Speaker 1: I know fall is about football for a lot of you,
Speaker 1: and certainly it is for us, but it's also about
Speaker 1: football or soccer, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 2: I'm not judging.
Speaker 1: Playoff soccer in MLS is dramatic, it is intense, and
Speaker 1: it continues on Saturday after a rough one on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Our next guest, the head coach of RSL good enough
Speaker 1: to take some time during a game week, Pablo Masch
Speaker 1: Johnny on a Thursday Pop's Happy Thursday.
Speaker 2: Man, how are you doing? I appreciate the time.
Speaker 1: So when we had you on last and I'm only
Speaker 1: speaking for myself here, I said from my soccer pee brain,
Speaker 1: it felt like Minnesota is scared to play with you
Speaker 1: and they just want to sit back and try to
Speaker 1: counter a little bit, and that's what they did. And
Speaker 1: it just feels like getting a goal in that scenario
Speaker 1: is really really tough, because getting a goal period is.
Speaker 2: Really really tough.
Speaker 1: As you look back and as you've studied the film,
Speaker 1: what would you point out today that stood in the
Speaker 1: way from you, you guys finding just one solution in order
Speaker 1: to get that win?
Speaker 3: Yeah? No, I think you know, Minnesota has been a
Speaker 3: really good defensive team and the commitment they put towards
Speaker 3: you know, playing behind the ball and the commitment they
Speaker 3: get from eleven makes it extremely difficult. And when we create,
Speaker 3: you know, we you know, in soccer, there's a there's
Speaker 3: a static called big chances. And in that game at
Speaker 3: the weekend, we created three big chances. And essentially it's
Speaker 3: it's you and the goalkeeper and you and and and
Speaker 3: we didn't finish those three chances. So it's not the
Speaker 3: volume of chances you're going to create about them but
Speaker 3: against them, but it is the quality of the chance
Speaker 3: that you're going to create and then just finishing. And
Speaker 3: so you know, what I said postgame was like making
Speaker 3: a play, and to be fair, their goalkeeper made a
Speaker 3: play on three of our big chances. And so it's
Speaker 3: it's just and And the key to that is if
Speaker 3: you score a goal, their whole plan is kind of
Speaker 3: thrown out the window and now they have to open
Speaker 3: themselves up and now they have to extend themselves. And
Speaker 3: we've done really really well against teams that that open
Speaker 3: up or press, and what we've struggled is is really
Speaker 3: being intricating our play in tight spaces and and so, uh,
Speaker 3: you know, looking back there's a couple of things that
Speaker 3: that we're gonna that we're going to do with possession
Speaker 3: deeper in uh in in our build to hopefully, you know,
Speaker 3: create some space between the lines to then be able
Speaker 3: to exploit those spaces with pace, because again, if if
Speaker 3: you expl if you break lines and you penetrate their
Speaker 3: midfield line, but then you take your first touch backwards,
Speaker 3: you allow the rest of their team to get back,
Speaker 3: and what they are is committed to get back. And
Speaker 3: so it's not about, you know, the amount of chances
Speaker 3: that that you create as much as it is taking
Speaker 3: advantage of the good chances that you create on goal,
Speaker 3: and and and and and again. For us, it's going
Speaker 3: to be scoring the first goal. And and that's what
Speaker 3: we've been working towards. While it's not obviously giving up
Speaker 3: the defensive side because the the obviously the feeling is
Speaker 3: that we have to go score the goal. But if
Speaker 3: you concede again these guys, now you have to score two,
Speaker 3: and then that's not the game that we want to play.
Speaker 2: So again you'll have to forgive my ignorance.
Speaker 1: The only time I've seen Minnesota is when you've played them,
Speaker 1: and it does feel like from my recollection.
Speaker 2: They do play the same regardless of venue.
Speaker 1: Are you anticipating that same style in their plays coming
Speaker 1: up on Saturday?
Speaker 3: Yeah? You know their coach Mitt interest in common after
Speaker 3: the game and one of our best chances came when
Speaker 3: they came out to press us and we broke through
Speaker 3: their whole team and created a good chance on goal,
Speaker 3: and he made a reference to you know, we're at
Speaker 3: our worst when we're opened up. And so for me,
Speaker 3: just that common alone after that game speaks volumes to
Speaker 3: what they're going to do. You know that they feel like, well,
Speaker 3: if we take it the cour only six, wee feel
Speaker 3: good about our chances. We have a game to play with.
Speaker 3: It's the onus is on a Salt Lake to come
Speaker 3: out and make the game. And what they're really good at,
Speaker 3: because they've been playing this way for quite some time,
Speaker 3: is the counter attack. And so the expectation for us
Speaker 3: is that that they're going to play the same play
Speaker 3: the same way way for their moments and if they don't,
Speaker 3: you know, I think it's we have an advantage where
Speaker 3: we feel really comfortable with teams exposing themselves, bringing players forward,
Speaker 3: and then us being being able to break lines and
Speaker 3: create more quality opportunities on goal.
Speaker 1: Okay, so let's let's dig into some lineup decisions here
Speaker 1: because and again this is just me asking, pontificating aloud
Speaker 1: and wondering kind of what the motivation was. So we
Speaker 1: had Matt on, we had Matt Crooks on a couple
Speaker 1: of days ago, and I asked Matt straight up, like,
Speaker 1: where do you think do Ogo fits on on on
Speaker 1: the lineup slide? You know, where's he best served? He says,
Speaker 1: he's probably best served as a ten, just like I am.
Speaker 1: You know, we're both kind of central players, and you've
Speaker 1: been good to kind of help us understand the connecting
Speaker 1: ability of Matt Crooks throughout the course of the season
Speaker 1: because the stats aren't there, but then you look at
Speaker 1: the miles ran and you know the work rate is
Speaker 1: certainly there. So let's start with the decision to go
Speaker 1: with Matt central and bring Diogo off the bench.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think for me, and this is the same
Speaker 3: conversation that with Diogo, it's it's you know, I think
Speaker 3: Diego is still trying to, you know, figure out a
Speaker 3: lot of things about the league, a lot of things
Speaker 3: with our team, and he actually came to the team
Speaker 3: when we're going through a really rough time, and so
Speaker 3: my conversation with Diogo is the same as I'll explain
Speaker 3: you now, is it's just understanding the role on both
Speaker 3: sides of the ball really clearly. And I think that's
Speaker 3: where Matt has an edge. And for me going, you know,
Speaker 3: with a guy that has ten months of experience playing
Speaker 3: with the screw, going through some good times, going through
Speaker 3: some tough times, it's just the familiarity that that that
Speaker 3: I have with Crooks in that position, and then you
Speaker 3: can look at other positions and go, okay, so then
Speaker 3: how can we adjust it? But with Crooks it's been
Speaker 3: he is the glue to our team and like you
Speaker 3: really pointed out, you're not going to see it in
Speaker 3: the stats, but the way he's been linking with Andreas
Speaker 3: and the way he's been Lincoln with Dom who who
Speaker 3: you know he played into, you know, create one of
Speaker 3: our best chances of the game against Minnesota is is
Speaker 3: too important to leave him off the fields. And then
Speaker 3: the other part with Crooks against the team like Minnesota
Speaker 3: who play for set pieces and they're huge, is also
Speaker 3: that that what he brings on set pieces from just
Speaker 3: an aerial ability and so those are some of the
Speaker 3: decisions you know that went in, you know, when I'm
Speaker 3: explaining things to Diogo as to why I'm going with
Speaker 3: Matt Crooks. And the other part of that is is
Speaker 3: Diego has had his best moments for us when he's
Speaker 3: come into games. So the game against the Austin and
Speaker 3: the game against Portland, those are two games that he
Speaker 3: scored in and he's coming into the game when the
Speaker 3: game is a bit tired, there's a little bit more space,
Speaker 3: and he's got an eye for goal, and so always
Speaker 3: having that in your back pocket is just as important
Speaker 3: as picking the starting team is who are the guys
Speaker 3: that are going to come in if the if the
Speaker 3: game state is such, and so those are the conversations
Speaker 3: I had with you know, with those guys.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, now you elected to uh, you know later
Speaker 1: on the game, bring on Diogo and uh you you
Speaker 1: decided to take off Diego Luna. Now for my money,
Speaker 1: Pablo Diego. Then this is just me, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of witnessing and watching. I feel like Diego might be
Speaker 1: in the best form of any of the attacking players
Speaker 1: right now. So take us, okay, so take us through
Speaker 1: that decision. Why you ended up to tall, you know,
Speaker 1: bringing in Diego in place of Diego Luna.
Speaker 3: Yeah, because Diego Luna was cramping. Oh okay, and yeah,
Speaker 3: So again these are really good questions because again, if
Speaker 3: you just look at it from peripheral, you'll have no
Speaker 3: idea as as to all the different variables that go
Speaker 3: into making these decisions. So Diego was cramping, he'd been
Speaker 3: he's had a cold for a couple of days. And
Speaker 3: and again, when you're in the playoffs, it's not like
Speaker 3: we can we can wait and see if you can
Speaker 3: get through it. It's more about how do we how do
Speaker 3: we keep the same level of intensity on both sides
Speaker 3: of the ball. And so diegle the decision with Diego
Speaker 3: Luna was nothing more than he was cramping and just
Speaker 3: wanted to make sure that we had legs to finish
Speaker 3: up the game the right way.
Speaker 1: Now I got to follow up how's he feeling? Obviously,
Speaker 1: if it's only cramps, that's plenty of time to recover
Speaker 1: for Saturday.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So again, I think the cramping piece comes from
Speaker 3: probably taking the meds. Right, So if you're sick and
Speaker 3: you got the sniffles, and you're taking things that are
Speaker 3: that are going to, you know, stop you up from
Speaker 3: doing that. Naturally, you're you're taking water out of the
Speaker 3: system and it's not functioning the right way.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: Talked him this morning and he says he feels great.
Speaker 3: So that's a real positive heading into the weekends.
Speaker 1: So Julio Anderson comes in for Crooks for Maddie, and honestly,
Speaker 1: when I saw Anderson warming up, I thought you were
Speaker 1: going to take Chico off because he just continues to
Speaker 1: struggle to fire and look, he spoiled us.
Speaker 2: I want to be very clear, like this is his fault.
Speaker 1: The reason we're all mad is because he spoiled us.
Speaker 1: He shouldn't have had the start of the season that
Speaker 1: he had.
Speaker 3: So they're exactly right. Expectations are what leads to disappointment.
Speaker 1: Hope kills us all. I know you've never seen Ted
Speaker 1: last so, but I did, and that was that was
Speaker 1: the line there. So Julio for Crooks instead of chi
Speaker 1: Cho to take us through that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I think it's the same thing. I'm hanging on,
Speaker 3: the same thing I think everyone is is if there's
Speaker 3: one guy that can create a moment of brilliance out
Speaker 3: of nowhere, it's it's chi Cho. And he doesn't need
Speaker 3: to be necessarily you know, like earlier in the season
Speaker 3: that he might have had games where he wasn't necessarily
Speaker 3: playing the best. But in the right moment, if there's
Speaker 3: anyone on this team that you want on the ball,
Speaker 3: you know, whether it's at midfield or thirty yards out
Speaker 3: or a free kick, I'm hanging on the same hope
Speaker 3: as everyone else is like when is this you know,
Speaker 3: curse going to be taken? You know, when is he
Speaker 3: going to step into the limelight. And so that was
Speaker 3: the thought behind that. And then obviously what we realized
Speaker 3: again with Andal going up there out there and exposing
Speaker 3: some of their deficiencies in the back line is we
Speaker 3: need to move to the back line a lot more
Speaker 3: than we did, and the only way to do that
Speaker 3: is to play behind the line, in other words, looking
Speaker 3: for balls to get him behind, and that's not Techo's strength.
Speaker 3: And just thought that teachers are very good pass of
Speaker 3: the ball, and with Ando running what we'll create some chances.
Speaker 3: And then the game did open up a little bit
Speaker 3: there in the second half, but we want to be
Speaker 3: more consistent with that heading into this next game.
Speaker 1: So certainly I would never tell you how to do
Speaker 1: your job. I will say this. I mean, obviously, if
Speaker 1: you ever want to come in and do four hours
Speaker 1: of radio, I'll go run training, Pablo.
Speaker 2: We can we can do a straight what do they
Speaker 2: call that? Like for like in soccer.
Speaker 1: But it yeah, it felt like when you brought brodyon
Speaker 1: and pushed a Mecca back to a centralized midfield role,
Speaker 1: the team looked a little bit different. And look, he's
Speaker 1: so good, you can move him around. But I mean
Speaker 1: it's due or die of time, right, So I would
Speaker 1: imagine moving forward, you like him Meccha centralizing the midfield.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, And again that's a byproduct of losing Bear
Speaker 3: for three games, right. Just to be fair to Gervane,
Speaker 3: I thought he did a fantastic job filling in for Bara.
Speaker 3: But again, now from an attacking perspective, we don't have
Speaker 3: the left foot that can play balls into those areas,
Speaker 3: you know, from a more comfortable position. And so yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, again, coaching is and oftentimes it's not from
Speaker 3: a place of ideal, it's from a place of needs.
Speaker 3: And in that particular case, a Mecca, we had a
Speaker 3: Mecha out there to start because of how robust and
Speaker 3: how quick they are on the counter and making sure
Speaker 3: that we solidify that. But obviously, when a Mecca went
Speaker 3: into the middle of the field, you know, the game
Speaker 3: changed and we were able to penetrate centrally with him driving,
Speaker 3: with him picking up second balls, and so our team
Speaker 3: is completely different with a Mecca in the middle of
Speaker 3: the field.
Speaker 1: So now over to the most unfair media question of
Speaker 1: all time, because your penalty kick situation before has worked
Speaker 1: very well, and Justin Glad is the one that scored
Speaker 1: the game winning penalty against Seattle. But you know the deal,
Speaker 1: when it doesn't work, you've got to talk about it.
Speaker 1: And I've heard from you know, we've had players on
Speaker 1: the show and then Donny on the broadcast. Now I
Speaker 1: believe you yourself, Pablo have talked about you know, not wanting
Speaker 1: to have your Okay, here's my five, then here's my
Speaker 1: next five, and having it scripted. Correct, So how do
Speaker 1: you approach that situation? Kind of explain that to our listeners.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I again, we did things different spend so
Speaker 3: I went to get to my intuition, which is did
Speaker 3: not have it scripted. And you know, obviously Chi sho
Speaker 3: Gegoer got Anderson, and you know, we had two other
Speaker 3: guys that were going to take one in front of
Speaker 3: Justin Glad, Alex Catranis and Dominic, and both those guys
Speaker 3: said that they were cramping and they didn't feel comfortable
Speaker 3: taking it right, And so as a coach, and then
Speaker 3: then you go to the next one and you say,
Speaker 3: Jake Glad, you're ready to take one, and he said, yes,
Speaker 3: you know, And so we had our five picked out
Speaker 3: and the mecho was going to always be fifth. But
Speaker 3: those are little situations again that you have to see.
Speaker 3: There's a real time. So even though it was scripted
Speaker 3: that we had Alex in there, then it's real time
Speaker 3: and it's like, yeah, I just don't feel comfortable with
Speaker 3: Mike growing. And then Dominic had a calf, and so
Speaker 3: then what we need shooters, right, we need someone to
Speaker 3: step up, and so you know, Jay Glad stepped up
Speaker 3: and unfortunately didn't didn't make his But but again, I
Speaker 3: think it's all it's all collaborative. It's not it's not
Speaker 3: just you know, me going you're the five. It's it's
Speaker 3: we had a five. And then when when two guys
Speaker 3: kind of pull out and then you have to go
Speaker 3: to the next guy, and then oh, hey, it was six,
Speaker 3: and so yeah, but that's that's that's a part of it.
Speaker 3: And you know, that's one of the things I've been
Speaker 3: talking to players about is don't confuse the performance with
Speaker 3: the result, right, especially when it comes to penalty gigs,
Speaker 3: because it's really about tapping in a ball from twelve
Speaker 3: yards out and and and for as easy as it
Speaker 3: is on Tuesday, you know, with twenty thousand people in
Speaker 3: the stadium and walking fifty yards to the ball, it's
Speaker 3: it's a lonely place to be. And so if it's
Speaker 3: if you're not confident, if you don't believe, if you
Speaker 3: if you're not hitting the back of the net in
Speaker 3: your mind before you step up to the ball, that
Speaker 3: goal becomes a lot smaller and that that ball becomes
Speaker 3: a lot bigger. Right, So you know, we'll work on
Speaker 3: those again tomorrow. But I think we've seen the last
Speaker 3: couple of weeks guys that we feel comfortable and not
Speaker 3: that we feel comfortable, that they feel comfortable stepping up
Speaker 3: and taking a piquet if it needs if we get
Speaker 3: to that point.
Speaker 1: So let's get into some bright spots from my perspective,
Speaker 1: and then we'll talk about Saturday. Then I'll set you
Speaker 1: loose today, uh, Dominick Dominic, Mark Zuke. You know, the
Speaker 1: more and more I watch him, the more and more
Speaker 1: I feel like there's a lot to like. He created
Speaker 1: a couple of really really good chances. One to diego
Speaker 1: that I thought the Saint Claire kid was good. I mean,
Speaker 1: you got to tip your cap to their keeper, yep.
Speaker 1: But I thought Mark Zuke had a really bright match.
Speaker 1: For you tell me what you saw from your vantage point.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, he continues to impress. You know again, I
Speaker 3: think a lot you know what you see on Saturday,
Speaker 3: But for me, it's even deeper. It's a young man
Speaker 3: that's coming across to a new country for the first
Speaker 3: time in his life, moving away from his family and
Speaker 3: all home, and learning how we want to play, learning
Speaker 3: what this league is all about. Then exhibiting his skill sets,
Speaker 3: and I think on offense, his ability to get forward
Speaker 3: and look for his teammates in dangerous areas has been
Speaker 3: a real real bright spot. And then defensively, his graft
Speaker 3: to do all the work that and it's not it's
Speaker 3: not always easy in this league because it's very there's
Speaker 3: a lot of transition, but he seems to, you know,
Speaker 3: hold his own in that department as well, and so
Speaker 3: I think with time, you know, there's there's hopeful that
Speaker 3: he will be one of the best wingers in this league.
Speaker 3: And he's in with every game I see it play
Speaker 3: with more and more confidence and the ability to name
Speaker 3: for himself in this league. And then you know in
Speaker 3: world football.
Speaker 1: As well, several bright moments for Katronos are left back
Speaker 1: and you know, he's kind of landed and solidified that spot.
Speaker 1: And I know how much you trust him, but I
Speaker 1: thought he was another bride spot on Tuesday.
Speaker 2: Give me, give me your thoughts on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I think Katronto's uh, you know, he's a gamer,
Speaker 3: he's got he's got a great mindset, he competes the
Speaker 3: right way, he's he's he's good going forward, and I
Speaker 3: think more than anything else, the way he can impeded,
Speaker 3: you know, against Minnesota on Tuesday was fantastic and and
Speaker 3: I think that's what you know, it stifles their attack
Speaker 3: on the right side when when he's aggressive, when he's
Speaker 3: got the right mindset, when he's winning his duels, and
Speaker 3: I think he did a great job of that. And
Speaker 3: so both on the right with you know, Dominic and
Speaker 3: on the left with with Katranis is it's critical for
Speaker 3: us to be able to maintain control of the game
Speaker 3: with and without the ball.
Speaker 1: I was proud of Zach, you know, ultimately, like when
Speaker 1: he took that to take a shot at that speed
Speaker 1: in that weather, like he did right off his chest,
Speaker 1: I was like, well, Zach's dead. They're gonna have to
Speaker 1: you know, like I that looked. I mean, if you've
Speaker 1: ever been hit with a soccer ball, it is it's
Speaker 1: not awesome, and I'm sure it's happened to you several times.
Speaker 1: But I thought he stepped up in a way that
Speaker 1: silenced a lot of people that have just been crushing
Speaker 1: him all year.
Speaker 2: So little kudos to your keeper on a on a Thursday.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, no, I thought I thought it was a
Speaker 3: fantastic performance, you know, And I think, you know, is
Speaker 3: really interesting because again the obviously when you don't score goals,
Speaker 3: there's not a lot of cheers on the on the
Speaker 3: offensive side, but the amount of cheers coming from from
Speaker 3: that side of the stadium every time he made a
Speaker 3: save was was really profound. And and and again it
Speaker 3: it it It gives the guys the boost that they need,
Speaker 3: right because because again game of soccer is hard to
Speaker 3: score goals and when you're keeper standing on his head
Speaker 3: back there, and he's basically saying with his performance, we
Speaker 3: got this guy's you know, and it instills belief in
Speaker 3: the group and and it's not easy and and and oftentimes,
Speaker 3: you know, we talk about, you know, given players confidence,
Speaker 3: and what I think this is a really important point
Speaker 3: with like with with all players in all sports, is
Speaker 3: the coach gives you confidence by putting you on the field,
Speaker 3: and you give the coach and the rest of the
Speaker 3: team confidence by your performance. And so, you know, when
Speaker 3: Zach was inserted back in the lineup, it wasn't like
Speaker 3: we had this pow wow and like hey, Kumbai, everything's great.
Speaker 3: It's go out there and show everyone right, go out
Speaker 3: there and prove that you belong out here. And and
Speaker 3: so that's you know, behind all the you know, the
Speaker 3: so says that he made at the weekend. I'm just
Speaker 3: proud of the responsibility he took and the confidence that
Speaker 3: he that he that was derived from inside to show
Speaker 3: what he's capable of doing when everyone else thought he
Speaker 3: was he was you know, that that he shouldn't be there.
Speaker 3: And so I think every every game, every training session
Speaker 3: is an opportunity for players to bring confidence to themselves
Speaker 3: by the way they apply the work and training, by
Speaker 3: the way they apply the work in games. And and
Speaker 3: now we have a really confident goalkeeper. We're you know,
Speaker 3: five six weeks ago, you know, you and I were
Speaker 3: on the phone talking about who's the number one and
Speaker 3: who's who's performing great, and now it's it's clear that
Speaker 3: zach Is is a guy that's ready for the moment.
Speaker 1: Jay Glad and Oheeda I have been two of your
Speaker 1: best players all year and one snapshot p came moment
Speaker 1: will not define their contributions.
Speaker 2: Did you do you say.
Speaker 1: Anything the guys in that moment or do you just
Speaker 1: kind of let it, let it die and move on
Speaker 1: and focus on the.
Speaker 3: Next Yeah, no, I think again, I don't focus in
Speaker 3: on that part of it. And like I said earlier,
Speaker 3: you know, I talked about the performance, and we performed
Speaker 3: well enough to win that game, and we just got
Speaker 3: to be sharper and and hope on the day that
Speaker 3: their goalkeeper isn't as sharp as he was. Right, So
Speaker 3: it's a combination of everything, and so it is to
Speaker 3: make sure that you know the PK shootout isn't a
Speaker 3: reflection of the way we've performed, and we got to
Speaker 3: go out and improve our performance, right, but without allowing
Speaker 3: the motions of the PK get involved to where it
Speaker 3: starts to detract from their ability to play in the
Speaker 3: ninety minutes. And so the focuses, you know, in the
Speaker 3: last couple of days has been we've got to we've
Speaker 3: got to win this game in the ninety minutes and
Speaker 3: being well balanced on defense as well as being sharp
Speaker 3: on offense. I think we can get to that point.
Speaker 3: And so it's it's listen, there's no lonelier place to
Speaker 3: be than shooting a PK missing and then walking back
Speaker 3: and so how quickly you know, we can take the
Speaker 3: attention off that and focus on getting back to work
Speaker 3: and improving the ninety and it's is critical, I think,
Speaker 3: to the team and in particular those two players' mindsets.
Speaker 2: So you're going to luck out a little bit with weather.
Speaker 1: On Saturday, Saint Paul's about fifty nine degrees and no rain,
Speaker 1: and it's going to rain for three days after that.
Speaker 1: So that's good because with good weather, which means you
Speaker 1: guys can maybe express yourselves in an attacking way a
Speaker 1: little bit differently. Let's start with what getting Brian back
Speaker 1: does for you and kind of where he's at mentally
Speaker 1: after he is he's taken a lot of heat and
Speaker 1: he deserves it. He knows it, you know, obviously you
Speaker 1: and I have talked about it. But where is his
Speaker 1: head at and what does his re entry into the
Speaker 1: lineup being for you guys on Saturday.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's a it's a it's a it's
Speaker 3: a great opportunity for him and a great moment for
Speaker 3: us to go back and having you know, Jervain on
Speaker 3: the right and Bear on the left, and obviously his
Speaker 3: will you know, he'll pick off of Javaine left off
Speaker 3: with his with his you know, aggressiveness, his ability to
Speaker 3: to win one d one duels, and that's that's a
Speaker 3: strength of theirs. But the other part of era expect
Speaker 3: so against a team that's really stingy defensively, is utilizing
Speaker 3: him on set pieces and and and letting that left
Speaker 3: foot go a little bit more and he brings that that,
Speaker 3: you know, that advantage to to our group from from
Speaker 3: a set piece perspective. So the other part is, you know,
Speaker 3: his ability to play a left footed ball into a
Speaker 3: channel that kind of curls into the forward versus a
Speaker 3: right footed player that's more times than not the ball
Speaker 3: starts running towards the sideline from that position. So I
Speaker 3: think on you know, all sides, on both sides of
Speaker 3: the ball and all phases of the game, vera, you know,
Speaker 3: makes their team a much more competitive group. And then
Speaker 3: obviously putting Javine on the right allows players to play
Speaker 3: positions that they're comfortable in.
Speaker 2: All right, last thing that I'll set you loose.
Speaker 1: After studying the tape and as you pointed out earlier
Speaker 1: in the interview, understanding that Minnesota is going to play
Speaker 1: the very same way, have you been able to u
Speaker 1: you know, with your staff either look at different attacking
Speaker 1: options in the lineup or looking at different attacking tactics
Speaker 1: to try to because I think if you can just
Speaker 1: get one, I think it would change the entire scope.
Speaker 2: Then they'll have to engage you.
Speaker 1: And if they engage you, I have confidence you guys
Speaker 1: can outplay them. So how do you find that first solution?
Speaker 1: I guess is it much easier way of asking it?
Speaker 3: Yeah? No, I think that's a great question, and I'd
Speaker 3: say both so we've identified both, right, Because obviously with
Speaker 3: a change of tactics and not changing the tactics, but
Speaker 3: adding wrinkles within the tactics, you're going to rely on
Speaker 3: players' natural abilities, right, and so so in order to
Speaker 3: throw a wrinkle in the in our attacking scheme, we're
Speaker 3: going to also tweak it with with personnel that is
Speaker 3: more likely to perform those actions than asking somebody to
Speaker 3: do something that they're not comfortable doing, right. And so
Speaker 3: the biggest thing for me is when we break lines,
Speaker 3: in other words, where we eliminate three or four of
Speaker 3: their defensive players, especially you know, they have a tight
Speaker 3: group of five upfront, and when we eliminate these guys
Speaker 3: with a pass is to make sure that we're attacking
Speaker 3: their back five and and oftentimes I felt like in
Speaker 3: this last game, is we break a line to go forward,
Speaker 3: our first touch cub is back, which allows them to
Speaker 3: get back into a shape which now they're in a
Speaker 3: five to four to one close to goal, and it's
Speaker 3: very hard to find spaces to to operate and to
Speaker 3: be you know, and to control the game in that
Speaker 3: in that phase as far as creating quality chances, and
Speaker 3: so for me, it's it's really about breaking lines and
Speaker 3: being very aggressive with our attack and and and you know,
Speaker 3: disorganizing their back line as opposed to letting them get
Speaker 3: back into the shape. And so that's going to take
Speaker 3: a uh, you know, a wrinkle in tactics and and
Speaker 3: and a change in personnel in order to hopefully achieve
Speaker 3: what we want, knowing that we have great players to
Speaker 3: come into the game and make the difference when it
Speaker 3: opens up.
Speaker 2: Well, look, man, I have cleared my calendar.
Speaker 1: On Saturday, November the eighth, at seven o'clock pm back
Speaker 1: here in our market. I'm told tickets are selling fast.
Speaker 1: So you've got an army back here cheering you on
Speaker 1: up there, go get it done.
Speaker 3: Okay, let's go s France.
Speaker 1: Appreciate it, buddy, all right, Pablo Master Johny Head, coach
Speaker 1: of RSL, one more shot to create a moment and
Speaker 1: find a solution Saturday