← Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Galaxy Final-Bound Sans Puig, Pep's 6 Losses in 7 Games, and the Truth About Klinsmann
01:03:16
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- [00:00]
Landon Donovan
You're a soccer player, you're not a soccer practicer, right? Or you're not a soccer contracted person. Like, do you want to play soccer or not?
- [00:18]
Tim Howard
Welcome, everybody, to Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has been a long supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S. soccer for the past five years. So thank you very much to them. LD look at you. Look at us.
- [00:33]
Landon Donovan
Look at us.
- [00:34]
Tim Howard
Our unfiltered swag has come in.
- [00:36]
Landon Donovan
Swag, baby. Swag.
- [00:38]
Tim Howard
Proudly rocking it.
- [00:39]
Landon Donovan
By the way, I have some extras, so maybe we'll give some away at some point because I can't wear all of it. How was your Thanksgiving?
- [00:47]
Tim Howard
Great. It was amazing. Weather was good, food was good, kids are all well. I injured myself. We played backyard football.
- [00:54]
Landon Donovan
Injured yourself?
- [00:55]
Tim Howard
Yeah, not backyard. We went to a turf field and we played football. I tried to stop on a dime, which didn't work. Popped the old hamstring and I was out of commission. It doesn't work. Things don't work like they used to, bro. I can't. Straight lines. I had to be in straight lines. I can't cut. That's a disaster.
- [01:12]
Landon Donovan
Did you have stopped playing then?
- [01:14]
Tim Howard
It was just designated qb. I was just hobbling, hobbling. So that's fine. I. It's for the cause.
- [01:20]
Landon Donovan
Well, you had. You had physical trauma. I had some emotional trauma. My mother in law, Liz is listening. So. Liz, I promise this is shout out to Liz geared towards you. I went to the Outlaws for Thanksgiving. Nice country club. They had a nice setup. Food was great. Some interesting people. I love my immediate in laws, my father and mother in law and Hannah's sisters love their extended family. Is a little interesting.
- [01:51]
Tim Howard
I love how you're setting this up.
- [01:52]
Landon Donovan
Some interesting comments. We won't get into it too much. Some interesting comments, some interesting conversations, but it was fun. I enjoy that stuff, but it's just not what you're used to. So what'd you eat? It was fun. I enjoyed it. A lot of greens, a lot of healthy.
- [02:08]
Tim Howard
You're from Turkey? Yeah.
- [02:10]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. It was like kale and greens for Thanksgiving.
- [02:12]
Tim Howard
I showed you my plate and I had like zero greens on it, which is unusual for me. I just forgot my greens.
- [02:19]
Landon Donovan
Is it?
- [02:19]
Tim Howard
It is. It is. It's my day to go wild and I went wild on the gravy and the macaroni and cheese and turkey and ham. Macaroni and cheese.
- [02:26]
Landon Donovan
You know, my favorite, My favorite is stuffing. I love stuffing. Like, I would never eat that. Like that Concoction of things. It's just like, celery and bread. And I'm like, this is weird, but it's so good, man.
- [02:38]
Tim Howard
So good.
- [02:39]
Landon Donovan
All right, follow us on social media at Unfiltered Soccer. Make sure you subscribe to the show on YouTube. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify. If you like what we're doing or if you hate it, just leave a comment. Review us. Actually, don't review us if you hate it, because then more people won't listen. But anything out there you want to say, feedback, you guys let us know. We can handle it. You can also email us at feedback unfiltered soccer.com. all right, let's start an MLS conference finals. Your Red Bulls went to Orlando, a hostile confines of Orlando and beat Orlando 1 nothing.
- [03:17]
Tim Howard
Yeah, I like it was my Metro Stars. I don't know if it's my red Metro donkey. Terrible. We have. Our logo used to be a taxi. If you guys can look up the old mls.
- [03:29]
Landon Donovan
It was a taxi.
- [03:30]
Tim Howard
One of them was a taxi.
- [03:32]
Landon Donovan
Stop it.
- [03:33]
Tim Howard
Absolutely. I mean, listen, there's still people in New York that will have, like, an old Metro Stars jersey. And I'm like, you know, you suffered with me. You know, it's amazing. Yeah. Good times. Yeah. Look, I think. I think the game played how Red Bull probably wanted to play. You know, it was a little bit scrappy. Reyes scores in the 47th minute. Good time to score. I mean, it's never a bad time, but there's some good time to score. It kind of gave Red Bull the impetus to, like, go on and have something to hold on to. Yeah, look, I'm. I love. You know, when we look at the other side of it, which we'll talk about, you know, the galaxy has always been, and rightfully so, the glitz and the glamour team, which of mls, which I love, and they've been brilliant, and Red Bull right now are just, like, feisty and scrappy. And I think that contrast. You know, there's always a team in American sports when it comes to playoffs that you're like, they shouldn't be here. You talked about it in one of our last episodes. Like, just get in. Once you get in now the gloves are off and, like, and you catch. You catch fire. And to be in that dress room, you. You get on these runs as a. As the underdog team in the playoffs. You just know. You don't know where the moment's coming from, but you know it's coming. It might be a scrappy goal, a header. It could be against the run of play, but you have this confidence in your group that you're going to get it done and, yeah, you're just not going to lose.
- [04:52]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, yeah. No congrats to them. And it's going to be an interesting matchup. Let's get into Galaxy. They pummeled the Sounders for the first 30 minutes. I was watching with my boys on the couch. I was just waiting for the goal to come. It never came. Seattle kind of worked their way back into the game. They were happy to sit defend and then had some counter opportunities, which the Galaxy dealt with very well. But eventually you felt it was going to come. You just didn't know when. And Ricky Pooch, I don't know. I don't know how this guy does this. So he tore his ACL crazy in the game, and my first thought was, well, how the hell did they let him keep playing in the game? Because, you know, when they come out on the field, they do this exercise, you know, it like, where they check the. I don't know, they check. Just check how sturdy your knee is. Right. They can usually tell structurally right away if it's torn and not. I mean, I have never seen a situation where they said it's torn and then it wasn't, or it's fine and then it was torn. Like, they know, right. And so it was just crazy that everybody knew it was torn. And I'm wondering if they had the conversation, said, listen, Ricky, you can keep playing worse, you know, it probably ain't going to get worse. And he's probably like, yeah, I'll do it. Because he also knew right after the game he was crying with his parents, whatever. Anyway, so 85th minute, he gets a ball, makes a little play on a turnover from Seattle, plays a great pass into Yovalich, who buries it. And that was it. That was the goal they needed. And I just have so much respect for Ricky, not just because what he'd done as a player, but he's brought some soul back to the Galaxy, and that's been missing for so long, Tim. And I just love the way he cares about the franchise.
- [06:33]
Tim Howard
Yeah. No, that loyalty is important. And I think for those of you who have never experienced adrenaline at that level, you know, that's what's carried him. To be able to play through an injury like that, to be able to brush that aside, and it's. Adrenaline is one of the craziest things ever, ever, ever.
- [06:55]
Landon Donovan
You know, Tim, real quick, just talking to that. So I don't know if I've ever shared this public. I don't even know how much you guys knew. So in the Algeria game.
- [07:04]
Tim Howard
Yep.
- [07:05]
Landon Donovan
Where I scored the goal at the end.
- [07:08]
Tim Howard
Um, the one that I threw to you.
- [07:10]
Landon Donovan
Oh, that was you. Um, after that game, I was with Burt Mandelbaum, our doctor, and they were doing some tests and I actually, in my, like, it was a very small tear, but I had a tear in my hamstring and I ended up playing three days later in the Ghana game. But to your point, like, when you have that level of adrenaline going, you don't even think about it. Like. And like you. I'm. I'm Canadian, so I love hockey and these guys play with like broken legs in the playoffs and like, they just, you just don't even think about. So he got through it, man. Congrats to him. Phenomenal that he got them there. Now the question is, as we look forward to the final. So you have this crazy, hectic, chaotic Red Bull style, by the way, on a really big field against a team that loves to have the ball. So I'm curious how that's going to play out because they might just run themselves into the ground if they're not careful. But how do you replace Ricky Pooch? I mean, is it a straight like, for like with Delgado or Brugman or how do you, you know, how do you go about that?
- [08:11]
Tim Howard
Yeah, it's a good question. And, and I will say from experience, like, I've played in some amazing places and sometimes, sometimes dimensions of the field are also based on sight lines. Like some fields feel bigger and smaller. The field in LA is massive.
- [08:27]
Landon Donovan
Yes. So big.
- [08:28]
Tim Howard
Like, I always remember standing and it plays big. It plays big. I remember I even my last couple seasons in mls having been. Been in Europe and we've. You and I've been to World Cups together. And I just remember like standing in the 18 yard box thinking, how big is it? Like, it's massive. And the sight lines open up. It's. It's beautiful to play, but yeah. So, you know, one of the things about, about Ricky Puja I just admire is his, is his ability to create flow for that team. Right. Best player or not, he's absolutely the most influential player. I don't think he's the best player, but he's the most influential player. And I remember when they played in this run when they played the Colorado Rapids and they played him off the park, and I just remember thinking I'd play two up front. It's easy to say this in hindsight. Right. But as I watched the playoffs go, I'd play two up front. I'd sacrifice one of my strikers and it would essentially shadow him, not man mark him like the old days, where, like, the coach would say, grab a fistful of his shirt and if he goes to the bathroom, you go with him. That's how we used to man mark. But you can tell, like, it's so obvious to the trained or untrained eye. When Ricky Pu gets into flow, he's going. And you can see something's going to happen. You don't know if a goal is going to get scored or whatever, but you can see it happening. Because la, his team does the same thing. They go from first gear to fourth. They skip two gears like they're walking. P puts his foot on the ball, he looks up, he rolls it, he passes it to a center back, runs and gets it from the center back. Everyone's standing and then when they go, they just fly. And so I would, you know, and it's sad to say, because he's out and he's Torres acl. I would have just spent so much time dumping him, constantly getting niggles at his ankles and making sure he was on the turf, because I think that's important to break up the flow, because LA is all about flow and they're brilliant. How does he do it? That's been the question for me as I look and. And I wonder what. What's Greg Vani gonna. Gonna do? You and I would agree, you can essentially go like, for, like, and say, okay, this is. We're not gonna change formations. We're not gonna tilt the formation. We're gonna put a player in place of him. Well, same thing happened at Man City. Rodri's out. We're gonna play the same way. We just plug somebody in for Rodri, it doesn't work. They're not the same player. I mean, to watch Pooj dip his shoulder and dive and duck and make people miss, like, that's what he wants. He actually wants you to come onto him so that he can spin you and create that momentum. So the other part is, as you know, it's like, okay, well then tilt the formation and change things. It's like, this is how you've won all season long playing this way. So it's a big question. Obviously, Greg Vanny knows that he's qualified. He's a brilliant manager. I just wonder from the psyche of the players, because I've been in these dressing rooms and it's like, when you don't have your ace There. When you don't have your main guy there, you're like, oh, we can say all the right things in the press. Next man up. Da, da, da, da. It ain't the same.
- [11:23]
Landon Donovan
No, it's not.
- [11:23]
Tim Howard
And so from a. From a mentality standpoint with the Galaxy, they're really going to have to figure out how they get over this hump.
- [11:30]
Landon Donovan
Well, I tell you who's had a lot of sleepless nights over the last few nights is Greg Vanny. Right. Like, normally you would be excited. Can't wait. Let's just keep them going. Few training sessions, let's go. I can promise there's been a lot of anxiety. It's easy to say. Like you said, next man up, we're fine. They can win without him. They can. My bigger question is, how are they going to play the game? They have 600, 650, 700 passes every game. And they're just like you said, methodical. Methodical. And then when they break lines, they break pressure, then they accelerate the attack and bang, they're at you. And that's how they play. Nobody else can do that the way he can. And I'm not sure there's anyone in the league who does that in the same way he does.
- [12:11]
Tim Howard
Correct.
- [12:12]
Landon Donovan
So how do you deal with that as a manager? It'd be fascinating to watch. And we'll know early, like, what kind of game do they think they're going to get into? The other thing that's hard, Tim, in these weeks, and I don't think people realize this is how you prepare for this game. It is different. And everyone's going to, again, publicly, everyone's going to say, just another game. Which is not. Think about it from New York standpoint, they've got to travel, so they're flying across the country. We used to, when we would go across country for a final, we would leave at least three days early, maybe four. I wouldn't be surprised if they're leaving today on Tuesday or tomorrow on a Wednesday. Getting there really early. And then the other thing that you have to think about, and this is, I don't think fans understand this. Playing a game at 1pm is way different than playing a night game. There's, like a visual aspect to it. There's a sleep, like circadian rhythm timing to it. So for New York Red Bull players, it's going to feel like 4pm unless they get out really early and get adjusted to the time. But then the question is, do you train at 1pm if you're both teams, I Personally loved it. I would. We would train at 1pm because you know what else changes? All your preparation. So now you. Instead of waking up at 8, training at 10, or waking up at 8, going for a walk, sleeping all afternoon and playing a game at 7pm, now you got to play at 1pm and 1pm kickoff is way different.
- [13:34]
Tim Howard
Yeah.
- [13:35]
Landon Donovan
There's media that happens during the week that's unusual. There's ticket requests from all your friends and family, which is a total disaster, as you know. It's a total nightmare. People texting you Friday evening saying, hey, do you got one more ticket? And you're like, jesus, dude, I'm just trying to rest for the game.
- [13:50]
Tim Howard
Right, right.
- [13:51]
Landon Donovan
Travel, people's families traveling. And this is on both sides. Right. So there's a lot of things that change and it's going to be interesting to see who handles that better.
- [13:59]
Tim Howard
Yeah. And I think that. I think the preparation for Red Bull specifically, obviously, LA will have its own challenges. And I think about, you know, I certainly don't question the Galaxy tactics. And, you know, when you were playing, because you guys won so much, I remember playing, you know, playing Premier League games on the weekend then, and then playing in Europe, whether it be Europa League or Champions League midweek. And I remember managers would bring us in to train at the time we were going to play, like you said. So that was like, we always play, you know, in England, you play in the afternoon or in the morning, and then European games are at night, so they're under the lights. There's a different feel to it. So we would train in the evenings. And I remember hating that as a player because I was like, just let me transit at the normal time, and then on match day, I can figure out my routine. You know, we're old enough and responsible enough to do that. Red Bull, as you mentioned, do they travel on the Wednesday or the Thursday? You know, I was always a proponent of managers who would keep us in our own bed and in our own homes and our routine the same. And even if you can buy one more day of that, it kind of takes the pressure off. But, you know, from the standpoint of being an older senior player, managers used to tell me, like, hey, enjoy, you know, enjoy the week leading up to a Cup Final or whatever, but not too much or. And I would. And I remember thinking, like, I can't enjoy it. I'm too tense. But. And then the older I got, I would help try and keep the vibe of the team light and enjoy the press conferences and enjoy the open Trainings because it was like, look at us, we deserve this. We deserve to have all the eyes on us. We've earned this. We'll still be focused on match day, but, you know, enjoying the buildup in those, in those, as you know, in the, in the big games because they're so different. Everything about that week is about the final and so it's hard. And I think about the game itself. Any big game, you know, they often say, like, finals are more disappointing than semifinals because semifinals have everything. It's chaos, you know, and finals are cagey because both teams are like, oh, I'm scared to death to lose this. But I think early on it's going to be interesting because big games and, you know, this, the first 15, 20 minutes are all about establishing battle lines. And Red Bull do that really well. In terms of the Red Bull way, right? They pass forward, run forward, run through tackles, play on the knock, play balls in the channel. It's a bit chaotic. And they found a way to be comfortable in that chaos and they've thrived on that. So do I think that Galaxy will get the ball down and play and create tempo? Of course they will. That's what they've done. That's what they've been successful with under Greg Benny. It's just about how long that takes them. Do they concede chances early on? It's going to be a fascinating final.
- [16:36]
Landon Donovan
I was just, as you were talking through that one other thing we had happen in our first final with Beckham, he was trying to get us suits, like matching suits to wear all week. And for most of our guys, like in 2011, you know, a lot of guys were making 60, 70, 80 grand. So to get like a two thousand dollar suit was like they were stoked.
- [16:56]
Tim Howard
Right, Right.
- [16:56]
Landon Donovan
But the problem is, is he was trying to get it done and I don't, for some reason it wasn't coming together. So on the Friday before our Saturday game after training, they said, guys, we need you to go in and get fitted for your suit. Right. And I was like, okay, that's cool. But now I'm standing on my feet for two hours trying to get, you know, fitted into whatever. And they somehow turned it around and got us the suits the next morning. And yeah, it was amazing. I mean, that's the power of Beckham, by the way.
- [17:22]
Tim Howard
God bless David Beckham for being able to turn around a team.
- [17:26]
Landon Donovan
Our guys were stoked walking in with a suit, you know, like David probably didn't even wear the suit. He probably wore his, you know, 20,000 doll or whatever he wore. But he was so pumped. But just the point is it just everything changes on those weeks. It is.
- [17:39]
Tim Howard
And by the way, cup final suit are amazing. You know, I've been to a few cup finals and I remember that was part of the like winning the semifinal was like amazing when a cup funnel also what color our suits going to be, what's going to tie like it's. I still have my cup final suits hanging in my closet. It's crazy.
- [17:55]
Landon Donovan
Well, it's going to be fun to watch. I will be there. So I will send some Instagram clips or some version. I'll be there with my boys enjoying it and should be a lot of fun. Go Galaxy. I'm no problems being biased here. You can root for whoever you want, Tim, but go Galaxy. One other thing in MLS just caught caught my eye this week. There have been so many coaching changes. It's crazy. Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose, Dallas, Austin, Philly, Vancouver, NYC, Toronto, Inter, Miami. And what came to mind to me is in the past in MLS you saw very little of this one. It was hard to find another new manager who was good enough. Probably one before that his teams were cheap so they didn't want to pay people out if they had two or three years left on their deal.
- [18:45]
Tim Howard
That's right.
- [18:45]
Landon Donovan
But it just feels now like owners are more emotional and more invested. And you see this in other sports where it's like Eber fluss for the Bears makes a bad decision, bang, you're out. Right? And now owners are just. Their expectations are unrealistic and they think they should be doing better than they are. So they're like just get rid of the coach. Right. And I don't necessarily like it, but I think it is a sign of maturation for mls.
- [19:10]
Tim Howard
I. I don't like to see people get fired. I don't. You know, I think it's these are. These are men and women just doing exactly what we're trying to do, you know, become great. And it's tough to see them, to see people lose their jobs. The flip side to that is, as you mentioned, the landscape of soccer in America has changed. There there are better coaching candidates. Right. And ownership groups who do care and who do listen to the pulse of the team. You know, whether that be commercially from a fan standpoint, from the players, obviously you hope that these are all very calculated decision. You know, it's crazy to think though that like nearly a third of the league has had coaching vacancies, you know, either, you know, back into this season or the off season, it's. It's more than I've ever seen. I think it also comes down to the fact that, and you mentioned it a little bit back in the first iteration of mls, there just wasn't a lot of good managers out there, right? There just wasn't like the good managers. You knew who they were and that. And that was it. But the fact of the matter is I. I look at a guy like Robin Frazier, who I played under for six months in Colorado. He's a. He's a fantastic manager. The fact that he doesn't have a job currently, I mean, some of the work he did with Colorado got cut short too quickly, but he would be an absolute diamond for one of these teams to pick up. So hopefully, you know, he's getting a look in as well.
- [20:38]
Landon Donovan
Curious what our listeners think. Maybe who are the top three to five managers they would think they would like to see for their teams or who you think would be next on the list? All right, let's move across the pond. Premier League, big story of the weekend. Liverpool smash. Man City. And it's two nil. But like, I have never seen, Tim, the mannerisms, the body language of Man City. I've never seen them look like that. The first 30 minutes, I mean, they were like moping around the field. They were all over the place tactically. Like Bernardo Silva, experiment in the midfield, central midfield, like that is long over. They. They are just all out of sorts, man. And I'm. It has to be deeper than just tactical stuff. There has to be something going on behind the scenes. And it's sad to watch because I love good soccer and I love that pep is always pushed. It's why I'm happy the Galaxy. Not just because the Galaxy are back, but the way they play.
- [21:34]
Tim Howard
Yeah.
- [21:34]
Landon Donovan
Versus teams that just sit in and defend and they're ugly and sl. So it's hard for me to watch. It's. It's. I don't know. It's. It's been hard to watch.
- [21:44]
Tim Howard
What's going on in City is bad, man. It's. It's, you know, has gone from bad to worse as well. Like, hats off to Liverpool. I mean, playing for sure that. The way that they're playing under a transition of manager from. From Klopp to slot and leading the league and doing it in the fashion they are like, hats off to Liverpool. And it's. It's fantastic. But again, the bigger or big as big of a story is the capitulation of Manchester City. Like we're seeing it in a real scary way, take its toll. Like we're seeing body language that we've never seen from these players. By the way, this is a team who always overcome nearly everything. Like, like they have a points deficit, no problem. They'll go on a 14 game unbeaten run. Like they are losing games that you just expect them to win or expect them to show a better account of themselves. I mean like Pep Guardiola, you know, he had the other day, the scratches on his head and a cut nose and he was bleeding and he made an uncomfortable joke about self harm. We know self harm is nothing to joke about. And mental illness and he since has walked that back as has the club. But it speaks to a bigger moment. Like we've, we've never seen that from him, you know, and I watch him every week and he always puts his head in his hands and he scratches his head. But this was like physical harms, you know, like it's scary, it's anger and I, and I just, I just look at, I just look at City and think like what is going to come of this team? You know, you think they were in midweek in the Champions League 33 draw to Feyenoord, booed off at full time. And by the way, it was a draw that felt like a loss. But shame on you City fans, by the way, for boo. For booing. Because I know for a fact I've watched European nights at City and there's been a lot of light blue seats empty. So I don't think you have the right to boo a team who's given you the success it's given you and yet sometimes on European nights you don't show up because you know what, it's not really that good of a team and we're just expected to get to the next round. So I'm not buying, I'm not buying those booze. But the fact of the matter is this feels like big trouble for City.
- [23:51]
Landon Donovan
Well, Pep is human, City are human and it's interesting to see how much longer this continues and can they turn it around. We won't spend much time on United but they beat our old team Everton comfortably. They look good but we'll have more to say when they play some teams further up the table and. But a good win for, for Emirham and, and looks like they're moving in the right.
- [24:13]
Tim Howard
Yeah, I think, I think under, under Ruben Emerin it's, you know, I think as a player on the inside, you oftentimes talk about like processes and information Getting taken on board and muscle memory it. These wins, no matter what team they're against, they're important in the, in the buildup. Because as a new manager takes over, he's pumping these ideas into this team. Right. He's trying to strip away what the last manager brought in and trying to implement his ideas. And there are growing pains with that. And what make the growing pains easier to handle is when you win games. And I know that sounds simplistic, but this team, this Man United team will then go back on the training ground next week and go, yeah, Gaffer told me to make this run and I did it and I got the cross away and we scored from it. It makes you feel good. Does it make you feel perfect? No, but it lets you know. Because what ends up happening is if you don't win those games, then all.
- [25:04]
Landon Donovan
Of a sudden you're like, the doubt creeps in.
- [25:06]
Tim Howard
There's so much doub. Football players are so insecure and so temperamental that they need that, that security and need that confidence. So, you know, Amarim is building and these are, these are huge, huge building blocks.
- [25:17]
Landon Donovan
Well, by the way, when, when Rude Van Istorow was there, they, I think won four in a row. And so they're probably like, okay, we're doing pretty well here. So, you know, do we need to change things? And they're on, they're on the right path, it looks like. Speaking of rvn, your former teammate.
- [25:30]
Tim Howard
Yeah.
- [25:31]
Landon Donovan
Lester City, he is now the manager of Leicester City. Is that earned deserve? Is that just because of his last four games?
- [25:40]
Tim Howard
Probably. Which is crazy. So like, you know, Rude is someone who I consider a friend. I've enjoyed watching I played with him. He's brilliant. Watching his, you know, managerial career at PSV and certainly at United. And he got those four games after Ten Hag was sacked as the interim manager. And the crazy thing about, we just talked about this with MLS owners and kind of being emotional and knee jerky with some of their decisions. This is the opposite. Like, I don't think Rude. And again, I think he deserves an opportunity because I think he's a good enough manager. But he got this lesser job because of the four or five games that he, that he managed Man United. Like, I don't sit here and say even with his, his CV resume in coaching with PSV and others, he doesn't get this Leicester City job if he doesn't get those, if he doesn't manage those four games, five games for Manchester United. So like, when you look at the, the Leicester city ownership group, they're thinking, we're going to give this guy a job based on that performance. So it works both ways. I'm excited to see him back in the Premier League for sure.
- [26:42]
Landon Donovan
I mean, hopefully it goes well for him. You have to remember people forget. It's usually one or two people making these decisions.
- [26:48]
Tim Howard
True.
- [26:48]
Landon Donovan
And what you also don't, we're all humans. So, like whoever the chairman is or the chairwoman or the owner, they might say, I loved watching that guy play. Yeah, I want to. I want to hire him. And that's it. And it's over. It's done. We'll see what happens. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we will be talking US Men's national team psv. What a comeback they had with Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepe right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim. Presented by Volkswagen.
- [27:24]
Tim Howard
The Unfiltered Soccer podcast is brought to you by Volkswagen, the presenting partner of U.S. soccer.
- [27:29]
Landon Donovan
Since 2019, Volkswagen has been on a mission to drive the future of the sport we all love. And VW is committed to making it more diverse, inclusive and accessible for everyone.
- [27:39]
Tim Howard
They're not just talking about it, they're out there doing it. VW's partnerships, programs and soccer clinics are unlocking opportunities for the next generation of players and fans.
- [27:47]
Landon Donovan
As a longtime friend of Volkswagen, I've seen firsthand how VW are connecting with fans and driving the sport forward. From working with them on clinics to being part of their incredible campaigns, it's clear U.S. soccer is truly powered by the people.
- [28:00]
Tim Howard
Thank you to VW for being our presenting partner. Learn more about how VW are supporting U.S. soccer@vw.com Craven the Hunter who uses all the methods of the animals on December 13th.
- [28:15]
Landon Donovan
Once you're on his list, there's only one way off.
- [28:18]
Tim Howard
Are you like your father?
- [28:20]
Landon Donovan
He puts evil into the world. I get rid of people like him. Who's next?
- [28:25]
Tim Howard
Witness the making of a new Marvel villain.
- [28:27]
Landon Donovan
I think you've some kind of honor.
- [28:29]
Tim Howard
You're a criminal just like our father. Aaron Taylor Johnson is Craven the Hunter rated R under 1790 minute without parent. In theaters December 13th.
- [28:38]
Landon Donovan
Shop blinds.com Cyber Monday sales event now for some of the best deals of the season.
- [28:43]
C
A blinds.com design expert can help you.
- [28:45]
Landon Donovan
Make the perfect selection on your schedule. We can handle everything from measure to your whole home. Installed for one low cost with over.
- [28:53]
C
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- [28:56]
Landon Donovan
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- [29:03]
C
Right now at blinds.com rules and restrictions may apply.
- [29:09]
Tim Howard
All right, LD, let's jump into us. LNT on us MNT. PSV's club colors are red and white, but they might actually be red, white and blue. Tell us why.
- [29:19]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. Midweek Champions League. So Malik Tillman scores off a free kick. Weird angle. 87th minute, like, barely crossed the line against Shaktar. Done. X. They're down 2 0. That makes it 2 1. Then Tillman scored. An absolute banger. If you haven't seen the video, go watch it. Just the way he strikes is so pure. And then Mr. Super Sub hates. That's why I say it. Ricardo Pepe gets the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time. A little bit of. Look what I found. It bounces around in the box, falls to him. But he is in that kind of form, by the way. He was subbed on again at the start of the second half. What else does this guy have to do to start a game? Well, what else does he have to do? Yeah, I mean, I'm just sick of it. It's like ridiculous. How many times do you have to score? You say, I scored, I did my job. Can I start a game now?
- [30:07]
Tim Howard
Look, I love what he's doing. I love. I love what Ricardo Pepe is doing. I think the fact that he continues to say he wants to play. He hates the moniker super Stub. His head is on. His head is on, right? He's saying. He's saying the right things. He's being bold and brash. And then he's going and handling his business. And look what people. I live this, and I know you live this. People can question this for as long as we're on air. American soccer players get the short end of the stick in Europe. End of story. It is if he played for a South American country or a European country and he's banging in goals for his team.
- [30:45]
Landon Donovan
He's starting.
- [30:46]
Tim Howard
He's starting. I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry, people. That's how it works. And so, you know, the mindset is what I love. You have to have. You have to have this mindset that I'm going to earn it every day. And he's doing. And he's doing that. So great for him. Also great for the US Men's national team. You want players who are informed, by the way. Constantly informed. Not like informed for a couple of months. Constantly informed over the course of a Season and an international calendar. So well played to him.
- [31:13]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. Elsewhere. Good to see Christian Pulisic back in form. The whole Trump dance thing seems to be gone and hopefully in the past, hopefully he's learned from it. But right back in form, scored against Bratislava in the Champions League and then had an assist this weekend. So he's right back at it. So good for him.
- [31:33]
Tim Howard
Definitely. Definitely. I think. And I think, well, what we already know is how heavily Milan rely on him, you know, and I think that's a good thing to have that sort of pressure because it's easy to perform when, when you aren't the main guy and it's much more difficult when you're expected to score. You're expected to perform. And we expect that from him on the US national team. But the fact that a world powerhouse, a European powerhouse like AC Milan feels that way about him too, and he continues to deliver. Hats off to him. Well done.
- [32:03]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. And long may it continue. Hopefully. Definitely. So this producers reminded us this day two years ago, because the Qatar World cup was in the winter, was US Netherlands, the 31 loss to the Netherlands. And it got us thinking as we were chatting through this week, where are we today as a national team? And I'm going to give you the lineup in a second that day. Are we better off? Are we worse off? Are we the same? Here was the lineup. So Matt Turner in goal, we had Serginio Dest at right back, Walker Zimmerman, Tim Ream and Anthony Robinson at left back. We had McKenna Adams and Musa through the middle Pulisic way on the wings and up top. So just walk me through that. Are we better off today? Worse off, where are we at?
- [32:59]
Tim Howard
It's funny, you know, I cast my, my mind back to that game when I, when I saw, when I saw the rundown and Memphis Depay scored daily, Blinn scored for them, Denzel Dumfries. I mean, talented, talented players. But I remember thinking on the day like this game was somewhat delicately balanced. Us gave up the early goal, but we're playing tough, which is what you need to do, as you know, in a World cup for the US and then it was just like that. Those fine margins ld the technical ability of the Dutch. And I remember thinking, this is the difference. This is the difference when it comes to the US team overall versus a European team or a South American team that are just littered with good, talented players, where it's that one touch, that final pass, whatever it was. And I mean, look, overall as a team, I wouldn't say that we're much further ahead than that team, given the step back that we took in Copa America. Right. Because we're on a different coach. What I would say is, you know, when I look at McKinney and Adams and Moussa, that part, those partnerships, that development of that midfield is a few years older, which can only benefit the understanding and the knowledge of how they play together. So that.
- [34:13]
Landon Donovan
Sam, let me just start. That's assuming those three one will play together because Musub has been playing wide now with Pochettin a little bit and Tyler Adams hasn't been healthy.
- [34:21]
Tim Howard
Right.
- [34:21]
Landon Donovan
Right. So now.
- [34:22]
Tim Howard
Yeah, you know, I would expect, I would look. My expectations is that they would play together in some. Some way. Shape or form. That gets a check from me. We know Pulisic and Waya have continued to do the business over the.
- [34:36]
Landon Donovan
And they're in better form now.
- [34:37]
Tim Howard
They're in better form both on the club side as well. They seem to be settled. So that for me is again a big check mark. And then, you know, in goal, you know, thoughts are, I don't know if we're better off. I mean, I think you mentioned something to me where you didn't think so. I mean, we're. I think we're probably in the same position.
- [34:57]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. I mean, Matt Turner has not been playing. Right. It's just. It's hard to say we're better off there. And then our center backs outside. I mean, Anthony Robinson playing at an elite. Elite.
- [35:07]
Tim Howard
Yeah, yeah.
- [35:08]
Landon Donovan
Scally on the right. Okay. Center backs. I mean, still I think an issue, right?
- [35:14]
Tim Howard
Yeah. Center back is going to be. Going to be an issue, I think until. And this is really hard for. For the US to develop, but like a center back who wants to be. You know, when you look at the best center backs in the world, which is what world football is asking, you have to open up and be expansive and know how to play. But you also have to dig in and grind and be tough as nails and be towering in your headers and tough in the tackle. And I can think of a bunch of players in the Premier League that I watch every weekend and I'm like, okay, they have both of those. And until the US has the ability to develop a player at that level, it's still going to be a struggle to find the right partnership.
- [35:56]
Landon Donovan
Yeah. And when you're playing against the elite teams, right, like the elite teams, just. Strikers will just tear you apart.
- [36:03]
Tim Howard
Yeah.
- [36:03]
Landon Donovan
I mean, they just will. Eventually they get you one on one or they get you in a bad position. They're just going to tear you apart. Right. So. And then the other problem I think right now, but I think this might improve with Pochettino is the depth element. Right, the depth element. And I've talked about this as an issue, but now, like, Tanner Tessman came in and played well.
- [36:21]
Tim Howard
Yeah. I like him, by the way.
- [36:23]
Landon Donovan
Now with Pepe and Baligan, hopefully doing better and doing well. Hopefully the depth gets better and better. I mean, Gio Reyna during that tournament and now, you know, just hasn't played.
- [36:35]
Tim Howard
Yeah. About Geo, what's, what's.
- [36:38]
Landon Donovan
Well, I mean, Geo's frustrating, right? Because, you know, this is. Tim, we have this conversation sometimes when I talk to young players and this is both the men's and the women's side, I hear the same comment all the time. I want to go to Europe. I want to play in Europe. I want to play in Europe. Okay, one, what the hell does that mean? Right? Because Europe could be Latvia. Europe could be, you know, like, they.
- [37:00]
Tim Howard
Probably mean big, big four.
- [37:02]
Landon Donovan
Well, it could be a, you know, third division club in Portugal, you could be in Luxembourg, you know, you're still in Europe. So what does that mean, first of all? Yeah, define that for me. And then in a case like Geo, great, you signed with Bruce Dortmund, right? Like, great, you went on loan to Forrest. You don't play soccer. Like, he's, he's. I used to hate this. Like, you're a soccer player, you're not a soccer practicer, right. Or you're not a soccer contracted person. You're a soccer player. Like, do you want to play soccer or not? And now I know injuries with Gio, sure. But I just get so sick of this bullshit. Like, I want to play in Europe, I want to play. And if people crap on MLS all the time and I get it and whatever, guess what? Gio Reyna and MLS would have played 300 games by now. Hopefully would have been fit. He's 20 and he would have been flying. Maybe then you go to Europe, somewhere in Europe and play. But it's just frustrating because a guy that talented, a lot of people who are inside the camp say that is the most talented guy.
- [37:59]
Tim Howard
Oh, 100%. I mean, Geo's special. Georena is. I think the frustrating thing is it's hard. Look, from everything you're saying, you know, you and I balanced our careers differently, right? But we both had success. Balancing your career is. Is hard, right? It's. Do you go on loan? Do you take the money instead? There's a. And there is no Real right answer. I think the frustrating part for me is, I mean, we, case in point, I just talked about the center backs, right? We don't produce Landon Donovan's and Clint Dempsey's and these guys every day I'm talking, you know, and others special. And Claudio Reyna, his dad was a special player as well. US doesn't have the luxury like Brazil. If you, if you miss on one, so what? There's another one coming, Pipeline. And by the way, the guy who's 19, you better hurry up and have your success because by the time you're 23, another Brazilian kid's going to take your spot. We don't have that luxury. So when you get a player like a Kristen Pulisic or a Timothy Weah, Giorena is special, man. He's special. He's got, he's got magic in his boots. He has a toughness and a doggedness about him that not every US Player has. You know, he's a physically very gifted and he's nasty. He's got that nasty streak. He's got that dog in him that I love. And because of that, I want to see him play more. Like, it's a little bit selfish. Like, I want to see him play more. But again, it's so, so very difficult to manage those elements of your career. And it kind of ebbs and flows. You know, my thought process would, would be between now and the World Cup. I think that will get better for him. I think that, you know, that he, that, you know, either he moves on or plays more at Dortmund because he is, he is grade A talent.
- [39:47]
Landon Donovan
Curious what you guys think. Leave us comments. A lot of good comments again in YouTube this week. Are we better off today than we were two years ago? We worse off? We the same. And tell me why. You know, we want to know why. And we can discuss it as we continue to follow us Men's national team. Let's take a break. When we come back, we will get into mailbag. I'm assuming there's lots of good questions again from Jordan. We also talk about anything but soccer right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know, to check the date of the big game first before you accidentally buy tickets on your 20th wedding anniversary and have to spend the next 20 years of your marriage making up for it. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds, you're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.
- [40:57]
Tim Howard
Okay, it's time for Mailbag ld. It's our favorite segment, I think, of the week. And it's definitely our producer Jordan's favorite segment because she gets to have air time and take all of the glory.
- [41:09]
Landon Donovan
She loves the accolades.
- [41:11]
Tim Howard
Junior, come on in.
- [41:12]
C
You guys are so mean to me.
- [41:14]
Tim Howard
Wait, where's your unfiltered soccer swag? Did you not get any?
- [41:18]
C
No, and I don't want to talk about it.
- [41:20]
Tim Howard
It's coming. It's in the mail. It's in the mail.
- [41:22]
Landon Donovan
Just wait for it. Just wait by your door.
- [41:25]
Tim Howard
What's up?
- [41:26]
C
How about some questions?
- [41:27]
Landon Donovan
Can we start with that?
- [41:28]
Tim Howard
All right, so wait, tell me you have some hard hitting questions for us this week.
- [41:33]
C
I do, but I would like to start with a quick clarification if you guys don't mind.
- [41:38]
Tim Howard
Okay.
- [41:39]
C
Kata on YouTube asks Landon, what's the hat in the glass case behind you?
- [41:45]
Landon Donovan
Oh, good question. All right, so that is the. In international soccer, when you make an appearance for your national team, you get what's called a cap. I think in the origin they used to give them a cap, right? Still do, actually. Oh, they still do.
- [42:01]
Tim Howard
I'll follow on.
- [42:02]
Landon Donovan
So when it was my hundredth game against Argentina at the Meadowlands, that was my 100th game, they presented me with that cap. Now the backstory is, although it's cool and I like it, U.S. soccer for the longest time used to give out Rolexes, like nice Rolexes, like this one.
- [42:20]
Tim Howard
For my hundred cap. That one.
- [42:22]
Landon Donovan
So when I was, when I was on 99, I was like, I cannot wait for my Rolex. I don't even wear watches. But like, I wanted to sell it one day, make some cash. And then I. They showed up and they gave me a hat. So I was like, all right, cool. You were so bummed. I was so bummed. But I do appreciate it. And that's what that is. That's my 100th cap. It has all the teams I played against inscribed in there.
- [42:44]
Tim Howard
It's really special. You know what's crazy about that? Which. You're the only one who got that, which is amazing. The caps. That's where the term comes from. Like, not games, play caps. Because even when, you know, when you and I were at Everton together and our England national team players would come back from England duty and they would get. Physically get one of Those caps in.
- [43:08]
Landon Donovan
The mail, give them a cap.
- [43:09]
Tim Howard
So they would come. So they would come into the lunchroom and our manager or director of ops would come in and hand the players the cap. So, like Phil Jagielka or whomever we play with, if they had 50 international caps, they physically have 50 hats, which is.
- [43:25]
Landon Donovan
I think they inscribed the day.
- [43:28]
Tim Howard
They inscribed the day and all.
- [43:29]
Landon Donovan
It's such a wonder why that started.
- [43:30]
Tim Howard
Tradition.
- [43:31]
Landon Donovan
Somebody. Somebody leave us a comment. Tell us why that started.
- [43:33]
Tim Howard
Totally.
- [43:33]
Landon Donovan
That's. I'm curious. All right, so that's it.
- [43:36]
Tim Howard
I kept a clean sheet that game against Argentina and Messi.
- [43:38]
Landon Donovan
Appreciate that, pal.
- [43:38]
Tim Howard
You're welcome.
- [43:39]
Landon Donovan
He only played 45, but appreciate that.
- [43:41]
Tim Howard
So did I.
- [43:44]
C
All right, how about a little talk about the LA Galaxy, since you guys were talking about them either earlier? So Mario on YouTube said there are rumors of the LA Galaxy getting Lewandowski next season. So the last couple of seasons, LA has really switched things around by going after young players in their prime. Do you think they should go for a player like Pepe instead? LA has not had a high caliber US Men's national team player since some guy named Landon Donovan retired.
- [44:15]
Landon Donovan
What a.
- [44:15]
C
And I think we need that representation in the biggest soccer city in the world.
- [44:20]
Landon Donovan
Who asked that?
- [44:21]
C
Mario on YouTube.
- [44:22]
Landon Donovan
Mario. Love it. I love. I love Lewandowski, but Pepe would be a hundred times better for a hundred different reasons. So for me, by the way, Yovalich is doing the job, so no need to bring someone in over him, but I love it. I would bring. I would bring Pepe in all day long.
- [44:38]
Tim Howard
Yeah. I mean, unsurprising that LA Galaxy are linked to a global superstar, because that's just what they do, which is.
- [44:46]
Landon Donovan
That's what top teams do, too.
- [44:48]
Tim Howard
That's true. The Pepe argument is interesting because for me, and we both are in some pretty big MLS circles, I do think there's a lot of value and. And I've said this for a while in building your team, your current team, around a current Mexican national team player and U.S. national team player. And I know that's going to cost, and there's balance in terms of how much that cost, but if you think about the landscape of the league, if you were able to get a current US player and a current Mexican player and putting them. Putting them on the same team and building around them, I think that's pretty special. So anyway, we're not there. We're not there yet, but Pepe would be a great shot.
- [45:28]
Landon Donovan
Okay.
- [45:28]
C
Who else do we have? Evan on YouTube wants to know who are the top three players you guys have played with on a club level. One for each general position. Defense, midfield and striker.
- [45:40]
Tim Howard
Ooh, club. Okay.
- [45:43]
Landon Donovan
On a club level. All right. Striker from Ezizi, Robby Keane. Midfielder. I didn't play much, but Frank Ribery from Bayern Munich. He was so elite. And Lucio from Bayern Munich as well. And Bayer Leverkusen, old Brazilian center back.
- [46:03]
Tim Howard
Lucio. Oh, at. Remember Lucio?
- [46:06]
Landon Donovan
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was at Bayern Munich for a while.
- [46:08]
Tim Howard
Yeah, he was.
- [46:09]
Landon Donovan
He was a tank.
- [46:10]
Tim Howard
That's strong. That's a good one. Sorry, Everton fans. So defensively, Real Ferdinand. I mean, Real Ferdinand was one of the greatest defenders in the world, midfield, I think, when he first came as midfielder. So Ronaldo.
- [46:26]
Landon Donovan
Oh, geez.
- [46:27]
Tim Howard
And then up top, Wayne Rooney. I think we could just.
- [46:31]
Landon Donovan
Sorry, drop the mic.
- [46:32]
Tim Howard
We could just.
- [46:32]
Landon Donovan
Sorry, say that again.
- [46:33]
Tim Howard
So it was Real Fernandez.
- [46:35]
Landon Donovan
You know we played together at Everton, right?
- [46:37]
Tim Howard
We did. We did. And you don't make the cut. I apologize. Serious.
- [46:42]
Landon Donovan
All right, pal. Appreciate that. That is not all right.
- [46:46]
C
How about one more?
- [46:48]
Tim Howard
Go on.
- [46:48]
C
Can you guys do one more?
- [46:49]
Tim Howard
We can do as many as you like. We love the mailbag.
- [46:52]
C
All right, so you want me to bring the smoke, right?
- [46:55]
Landon Donovan
Bring the smoke.
- [46:56]
Tim Howard
All of it. We want all. We want our listeners to bring the smoke, too. I think you got something for us.
- [46:59]
C
All right, well, I can't put off asking a question like this any longer, so. It's From Ben on YouTube. Ben says, Landon and Tim, why do you guys hate on Jurgen Klinsman so much? From an outside perspective, he overachieved in the World cup in 2014. What is your reasoning on how he hurt the US men's national team?
- [47:24]
Tim Howard
Ben? It's a great question. It's a great question.
- [47:27]
Landon Donovan
Good question.
- [47:27]
Tim Howard
And I think you started by saying from the outside. So. Yes, from the outside, Jurgen Klinsman was.
- [47:35]
Landon Donovan
A master at that.
- [47:36]
Tim Howard
A brilliant, brilliant show. And I will correct you, Ben, I think you probably are a follower of the US Women's analyst team and know your stuff. I would correct you in saying that there was overachievement, but it wasn't by the manager. The overachievement was by the core group of players who drove that team to have success in spite of the manager. That's my take.
- [48:03]
Landon Donovan
We'll have more time to get all into this at some point, I will say, you know, with time, you become more objective and less emotional about things. So there wasn't. There was a positivity and energy and a standards raising that Jurgen brought. So, like we stayed at some better hotels, had better food, his energy was good, it was infectious. But you start to realize over time that it's bullshit. So initially it feels good and it's exciting, but then if there's nothing beneath that, then it only lasts for so long. Right? So like that new excitement only lasts for so long. Let me just give you guys a quick story that I've never shared before. So we were in a camp. I don't think you were here, Tim. We were in a camp and all week our training sessions were around how we were going to play in a 4, 4, 2 in with a diamond midfield. So for people don't know, there's, you know, a top point of the diamond, there's wide points and then there's a lower point in the diamond. So very, a narrow central midfield. We had never done it before. So all week we had certain guys playing in certain positions and we were really like dialing in on that. Now the way Jurgen used to name the team was on the day of the game, about 11am, before we would go for a walk or a stretch, he would have the team written in the training room and it was just on the board in, in our formation and our names in there. So we walked in, we had all played the exact same position all week in training, worked on it in a 4, 4, 2 dimensional. And we walked in, there were five new players in the team that had not been training with the first team. And we were, we were going to play in a 4, 3, 3 after we'd been training all week in a 4, 4, 2 diamond. And so a lot of us older guys walked in and we were like, what the hell is this? I was surprised. And we actually. You were there, okay. And I remember we actually went to Jurgen and said, jurgen, we've been training in a 4, 4, 2 all week. Like we're not prepared for this. And he said, oh, guys, I'm just trying to keep you on your toes. It's important we keep you on your toes, so you don't know what's coming. And I was thinking to myself, is this guy out of his mind? We're, we're like, I played 400 games, you don't need to keep me on my toes. You need to make sure I'm prepared to play the game right. So that's a. To your question, Ben. Like on the outside you saw the, you know, all the BS and the smiles and the fluff and whatever. On the inside, it was just a disaster. And that's just one small story. Well, we'll have plenty more over the years, but I know people think, for me, it's a personal thing because I got left off the team, but, you know, objectively, over time, you just. The guy was just a mess. And. And it's no coincidence that everywhere he's gone, he's failed.
- [50:49]
Tim Howard
Very true. Very, very true. Great questions.
- [50:52]
Landon Donovan
All right, good question.
- [50:53]
Tim Howard
Is that. Is that it? Is that it?
- [50:54]
C
That's it for this week.
- [50:55]
Tim Howard
Okay, well, thank you. We appreciate it. And the swag is coming. Unfiltered soccer hoodies, hats.
- [51:00]
C
Well, just remind people where they can submit these questions so that I can pass them along to you.
- [51:06]
Landon Donovan
YouTube.
- [51:07]
Tim Howard
YouTube.
- [51:08]
Landon Donovan
Social media feedback at Unfiltered Soccer Social media. You can send it directly to Jordan. She loves that.
- [51:14]
C
Yeah, send me like a carrier pigeon, smoke signal, whatever.
- [51:18]
Tim Howard
Send ld a text. I'll put his. I'll put his number.
- [51:21]
Landon Donovan
My number up. Sounds good.
- [51:24]
Tim Howard
Good times, good times.
- [51:26]
Landon Donovan
All right, Timmy. Last thing, last thing. Anything. Anything but soccer. So.
- [51:32]
Tim Howard
Anything but soccer.
- [51:33]
Landon Donovan
We like to tie in other sports because we're big sports fans. So. Interesting weekend in college football. Lots of rivalry games, lots of shenanigans, most notably Ohio State, Michigan at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan.
- [51:49]
Tim Howard
I played that.
- [51:50]
Landon Donovan
The game. Oh, I love that. Way back in the day.
- [51:53]
Tim Howard
Mls.
- [51:54]
Landon Donovan
Yeah.
- [51:54]
Tim Howard
Columbus Crew.
- [51:55]
Landon Donovan
So Michigan wins the game. Big upset over number two, Ohio State. After the game, Michigan players try to plant their flag at midfield, to which, as you can imagine, the Ohio State players and fans for that matter, did not take kindly to. I guess an officer was injured in it. A lot of players and teams were left bloodied. There was a big fight after, and it was pretty bad. So go ahead, take it away.
- [52:24]
Tim Howard
Yeah, I've got a lot of thoughts on this, and I watched nearly all of the rivalries this weekend. I watched the Iron Bowl, Alabama and Auburn. My daughter, as I tell everybody, I see that she's going to play soccer at University, Tennessee next year. Go Vols. They whipped up on Vanderbilt. I think there was Iowa, Nebraska.
- [52:51]
Landon Donovan
There was just usc, Notre Dame.
- [52:53]
Tim Howard
Usc, Notre Dame. By the way, there was a punch thrown in that game like this. This year's rivalry games were rivalries. Texas A and M. Texas. There was. I mean, this was what epitomizes college football at Thanksgiving time. And look, it's hard for me to say, like, I don't condone people getting hurt. It's the most violent sport in the world, right? People get hurt. Obviously, the afters and police officers and players and coaches getting injured is Obvious. Not a good thing. Would never condone that. But what I. But what I do like about the rivalry is this flag planning thing. It's Astroturf, so they actually couldn't physically plant the flag in the ground. And for everybody who's listening, who doesn't know, obviously you have these big, huge school flags, and, you know, in the soft ground of the grass, you can, like, take the. Plant it in there like a warrior and kind of celebrate. And you can imagine people don't like that too much when you do it, you know, away from home. And so Michigan, Ohio State is one of the biggest rivalries is that the horseshoes you mentioned, and Michigan had, you know, had. Had their way and they shouldn't have won the game. And they won and they. And they danced and they celebrated, which, like, I'm kind of okay with. Honestly, like, like, you. Here's why I'm not okay with, like, with all the. That goes on. But, like, people have to understand as players, particularly away from home, we get. We get abuse. Like, you quit, Molly. So it's really easy for people, like, turn the other cheek, Walk away. Hang on a minute. You're getting abused as an opposing player, particularly in a rivalry, in a Darby game. And so, like, I'm okay with, like, finally being able to exhale and be like, you know, you gave it to me all game. Well, hang on a second. I'm about to give it back to you. The issue is, if you're Ohio State, two things. You showed a lot of energy after the game, a lot of energy coming in to defend your home field. Like you. Pro. It's pro. You know, you've heard me say this, and you've heard coach say you might want to put a little bit more energy into the game.
- [54:54]
Landon Donovan
Don't get mad after the game.
- [54:56]
Tim Howard
Don't get mad. But that. That being said, I don't mind it because you don't want anyone celebrating on your home field. The one thing I thought right before the. The. The chaos ensued because I saw Michigan and I just thought to myself, you know what? You know what I'd have done if I was a coach? I got my team back out of the locker room, and I said, stand there. Don't do anything. Stand there and watch this. Because, by the way, this rivalry is as old as time, and we're gonna have to go to the big house next year, and we'll get ours back. But I want this to literally rot inside your soul that they've danced on the O at the horseshoe and then I would have used that to our advantage, but he let the dogs loose and it was chaos, man. I mean, but like, rivalry, we week clearly is back.
- [55:39]
Landon Donovan
You know what I love about college football is to me, it's the closest thing to international soccer. Professional sports now, there's too much movement within. You know, you go from this team to that team to this team to that team, all over professional sports. So now what happens is a lot of guys are friends or they played for that club or they might play for that club next year. So everyone's a little scared to do anything really stupid, right. Or too in the face of a rival because they don't want to, you know, they don't want to ruin their opportunity to go there next year. Or maybe they play there or maybe they know someone on the other team who's a close friend. College football, you're there for four years at least, right? So you are your team.
- [56:20]
Tim Howard
Yes, correct.
- [56:21]
Landon Donovan
And professional sports used to be that way, too. Now international soccer is that way because you're not playing for another country, Right? Right. So I love that about it, is that they care so much about the program, the institution, the college. And we need more of that in sports. I think those days. Think about the 90s in the NBA.
- [56:39]
Tim Howard
Yeah.
- [56:39]
Landon Donovan
Like the Knicks and the Bulls and the Pistons and the Lakers, like they hated each other because they stayed there for 10 years.
- [56:46]
Tim Howard
Let me jump in and say, and say this. It's to piggyback off that things in sports, particularly rivalries, for all the reasons you mentioned, have gotten nice. And I see, right? And here's what I hate. Let me tell you what I hate. So the great. So, so the greatest show of respect started with soccer. You do battle, you crunch the other player. You do that. And then you know what? You take off this sweaty, bloody shirt and you give it to the opposition player who just kicked your butt and you kicked his. You shake hands, you look at each other now and you walk off the field with their shirt. That's it. That's bled into other sports, which is cool. Here's the thing I have a problem with. I watch NFL players and teams who stink, who are like 1 in 11 and they're at home and they just got blown out again. And you know what they do? They take their shirt off, they sign it to each other. They take a picture for Instagram and I'm like, yo, there was just like 70,000, well paying people here that watched you play.
- [57:43]
Landon Donovan
Most people can't afford it. It's so expensive, right? Yeah.
- [57:45]
Tim Howard
And you stink. And you're hanging out with your buddy after the game, exchanging jerseys. Like, that's not what this was meant to be. This was meant to be an exchange of jerseys through competitors and go inside. So this whole concept of, like, after the game, everyone's friends and. And, no, there's. You're not. And so, like, I don't mind the whole rivalry. Look, it boiled over probably a little bit too much. But I tell you what, I was at the gym, I was watching the game and interrupted my workout because I went right over to the TV and I stood there for about 10 minutes and I watched it. So, yeah, pretty cool.
- [58:16]
Landon Donovan
Can you imagine, by the way, if we had taken an American flag and planted it at Azteca after? What would happen?
- [58:23]
Tim Howard
We wouldn't have.
- [58:26]
Landon Donovan
Six Feet under, pal.
- [58:28]
Tim Howard
Oh, my God.
- [58:28]
Landon Donovan
I mean, just be grateful that, you know, nobody did anything really.
- [58:32]
Tim Howard
Totally.
- [58:32]
Landon Donovan
That would. That would not fly.
- [58:33]
Tim Howard
Totally.
- [58:34]
Landon Donovan
National soccer.
- [58:35]
Tim Howard
No. Gosh, no.
- [58:36]
Landon Donovan
All right, that's been fun. Appreciate all you guys. Please leave comments, subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your pods. Follow the show across all our social media at Unfiltered Soccer. Appreciate you guys so much. Timmy, it's been fun, man.
- [58:51]
Tim Howard
Yeah. Thanks, everybody. And thank you, most importantly, to our presenting sponsor, vw. Have a great week. We'll be back next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.