Speaker 1: Here we go, Here we go. It's first eleven for
Speaker 1: this Friday. We get set for DC and out of
Speaker 1: FC Cincinnati at seven fifteen on iHeartRadio, the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1: and you can sync with Apple TV as it's a
Speaker 1: home game at Audi Field and DC and I believe
Speaker 1: me looking to respond after a bad day in San Jose.
Speaker 1: Dave Johnson along with her Bruce Moria. We will get
Speaker 1: to DC and IED and how they do respond. But
Speaker 1: first let's talk about Major League Soccer deciding to postpone
Speaker 1: any schedule change. There's been talk trying to align with
Speaker 1: the European schedules, not really the world calendar. It's not
Speaker 1: the same in South America and Mexico, but trying to
Speaker 1: align with the European calendars. Talking now that they'll investigate more,
Speaker 1: but the earliest any change would come would be twenty
Speaker 1: twenty seven.
Speaker 2: A R.
Speaker 1: Bruce Moriy. Basically, what they're thinking is starting the season
Speaker 1: late July or early August, play through mid December, then
Speaker 1: take roughly a five week winter break through the beginning
Speaker 1: of February, and then conclude the season late May or
Speaker 1: early June. Uh It's it seems somewhat possible because right
Speaker 1: now we start at the end of February and we
Speaker 1: go into to November. But really, when you're talking about
Speaker 1: regular season games and there are so many cities where
Speaker 1: the weather is so harsh even in November and December,
Speaker 1: on one side, it doesn't seem feasible. So what is
Speaker 1: your take?
Speaker 2: Well, I I think you know, it's a great idea.
Speaker 2: It's been a long time coming, and we all want it,
Speaker 2: we all want this, but you know, is it is
Speaker 2: it out there and it's not, it's not really being considered.
Speaker 2: But then you know, again, you and I talked about
Speaker 2: this this morning. It is being considered, and they're in.
Speaker 2: They're there, they were they're going to possibly get it
Speaker 2: on the on on the calendar. The the thing that
Speaker 2: intrigues me is if it gets on the winter caare
Speaker 2: excuse me, the calendar of Europe, the European calendar. Will
Speaker 2: that allow us to get it? Seems in the Champions League?
Speaker 2: And again people are gonna say, what are you crazy
Speaker 2: putting an MLS team in the Champions League? Why not?
Speaker 2: Why not? You know, if our league becomes viable and
Speaker 2: people see what we're doing here in the United States
Speaker 2: and that's in our World Cup. You know that is
Speaker 2: going to really give some punching power to the decision makers.
Speaker 1: Well, and again, your good friend and teammate, Alexi Lallis,
Speaker 1: he was somewhat disappointed that if you're going to change it,
Speaker 1: change it coming out of the twenty twenty six World Cup,
Speaker 1: and then you could sign some of the World Cup stars,
Speaker 1: and so he was disappointed. If I understood his reaction
Speaker 1: on social media that if you're going to postpone the decision,
Speaker 1: postponing to twenty twenty seven, in some ways doesn't make
Speaker 1: sense because if you're actually going to do this, why
Speaker 1: not doing out of the World Cup that you're hosting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's right, you know that he's kind of going
Speaker 2: down the path that I was originally thinking is they're
Speaker 2: just kind of throwing it out there and let the
Speaker 2: wind settle it. No, I think he's right. You know,
Speaker 2: I don't think Alexi's right on everything, but on this one,
Speaker 2: I think he's all right.
Speaker 1: Now. You know, it's a situation that we grew up
Speaker 1: of an age with the old North American Soccer League
Speaker 1: with Pele and of course Johan Krouf, and that we're
Speaker 1: talking the seventies into the early eighties, and the belief
Speaker 1: then was you got to finish by Labor Day and
Speaker 1: get out of the way of the NFL. And I
Speaker 1: remember when Major League Soccer started in nineteen ninety six
Speaker 1: and our season was creeping September, in October, November, and
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, I don't know if this is going to work.
Speaker 1: And I've been pleasantly surprised because yes, you know, I
Speaker 1: think about in October of ninety eight, over twenty thousand
Speaker 1: at RFK Stadium for a playoff game. So clearly it
Speaker 1: shows even in a competitive marketplace, soccer has defined its
Speaker 1: own niche. It is defined its own audience that will
Speaker 1: support the team. But again December in Colorado, Minnesota, Boston,
Speaker 1: even Philadelphia. I have concerns about.
Speaker 2: That, Dave. I mean, I know, you remember this game
Speaker 2: two years ago, maybe three years ago in Denver World
Speaker 2: Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, and there was five on
Speaker 2: the field and they were going to play this game
Speaker 2: come hell or high water. And this is when the
Speaker 2: United States took the games to Minnesota and this crazy weather,
Speaker 2: h you know, for the tactical advantage. And I remember
Speaker 2: watching that game in Denver and I remember looking at
Speaker 2: the scorers table, and Saneil Galotti, our president, was over
Speaker 2: there saying play the game, don't blow the whistle. I'm
Speaker 2: telling you he's not our president anymore, but not because
Speaker 2: of that, but I remember that very very keenly.
Speaker 1: Well. Also, what part of the argument here are as
Speaker 1: I look at it is, does switching this calendar really
Speaker 1: make Major League Soccer a better league? And I think
Speaker 1: they're some other issues are like any league has issues
Speaker 1: and issues sounds like a strong word that that. I
Speaker 1: don't know if changing the calendar really will make Major
Speaker 1: League Soccer a better league. Your thoughts on that.
Speaker 2: Only if you only only if you get Major League
Speaker 2: Soccer into Europe. So you know why why wouldn't you
Speaker 2: see know, every every team you know, Belgium, Portugal, you know, uh,
Speaker 2: you know name the league Scotland has, has teams in
Speaker 2: the Champions League or in Europe every year and so
Speaker 2: and so if you're on that calendar, you know, why
Speaker 2: don't you know? The world is one place?
Speaker 1: Now?
Speaker 2: Why? Why? Why could that not work? And in fact
Speaker 2: it is working this year. Look at the Club World
Speaker 2: Cup and you'll see the Seattle Sounders, you'll see in
Speaker 2: her Miami.
Speaker 1: In all right, well, this will be a talking point
Speaker 1: at least for the next two years, because Major League
Speaker 1: Soccer has made sure of that a talking point. This week,
Speaker 1: DC United see Cincinnati. You know, after the forour one
Speaker 1: loss to Orlando and the way the team responded against Columbus.
Speaker 1: Not concerned. I have to be concerned with a six
Speaker 1: to one loss. Your thoughts on what must be going
Speaker 1: through that locker room right now, is they approach a game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's can't you know, you can you can kind
Speaker 2: of raw route up as much as you want and
Speaker 2: we're all together. No, that's not the case. Uh, you know,
Speaker 2: you start look, you start thinking about your job, you
Speaker 2: start thinking about, uh, you know, what we can do better.
Speaker 2: I'm listening to the coach, but I don't know if
Speaker 2: that's exactly how I see it. Yeah, that's all happening
Speaker 2: right now. So let's not sugarcoat it saying that, saying
Speaker 2: that this group uh has the ability? All right, it
Speaker 2: has the ability. But you know one thing, I mean again,
Speaker 2: I don't want to talk about where the players should
Speaker 2: play and what they should do, but the coaching staff
Speaker 2: clearly now can see, uh you know what a what
Speaker 2: a jet type league this is? Uh, and they're gonna
Speaker 2: have to figure out how to how to play the
Speaker 2: way they want to play. But sometimes you're gonna have
Speaker 2: to You're gonna have to suck it up, and you're
Speaker 2: gonna have to play, uh to the other team's strengths.
Speaker 2: In others, you have to you have to figure out
Speaker 2: you know this, Okay, every time they get the ball,
Speaker 2: they are in full flight. We better put people behind
Speaker 2: the ball, pack it in and maybe we'll get a
Speaker 2: breakaway here or there. But that's what you have to do.
Speaker 2: You have to accept that fact. Okay, we're gonna have
Speaker 2: to be a defensive, structured team at this point, and
Speaker 2: and so we and so we stop the bleeding. But
Speaker 2: you know, when we stop the bleeding, we do. We
Speaker 2: do have guys, right, but they're all just coming together
Speaker 2: first year. There's so many new players. I would urge
Speaker 2: the fans this is not a panicky time. You're not
Speaker 2: as capable of result any week.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's too early to panding, but I think the
Speaker 1: point in short is there's got to be a balance
Speaker 1: between to impose your will but also maybe modifying your
Speaker 1: tactics so you're not in a situation where you're conceding
Speaker 1: six goals. We'll see how this develops as DC United
Speaker 1: takes on FC Cincinnati. That'll be Saturday night at Aldi
Speaker 1: Field again on iHeartRadio, the iHeart app, and you can
Speaker 1: sync with Apple TV. And thanks for your time on
Speaker 1: first eleven