 lean Alvarez from Atletico Madrid. Atletico's president Enrique Cerezo came 39 00:02:31,439 --> 00:02:36,960 out yesterday and said Alvarez is staying. Quote Wholean will 40 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:41,520 play at Atletico Madrid next season. Full stop, end of story, 41 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,719 which means Barcelona need a plan B. Their plan B 42 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,400 might be Darwin Nunez, the Uruguayan striker, is in Saudi Arabia, 43 00:02:50,719 --> 00:02:54,439 supposedly living the high life and reportedly dreaming of a 44 00:02:54,479 --> 00:02:58,000 move to Barcelona. Dreaming is not the same as happening. 45 00:02:58,319 --> 00:03:02,439 Nunez has a contract in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona have no 46 00:03:02,599 --> 00:03:07,120 money and FFP rules mean they cannot register new players 47 00:03:07,439 --> 00:03:11,439 until they sell someone. But the rumor exists, and in football, 48 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,719 rumors have a way of becoming reality when enough people 49 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,639 tweet about them. Barcelona are also chasing Emeric Laporte, the 50 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,639 Spanish center back who won the World Cup with Spain 51 00:03:22,719 --> 00:03:25,879 this month, is being linked with a return to La Liga. 52 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,639 Athletic club's new manager Edin Terzich came out yesterday and 53 00:03:30,719 --> 00:03:35,599 called Barcelona's pursuit disrespectful. He said Laporte is under contract, 54 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,400 Barcelona should show some class and the speculation is destabilizing 55 00:03:40,439 --> 00:03:44,280 his squad. Terzick is not wrong, but Barcelona do not 56 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:48,520 care about being respectful. They care about signing players, and 57 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,680 if Laporte wants to leave, he will leave. And here 58 00:03:51,719 --> 00:03:55,400 is a story that is genuinely wild. US Customs and 59 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:00,000 Border Protection seized four hundred and forty five thousand counterfeit 60 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:06,120 items during the World Cup. Fake jerseys, fake scarves, fake everything. 61 00:04:06,439 --> 00:04:09,960 The total value of the counterfeit trade was thirty two 62 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,000 million dollars, and the most commonly seized item was the 63 00:04:14,039 --> 00:04:20,759 Messi Argentina. Jersey Customs officials ran two operations. Operation Final 64 00:04:20,759 --> 00:04:26,160 Whistle targeted sales around MetLife Stadium. Before the final operation, 65 00:04:26,319 --> 00:04:30,839 Team Player covered all eleven host cities. They seized sixty 66 00:04:30,879 --> 00:04:35,560 five thousand items in New York alone, sixteen thousand in Miami, 67 00:04:36,079 --> 00:04:40,480 twelve thousand in Houston, and another sixteen thousand in Toronto, 68 00:04:40,879 --> 00:04:43,600 which is not even in the United States, but Canada 69 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,399 decided to join the party. The fake jerseys were selling 70 00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:51,720 for thirty to forty dollars on street corners near Times Square. 71 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,040 The official Adidas version costs one hundred and ten dollars. Fans, 72 00:04:57,199 --> 00:04:59,879 when asked by the Athletic if their shirts were real, 73 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,839 freely admitted they were buying the cheap versions, because one 74 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,079 hundred and ten dollars for a jersey is absurd, and 75 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,879 because football fans are not stupid. But here is the 76 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,720 official line from Customs. They say the counterfeit trade funds 77 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:21,199 criminal organizations, terrorism, money laundering, forced labor. They say sixty 78 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,720 to seventy percent of the fake goods came from China 79 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,120 and Hong Kong, and they say they need to do 80 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,560 a better job educating the public on the risks. I 81 00:05:30,639 --> 00:05:33,519 will say this, if you bought a forty dollars messy 82 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,120 jersey on a street corner in Manhattan, you knew exactly 83 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,439 what you were doing. You were not funding terrorism, you 84 00:05:40,519 --> 00:05:42,920 were buying a shirt to wear to a football game. 85 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:45,959 And the fact that Customs seized four hundred and forty 86 00:05:45,959 --> 00:05:49,160 five thousand of them tells you how massive this market is. 87 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,079 Football is a religion, and religion has always had a 88 00:05:53,079 --> 00:05:56,920 black market. Quick note This show is produced with the 89 00:05:56,959 --> 00:05:57,879 help of AI