Speaker 1: Welcome in. It's time for another edition of the Morning
Speaker 1: Espresso on the SDH Network, brought to you by Oglethorpe University,
Speaker 1: Atlanta's premier undergraduate learning experience and soccer powerhouse. I'm Jason
Speaker 1: long Shore. Here's some of the soccer news you need
Speaker 1: to know for Tuesday, July eighth. Club World Cup semi
Speaker 1: Finals this week starts today Fluminense and Chelsea tomorrow Real
Speaker 1: Madrid and PSG Inzo Maresca got caught in a interesting
Speaker 1: conversation in yesterday's press conference. I guess he was complaining
Speaker 1: and trying to say that European teams are at some
Speaker 1: sort of a disadvantage because of the amount of games
Speaker 1: that they play, and Chelsea having gone through the europe
Speaker 1: A Conference League to win that competition last year, they
Speaker 1: played a lot of games. He said, We've played sixty
Speaker 1: three games this season. European teams come into this competition
Speaker 1: differently than South American teams who have played fewer matches.
Speaker 1: The conditions are different. Brazilian journalists stood up and said,
Speaker 1: but Fluminense has played seventy games this season in the
Speaker 1: same period as your club. That's more games MORESCA had
Speaker 1: no response. Looked confused, and in the club communication staff
Speaker 1: took the next question. Look, European clubs are the best
Speaker 1: in the world, and we know this. This is not
Speaker 1: a surprise. They have more money than anybody else, so
Speaker 1: they have the best players. People want to play in Europe.
Speaker 1: But at times there is a shocking lack of respect
Speaker 1: for the game in this hemisphere from way too many
Speaker 1: people in the world. It's extremely frustrating and it's extremely
Speaker 1: disrespectful to Fleminince to say something like that, They've played
Speaker 1: a ton of games. You don't understand the resilient competitions,
Speaker 1: and it's something we've talked about a lot on the
Speaker 1: SDH network. The state leagues that go on before the
Speaker 1: national league, with the cup competition, with the extensive competitions
Speaker 1: inconme Ball, they've played more games in the same period
Speaker 1: of time. Moresco was trying to say that, you know,
Speaker 1: Brazilian clubs are at the beginning of their season. Well no,
Speaker 1: not really. They don't really have much of an end
Speaker 1: to their season. It's just constant competitions. Be more respectful
Speaker 1: of the game in this hemisphere, please, It's something that
Speaker 1: I just beg of you. There's wonderful football being played
Speaker 1: in this hemisphere. Yes, the best players from this hemisphere
Speaker 1: want to play in top European clubs. Absolutely, that's where
Speaker 1: the money is, that's where the bright lights are, that's
Speaker 1: where the spotlight is. Totally understandable. However, the game is
Speaker 1: very good in this hemisphere, and there are many players
Speaker 1: in this hemisphere that are desired by clubs in Europe
Speaker 1: like Chelsea. Really hate to see something like this get
Speaker 1: continually brought up and said, and it's just it's very frustrating.
Speaker 1: I'm very glad that the journalists from Brazil jumped into
Speaker 1: the conversation and did not allow a line like that
Speaker 1: to go without a response, because I mean, facts are facts.
Speaker 1: Chelsea's young team are trying to get to the final
Speaker 1: of the Club World Cup. They're taking on Flumenense, who
Speaker 1: are led by veterans, especially Thiago Silva, former Chelsea center back.
Speaker 1: He's forty years old, Fabio the goalkeeper forty four, and
Speaker 1: he's been brilliant in this tournament. Silva signed for Chelsea
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty. He was already a veteran at that point.
Speaker 1: He'd played eight years at PSG, won the Champions League
Speaker 1: in his first year at Chelsea one hundred and fifty
Speaker 1: five games for the London club. Left a year ago,
Speaker 1: helped oversee some of the development of these young talents
Speaker 1: that are key now for Inzo Maresca. Mark Kukrea, who
Speaker 1: was a teammate of Silva's for two years, he told
Speaker 1: the English media he's a legend of football, top player.
Speaker 1: They've traded messages about their upcoming match. He says, we
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully
Speaker 1: we can do good things, win this game and play
Speaker 1: in the final. Silva, he initially came up at Fluminense,
Speaker 1: featured in the team that reached the Copa Libertadores final
Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight. They lost to Liga Dequito
Speaker 1: of Ecuador. Thiago Silva said, if you'd asked me beforehand,
Speaker 1: if we would have gotten this far, I would have
Speaker 1: said we were a long way from doing so. It's
Speaker 1: what he told De Zone after the victory over Al Hilal.
Speaker 1: He said, we know the financial size of these teams.
Speaker 1: The difference is enormous, absurd, but often our collective, the
Speaker 1: family atmosphere that we have, it gives us strength that
Speaker 1: you maybe don't think you have Renaldo Gaucho, the manager
Speaker 1: for Flumidense, said, when I say we're the ugly duckling,
Speaker 1: with all due respect to all the other clubs, I'm
Speaker 1: talking about our financial situation. Fluminense is only ten percent
Speaker 1: of the financial size of these big clubs, so these
Speaker 1: big clubs have all the resources to sign best players.
Speaker 1: Fluminense was trying to stay up not that long ago
Speaker 1: and prevent getting relegated from the top division in Brazil.
Speaker 1: But right now they're in fine form. They're unbeaten in
Speaker 1: their last eleven in all competitions. The only time that
Speaker 1: they've played English opposition was in the Club World Cup
Speaker 1: against Manchester City in the twenty twenty three final. They
Speaker 1: lost four nil in that one Chelsea. They've had kind
Speaker 1: of mixed fortunes against Brazilian teams. In this tournament third
Speaker 1: match against the Brazilian club, they lost three one to
Speaker 1: flame Ango. They beat Paul Meyris two to one in
Speaker 1: the quarterfinals. In the other game in the semi finals,
Speaker 1: killing Inbape. He will come up against Paris on Jaman
Speaker 1: for the first time since leaving the club. Shabi Alonzo's
Speaker 1: Real Madrid Revolution gets its biggest test in this semi
Speaker 1: final on Wednesday, and Bope should be remembered as a
Speaker 1: PSG legend, but maybe his legacy is a little tainted
Speaker 1: by the manner of his departure. He scored two hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty six goals in seven seasons, but a bitter
Speaker 1: legal dispute has gone on between Imbape and PSG. Imbape
Speaker 1: says he's owed sixty four point four million dollars in
Speaker 1: unpaid salary and bonuses from his time in Paris. He
Speaker 1: has dropped the legal proceedings he started this year against
Speaker 1: PSG for moral harassment. A person with knowledge of the
Speaker 1: situation told the Associated Press he had a stomach illness
Speaker 1: earlier in the tournament. He hasn't started yet, but he
Speaker 1: scored the deciding goal in the three to two win
Speaker 1: over Dortmund in the quarterfinals, an acrobatic overhead kick. FIFA
Speaker 1: also announced the punishments for the red carts received in
Speaker 1: the quarter finals and it relates to this match. Dean
Speaker 1: Houssen will miss the match for Real Madrid, only a
Speaker 1: one game suspension for him. On the PSG side, they'll
Speaker 1: be missing Lucas Hernandez and William Pacho, but they will
Speaker 1: receive two game suspensions, so they are out for the
Speaker 1: rest of the tournament. Even if PSG gets to the final.
Speaker 1: Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, it's back for the quarter
Speaker 1: finals with games on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Tonight
Speaker 1: it's Minnesota hosting Chicago and San Jose hosting Austin. Tomorrow,
Speaker 1: it's Philadelphia hosting the New York Red Bulls and Nashville
Speaker 1: SC hosting DC United Gold Cup Final on TV. The
Speaker 1: Mexico two to one win over the United States average
Speaker 1: three point seventy three million viewers on Fox, its most
Speaker 1: watched English language audience in Gold Cup history, also the
Speaker 1: largest English language audience for soccer on any US network
Speaker 1: since twenty twenty four. Fox drew six point four million
Speaker 1: viewers for the Spain England Euro Final, followed by just
Speaker 1: over six million viewers for the Argentina Uruguay or Argentina
Speaker 1: Columbia Copa America final. Both were played on the same day.
Speaker 1: Mike Moulville, who oversees research and analytics for Fox, noted
Speaker 1: quote out of home viewing added more than thirty percent
Speaker 1: to the in home audience for the Gold Cup Final
Speaker 1: as measured by Nielsen. It's a likely foreshadowing of next summer.
Speaker 1: The out of home audiences for the men's World Cup
Speaker 1: are going to be something else. Let's move over to
Speaker 1: the women's international tournament roundup. In the Euros, Spain booked
Speaker 1: their spot in the knockout round a six to two
Speaker 1: demolition of Belgium two goals, two assists for Alexia Puteas. Tomorrow,
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty two euro champions England play the twenty
Speaker 1: seventeen champions, the Netherlands, massive game in the Group of death.
Speaker 1: If England lose, they would be out in the group stage.
Speaker 1: Unless Wales manages a shock result against the French. This
Speaker 1: is a must win for England. Going to be interesting
Speaker 1: against a very good Dutch side. The Copa America Feminina
Speaker 1: that gets started this weekend in Chile. It's the South
Speaker 1: American Championship, tenth edition of the ten team tournament. The
Speaker 1: reigning Olympic silver medalists Brazil. They are the dominant team.
Speaker 1: They've won this eight times. Argentina won the other one
Speaker 1: in two thousand and six. This will be two groups
Speaker 1: of five, will play four group stage games before getting
Speaker 1: into the knockout rounds. Tournament will go on over the
Speaker 1: next three plus weeks. The Women's African Cup of Nations
Speaker 1: the two two of the favorites in South Africa and Nigeria.
Speaker 1: They won their opening group stage matches over the weekend.
Speaker 1: Big game tomorrow Zambia faces Senegal. The Copper Queens of
Speaker 1: Zambia may be deserved more than a two to two draw.
Speaker 1: In their opening match they drew with the host Morocco.
Speaker 1: They sit third in Group A. Senegal won their match,
Speaker 1: so they are at the top of the table. If
Speaker 1: Zambia win, this could get really interesting in Group A. Also,
Speaker 1: the CAAF the African Confederation announced last week that the
Speaker 1: increase in prize money in this tournament is substantial. The
Speaker 1: increase in prize money to the winn of the tournament
Speaker 1: has gone up by one hundred percent. The total prize
Speaker 1: money for the competition has gone up by forty five percent.
Speaker 1: Let's stay in Africa with this update. We talked about
Speaker 1: the story of Al Helal from Sudan last month on
Speaker 1: the Espresso. They won the title in Mauritania in the
Speaker 1: previous season, but the question was are they going to
Speaker 1: be able to qualify for African competition. This is a
Speaker 1: team in Al Helal who got deep into the African
Speaker 1: Champions League in the past season, and it wasn't really
Speaker 1: apparent at that point what would happen next. Well, the
Speaker 1: Football League in Sudan has returned to the country for
Speaker 1: the first time since civil war broke out in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. It's going to be a month long tournament
Speaker 1: for eight teams to determine which clubs will compete in
Speaker 1: continental competition for the twenty twenty five twenty twenty six season.
Speaker 1: All the matches are being held in at Barra, which
Speaker 1: is three hundred and twenty kilometers north of the capitol
Speaker 1: car tom The country's biggest clubs are Al Hilal and Almeric,
Speaker 1: who both played in Martina last season. The national team
Speaker 1: and this is important for players who play for these
Speaker 1: clubs for the national team as well. They will compete
Speaker 1: in the African Cup of Nations in Morocco at the
Speaker 1: end of the year. They're chasing their first ever World
Speaker 1: Cup appearance next year. They're tied with Senegal for second
Speaker 1: place in the group behind Diarra Coongo. In March, Sudan
Speaker 1: held Senegal to a draw despite not having played a
Speaker 1: competitive match since November of twenty twenty three. It's a
Speaker 1: long gap between games. Some of these clubs have dealt
Speaker 1: with those similar kinds of gaps. Will keep you posted
Speaker 1: on Al Hilal and Almerik and the rest of the
Speaker 1: clubs in this competition to see who will qualify for
Speaker 1: the African continental competitions including the Champions League coming up.
Speaker 1: Let's get caught up in silly season. Ol Leones of France.
Speaker 1: They have confirmed the signing of you Swimen's national team
Speaker 1: midfielder Lilli Johannes from Ajax three year contract with the
Speaker 1: club until twenty twenty eight. Leones have been very active
Speaker 1: so far. They also signed Corbin Albert from PSG. On Friday,
Speaker 1: they have secured the signings of Ashley Lawrence from Chelsea,
Speaker 1: Ingrid Ingen from Barcelona, Jewel Brand from Volfsburg and Marie
Speaker 1: Antoinette Katoto from PSG. Tottenham Hotspur their bid for Mohammed
Speaker 1: Kudus that included add ons that only triggered if they
Speaker 1: won the Champions League or the Premier League. West Ham
Speaker 1: asked Spurs to come back with a more realistic offer
Speaker 1: and won sixty million pounds guaranteed. It's a little bit
Speaker 1: of a burn this morning. Tottenham Hotspur did make official
Speaker 1: the signing of Kota Takai from Kawasaki front Dale. Spurs
Speaker 1: paid just over six million euro to secure the services
Speaker 1: of the player who a lot of people had as
Speaker 1: the best player in the j League last season. It's
Speaker 1: a record sum for a player from the Jay League.
Speaker 1: He's under contract with the Lily Whites until twenty thirty.
Speaker 1: Newcastle they have agreed to a seventy five million dollar
Speaker 1: deal with Nottingham Forest for winger Anthony Elanga. The sources
Speaker 1: told ESPN be a big statement for Newcastle. They've struggled
Speaker 1: to get deals over the line. They're trying to add
Speaker 1: to their team and avoid the exit of Alexander Esach
Speaker 1: among others. Elanga has a good relationship with Esak. They
Speaker 1: play alongside one another for Sweden. Crystal Palace they've agreed
Speaker 1: to a deal to sign Borna Sosa from IAX for
Speaker 1: about three million pounds. Croatian defender due to have his
Speaker 1: medical yesterday. Twenty appearances on loan at Torino last season.
Speaker 1: Palace they've signed the Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benitez from PSV
Speaker 1: on a free. They're understood to be in talks with
Speaker 1: Sporting over a potential forty five million pound move for
Speaker 1: the Ivory Coast defender Usman Diamande. That could depend on
Speaker 1: the future of Mark Gahe Liverpool are chasing the England
Speaker 1: defender whose contract expires next summer, so if Pallas is
Speaker 1: going to get anything for him, they need to do
Speaker 1: it this summer. Byron Munich they are back in for
Speaker 1: Chelsea forward Christopher and Kunku, according to The Athletic Understandable.
Speaker 1: With Jamal Musiala out due to injury. His surgery was
Speaker 1: successful yesterday. Byron has not added Niko Williams. He's going
Speaker 1: to stay at Athletic Club in Bilbao. They were not
Speaker 1: able to add florianverts. They're going to want to add
Speaker 1: more attacking depth now with Musiala out in Kunku makes sense.
Speaker 1: Real Madrid's captain Luka Modrich he will join Milan after
Speaker 1: the Club World Cup. Max Allegri confirmed on Monday. He
Speaker 1: announced in May Modrich that he would be leaving Madrid
Speaker 1: after the Club World Cup was done. That might be
Speaker 1: after tomorrow's match against PSG, it might be after the
Speaker 1: final on Sunday. Allegri, in his first press conference as
Speaker 1: Milan manager, told reporters Madrich will arrive in August. He
Speaker 1: is an extraordinary player. I would agree. Saudi Pro League
Speaker 1: club Alhallal they have agreed to buy Tao Hernandez from
Speaker 1: Milan for a fee of twenty five million Euro. They
Speaker 1: chased this before the Club World Cup, weren't able to
Speaker 1: get it done. Ernandez wanted to see if other European
Speaker 1: clubs are interested. I guess they weren't, so now he
Speaker 1: will go to Saudi Arabia and join Al Hellal Nottingham Forest.
Speaker 1: They have reportedly reached an agreement with Paul Metris to
Speaker 1: sell Paraguayan winger Ramon Sosa. According to John Percy of
Speaker 1: the Telegraph, this will be a ten million pound deal
Speaker 1: for the twenty five year old attacker Pomus. They want
Speaker 1: to get some more attention. They added Aaron Ramsey and
Speaker 1: now they are chasing Kaylor Novas. Reports indicate that Novas
Speaker 1: has already started pressuring Nouele's old boys to leave Argentina.
Speaker 1: He wants to go to Pumas in Mexico. Cost could
Speaker 1: be up to seven million dollars, which is a crazy
Speaker 1: amount of money for a goalkeeper of his age. But
Speaker 1: if Pumas is this aggressive. Oh, very interesting if they
Speaker 1: get Kayler Novas and Aaron Ramsey and who knows what
Speaker 1: else they try to bring in Nelson Delsa. He was
Speaker 1: one of the stars at the Club World Cup. From there,
Speaker 1: there's interest from European clubs and signing him this summer.
Speaker 1: According to Diego Medina of Two Dayna, he's been sought
Speaker 1: out by at least four different teams who have approached
Speaker 1: to learn about his contractual situation twenty million dollar release clause.
Speaker 1: Monterrey are in no rush to sell. River Plate and
Speaker 1: Porto were two clubs that were interested and put off
Speaker 1: by that release clause. Last one in the other category,
Speaker 1: which is where John Texter typically lives, he is reportedly
Speaker 1: involved in talks to buy Watford. He's talking to Gino Pozzo,
Speaker 1: the club's owner. Where the money will come from is
Speaker 1: another story, but yes, Sheffield Wednesday is also desperately in
Speaker 1: need of new ownership. I don't know if he wants
Speaker 1: to take that one on, don't know if he could
Speaker 1: meet that sale price, because that one seems to be
Speaker 1: a really crazy situation that likely is going to end
Speaker 1: in severe tragedy with a club probably going bust. Watford
Speaker 1: maybe not on text buys it. Who knows Watford might
Speaker 1: want to talk to the folks at Leone and possibly
Speaker 1: at both the Fogo as well, and maybe others. John
Speaker 1: Texter's Eagle Football group was in the process of changing
Speaker 1: the name of their Belgian club, but that has been
Speaker 1: pushed back and they're going to keep the historic name
Speaker 1: or somewhat historic name of the club, Molenbeek. Keeping that
Speaker 1: in there because they actually have a deal on the
Speaker 1: stadium to they must have Moldenbeek in their name, so
Speaker 1: that's another reason why that one is staying where it is.
Speaker 1: John Texter just continuing to make good copy for us
Speaker 1: here at the Morning Espresso. I'm sure there will be
Speaker 1: more from John Texter and many many others coming up
Speaker 1: in future editions of The Morning Espresso. So here's your
Speaker 1: schedule the rest of the week. We'll have a training
Speaker 1: ground dispatch later today from Marietta and Atlanta United as
Speaker 1: they get ready to head to Toronto on the weekend.
Speaker 1: Myself and Madison Cruise will be at training this morning
Speaker 1: along with our own Caroline Hood. We'll updated and everything
Speaker 1: that we see today on training ground dispatch later this
Speaker 1: afternoon tonight. Atlanta Soccer Tonight returns on ninety two nine
Speaker 1: in a game, and the Oudyssey app at ten pm
Speaker 1: will update you on what happens today in the Club
Speaker 1: World Cup. We'll look ahead to Madrid and PSG, and
Speaker 1: we'll get into any other news that breaks as the
Speaker 1: day goes on, which is all very very possible. So
Speaker 1: no Morning Espresso on Wednesday morning. The Espresso will be
Speaker 1: back on Thursday after Atlanta United to play on Wednesday night.
Speaker 1: You'll be able to listen to that broadcast on the
Speaker 1: SDH Network on our Mixler channel or by going to
Speaker 1: Soccer down Here dot net and clicking listen. Very very
Speaker 1: busy week ahead. Thank you for being a big part
Speaker 1: of it here on the SDH Network, and big thank
Speaker 1: you to our friends at Oglethorpe University for sponsoring the
Speaker 1: Morning Espresso