Speaker 1: And we mentioned the hot tag, so it's time to
Speaker 1: bring in yet another premiere. I don't have trumpets, and
Speaker 1: I don't have like goal horns attached from venues and
Speaker 1: things like that. Ryan might have to help us out here.
Speaker 1: First time visit for the hometown guy for FC Dallas.
Speaker 1: There's where we get our FCD intail. Ryan, Thanks for
Speaker 1: dropping by. How are you my friend?
Speaker 2: How's it going? Man? How's it going? We're gonna have
Speaker 2: to get who Let the Dogs Out ready for any
Speaker 2: future FC Dallas appearances, because that's our new goal song
Speaker 2: this year, as part of a whole new era and
Speaker 2: a new mentality that Eric Quill has been bringing to
Speaker 2: the squad. So who Let the Dogs Out is our
Speaker 2: new goal song in place of you know you guys
Speaker 2: got the horns and everything like that, which I love.
Speaker 2: But no, that's our new thing. So thanks for having
Speaker 2: me on the show.
Speaker 1: Excited, No worries, friend of the network Edwin Pintour in communications?
Speaker 1: Is he lurking off camera? Is he behind a door
Speaker 1: that you've gone to go high?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I've locked myself in this closet like office just to
Speaker 2: keep any when comments from sneaking on me.
Speaker 3: Riff Wrap out from each exactly. I see how this works.
Speaker 1: Uh, first and foremost, for those that may not know,
Speaker 1: you're a hometown guy, getting to call for your hometown team.
Speaker 3: What's that like for you to be a part of
Speaker 3: things now?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's literally a dream come true. I started broadcasting,
Speaker 2: you know, seven years ago now in college. I went
Speaker 2: down to college at Trendy University. But I'm originally from Dallas,
Speaker 2: grew up going to games, grew up listening to Mark
Speaker 2: Followill Steve Davis, who's now my partner on the broadcast
Speaker 2: every week, so you know, when I started broadcasting, obviously,
Speaker 2: you know, calling MLS games is a huge goal, and
Speaker 2: to be able to accomplish that with my hometown team
Speaker 2: has been has been a dream come true. And and
Speaker 2: to do shows like this and be part of, you know,
Speaker 2: the outreach for the club as well as the voice
Speaker 2: of the team is amazing. So just really enjoying it
Speaker 2: so far. It's been a lot of fun, kind of
Speaker 2: being a part of the new energy. I was with
Speaker 2: the team before in a different capacity and I still
Speaker 2: do some social media stuff as well, but you know,
Speaker 2: coming in and sort of being the voice of this
Speaker 2: new era with Eric Quill is a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: What's your first FC Dallas memory.
Speaker 2: I would say opening Day against Philadelphia Union. It was
Speaker 2: somewhere in the Oscar Pere hot Era, so twenty twelve
Speaker 2: to twenty sixteen, somewhere in there. Came to Opening Day
Speaker 2: with my family. The team scored and they ran to
Speaker 2: the corner and celebrated in a row boat where they
Speaker 2: all sat one in front of each one in front
Speaker 2: of each other, rowing the boat, which I just that's
Speaker 2: always stuck with me growing up, going to games with friends,
Speaker 2: watching Kenny Cooper, who's now a good friend and a
Speaker 2: member of the front office, is one of our ambassadors score,
Speaker 2: you know, ripped the shirt off, swinging around, all those things.
Speaker 2: Those are some of the earliest memories for sure. Come
Speaker 2: to Toyota Stadian back when it's Pizza Hull Park.
Speaker 1: So are you rowing the boat in the booth when
Speaker 1: Lucho scores? Is that what you're doing?
Speaker 3: Now? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think we're gonna have to get coordinated goal celebrations
Speaker 2: in the booth. I know you guys do a great
Speaker 2: job over Atlanta United with the boothcam, which I think
Speaker 2: is something we might implement down the road. And if
Speaker 2: we do you know, we got we gotta go viral,
Speaker 2: we gotta we got to bring the attention. So, you know,
Speaker 2: goal celebrations, coordinated goal celebrations with our with our four
Speaker 2: man booth, We'll get creative with it.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to that, let me ask you, what's it
Speaker 1: been like to see the first first couple of matches
Speaker 1: under the Eric Quill administration. What what kind of energy
Speaker 1: has he brought in and how is it How is
Speaker 1: it different with Quill?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think I have a little bit of
Speaker 2: a unique perspective because I got to travel with the
Speaker 2: team to Portugal for preseason and that was the first
Speaker 2: you know, they had a week before that, and but
Speaker 2: that was the first real sort of getting into the
Speaker 2: meat and bones of it with Eric Quill. The tactical ideas,
Speaker 2: the amount of running and the amount of fitness that
Speaker 2: they were doing, which was more than I'd ever seen
Speaker 2: previously with with Niko Stevez or Peter Hussain. So the intensity.
Speaker 2: But also, you know, I think Eric does a really
Speaker 2: good job of focusing on what's important and not getting
Speaker 2: distracted by you know, small things. He knows how to
Speaker 2: bring the group together, he knows how to inspire the team.
Speaker 2: He really values hard work from the whole dogs thing
Speaker 2: that I mentioned when I first came on. He wants
Speaker 2: the team to be eleven dogs and fight for the
Speaker 2: badge and fight for the fans. And bringing that mentality
Speaker 2: has sort of alongside bringing a whole host of new players,
Speaker 2: has definitely made for it completely changed FCY Dallas team
Speaker 2: this year and in the past when we went on
Speaker 2: the road, it was like, you know, if we could
Speaker 2: grab a draw, that'd be great for the past couple
Speaker 2: of seasons. Last year we had one road win, and
Speaker 2: this year it's already so different. We have seven points
Speaker 2: on the road from three games, and now we go
Speaker 2: into these road games with the real, you know mentality
Speaker 2: that we could go and get a win at any
Speaker 2: point at any venue. And that's what I think makes
Speaker 2: for an exciting matchup this weekend.
Speaker 1: New faces coming in obviously we'll talk about Luco in
Speaker 1: a sec. But you've got the integration with folks like
Speaker 1: Leo Chu and Luco a Costa with Pedro Musa.
Speaker 3: Where is that?
Speaker 1: Where is that integration, Where where is that coming together
Speaker 1: and the melding of ideas with the new faces.
Speaker 3: Where do you think that is right now?
Speaker 2: I still think it's early. First of all, we came
Speaker 2: into things with the idea of playing in a four
Speaker 2: to two three one defending in a four to four
Speaker 2: to two, and then we signed Luco Acosta, and you know,
Speaker 2: ideally you think he fits right into that number ten position,
Speaker 2: But I think we saw in the first couple of
Speaker 2: weeks that defensively it wasn't working and they weren't finding
Speaker 2: Luco in the spots that we needed to find him,
Speaker 2: that he was having to pop out wide or drop
Speaker 2: deep to receive the ball. So the last couple of
Speaker 2: weeks the team changed to having an extra midfielder in there,
Speaker 2: sort of a diamond. The team calls it a four
Speaker 2: to three to one to two, but basically having at
Speaker 2: number six whose job is just to win the ball back,
Speaker 2: that's Ramiro, and then having two number eights there to
Speaker 2: support Lucho has really allowed him to get into more
Speaker 2: dangerous positions. And you know, he has been instrumental in
Speaker 2: the last in this little two game win streak here
Speaker 2: at RSL and then home against Kansas City, and he's
Speaker 2: popping up in areas where he can actually hurt the opposition,
Speaker 2: you know, combining with Musa really well. I think the
Speaker 2: Musa Luco combination as on you know, swimmingly. I think
Speaker 2: it's gone much quicker than I expected those two players
Speaker 2: to tell. It's been who's going to be the number,
Speaker 2: the third guy, kind of the second forward in the formation.
Speaker 2: That's what we're trying to figure out. Anderson Julio has
Speaker 2: been amazing since he came over, but he's missed the
Speaker 2: last three weeks. He had to go get his green card,
Speaker 2: so we actually haven't seen him in this new formation.
Speaker 2: I expect that he's probably going to be the starter,
Speaker 2: but we haven't seen that yet, and so that chemistry
Speaker 2: is going to have to come as well. He'd been
Speaker 2: playing on the left wing for majority of preseason in
Speaker 2: the first couple of weeks as well, so I think
Speaker 2: that's the ideal front three. Leo Chio's got the last
Speaker 2: two starts, Logan Farrington's an option as well. Padrinho has
Speaker 2: a goal on the season, so there's options. But I
Speaker 2: think it's going to be Julio and that's going to be,
Speaker 2: you know, something they're gonna have to build as he's
Speaker 2: back this week. He's back in full training and hopefully
Speaker 2: and involved against Atlanta.
Speaker 1: For Lucho so far eight shots, four on target, and
Speaker 1: those four on target, three of them have gone to
Speaker 1: the back of the net. With the next g if
Speaker 1: you believe in those kinds of things, that just over
Speaker 1: two at two point oh six. So you mentioned that
Speaker 1: front all things being equal in a perfect world for
Speaker 1: Eric Quill, how do you envision the starting eleven in
Speaker 1: this matchup coming up against Atlanta Night.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the front three. If Julio is fit
Speaker 2: and ready to go, I think he'll come into play
Speaker 2: alongside Pedromusa in the two striker formation and then Lucho
Speaker 2: behind them the midfield. I don't expect a ton of change.
Speaker 2: I think Patrickson leget As the two number eights will
Speaker 2: probably hold their position, and Ramiro has been really solid
Speaker 2: coming over from Brazil in the offseason. Is one of
Speaker 2: eighteen new players I think in total. Back four. We've
Speaker 2: had one change recently, Marco Farfan. We had to announce
Speaker 2: this week he's going to have surgery, so he's been
Speaker 2: the starting left back homegrow. Nolan Norris is involved now.
Speaker 2: He's played you know, left back for the youth national teams.
Speaker 2: He's the captain of the U twenties, so this is
Speaker 2: his first real opportunity at the MLS level to play
Speaker 2: that position and sort of make it his own over
Speaker 2: the next month to six weeks. So that'll be one
Speaker 2: to watch at left back. And obviously you guys have
Speaker 2: some pretty lethal options in the attack, so he's gonna
Speaker 2: get a tough matchup, whether it's you know, up against
Speaker 2: al ron I love Janite, whoever it is on the
Speaker 2: right for Atlanta. But I think the one player that
Speaker 2: I want to, you know, sort of spread the gospel
Speaker 2: about when I go on shows like this is Asasei Ragide,
Speaker 2: our new center back who came over from the French
Speaker 2: second division. He's He's just phenomenal. This guy. He has
Speaker 2: all the tools to become a top level center back
Speaker 2: if he isn't already in Major League Soccer. He's got
Speaker 2: the physicality, the recovery speed, he's got line breaking passing,
Speaker 2: he's got the smarts to think through the game as well.
Speaker 2: He's been such a fantastic addition for us. And thinking
Speaker 2: back to when Dallas played Atlanta in preseason, he was
Speaker 2: not there yet neither and Musa wasn't there. There's some
Speaker 2: other pieces that weren't there in that game. But particularly
Speaker 2: when Latte Los came off the bench in that game
Speaker 2: and I was like, oh my god, this guy's pace
Speaker 2: is phenomenal. This is going to be a problem when
Speaker 2: we see him in just a couple of months. But
Speaker 2: I think Osase has that speed as well. I think
Speaker 2: if we get a foot race between those two, it's
Speaker 2: gonna be Olympic standard, Like we're gonna need to hand
Speaker 2: out a gold medal between the two of those after
Speaker 2: the game, because that's the level of athlete that he is.
Speaker 2: And I know you guys have taken to late lot
Speaker 2: very well and he's taken to the team very well.
Speaker 2: So I think that's going to be a matchup to watch.
Speaker 2: Besides that, I think not a ton of changes beside
Speaker 2: Tjulio coming into the lineup and Norris continuing sort of
Speaker 2: deputizing a left back.
Speaker 1: How do you think formationally or philosophically Norris will get protected?
Speaker 1: Considering that you're already anticipating and if he's at left back,
Speaker 1: you know that down the right hand side it's going
Speaker 1: to be Brooks, it's going to be Saba, it's going
Speaker 1: to be switches. How do you anticipate he's going to
Speaker 1: be protected or is there a level of confidence there
Speaker 1: that he can be left on an island for a
Speaker 1: while and he can navigate things one b one Okay.
Speaker 2: I think he's a very smart player. I think his
Speaker 2: biggest weakness and the reason that he hasn't got this
Speaker 2: opportunity yet in the past couple of years, is his pace,
Speaker 2: and so that is a concern up against Atlanta, who
Speaker 2: is a running team. I think you guys are in
Speaker 2: the top three and pretty much every running metric, and
Speaker 2: obviously they have a ton of pace. So I think
Speaker 2: the cover is going to have to come from sort
Speaker 2: of the left number eighth, the left center mid, which
Speaker 2: is Patrickson. He's a young Ecuadorian player who is really
Speaker 2: good box to box, gets involved defensively as well as
Speaker 2: going forward, so he's gonna have to cover him from,
Speaker 2: whether it's Lennen on the overlap, whoever it is, and
Speaker 2: then Assase Arguide, who already mentioned was excellent and just
Speaker 2: helping Nolan through that first start against Kansas City and
Speaker 2: helping put out fires on that side. So I think
Speaker 2: he has a good support network around it, but he's
Speaker 2: there's gonna be moments in the game where he's gonna
Speaker 2: have to stand up one B one and be counted,
Speaker 2: and you know, we have a lot of faith in them,
Speaker 2: and it's on to him to repay that faith.
Speaker 1: Right now, as things stand in the West, six matches in,
Speaker 1: three wins to the good goals and goals goals allowed
Speaker 1: dead even at nine and nine, So smack dab middle
Speaker 1: of the middle of activity right now, three points obviously
Speaker 1: out of first with early returns. How would you grade
Speaker 1: what you've seen so far from the booth? Six matches
Speaker 1: in which is what six over thirty four? It's maybe
Speaker 1: twenty percent or something like that. At the twenty percent mark,
Speaker 1: where would you see? How would you grade FC Dallas
Speaker 1: so far with all of these new faces and a
Speaker 1: new head coach? How would you grade what you've seen?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think other teams around the league that have
Speaker 2: had this, you know, this amount of change are struggling,
Speaker 2: and I think it's understandable to struggle with that amount
Speaker 2: of change. But we brought in a ton of quality.
Speaker 2: Liuto Costa obviously paramount in that discussion. So I think
Speaker 2: I would give it, you know, a high B because
Speaker 2: I think the results have been really solid, and particularly
Speaker 2: the road results those home the first two home games
Speaker 2: were disappointing, but I think the performances and the tactical
Speaker 2: ideas and the game model have a ton of room
Speaker 2: to grow, and that is what excites me because in
Speaker 2: the past, when Dallas wasn't up for a game, they
Speaker 2: just weren't going to get a result. And this version
Speaker 2: of FC Dallas under Eric Quill, with almost an entirely
Speaker 2: new lineup, is going to fight for a result even
Speaker 2: when they're not at their best, and even when the
Speaker 2: tactical matchup feels like it's going against them. They've been
Speaker 2: able to claw back from behind. They've won the most
Speaker 2: points from losing positions of anyone in Major League Soccer
Speaker 2: in the opening six weeks, which I think is a
Speaker 2: testament to the mentality. And now if we can see
Speaker 2: the growth on the tactical side, then that's just going
Speaker 2: to bring the quality to the forefront.
Speaker 1: What was the level of expectation for the supporters coming
Speaker 1: into this year, knowing that there was a coaching change,
Speaker 1: knowing the frustrations from last year, what was the I
Speaker 1: guess the level of expectation and the level of patients
Speaker 1: from the fans coming into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: It's such a hard one, right, because of just the
Speaker 2: sheer amount of change, and you know, the stadium looks
Speaker 2: different this year, we're going through renovation, so there's a
Speaker 2: little bit of a weird cloud over things in that way.
Speaker 2: But I think to his credit, from day one, Eric
Speaker 2: Quill came in and said, we want to be fighting
Speaker 2: at the top of the table, we want to be
Speaker 2: fighting for championships. And he wasn't afraid to put his
Speaker 2: name alongside those statements. And that's for a club that's
Speaker 2: never won MLS Cup, and that's his paramount goal is
Speaker 2: to bring the first MLS Cup to Dallas. And not
Speaker 2: to say that the fan expectation immediately rose to that level,
Speaker 2: but I think they sort of stood up and said, okay,
Speaker 2: now let's see it. In the first couple of home games,
Speaker 2: it was disappointing. But now against Kansas City, you get
Speaker 2: the home form right, and you've shown that you can
Speaker 2: win on the road. So I think expectations are steadily climbing.
Speaker 2: And obviously when you bring into Lucho Acosta, you're expected
Speaker 2: to fight in the playoff positions at the bare minimum,
Speaker 2: and he's going to help you get there, and he
Speaker 2: already has. I think he's won six seven points all
Speaker 2: on his own with his goals so far this season,
Speaker 2: so I think that'll continue over the course of the year.
Speaker 1: How would you break down how Eric is stylistically and
Speaker 1: philosophically as a coach for someone who hasn't seen him
Speaker 1: on the touch line, for someone who hasn't seen him
Speaker 1: at practice, how would you break down the kind of
Speaker 1: coach that Eric is both emotionally and tactically when it
Speaker 1: comes to how he wants to have things out there
Speaker 1: on the pitch.
Speaker 2: Well, first and foremost, you're going to notice the bright
Speaker 2: red hat that he rocks on the touch line. That's,
Speaker 2: you know, that's become his trademark. He tried the white
Speaker 2: hat against Vancouver and we lost, and I don't think
Speaker 2: we're going to see the white hat again. So the
Speaker 2: red hat has been a trademark of his reign so far.
Speaker 2: But no, I think on a more serious note, he's
Speaker 2: a player, he's a players coach, but he's also a
Speaker 2: really strong motivator and that he knows how to get
Speaker 2: the best out of guys. He really values work on
Speaker 2: the training ground. He's going to give opportunities to people
Speaker 2: who train well, and he's going to take opportunities away
Speaker 2: from people who you know, don't put in one hundred
Speaker 2: percent on the training ground. So I think he really
Speaker 2: values hard work and that's what we've seen, you know,
Speaker 2: so far through the opening six weeks. Is anytime that
Speaker 2: someone's done well in training, they're going to get that opportunity,
Speaker 2: whether it's from the start or off the bench. And
Speaker 2: I think it's become even more of a meritocracy where
Speaker 2: players don't have they can't feel comfortable, you know, they
Speaker 2: they don't feel like their name is written in pen
Speaker 2: unless you're maybe Moussa Lucho Acosta. But those guys are
Speaker 2: Those guys are top professionals and they train well every
Speaker 2: day and that's you know. Eric Quiles told us that
Speaker 2: he's fiery on the touch line. He's going to let
Speaker 2: the other coach have it even more so than the referee,
Speaker 2: which I think you know is more common with last game,
Speaker 2: he's up against one of his good friends and Peter Vermiz,
Speaker 2: somebody who's played with in his playing career, going back
Speaker 2: to the Kansas City Wizards, and they're getting into it
Speaker 2: on the sideline. He got into it on the sideline
Speaker 2: with US Restorans and for Vancouver as well. So any
Speaker 2: you know, he's he's a fiery character and I think
Speaker 2: that's what this team needed, was somebody who's going to
Speaker 2: lead the team emotionally, with energy and sort of get
Speaker 2: them going from the sideline. And that's been fun to see.
Speaker 1: So for someone who is going to be looking at
Speaker 1: FC Dallas for the first time this year, at Mercedes Benz,
Speaker 1: whether it's listening to you on the call, listening or
Speaker 1: watching on Apple or in person, Mercedes Benz, You're drawn
Speaker 1: to the big names. You're drawn to the Peter Mooses,
Speaker 1: You're drawn to the Lucco Acostas. For things to go
Speaker 1: well for FC Dallas, give me one of those second
Speaker 1: level guys. Give me a foot soldier instead of a
Speaker 1: star at the front. Who in the foot soldiers has
Speaker 1: to do well? And it might even be somebody that
Speaker 1: you call in off the bench, you know, late, if
Speaker 1: you need that, you need to who would you gravitate toward.
Speaker 1: That would be those second level dudes to see the
Speaker 1: successes for FCD.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the midfield battle on this one is
Speaker 2: going to be really interesting because I know, you know,
Speaker 2: there's been some conversation with Atlanta about the position for
Speaker 2: miranchook the best combination in midfield. I think for Dallas, Romiro,
Speaker 2: our new number six, Brazilian, very experienced in Brazil's top
Speaker 2: flight one Copa leb tadoris with Germeo in the past.
Speaker 2: He has come to the team and just given us
Speaker 2: that rock, that anchor at the base of midfield. And
Speaker 2: when we were playing in sort of a double pivot before,
Speaker 2: it didn't suit his game as much, just because he's
Speaker 2: not a huge ground cover, he doesn't have a ton
Speaker 2: of mobility. But now that we've moved into that single
Speaker 2: number six, he's done a really good job of shielding
Speaker 2: the back line over the last two games. And I
Speaker 2: think something that we're still yet to see from this midfield,
Speaker 2: this new midfield diamond shape for Dallas is just consistent
Speaker 2: ball progression up the field that they've been really good
Speaker 2: in the moments when they've been able to hit quickly
Speaker 2: on the counter, they've been really good when they've been
Speaker 2: able to force turnovers, but when the other team is
Speaker 2: pressing them, they haven't found the answer so far to
Speaker 2: playing out. So I think that's going to come down
Speaker 2: to Ramiro finding the passes. Sebastian Legett and there as
Speaker 2: well as longside Patrickson Delgado and that midfield three. They
Speaker 2: progress the ball up the field when Atlanta is putting
Speaker 2: them under pressure and as opposed to just hitting on
Speaker 2: the counter, because ultimately that's not going to be sustainable
Speaker 2: over the course of ninety minutes or over the course
Speaker 2: of the season to just be up and down the
Speaker 2: field and then back defending, you know, for for a
Speaker 2: large majority of the game. So can they find some
Speaker 2: sustained possession, particularly if they get a lead at the
Speaker 2: Bens this weekend?
Speaker 1: All right, what's study hall like for you for the
Speaker 1: rest of the week getting ready for this one?
Speaker 2: Well, I'll be I'll be tuned into your show, So
Speaker 2: I like to listen to some of the Atlanta podcasts
Speaker 2: as well. Always do some opposition scouting that way, just
Speaker 2: to just to get a vibe how this goes exactly exactly.
Speaker 2: Definitely do some opposition scouting and just make sure, you know,
Speaker 2: familiar with the team. Be out at training and catch
Speaker 2: any sort of any developments, any tactical ideas that they're
Speaker 2: going to try and implement. Talk to Eric Quill on
Speaker 2: Friday and then we'll be in the booth at Toyota
Speaker 2: Stadium calling it. I wish I was there at Mercedes
Speaker 2: ben Stadium. That's a bucket. Listen one to uh to
Speaker 2: catch for sure at some point. But we'll be in
Speaker 2: the booth at Toyota Stadium calling it for for our
Speaker 2: fans on the Fcadouts radio network.
Speaker 1: Now you hit the promo for me on the way
Speaker 1: out the door. See, I didn't have to ask that question.
Speaker 1: You were looking at my notes.
Speaker 3: Ryan.
Speaker 1: As always, you know you can crash. You have the
Speaker 1: keys to the kingdom now. So if there's anything that
Speaker 1: you ever want to talk about on a Friday when
Speaker 1: we're in the hour of chaos at ten eastern and
Speaker 1: it's like I got two minutes, I want to come in.
Speaker 1: I want to say my piece, I want to jet
Speaker 1: you can so, like I said, it's great to see it.
Speaker 3: Great to have you added to the stacks here.
Speaker 1: Say hi to everybody there in the office and we'll
Speaker 1: catch up with you soon.
Speaker 3: My friend, don't be a stranger. Great to have you
Speaker 3: in the morning show.
Speaker 2: Awesome, John, thank you so much. Have a good one.
Speaker 2: We'll see this weekend.
Speaker 1: There you go, it's Ryan Ryan figured the play by
Speaker 1: play voice FC Dallas app by the way, is where
Speaker 1: you can catch up with Ryan and great to have
Speaker 1: him added to the stacks with us, and it was
Speaker 1: really cool to get the education when it comes to
Speaker 1: everything going on with FC Dallas.