Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to another SDH network. One B one. I'm
Speaker 1: Madison Cruise and join with me is play by play
Speaker 1: announcer for MLS season pass In Callum Williams. Callum, how
Speaker 1: are you today?
Speaker 2: I'm good, madisone. Thanks for having me on. Very very excited.
Speaker 2: Even though the offseason in Major League Soccer is one
Speaker 2: of the shortest in world football. It feels like it's
Speaker 2: been an eternity since we last kicked a ball in
Speaker 2: North America. So very very excited.
Speaker 1: Again, it really has this even especially too with MLS
Speaker 1: Cup only being like maybe two months ago. It feels
Speaker 1: like it's been an eternity.
Speaker 2: But yes, eighty seven days I believe was the last
Speaker 2: time we kicked a ball in this country.
Speaker 1: Hey, glad to be back. But one thing that I'm
Speaker 1: interested in asking you, especially as we head into the
Speaker 1: thirtieth season of what are some of your biggest expectations
Speaker 1: or biggest things that you're looking towards, especially as we
Speaker 1: head into this new season.
Speaker 2: Look, I mean, the one thing that I think has
Speaker 2: made an astronomical difference has been the way that Major
Speaker 2: League Soccer is now very much a part of the
Speaker 2: global football market. When I first started covering Major League
Speaker 2: Soccer Madison back in twenty eleven, it did feel as
Speaker 2: though it was a completely different world and every time
Speaker 2: that there would be a player linked with a European
Speaker 2: team or in my case, an English team, my mind
Speaker 2: was blown and it didn't seem as though it was real.
Speaker 2: Now it's very much part of the cause that there's
Speaker 2: players that are moving left, right and center, leaving Major
Speaker 2: League Soccer for the top leagues in Europe. But then
Speaker 2: the top players in Europe are also coming here now
Speaker 2: as well. So it's tremendous just to see the growth,
Speaker 2: and it almost comes at a perfect time in my opinion,
Speaker 2: with you know, the little thing that we've got next
Speaker 2: summer coming up with the FIFA World Cup in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty six. You know that sort of a big deal,
Speaker 2: isn't it. So it comes at the perfect time in
Speaker 2: my opinion. So it's been great to see that the
Speaker 2: salary cap has been sort of loosened as well the
Speaker 2: domestic deals that are now allowed to be done with
Speaker 2: the internal transfers, I think has made the league even
Speaker 2: more exciting and riveting as well. There was a couple
Speaker 2: of eyewatering transfers or trades and entirely short what was
Speaker 2: supposed to call them at the moment, but deals. We'll
Speaker 2: second with that show we deals that were done internally
Speaker 2: in MLS that I thought, Wow, this is a new
Speaker 2: age of Major League Soccer and it's very, very exciting.
Speaker 2: But look, let's let's make no bones about it. Atlanti
Speaker 2: United are leading the way in terms of ushering Major
Speaker 2: League Soccer into this new realm.
Speaker 1: One thing that's it's so interesting you mentioned that since
Speaker 1: you've been covering MLS since twenty eleven, what has it
Speaker 1: been like for you to see the growth of not
Speaker 1: only these teams but also like these local network's coming
Speaker 1: up and now covering MLSS a bit more, You're seeing
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of different things pop up. Like, what
Speaker 1: has it been like for you to see that growth?
Speaker 2: It's been an astronomical turn I thought, honestly, Madison, I
Speaker 2: thought we'd get to this stage at some point, but
Speaker 2: I didn't think we'd get to it this quickly. And
Speaker 2: there's an abundance of reasons as to why that's happened, right,
Speaker 2: and if we go through them, we'll be here all day.
Speaker 2: But it honestly has been wonderful to see how quickly.
Speaker 2: The game is growing. I still spend a little bit
Speaker 2: of time in Europe and overseas for other bits of work.
Speaker 2: And the one thing which I've now noticed is how
Speaker 2: much Major League Soccer is a part of the conversation,
Speaker 2: where sort of alluding to what I was saying earlier
Speaker 2: on that that was never really the case when I
Speaker 2: first came to the league, and so it's just become
Speaker 2: a part of the global footballing conversation, and so obviously
Speaker 2: growing it domestically is of vital importance. And I think
Speaker 2: that is that has grown really quickly as well. Markets
Speaker 2: like Atlanta again have led the way, and there are
Speaker 2: a handful that have had similar success locally as well.
Speaker 2: And look, there's still one or two markets that made
Speaker 2: a helping hand. We all know that. But overall, I
Speaker 2: think major League soccer is in the best place it's
Speaker 2: ever been. I will always remember Madison. I came to
Speaker 2: America to be the voice of Sporting Kansas City back
Speaker 2: in twenty eleven, and I was a rifle twenty one
Speaker 2: year old, and I left the BBC and I got pelters.
Speaker 2: I got a lot of sort of friendly abuse from
Speaker 2: people sort of suggesting that I was making a massive
Speaker 2: mistake and coming to America and are cares about football
Speaker 2: soccer over there. And I will always remember walking around
Speaker 2: Kansas City and I had the Sporting Kansas City T
Speaker 2: shirt on the polo, the club polo that they gave us,
Speaker 2: and at that time, they had just rebranded they were
Speaker 2: no longer the Kansas City Wizards, and there was a
Speaker 2: new stadium on the way, and it was all very exciting,
Speaker 2: but it hit me a little bit as to how
Speaker 2: much work we had to do when I was walking
Speaker 2: around Kansas City and nobody had any idea what it was.
Speaker 2: Nobody knew what Sporting Kansas City was. They didn't recognize
Speaker 2: the logo. Somebody mistook it for an indoor soccer team
Speaker 2: and a minor league hockey team. You know, it was
Speaker 2: just I like to call those the dark days of
Speaker 2: Major League hockey. You know, those were interesting days. But look,
Speaker 2: I mean that just not the case anymore. And one
Speaker 2: of the markets, look at, Kansas City, led the way
Speaker 2: massively in those early days. For sure. I think Minnesota
Speaker 2: has done a remarkable job. I think the LAFC franchise
Speaker 2: has done wonderful as well. There's been so many Portland
Speaker 2: timber Seattle sound as we could go on so many
Speaker 2: teams that have done so well in terms of marketing
Speaker 2: themselves and making themselves relevant in the market, but Atlnti
Speaker 2: United are the ones that stand out on top. To
Speaker 2: come from absolutely nothing and have the success that they
Speaker 2: have done in terms of relevancy in a market is
Speaker 2: absolutely wonderful. I don't know the exact number, Matterson, but
Speaker 2: I keep hearing there's going to be sixty five thousand
Speaker 2: plus on opening on Saturday. And if that's the case,
Speaker 2: well there is a prime example as to how much
Speaker 2: people love and care about Atlanta United. And I think
Speaker 2: that's only a good thing for Major League Soccer or
Speaker 2: good Atlanta United. It's good for Major League Soccer because
Speaker 2: that full stadium, with the designated players that are on offer,
Speaker 2: with the standard of football that's on offer, this really
Speaker 2: could be anywhere in the world. And so I'm very,
Speaker 2: very excited to see Saturday, and I think it's going
Speaker 2: to be a very It's interesting.
Speaker 1: We talked to Garth Logerway at that press conference with
Speaker 1: Late lat yesterday and he said that there's still a
Speaker 1: couple of tickets left and they're expecting and possibly it
Speaker 1: could be a sellout, So we'll see if that ends
Speaker 1: up happening. But I know that you know tickets are
Speaker 1: going fast. It's it's going to be a fun time
Speaker 1: here in Atlanta on Saturday. And even moving towards that,
Speaker 1: I mean, when you got told you were doing this
Speaker 1: game for Atlanta United versus c F Montreal for the
Speaker 1: home opener, I mean, how excited are you to get
Speaker 1: to come to the Bends and with everything going on,
Speaker 1: getting the chance to come into a part of the call.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I look very very excited. Love doing occasions like this,
Speaker 2: love doing big games. And I know it's the opening day, right,
Speaker 2: so we've got a long season ahead of us. But
Speaker 2: I can already tell that the occasion is going to
Speaker 2: be exceptional. It's going to feel like a big game
Speaker 2: and a big occasion because the simple fact of the
Speaker 2: matter is Madison it is and there there are a
Speaker 2: handful of markets that I think do big occasions better
Speaker 2: than others, and Atlanta is one of those markets. But
Speaker 2: I'm excited because I haven't been to Atlanta for a
Speaker 2: couple of years now for an MLS game. For sure,
Speaker 2: I was fortunate enough to commensate on Chelsea Club America
Speaker 2: and the Benz last summer, which was a great feeling.
Speaker 2: It was wonderful to do that, and the crowd was great,
Speaker 2: and it was a really good occasion and wonderful to
Speaker 2: see that facility. But I'm very excited to sample it
Speaker 2: now from an Atlantic United points of view and to
Speaker 2: see how the fans are to understand a bit more
Speaker 2: of the foot in culture. We get in on Friday,
Speaker 2: and I'm looking forward to to spending some time in
Speaker 2: coffee shops and whatnot and just listening to people talking
Speaker 2: about the game because they will. I've been in football
Speaker 2: cities across across the globe where this happens, where people
Speaker 2: are just talking about the game, and I'm excited to
Speaker 2: do that and just listen to what people are saying
Speaker 2: and embrace the excitement. I think that that's the most
Speaker 2: intriguing thing.
Speaker 1: I wish I could give you recommendations for coffee shops
Speaker 1: in Atlanta. All I know is a lot of them
Speaker 1: up here in Marietta and Kennesau. So if you're up
Speaker 1: in that area, I got you. But I don't have
Speaker 1: any recommendations in Atlanta, unfortunately, but I know that there's
Speaker 1: a lot of good ones so you'll have you'll have
Speaker 1: a lot of options to choose from when you get
Speaker 1: to Atlanta, which will be nice. But one thing looking
Speaker 1: at it, looking at Atlanta and the way that they've
Speaker 1: obviously handled the transfer market, getting Latte, lat getting Miguel
Speaker 1: Amor on back here, you got Saba, you got madan Chuk.
Speaker 1: What are you expecting to see from this offense and
Speaker 1: what are you expecting to see from those specific players
Speaker 1: as you head into Saturday.
Speaker 2: Goals and a bucket load of them as well. It's honestly,
Speaker 2: I think this is and the thing is here in Madison.
Speaker 2: I don't even think there's a debate. I think this
Speaker 2: is the most mouth water in front line across the
Speaker 2: entirety of Major League Soccer. You cannot convince me otherwise
Speaker 2: at the moment. And look, I understand there's some really
Speaker 2: good front lines at the moment, and that's always going
Speaker 2: to be the case now with the amount of investments
Speaker 2: in Major League Soccer, which is obviously only a good
Speaker 2: thing for the league. But I was doing my notes
Speaker 2: the other day as I saw sort of frantically go
Speaker 2: through them in preparation for the game, and there's been
Speaker 2: five new players that have come in obviously over the
Speaker 2: course of the off season, but that front four in
Speaker 2: itself is an estimated cost of forty six million dollars.
Speaker 2: We have never seen that in Major League Soccer before,
Speaker 2: and usually when you spend money like that, looks is
Speaker 2: usually not half back. And so I would expect and
Speaker 2: I don't have any inside of knowledge at the moment.
Speaker 2: I don't have any lineup information or anything, but I
Speaker 2: think it's very, very difficult to not expect Emmanuel Latte
Speaker 2: lat to not start. If he doesn't start, I'll be
Speaker 2: absolutely I'd be beyond surprise because you spend that sort
Speaker 2: of money on the center forward. He's here for one
Speaker 2: reason and one reason only. I would assume it would
Speaker 2: be LOBSI I need say, on the left, An Shook
Speaker 2: in the ten, and Almiran on the right hand side,
Speaker 2: and that would be the supporting cast. But Almron's role
Speaker 2: will not be a wide player. He will not be
Speaker 2: a winger so to speak. He will be very much
Speaker 2: an inverted attacking almost like a ten and a half really,
Speaker 2: and so I expect me and Anchook and almir to
Speaker 2: combine on several occasions. And that the one thing that
Speaker 2: I think Atlanta United now have that they haven't had
Speaker 2: in the last couple of years. Is a center forward
Speaker 2: that can actually get behind the line and actually do
Speaker 2: so with pace and can stretch the back line as well.
Speaker 2: So Latte lat is somebody that is blessed with pace.
Speaker 2: He's not the biggest guy, but to my understanding, he's
Speaker 2: quite a strong individual as well, so can if needed,
Speaker 2: play that hold up role in certain pockets of the game,
Speaker 2: but that obviously won't be his main roles. So I
Speaker 2: would expect Miguel Almron to get the ball on many
Speaker 2: an occasion and maneuver inside and try and slip it
Speaker 2: through the back line for Latte La to latch onto.
Speaker 2: And if he doesn't do it well, Midanchuk probably will
Speaker 2: if not love Janice may very well have the best
Speaker 2: chance of doing it as well. So it is mouth watering.
Speaker 2: I think that's the best term a phrase to use
Speaker 2: when you describe this Atlanta United front four. Also, who
Speaker 2: I'm assuming will start in the center of midfield isn't
Speaker 2: bad either, Slisha, I expect to be a little more reserved,
Speaker 2: but I do think Mate Click one of the most
Speaker 2: underrated midfielders in Major League so last year I didn't
Speaker 2: realize until doing the numbers. Madison DC United obviously didn't
Speaker 2: have a great year last year. My tears click in
Speaker 2: that team that didn't make the playoffs managed to get
Speaker 2: thirteen assists. So he's going to be somebody I think
Speaker 2: that's going to absolutely be involved in the attacking front
Speaker 2: and will almost be a perfect box to box number
Speaker 2: eight midfield. So I think the key area for me though,
Speaker 2: in my understanding of how Montreal want to play, because
Speaker 2: I did Montreal a couple of times last year and
Speaker 2: they Ronnie Dayler said to us, and I agree with
Speaker 2: him that they do overplay at times, but they are
Speaker 2: very good at it. Last year in Addison, they went
Speaker 2: with a five a five man back line and what
Speaker 2: that did for them from an attacking point of view
Speaker 2: was great. They gave them a lot of opportunities to
Speaker 2: play the ball into wide areas. We saw the likes
Speaker 2: of David Bugui and Jack Kill Marshall Rotti in the
Speaker 2: latter stages of the season when he joined from Toronto.
Speaker 2: Tom Pearce, who came over from England as well, has
Speaker 2: a wicked left foot, can cross a ball and pick
Speaker 2: out a pass like no one else, so they have
Speaker 2: really good options on the attacking front, but I just
Speaker 2: wonder what that does to them defensively, because the one
Speaker 2: thing that we saw several times last year is that
Speaker 2: was how they were exposed. And when you have somebody
Speaker 2: as lethal as Miga Almiran and on the other side
Speaker 2: as Lodger needs say, Yes, they're not traditional wingers, but
Speaker 2: I still think that sort of space where they are.
Speaker 2: I think there's going to be a lot more space
Speaker 2: than there usually is because of the high pressing fullbacks
Speaker 2: that I expect Montreal to play. So look, it's going
Speaker 2: to be a Montreal going to sit back a little more.
Speaker 2: Do they understand the task at hand. Are they a
Speaker 2: little more confident in the wather they want to go
Speaker 2: and play? I don't know. Montreal have brought in eleven
Speaker 2: new players. It's been an overhaul, although in Major League
Speaker 2: Soccer that seems to be sort of standard, really doesn't it.
Speaker 2: But I think Montreal, I think we'll set up in
Speaker 2: a way that it's not necessarily going to be a
Speaker 2: low block, but I think they'll be counter pressing. I
Speaker 2: think they may change things throughout the game as well.
Speaker 2: Because the Hong Kong CIS has the there's evidence there
Speaker 2: to suggest that he does that, and I've seen it
Speaker 2: physically several times. But I think, honestly, the wide areas
Speaker 2: are going to be are going to be the real threats.
Speaker 2: From an Atlanta United point of view.
Speaker 1: I couldn't agree with you more. When you look at
Speaker 1: the MLS season right now and you look obviously I
Speaker 1: mean adding San Diego the thirtieth expansion team. What are
Speaker 1: your expectations for both the East and the West this
Speaker 1: season and which team are you looking forward to the
Speaker 1: most and seeing where they stand as we get through
Speaker 1: the season. Very early on even decide that now, but
Speaker 1: just from looking at everything, what are your predictions?
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing Atlanta? I really am. It's
Speaker 2: honestly for me, I think they are. In the off season,
Speaker 2: they were by far and away the most intriguing story
Speaker 2: because we all knew, and it was a shame really
Speaker 2: because I thought Rob Valentino deserved a crack, if not
Speaker 2: at Atlanta, certainly another franchise, and I hope he gets
Speaker 2: the opportunity at some stage somewhere. But I think we
Speaker 2: all knew that they had to go big. They had
Speaker 2: to go with a known name and an international manager
Speaker 2: that was full of experience but also had experience in
Speaker 2: Major League Soccer as well, because this leads a different
Speaker 2: animal compared to the majority across world football. But Ni
Speaker 2: Dayler is the perfect one to do that, given the
Speaker 2: fact he's one MLS cap with NYCFC in the past.
Speaker 2: He also has such a glistening European resume that he's
Speaker 2: more than familiar with how to approach the game in
Speaker 2: different ways. He's more than familiar with how to deal
Speaker 2: with big characters and egos and is more than happy
Speaker 2: to deal with expectation. He's managed Celtic for goodness, and
Speaker 2: then Celtic are a Guardianshulan club across European football and
Speaker 2: if you don't win, you know about it at a
Speaker 2: club like Celtic. The same could be said for Standard
Speaker 2: li Asian club Bruger as well. These are massive football
Speaker 2: clubs and so honestly, I think Ronnie Diiler was the
Speaker 2: perfect appointment for Atlanta United, and well done to Garth
Speaker 2: laga Way for getting it done. So look, I mean
Speaker 2: Atlanta for me are a story in the off season
Speaker 2: that will continue to be a story throughout the season
Speaker 2: as well. All eyes obviously on Miguel Almron for obvious reasons.
Speaker 2: But I think a lot of people are very excited
Speaker 2: about Latte lat and I think the one thing that
Speaker 2: the Laste lat deal does for me Madison is it
Speaker 2: does usher major league soccer into a new era. And
Speaker 2: I mentioned it briefly earlier on about it being a
Speaker 2: part of the global footballing market. I have friends back
Speaker 2: home in England, Middlesbrough fans that are friends, and they
Speaker 2: are absolutely devastated that they've lost their top center forwards.
Speaker 2: But they've lost their top center forwards to a major
Speaker 2: league soccer team. I never thought we would say that,
Speaker 2: at least not right now. Maybe in fifteen twenty years,
Speaker 2: I thought maybe, But we're saying that right now, and
Speaker 2: that's incredibly exciting because who knows where we're going to
Speaker 2: be now if we carry on riding this trajectory. In
Speaker 2: ten to fifteen years time, there were Premier League teams
Speaker 2: that wanted him. It'swhich town were desperate to sign la Selaud.
Speaker 2: Nottingham Forest made an inquiry and there was another team
Speaker 2: in there as well that we're asking. So this is
Speaker 2: a very wanted commodity. It's a very very wanted player
Speaker 2: and yet he's ended up in our league, has ended
Speaker 2: up in Major League Soccer. For me, that is beyond
Speaker 2: exciting and also beyond integral in terms of Major League
Speaker 2: Soccer turning this corner now, because what this does is
Speaker 2: it sets the standard, and Major League Soccer has long
Speaker 2: looked at Atlanta United to do that. But I think
Speaker 2: now what this does is it because of the loosening
Speaker 2: of the salary cap and the loosening of the of
Speaker 2: the not the talary cap storry, loosening of the the
Speaker 2: internal ability to do deals. I think what this does
Speaker 2: is it does force other club ownerships to put their
Speaker 2: hand in their pocket because they have to compete, such
Speaker 2: as the demand of fans across Major League Soccer. Now
Speaker 2: people will not stand for being mediocre, and I don't
Speaker 2: blame them either. So I'm very, very excited because I
Speaker 2: do think Atlanta United have helped maneuver Major League Soccer
Speaker 2: into a new era. And I wonder just how long
Speaker 2: it'll be before the likes of a twenty million dollars
Speaker 2: signing may not necessarily become a regularity, but I wonder
Speaker 2: how long it'll be until we see that done by
Speaker 2: not just one season, five, six, or seven seams.
Speaker 1: You know, absolutely, it's gonna be a fun season, especially
Speaker 1: with all the turnings that every three team has been doing,
Speaker 1: especially Atlanta United, especially as we head into Saturday. I know,
Speaker 1: for one, I'm excited to get to see it and
Speaker 1: getting to be there Saturday. It's going to be a
Speaker 1: ton of fun. But Callum, thank you so much for
Speaker 1: taking the time with us, and we'll see there's the
Speaker 1: bendop Saturday for hopefully I pull that crowd.
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely look forward to Madison. I'll see you there.