LAFC Stun Miami, Love is Blind vs Tim Howard, Matt Turner Talks Being U.S. GK #2 | Unfiltered Soccer

Summary

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard

Episode: LAFC Stun Miami, Love is Blind vs Tim Howard, Matt Turner Talks Being U.S. GK #2
Release Date: February 24, 2026

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Main Theme

This episode dives into the highs and lows of MLS opening weekend, with standout discussions on LAFC’s dominant win over Miami and Nashville’s explosive attack. The heart of the episode is an in-depth interview with U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Matt Turner, touching on his club journey, the complexities of being a national team #2, and the unique pressures as the 2026 World Cup approaches. Listeners also get Howard's colorful takedown of his “Love is Blind” reality TV nemesis and fan questions ranging from FIFA ticket prices to NFL player loans.

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Key Discussion Points

1. MLS Opening Weekend: Major Takeaways

(03:05–17:38)

• Record-setting attendance, LAFC’s Impressive Performance

  • 75,673 fans filled the LA Coliseum—a new opening weekend record.
    • Landon: “...made history as the highest attended opening weekend game in MLS history. And boy, did LAFC not disappoint. Absolutely smacked around Miami. It was impressive, man.” (03:30)
  • LAFC “smacked around” Miami, impressing with new coach Mark Dos Santos and key players.

• The Impact of Jordi Alba’s Absence on Miami

  • Diego Valeri, via Landon, underscores Alba’s underrated influence: “Guys, people have no idea how important Jordi Alba was to that team ... And so he gets overshadowed. He was so good for that team.” (04:58)

• Nashville’s New Look Attack

  • Sam Surridge, Honey Mukhtar, and new signing Warren Madrigal all score; Nashville hammers New England 4-1.
    • “They are really nasty. They pounded New England 4-1. It could have been worse.” – Landon (07:01)

• Red Bulls' Youth Movement and Michael Bradley’s Coaching Debut

  • Three teenagers started; 17-year-old Julian Hall netting twice.
    • Howard: “If Michael coached these players, then nobody knows better than Michael Bradley that these players can perform at this level...” (07:53)

• Houston Dynamo's Sneaky Strong Start

  • New DP Guillerme Augusto, age 30, scores twice.
    • Howard: “I have to say, Pat Onset and Asher Mendelssohn ... put together a sneaky good roster.” (09:17)

• Bad First Impressions

  • Philadelphia’s record signing Ezekiel Alado sent off for abusive language.
    • Howard (on today's stricter standards): “Offensive, insulting, abusive language. That was like my regular vernacular when I was on the field ... But again, I don’t know what was said.” (10:59)
  • Montreal and Kansas City called out as "awful" after disastrous openers.

• Josh Sargent’s Potential Move to Toronto FC

  • Donovan and Howard cite his goal record (1 goal every 3 games) and agree he’s a “20-goal per year” scorer if surrounded by talent.

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2. The Unfiltered Refresh: Who's Chilled?

(18:03-19:42)

• Focus on in-form Americans abroad.
  • Folarin Balogun: 3 goals in 2 games (including a Champions League brace)
  • Ricardo Pepi: Scored on return from injury
  • Haji Wright: 4 in last 7, recently had a hat-trick
  • Howard names Haji Wright as the most chilled striker: “The way that Coventry is flying ... could very well be in the Premier League next year ... Haji Wright for me.” (19:42)

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3. Interview: Matt Turner on Club Madness, National Team, and Mindset

(23:26–56:39)

a) Life After England: Dealing with Unexpected Setbacks

• OL Transfer Collapse:

  • Turner gives rare insight into his failed move to Olympique Lyonnais, blocked by financial fair play rules—a saga that played out on his birthday.
    • “When the news dropped that the club was going to be relegated financially, it was actually ... I think it was on my birthday ... and everyone's kind of looking at me on the bus ... The last thing I ever wanted… was to put a club in a difficult situation financially.” (00:00 / 31:11)
    • “If you are that person that puts that club in a position, no matter ... you could play worldie every single week… you still wouldn’t be able to make that up.” (32:26)

• Return to New England, Focus on Playing Time

  • “It made sense for me to go to a place where I knew I was going to play week in, week out…” (33:16)

b) Navigating Change and Seniority

• Adjusting to New Coaches

  • “In football it's just ever changing ... For me, as a senior player, it's showing that I'm open to being coachable ... Instead of saying, well, oh, man, I really liked when we did it this other way...” (27:18)

• On Being USMNT #2

  • Regarding not starting for the national team: “It was obviously really difficult because I've always used the national team as my North Star ... But I've always really appreciated that the gaffer ... him and I have a really clear communication line ... It's not about me… How can you do [your role] to the best of your ability and make the team better for it and make soccer in America better for it in the long run?” (40:38–42:34)

• Deep Love for the USMNT

  • “The national team ... changed my life, Landon ... It's just something that I've ... it's given me the most pride, the most goosebumps. The best feelings I ever had on the pitch were when I have the crest on.” (43:28)

• 2022 World Cup Memories & Lessons

  • “It’s just so nice ... I remember some of my favorite memories from the World cup are the times where we were just all, like, watching the other games, playing pool together... The level of intensity is unlike anything you've ever seen. No matter all the good that we did [against Netherlands], they were more lethal in our box than we were in their box. And that is what, ultimately ... the result wasn't great.” (47:22–49:20)

• Mindset on Competition

  • “I'll say all these things, but I think you guys know I'm gonna keep pushing, you know, because in the end ... No, I want the responsibility, you know, and I don’t think there’s any secret of that. But with grace and respect as always.” (56:10)

c) Notable Quotes & Light Moments

• On the notorious “goalkeeper’s union”:
  • Howard: “He always said to me, good luck, clean sheet. And I thought, you're full of shit. ... He wanted me to concede five. It's a lie.” (51:56)
  • Turner (on Ramsdale calling him the funniest player at Arsenal): “I guess I have to say, I'm a card carrying... it's ... I love goalkeeping. I love goalkeepers. I just ... yeah, it's who I am, I guess." (55:11)

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4. Fan Connection and Listener Q&A

(61:59-78:49)

a) FIFA World Cup Ticket Prices & Accessibility

• Listener Bob challenges Landon on his statements regarding FIFA and ticketing.
  • Landon clarifies: “FIFA technically [is] a non for-profit, but their mission ... it's not their mission [to] make tickets affordable for all fans. ... I'm sympathetic... but big sporting events cost a lot of money in this country particularly, and it sucks.” (65:56)

b) “Love is Blind” Celebrity Sighting Smoke

• A “Love is Blind” participant calls Tim Howard a “weirdo” while trying to impress his fiancée.
  • Howard responds with good humor: “All I'll say is ... you can issue a public apology on whatever platform...If not, then I'll have more things to say about you.” (71:00)
  • Landon and producer Jordan pile on, defending Howard and Beckham: “Let's put it very clearly. Alan, keep Tim Howard ... and David Beckham, Sir David Beckham, names out of your mouth.” (72:36)

c) Predictions & Rule Changes for 2026 World Cup

• Listener Nick proposes rules focused on improving flow and audience enjoyment:
  • Timewasting/injury rules, captain-only ref communication, speedy VAR.
  • Donovan enthusiastic about stronger enforcement; Howard doubts practicalities.

d) NFL Player Loan Proposal

• Listener Robbie imagines NFL adopting soccer-style player loans.
  • Landon loves the idea for QB development: “I love it ... why not loan them out?” (78:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On LAFC’s organizational excellence:

  • “They're never really bad ... they're a very good organization.” – Tim Howard (04:15)

• On Leipzig’s Jordi Alba departure:

  • “You could tell there was a lack of, like, leadership and bite because of that.” – Landon (05:25)

• On the ‘keeper’s union’:

  • “I think you’re an anomaly and you just don’t like anyone.” – Landon to Tim (53:02)

• On the USMNT crest:

  • “The best feelings I ever had on the pitch were when I'm ... [wearing] the crest.” – Matt Turner (44:20)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:05 — MLS opening weekend highlights
• 10:55 — Philadelphia’s transfer flop red-card
• 17:38 — Josh Sargent to Toronto FC debate
• 18:03 — US strikers abroad/“Who chose chill?”
• 23:26 — Matt Turner interview
• 31:11 — Turner on OL transfer collapse
• 33:16 — Turner on returning to the Revs
• 40:38 — Turner on losing the USMNT #1 job
• 44:20 — Turner on the meaning of the US crest
• 47:22 — Turner on World Cup 2022 memories
• 51:38 — Arsenal & the “keeper’s union” banter
• 61:59 — Fan Connection begins
• 65:17 — FIFA ticket pricing discussion
• 71:00 — Love is Blind/Tim Howard segment
• 74:30 — New rules, VAR, and NFL player loan debate

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Summary Tone

The episode blends enthusiastic soccer nerding, behind-the-scenes honesty (especially from Matt Turner), and the banter only two Hall-of-Fame teammates can share. Listeners get a true “locker room” feel—unvarnished, sometimes irreverent, but full of the mutual respect that comes with loving the game.

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Transcript

[Matt Turner]

You know, when the news dropped that the club was going to be relegated financially, it was actually. I think it was on my birthday, actually. And I'm thinking, oh, boy. Here, here we go. By the time the news dropped and everyone's kind of looking at me on the bus, the last thing I ever wanted, I ever intended to do was to put a club in a difficult situation financially. And you could see that, you know, MLS guys were getting fair opportunities with the national team. It made sense for me to go to a place where I knew I was going to play week in, week out.

[Landon Donovan]

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswage Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S. soccer for over five years.

[Tim Howard]

Welcome in the Unfiltered Soccer presented by Volkswagen. He's Landon. I am tim. What's happening, L.D.

[Landon Donovan]

hey, I'm glad you're not in the East Coast.

[Tim Howard]

No.

[Landon Donovan]

You get hammered by snow. You're in Seattle. Why are you in Seattle? Parents.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. I was here doing a corporate event, and then I went and saw the game. Spying on the Enemies Sounders and my former team, Colorado Rapids. So it was great. It was interesting. Good night of football. As you know, up in Seattle, you have tons of.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, it's so good.

[Tim Howard]

You have tons of memories from that. So, yeah, it was good. It was raining. They don't care. They're like, this is home. This is how we rock. So it was interesting. Yeah, Seattle, west coast. West coast is better right now. And I never say that, but, like, given the blizzard on the East Coast. Yeah, I'm here for.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right. It's beautiful here.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I have to say, my son. My son's team, their. Their youth team is. They just dominate everyone. They have a couple kids on their team that are like, elite. Elitely. My son scored a goal yesterday. They're playing in their State cup semis. And so my wife was showing. Actually, my son came into my room last night. He's like, do you want to see my goal? I'm like, yeah. So he shows me the goal. And it's really sad, Tim. And we'll get into this when we have a youth soccer episode. They have this. This new guy is coaching them. I'm trying to watch my kids score this goal, and all I can focus on is this guy is on the sideline talking to the kids. The whole time, all you hear is like, go here, move here, Asher, pass that.

[Tim Howard]

Go to.

[Matt Turner]

Don't do this.

[Tim Howard]

Don't do it. And I'm like, what the hell?

[Landon Donovan]

Jesus. Like, how do these kids ever learn how to do anything on their own?

[Tim Howard]

They don't.

[Landon Donovan]

I just wanted to enjoy the goal. And this is like. I, like, come away from it pissed off at like, ah, crazy. I digress. I'm off myself.

[Tim Howard]

No, it's good, it's good.

[Matt Turner]

I'm here for it.

[Landon Donovan]

We'll get there at some point. All right, welcome in, guys. Please follow us on social media at Unfiltered Soccer. I got this cool pair of shoes sent to me from U.S. soccer, Tim. I have to show them to you. I'll show them to you next week because they're in my closet.

[Tim Howard]

Hang on. I didn't get. Well, I haven't been home. Maybe they're.

[Landon Donovan]

No, you haven't been home in like a month. But you probably didn't get them anyway. But I was feeling like I'm not going to wear them, but I kind of want to give them away. And then I was thinking the way I'm going to give them away is one of our subscribers I'm going to give away to. So that's your. That's your directive to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere. If you want these cool shoes or

[Tim Howard]

you just want to subscribe, I would like them.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, subscribe then. And as always, you can. You can email us@feedbackfiltered soccer.com all right. MLS opening weekend. Yeah, Great weekend. Yep, great. I did an event on Friday night in LA ahead of the two LA games. There's just buzz, energy. Let's start with lafc.

[Tim Howard]

Did you go to the games or you did the event go back home? No, no, no.

[Landon Donovan]

Just went back home. 75,673 fans at the LA Memorial Coliseum, home of my first ever US Game, made history as the highest attended opening weekend game in MLS history. And boy, did LAFC Knight not disappoint. Absolutely smacked around Miami. It was a. It was impressive, man. It was really impressive. New coach with Mark Dos Santos and they were really good. Really good, man. They're.

[Tim Howard]

They're good. I, you know, it's. I feel like year on, I think the cool thing about lafc, which again is your. Is sort of your arch nemesis, but, like, ever since they've come in the league, and big credit to John Thorrington and all the players and coaches that they've had, like, they're never really bad.

[Landon Donovan]

Right.

[Tim Howard]

And I know that sounds like a. Not a very good baseline, but when you're coming from that position, and you're often really good. You're never having to, like, rebuild. You're never having to go, oh, we were crap last year. Now we've got a lot of pressure. They're just very good. They're a very good organization. And I think they've got some good pieces. You know, look, the Inter Miami thing, it's one game. But I am interested because you and I have spoken on this show about, like, what are the priorities this year? Are they. They've added. But again, Jordi Alba is.

[Landon Donovan]

Was sensational, Tim, that I want to cut in because I was with. Diego Valeri was at this thing who used to play for the Port Portland, absolute legend.

[Tim Howard]

He was so good, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

So good. Taylor Twelman was there and Carlos Vella was there at this event. And Diego Valeri said to me, and he's like, he. He's commentating, so he's falling around. He said, guys, people have no idea how important Jordi Alba was to that team. Like, have no idea. And you take it for granted. Yeah, Jordy Alba. And you got Messi. And so he gets overshadowed. He was so good for that team. And I'm not saying this is how their season's going to be, but you could tell there was a lack of, like, leadership and bite because of that.

[Tim Howard]

And I think so. And I'm just looking at it, I'm thinking, what's the narrative? And I don't know. We're not going to know. We're not going to know the narrative until, you know, a month or two from now. But, like, again, we know Jorge Moss has talked about prioritizing, you know, certain trophies they've already won. We talked about the order supporter. Shield already won MLS Cup. How much does the league matter to them now? I know people are going to be crazy. Don Garber's going to text me and go, shut your mouth. That's not how we're not going to say that. And I. And I mean that truly. Look, Messi is still a spectacle. I'm just wondering as a team.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

What are they going to prioritize this year?

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, right.

[Landon Donovan]

It's gonna be. It's gonna be interesting to watch. And. And Messi picked up with his. Certainly in MLS with his villain stature. He went. There's some confrontation with the match official match officials after the game. And after further investigation, apparently he never entered any restricted area. So he will not be.

[Tim Howard]

He didn't.

[Landon Donovan]

He will not be suspended. I don't know, dude. I'm not gonna speculate like Sometimes, you know, he did something right. And this one I'm like, I don't know. Maybe he did. Maybe, but. So he won'. All right, so Nashville.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Talking of good attacks, because lafc, by the way, Martinez and son are nasty. But now with Nashville, Sam Surge scored two goals. Honey Mukhtar with a goal. And the new signing, Warren Madrigal with a goal and two assists. They're really good, man. They are real. And they have Christian Espinosa who came from San Jose. So they're really nasty. They pounded. Pounded. New England 4 1. It could have been worse.

[Tim Howard]

Who did I pick for a golden boot? I say son.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know.

[Tim Howard]

I think I said son. Maybe Sam Surge is gonna.

[Landon Donovan]

You're changing it to search?

[Tim Howard]

Oh, no, no, I'm not. He's just gonna be. He's gonna be up there. He'll be. He'll be top three in the league for sure.

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, he just has. They have so many weapons, man.

[Tim Howard]

I know.

[Landon Donovan]

They have so many weapons. So they're gonna be a fun team to watch.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Our guy, Michael Bradley. Let's go away from home at Orlando. Not an easy place to play.

[Tim Howard]

Play.

[Landon Donovan]

They started three teenagers. Tim Y. Yeah. Audrey Mametti set up Julian Hall's goal. Who we'll get to second goal. 17 year old Matthew Dos Santos started in defense and then Julian hall was the star man. Scored twice. 17 year old.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Scoring two goals in a professional game at 17 is really impressive, man. Well, well, really impressive.

[Tim Howard]

Yes. Yeah. And I, And I just sort of. Red Bull have such an incredible way of operating. Right. And.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

And they. And obviously it's a huge win for Michael Bradley. I'm curious as to. And I don't know the answer to this, but I'm curious as to if these three teenagers, if he coached them in Red Bull 2. Because a lot of. Because a lot of times what you get. And you see this sometimes when a manager gets promoted from different clubs or within the club, they trust managers. And players have trust. Yes, they're young. Yes, they're young. But if Michael coached these players, then nobody knows better than Michael Bradley that these players can perform at this level, you know, and so. And so is it a risk? Yeah. But clearly he knows something, has seen something beyond just preseason. So.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it's a. It's a really good start.

[Landon Donovan]

And my guess is there's some directive from above to like, not necessarily play these guys, but play young players. And we will back you and support you and we want them to play and I mean, it's a fantastic star. I'm so happy for him. So happy. All right. And then in your neck of the wood, well, your neck of the woods, your people, your team, Houston and their newest DP star. I had to look him up. He's 30. I was like, this is not like a 18, 20 year old. I think it's Guillerme Augusto. Augusto scored twice in the 66th and 77th minute to lead your Dynamo to a win. So good start for him.

[Tim Howard]

Good start. I mean, I have to say, Pat Onset and Asher Mendelssohn, I think they've. I think they put together a sneaky good roster.

[Landon Donovan]

They're really good, man. They're really good.

[Tim Howard]

They're both very good. And what does that mean? The west is a fricking gauntlet, man. And, you know, we talk about it all the time. It's so hard. But when I look at the roster that they've built and constructed, and you know, obviously having been a part of those discussions with them, you know, they've, they've, they've shown. This is, this is really good. He's a really. Gary's a really good signing. I think you saw sort of the second goal he poached, which is, which is also a quality. But the first goal, I mean, he's literally running away from defenders. Running away. And so, yeah, it's good. It's. There's a good feeling in, in the building, obviously. I know that because I'm inside of it, but, you know, when good feelings inside don't always translate to results and the fact that it translated to a result after a good preseason. Yeah, we're happy at the moment.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. In Chicago. I think Chicago are going to be a good team. Like that. That's not just like a ho hum. So I thought that was really good. All right, so some bad first impressions. Our producer Andrew, struggling with this one. So the Union, Philadelphia Union made Ezekiel Alado their most expensive transfer ever. And so what does he do in his first match to show his appreciation? Tim gets sent off. That's sent off. The referee from a pool reporter after the game, Guido Gonzalez Jr. The referee said Aladda directed an obscene gesture and language at DC's Lucas Bartlett. He was given a straight red for offensive, insulting, abusive language or actions. Thoughts?

[Tim Howard]

My thoughts are, I don't know what was said.

[Landon Donovan]

Sure.

[Tim Howard]

If it was of the racial nature or homophobic nature. Slam him, throw the book at him. Could care less about people who say that crap. Now the interesting part. Offensive, insulting, abusive language. That was like My regular vernacular when I was on the field, you would

[Landon Donovan]

have been sent off every game, which,

[Tim Howard]

you know, so I'm like. I'm sort of in the camp of like, you. Things get said and I was a bad guy, you know, when I crossed the line, I wasn't myself. I was somebody else. And I. The amount of crap that would come out of my mouth directed at officials and fans and other players, it was like, you're giving it to me, I'm giving it to you, but I'm gonna give it to you worse. So that's just how I was. And so the offensive, insulting part, I offended. Insulted a lot of people. But again, I don't know. I don't know what was said. So I'll be interested if that comes out. We don't know if it's going to come out. But again, so long, if it's. As it's not racial and homophobic, I'm sort of. Sort of on board with the entertainment side of the game.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I. I completely agree. And let's again, make the caveat. We don't know what was said. So if it was truly nasty in that way, then he should be sent off. Sent off. Referees have an obligation, in my opinion, to understand how emotional the game is and not get caught up in it. Now, that being said, if he told Al over and over, look, stop or I'm going to send you off. Stop or I'm going to. If I tell you one more time, I'm going to send you off. And then he has no choice. He has to send him off. Or was it just an emotional. He heard something and he sent him off. There was. I'm. There was a story. There was a time. I don't know what year it was. We were playing at D.C. it was like August, and it was like a 1pm game, and everyone's like, what the hell are we doing out here? It was 98 degrees, 98% humidity, and 1 of their players elbowed me right in front of the fourth official right in the face. And I was like. I went. Tim. I went berserk. And, like, having been to therapy, I know there was something deeper going on with me because I went crazy.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And I destroyed this route. I mean, I should have been sent off six times and for whatever. Like, he had the understanding to know that something genuinely did happen. And he just slowly calmed me down over, like 30. And I think refs have an obligation to do that. Now, if they tell you I'm going to do it, if you don't stop and you don't stop, then you got to do it. But again, we don't know all the information, but you have to be able to deal with, like, players are emotional. Things happen. You gotta chill.

[Tim Howard]

It's funny, though, since you're on a rant about referees, I'm jumping in because something happened last night. So there was. Colorado went down one nothing at Seattle. Then they go down two nothing. Var check disallowed the goal, right? Okay, so it's not two nothing. It's one nil. And then ld. There's a coming together. There's two Colorado players going for a ball and a Seattle player.

[Landon Donovan]

Right?

[Tim Howard]

And you know, when you watch a game and analyze a game like we do, there's a timing element to things. I swear, the players hadn't even hit the ground yet. And the referee's on top of it, and he goes, bang, Red card. And I was like. I was like. That was like. My brain was processing. I was like, that was so fast. It was so fast. And then sure enough, the people around me were like. I could hear them saying, like, why has he done that so fast? And I remember thinking. Anyway, he went back V. AR Rescinded it because he's basically going. He basically was saying, I saw this guy throw a massive elbow. And then you look at the replay. No, there was no elbow. There was no face. There was no, like. There was nothing. And, like, produced it so fast. And I'm like, just relax.

[Landon Donovan]

Calm down. Take a beat. Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

So again, that's not a. That's not a criticism. All referees. It's just there was. I don't know. You know, we'll have to see what the impact of. Of the abusive language was. And just in general, take a beat.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay.

[Matt Turner]

And then.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, man, these two were bad. So Montreal traveled to San Diego, got absolutely obliterated. 5, 0. And Kansas City traveled to San Jose. I think the final was 3. 0. But I had to turn the game. I was like, they are awful. Those two teams are awful. And that's going to be tough seasons for those two men. Their rosters are just nowhere near good enough. I mean, nowhere.

[Tim Howard]

I know, I know. And you have to have deep rosters, man. You do. It's this league. You can't.

[Landon Donovan]

And good rosters.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, good. Yeah. You can't just have one or two good players. I'm like, I know.

[Landon Donovan]

And credit to San Jose and San Diego, like, they did the job, they did the business, but, man, they're bad. It is. It is. Anything from you guys out there, let us know what your, I guess initial thoughts were from opening weekend. But it was a good weekend. A lot of goals, a lot of fun. One other piece of news and notes. It looks like Josh Sargent is going to Toronto fc. Finally, his final stats. This is wild. I was looking at this earlier five years at Norwich. 155 appearances, 134 starts, 56 goals, 15 assists. So he scored every one in one in every three, which is a really, really good that level. So I mean, I hope this happens. I think it's a little too much to pay, but you know, it's just my personal opinion, but I hope it happens.

[Tim Howard]

Here's what I think. As you said, how you judge strikers, how we judge strikers at the highest level is one. One in every three. One in every three, one goal every three games. You're. You're a top striker for whatever, whatever league you're playing in.

[Landon Donovan]

Yep.

[Tim Howard]

He. I, I believe, I believe this deal to be five years and, and I think, I think ld based on stats and based on what I've seen, I think he's a 20 goal per year goal scorer.

[Landon Donovan]

I think he is too.

[Tim Howard]

And if that's what you are in mls. And by the way, the fee, the fee is high. Think about who you're talking about. That fee is low for, for Toronto. I mean, Toronto pays. Toronto pays silly money.

[Landon Donovan]

They have the money.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, right. So, so that fee in the overall context is high, but for, for them, I think it's a steal because of what they've paid before and they've gotten less.

[Landon Donovan]

Right. So yeah, that's fair. But my caveat is they have to put some good players around them too.

[Tim Howard]

Of course, of course, of course. I get.

[Landon Donovan]

No they, I mean, you say of course, but like they, they really do. And I think they will.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I think they will.

[Landon Donovan]

But you, this league is no longer like just have one good player. Look, look at Nashville, look at San Diego fc. Look at the LAFC teams who score. They have good players all around.

[Tim Howard]

And look, and Robin Fraser's a good coach. We've seen that. And he's trying to build and, and he will demand that. And I think they're going to build around him. I think this is the first sort of domino that, that post, that chaos that they had last couple years with their dps. This is sort of like the rebuild.

[Landon Donovan]

That sounds right. Any chance he makes the World cup team? No, I mean, there's always a chance,

[Tim Howard]

but there's a chance. I mean, you know, he'll be depends. I mean, if he comes in. If he comes in and just starts banging, lashing goals in which he can. We'll see.

[Landon Donovan]

I think he's a little far behind right now, but okay, we'll see.

[Tim Howard]

Well, the other guys are scoring too.

[Landon Donovan]

That's true.

[Tim Howard]

It's time now for the unfiltered refresh sponsored by coors light. Choose chill. Get coors light delivered. Go to coorslight.com USLNT all right, LD who chose chill this week we're going to talk about american strikers. This is hard because they are all in sensational form. I'll let you start with flo bin.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, the. The easy answer was that it's american strikers because they're all flying right now. The heart is. Who is it? So flo has three goals in his last two games, including two in the champions league against psg. Ricardo pepe's first match back after breaking his arm, came on as a sub and then scored a fantastic goal in their win over her. And fain ajamong no goals over the weekend, but he does have four in his last seven. And then haji wright, also no goals in their win against west brom, but he had a hat trick the week prior versus Middlesborough.

[Tim Howard]

How amazing is this, by the way?

[Landon Donovan]

It's so nice. It was like over the weekend, we were texting me like, flo scored, pepe scored, Ajamong had scored last week. It feels to me that haji wright right now is just the hottest of the group. Flow is heating up. But he had been on such a long stretch without scoring. So I think mine for now is haji wright is the man who chose chill this week.

[Tim Howard]

I can dig that. Yeah. I mean, Hajimeng, 4 and 7 is just such a great number for a striker. You know, you start hitting 4 and 7, you just think you can score every week. But yeah, haji Wright for sure. I think the way that he's going, scoring a hat trick, the way that coventry is flying, by the way, and could very, you know, could very well be in the premier league next year. Yeah. How'd you write for me?

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, well, cheers to you. How'd you write? Cheers to all of you for choosing chill, but especially you. How'd you write long May it continue again. Reminder to subscribe. So you can get these cool new sneakers that nobody knows about yet because I haven't shown them, but they're really cool. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we're joined by u. S. Men's national team goalkeeper Matt, turn. Do we only have goalkeepers on his guests? No, no, that's all we have. Okay. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Voltage Volkswagen. Stay right there. The Unfiltered Soccer podcast is brought to you by Volkswagen. It's really easy to become a passenger in life, to sit back and watch life go by day after day.

[Tim Howard]

Of course, it's hard to do your own thing when everyone is following everyone else. But this is a call from me and ld, from Volkswagen and from all the other drivers out there. Make the most of every day.

[Landon Donovan]

Choose a different path, take control, grab the wheel and get in the driver's seat of life. Because honestly, what are you waiting for?

[Tim Howard]

Live life in the driver's seat.

[Landon Donovan]

Learn [e-mail] Soccer is not slowing down. It never does. Massive fixtures and knockout clashes that'll leave you on the edge of your seat as we get into the decisive part of the season. The calendar isn't just full, it's absolutely packed with non stop action. Club or country. Every match matters and you can cash in on all of them with FanDuel. New customers can bet just $5 and score $100 in bonus bets if you win. That's right. One winning $5 bet unlocks a hundred dollars in bonus bets. Goal score markets where you pick the heroes. Match results where you back the winners over unders where you call the action. Same game parlays where you stack your way to bigger payouts and so much more winning potential. The matches are coming fast and furious, but this is your moment to get in the game. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app right now and turn every match into your opportunity. Don't just watch the game, win with it. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. First online real money wager only $5. First deposit required. Bonus issued as non withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See [e-mail] gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit fanduel.com rg call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny in New York. Close Your eyes exhale. Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[Jordan]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[Matt Turner]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts.

[Tim Howard]

LD as always, special special guest on the show, friend of the show, friend of ours, Matt Turner is here. We know your history in the Premier League with Arsenal and Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. Two stints now with the New England Revs, of course. World cup veteran from 2022 and currently in the midst of another start to an MLS season. Welcome in. We missed you. It's good to talk to you. How's things?

[Matt Turner]

Not too bad, not too bad. Trying to stay warm in these cold months in New England, but. Nah, it's good to be on the show. Thanks for having me, Timmy.

[Landon Donovan]

Before you got in, Matt turned his computer to outside. It's just white everywhere, by the way. It's probably 68 degrees.

[Tim Howard]

Landon can't appreciate anything, honestly.

[Landon Donovan]

Hey, by the way, when. When Andrew put this together, I didn't realize this. Matt, you know, you're. Well, I'm sure, you know, second place for most saves by a U.S. goalkeeper in a game ever after. Guess who the man.

[Matt Turner]

The man that m. The legend.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Yeah. Saving 11 shots in a friendly against Brazil in 2024.

[Tim Howard]

That's a game to do it wild.

[Landon Donovan]

That's crazy.

[Matt Turner]

That was a busy game. This is a busy game.

[Landon Donovan]

You know what that was? Yeah, go ahead.

[Matt Turner]

I was off the back of, like, a tough game against Colombia, too, so it was nice to all the to then, you know, have that performance.

[Landon Donovan]

What people don't realize about international games is, like, four or five shots can be a lot in an international game. Right. In, like a club game sometimes, you know, 14 shots, 18 shots. But international games, you get one or two chance. But to make 11 saves is wild. You need to have a word with your defenders, I think. All right, Matty. Well, welcome in. We appreciate your grace as you flew back last night from Nashville. Tough start to the season, but talk to us about now, the transition with Marco there and you're. It seems like starting new and starting fresh in New England and how that's going so far.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, obviously you don't want to start the Season the way we did it was a tough game in Nashville. I think if you look at the, the tape, there was some good moments for us and stuff that we can definitely learn from and build on. And I think that's the mentality that Marco has brought, is kind of a level headed approach of, of this is our process and we need to fall in love with the process and, and that process will eventually, you know, turn into results. And that's the process on every day in training, you know, every meeting, every time we step out onto the field. So it's been nice to have a new perspective and then in turn giving guys opportunities that might not have had opportunities in the past because, you know, he came in with no dogs in the fight. He just wants everyone to fight and claw and show to him that they can contribute in a meaningful way. And I think that's been really refreshing. And then obviously, just a whole new take on, okay, what can this club do to start to build back to where it belongs to be?

[Tim Howard]

It's interesting because I always think about preseason and as I watch all of the weekend's games, I feel like preseason is a rude awakening or the season is rude awakening because everybody in preseason is like, the results don't count. So even when you, like, even when you don't have a good result in preseason, you pick the bones out of it. You're like, well, we didn't take any injuries and we did some tactically, some good things and it like, it doesn't matter. So you feel really good. And then the first game of the season, wallop, right? Like it hits everybody good or bad. And. But I'm thinking also about having a new manager, right? You have a new England. And then I'm thinking about Pochettino coming in at, you know, not, not long ago for you as a, as a senior player, right? You're, you're. You're 31 years old now. You've. You've been around. You're in a prime of your career. Like, what is that? How is that day to day for you? Right? Because then you, you have got to be the one, I would think, to sort of help drive culture in those moments as well as look after your own performances.

[Matt Turner]

Mm, absolutely. It's, it's challenging because you get comfortable the way things are and obviously you want to, you want to do what's normal and feels regular to you. But I think in football it's just ever changing and if you don't adapt to change, especially in the modern game, you know, if you can't adapt to change, to change quickly. You know you're going to fall behind. So for me, as a senior player, it's showing that I'm open to being coachable. I'm open to whatever the new idea is that the coach is trying to bring. Instead of saying, well, oh, man, I really liked when we did it this other way. And then being somebody that festers a locker room in a way that might be. So people say, oh, well, Matt is saying this, man. Really, it was good when it was like that. Rather than being like, nah, look, guys, this is. This is good. This could be good. And you have to try to build that culture in that way. And I've always been a good locker room guy. I'd like to say I'm personable. I like to relate to everybody. I obviously want the responsibility of playing because I think that's where my relationships with all the guys show the most on the field. But, yeah, you have to be adaptable in the modern game, or else you'll just get left behind really quickly.

[Tim Howard]

You know, I think it's interesting. Sorry, LD Just to follow up to that is I agree with what you're saying, Matt, because one of the things. One of the tactical things that I used to think about was I was always on board with the new manager, right. LD as a senior player, I was always driving the message, driving the message, showing that, like, what do you want, gaffer? Okay, look, even behind the scenes, having conversations. And here's why. Because. And you both know this, every now and again, when the shit would fly in a game and I, as a senior player had to stand up and go, uh, we ain't doing it. I know he's talked about playing, playing out of the back, playing through lines. We're under it right now. We're going long, and guys are looking at me and going, I just said what I said, right? And then we can go in the dressing room and say, look, I took that on my own back. And he then can't criticize me for not being on the same page, because all I've ever done was try. And you get what I'm saying in the moment. So, yeah, it's just. It's such a responsibility on your shoulders. That's sort of how I see it, man.

[Matt Turner]

Definitely. And you don't want to take away the tact and the feel of the game that any of your players have, because you're all there for a reason. So, yeah, as much as the ideas are the ideas at the end, I think every Coach will be happy if you end up with the three points at the end of the day.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, you still have to play the game. Okay, so let's talk about adapting and change. So for people who don't know, this wholly owned situation, and I had actually forgotten about it till Andrew, like, brought it up again in here. And what was, what was that whole situation like for you? And can you explain it just a little bit for people who don't know and so they don't have to Google it, but just what happened? And then how does. How does that impact you as a player? Because I think it's really fascinating story.

[Matt Turner]

It was challenging because when the opportunity for me to get out of Nottingham Forest presented itself to a club like Leon, I'm thinking this is a home run situation. I'm going to a place where I know a few of the players with Tanner Testman, Ainsley, Maitland, Isles. I like guys. I was. I was at Arsenal with Ainsley, and I'm going to a great city that people have said nothing but good things about. Passionate fans. And I'm thinking this is kind of a home run in the timing of the move. I did my medical in, in Chicago. I was with the national team and, yeah, got everything all sorted and, and sort of ready to go. So it was kind of like I was ready to turn the page and, and start a new journey. And, you know, when the news dropped that the. The club was going to be relegated financially, I. It was actually. I think it was on my birthday, actually, June 24th. And I'm thinking, oh, boy. Here, here we go. Like, I don't really. I didn't know kind of what it meant, but.

[Landon Donovan]

Do you hear that news? Matt, sorry to jump in. Do you hear that news? Like, is your agent call you? Are you reading online? Like, okay, so your agent calls and

[Matt Turner]

so, yeah, my agent. My agent kind of had a wind of it earlier. And so by the time the news dropped and everyone's kind of looking at me on the bus like, because, you know, it came through as an ESPN alert and everyone's looking at me like, dude, did you see this? I'm like, yeah, I already kind of know what's going on. But, yeah, the last thing I ever wanted, I ever intended to do was to put a club in a difficult situation financially. You know, I'm thinking I'm looking at the bottom line and I'm like, this is a home run for me. It. They're not guaranteeing me anything, but it's another opportunity for me to get in A new environment and. And try to prove myself. And they just had. They were selling their number one. So, you know, all was to play for, essentially, in my mind. And. Yeah, so when it came out, essentially my transfer was the one that would sort of put them over the threshold of what was financially allowed. You know, we. We had to find a solution because I didn't want that to be the case. If you are that person that puts that club in a position, you will, no matter what happens, no matter. You could play worldy every single week. I could have gone. They could have been in league. League two and I could have played every single game. Clean sheet, every game. Got them back to league one. As you still wouldn't be able to make that up. I feel like it would be difficult anyway.

[Tim Howard]

And that's the sad part about it, is that it's looked upon as if that happens. You've done that. By the way, if a club gets themselves in that position, then there's a lot of bad things, bad decisions that have been made. But yeah, totally. And it has to be said, because you can't say this, I think Nottingham Forest needs to sort of, the way they do some of their transfer activity in the last couple summers, as it pertains to you, needs to hold their hand up. They won't, but oftentimes ld these clubs, and we say it every week, they overcomplicate things for the sake of it. And certain things just don't need to be that complicated. But again, I understand you can't say that, but that's something that obviously I know and I will say so then

[Landon Donovan]

from there, Matt, you. You land back with the revs. And is that. How does that conversation. How does that happen? Just curious behind the scenes, what's. What's that process like now that the Leon thing isn't going to happen?

[Matt Turner]

Yeah. So working in tandem with my agent, Dan. Dan Siegel, and just trying to find a good landing spot, really. I think everybody understood that the pressure is high right now and you don't want to make a wrong move at this time in your career because the margins are so paper thin with the World cup right around the corner. And I want to be on that roster. So I think with the way the team was shaping up towards, you know, between Gold cup and into the fall, and you could see that, you know, MLS guys were getting fair opportunities with the national team, it made sense for me to go to a place where I knew I was going to play week in, week out and be not just a contributing member, but really somebody that's relied upon in a big way every single week again. And that's felt really, really good in a lot of ways, because I feel like very quickly I just found that comfort and found that form again. And although we didn't make the playoffs, and that was my one hesitation about last year coming in when you weren't going to be a playoff team unless you won. I don't know. I played nine games unless we won seven of them, basically. So that was always going to be challenging because you want to be playing when the pressure's on, when the cameras are on, you want to be playing in the big games. And like you said in a. In an international game, you know, you want to be there. Four or five saves, you want to make those saves in the moments that people are saying, oh, man, like, the pressure was high and he can handle that. You don't want to just be. It's different making two or three saves in a big pressure game than it is making 10 saves in a game where you lose and it doesn't really matter. I think we'd all agree that you want to. You'd rather make. Be in the position where you're making two saves. That means you're competing to win.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right. And I. Let me. I want to dig into this. So it's interesting to hear you speak, because if we. Year 31, you've seen a lot now, and what you said was the pressure and that you want to be on the World cup roster. Right. And. And that feels to me, as you're saying it, like that is maybe not the only goal, but maybe the most important goal, or what you're really looking at right now. And a lot of the younger players, I think, and they're in different parts of their career, so it's like, okay, this is a big club move I can make right now, and I can. And you are in that position, too, right. When you went to Arsenal. So I always. When I made decisions in my career and I look back, I'm always glad I did things because it got me to where I am today, right there. There are some things I would probably do differently in those moments, but the actual decision you make with the best knowledge you have. Do you look back at the Arsenal move or going over and wish you had done anything different, knowing how it's panned out and how it went? Or would you say that was still the right move? And obviously there are financial implications, too. How do you feel about all that?

[Matt Turner]

Yeah. If we're excluding the money side of things, I'd say I don't have any regrets. The only regret I have is that I didn't push harder the summer before I went to Crystal palace on loan on deadline day, that I didn't make it more. I don't know, I'm just like, like I said, I'm. I can be a nice person, so I'm nice to have around. I guess I maybe just make things a little bit more difficult so I could have ended up getting a move. Although I'm obviously extremely grateful for my time at Crystal palace, everybody knows how much I love the club, won the FA cup, crazy experiences and all that kind of stuff. But I, I knew it wasn't going to be the best playing situation. It was better than the alternative, which was being stuck there at Nottingham Forest. But, you know, maybe pushed harder to try to get a move into a situation where I was going to be playing more consistently in that 24, 25 season. But going to Arsenal, Absolutely. I mean, I was 28 already. You know, I didn't start playing professional soccer until I was 21. I didn't start for the Revs until I was 24, 25 years old, you know, so I, you know, you get offered the opportunity. Everybody knows I grew up an Arsenal fan. You know, you're gonna go represent the team that you always dreamed of playing for.

[Landon Donovan]

It's amazing.

[Matt Turner]

It's amazing. And then, and then at the same time, do remember it was me and Zach kind of right, that were fighting to be the number one with the national team for the World cup in 22. And he was at Man City in a similar situation. So. And that was the age old debate before the last World Cup. Do you want this guy that's performing week out, week in, week out in mls, or do you want the guy that's getting every so often the opportunity to play at Man City? He's doing well, by the way, because we all know Zach's insanely talented goalkeeper. He's doing really well. But this put me on that, in that same pedigree, in that same, like we were doing the same thing. So now took that part of the equation out of it and it was just about how you can perform with the national team when you get the chance. It's not about what you're doing at your club because you're kind of doing a similar thing. And so I don't regret it because I actually do think that that move is the one that propelled me essentially to becoming the starter in 2022.

[Landon Donovan]

But Tim, before you go, I just. As you said, we had two goalkeepers at Man City and Arsenal. It's just insane. Okay, go ahead.

[Tim Howard]

No, I just. You and I sometimes differ on this, but like, the move is you do it. There is no, There are no cons to it. You go, it's life changing money. You know, And I think sometimes, I think sometimes what you forget is you were making life changing money in mls, right? And not a lot of guys can do that. Not a lot of American guys can do that. And so like going over. I mean, he's got two kids now. Two kids, two beautiful kids and a wife. And he's got things to look forward to in terms of that financial. I mean, the financial piece is huge. It's huge. And I would also argue, because this happened to me, the way I look at it, ld and you were on loan at Bayern Munich and you were at Leverkusen. I think the higher you can go, whether you're out of your depth or not, forget that the higher you go, the shorter the fall. Meaning if you go to Arsenal, then your next move is to Nottingham Forest. Like that. Like you're. It's a Premier League club. It's or, or, or, or Germany or, or wherever. So I think you have to, you do have to leap. I do. Even if you fail. Because I went to Man United, had a pretty good stint, but guess what? In the end, I failed. My failures landed me at a. At a brilliant Premier League club, at Everton for 10 years. So that's sort of how I, my mindset was. Anyway. That's fair.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah. And in that moment, in that stressful moment, you're thinking, why the hell did I come here? You know what I'm saying? Like, why did I do this? And then. But then the chips fall where they're supposed to. I agree with that 100%. Right.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so let's move to the national team. So was. What was the process by which Matt Freeze became the starter? And I just want to say before we get there, how you've handled this, and I don't know you that well, but from what everyone says and just speaking to you now, it was very, very classy and well handled and the way any soccer player should handle situations like this. Even though it's not easy and maybe behind the scenes or privately, you can handle it differently, or speaking to the coach or whatever, that's fine. But how you've handled it publicly has been phenomenal. What was the process like? How did you take that? What did that feel like? Obviously, you know, this is what you want.

[Jordan]

You've.

[Landon Donovan]

You've now become the number one, and then you're not. And walk us through that process and how you're. How you're handling it now.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, it's. It was obviously really difficult because I've always used the national team as sort of my North Star. Every move I made, every decision I've made in my career, try to better position myself for the national team. And so when you lose the shirt and that responsibility, it's. It's challenging. You know, it's a punch in the gut. But I've always really appreciated that the gaffer, now him and I have a really clear communication line, and there's kind of like, no ambiguity, and I don't do well with ambiguity. Like, I just want you to just. Just rip the band aid, tell me like it is, and let's do it. And that's pretty much how it was, I think. It wasn't like, oh, this is. We're giving this to Matt and he's the number one now. It's. It was more like, okay, well, we had the two friendlies in the summer. We had the failure at Nations League, and you know what? You've played basically every game under us, and we need to see. We need to see other things. And he's not afraid to take risk and try things that maybe other coaches might not have, you know, tried before. And then credit to Matty, because in the end, he's. He's gone on and done well enough to continuously have the shirt. And. And for me, then my role becomes what, like, to support. I'm not going to make it about me, because the national team's bigger than me. And what we're all. What we all want for soccer in America is bigger than all of our individual journeys. I think it's all we. We should have this, like, complex that it's us against that everybody else. And we want to. No matter what your role is on the team, how can you do it to the best of your ability and. And make the team better for it and make the soccer in America better for it in the long run? Because I think that we all dream of. Of the best league in the world being here in America, and if we just continue to build things and then do well with the national team and things like that, you never know what could happen.

[Landon Donovan]

Let me jump in real quick.

[Tim Howard]

I know where you're going. I know exactly where you're going. Go ahead.

[Landon Donovan]

So I want to. I want to expound upon this Because I'm wondering if it's where you are in your career or just who you are as a person. A lot of people will say things like, I want. You know, the national team has always been my North Star. And. But we know. Tim and I know when you listen to them or you see their actions, you go, that's B.S. like, it's about you, you know, your club career, making money or whatever. And the national team is sort of secondary.

[Tim Howard]

And.

[Landon Donovan]

And I hate to say that, but that's the truth. I believe you when you say it, and so thank you. That. Do you think that's a generational thing, how you view it? Is it because of your experiences, it just the way you're built? Because I don't always sense that from this national team. And maybe I get it wrong. Maybe behind the scenes that is the case, but sometimes the actions don't say that. And I believe you when you say,

[Matt Turner]

changed my life, Landon. Like, it. It really did. Without the national team and the opportunities that I had, my career isn't the way it is. So I'd be silly to make, like, not have gratitude for what the program has really done for me. And also, like, I. When I was in. When I was in England, I loved being American over there. I loved it because you realize how many people are, like, so infatuated with America, and it's really just truly just an unbelievable place to be able to. To represent. And, man, like, I get. I got goosebumps yesterday watching USA Hockey win, you know, and what it means then the interview Jack Hughes gave after the. After the. After the match, it was just like, this is what it's all about, you know, and. And leading the way in. In all the sports. So I don't know.

[Landon Donovan]

I.

[Matt Turner]

It's just something that I've. It's given me the most pride, the most goosebumps. The. The best feelings I ever had on the pitch were when I'm. When I have the. The crest on.

[Landon Donovan]

That's awesome.

[Tim Howard]

The. You know, when I. When I look back at. At 20, 25, you had some lows. Not you. The team had some lows with the Nations League and some highs in terms of, you know, the 51 against. It was against Uruguay.

[Landon Donovan]

Was it.

[Tim Howard]

And then everything sort of in between. I think the Gold cup, that's sort of sandwiched in between there. And that was what we saw on the outside. It was a. It was sort of a pivotal moment. Right. The biggest players that we have, for the most part, weren't there. It was a collection of guys who sort of, we don't know the conversations on the inside, but seemed to basically say F you to everybody, we're going to circle these wagons and we're going to commit to this thing. And it was amazing. And unfortunately though, there was a loss to Mexico in the final, but there was a valiant performance and tournament. So did you personally sort of see a shift with the team with Pochettino with going into the, going into the fall saying like, okay, now we have this renewed sense of spirit and sort of direction because it felt like that

[Matt Turner]

on the outside, right. And, and from the inside, all I'll really say on that is what he said. So I think there was an interview right at the end of the Uruguay game where they said, someone said, well, yeah, yeah, your regular guys weren't here. And he kind of was like, regular guys?

[Landon Donovan]

What do you mean?

[Matt Turner]

This is my team. And I think that was the messaging in Gold cup and that people buy into. It's like, nah, if you're called in, there's no handouts, you're called in. The expectation is that you're going to perform with an intensity at a certain level, with a dedication at a certain level. And that those weeks together allowed us to really fortify that, that culture because it's difficult. You know, you come in halfway through a cycle, you don't have, you know, we had the Nations League, but you, every window, even the Nations League games are like they're sandwiched in those 10 day windows and you have two games. So then, you know, finally have a longer period of time together where you can get that understanding, you can work on everything and, and the building blocks from that culture, regardless of the final result. Like I was alluding to before about the process, you just fall in love with the process and you understand the non negotiables and then, you know, you find the people that can help drive, drive all that home and then it ends up showing out on the pitch.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, a few more. Matt, for can. Can you walk us through some of the 2022 World cup memories? I was there in Qatar and like it was, it was, it was fun to watch. As a fan, that was the first time sort of I was working, but also as a fan and, and then some of the lessons I guess that you would have learned from that and how you think, because you're clearly a leader on this team, how you can help message that even though a lot of those guys were there, there are a bunch of new guys and how you message that to them and what

[Matt Turner]

it's like, honestly, guys, and I imagine you felt the same about a lot of the World Cups that you played in, but it's like a little bit of a blur. You know, the games come thick and fast, but that bubble that you create, you know, and it's just like. It's just so nice. I just. I remember some of my favorite memories from the World cup are the times where we were just all, like, watching the other games, playing pool together, you know, like, we stayed in an awesome hotel. We got to experience a new culture that I might never have been over to see if it wasn't for that. And it was such a cool World cup because everything was so. So tangible, right? Like, as a fan, you could go to three games in a day if you wanted to. It was super cool. It was very, very different than what we're going to experience this summer. But my message would be, like, relish every. Every moment, but understand that the level of intensity is unlike anything you've ever seen. And so the most important thing is that no matter the outside noise, that we, you know, stick together in our little bubble. And we make the most of both boxes. Because in. In the game, in every game, there's a game from 1818, and there's a game within each box. And that's the most important game of all. Because if you look at our game against the Netherlands, in the end, like, we actually played pretty well. We lose 3 1. But really, all three of their goals kind of come from similar fashion. And it's just like, we didn't make a play or the ball went through someone's legs and we didn't make the final block or we lost the runner. And no matter all the good that we did, they were more lethal in our box than we were in their box. And that is what, ultimately, like I said, the process was good, all that, but the result wasn't great. So it happens like that, guys. You know, it. You know, it happens like that, and then you don't want to leave any. Any regret out on. On the pitch.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it does. It flies by. And I think that's probably something that you and I talked about, Landon, recently, and it's a really good point, Matt. Like, when you're on the inside of that bubble, you know, and you're at the tournament, you're trying desperately to balance, like, enjoying being there, seeing your family and your kids. And, like, you're reading a bit of all the outside noise. Cause it's fun to take in, but you're also, like, we Gotta lock in. We got a job to do, we gotta train, we gotta sleep, and this is that. B. I don't think we, you know, people on the outside, I guess Landon and I aren't part of that. We. But people on the outside don't understand what. That. How. How difficult that is to lock in and all of the emotions that go on in four weeks inside of meal rooms and hotel rooms and buses and locker rooms, and that balance is so incredible.

[Landon Donovan]

And it's going to be harder, Tim, in the U.S. right, because in Qatar, like, you're on that. What was that, that Pearl Island?

[Matt Turner]

The Pearl, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And you're just so insulated. In South Africa, we're in Iranian, we're so, so far. But in America, you're just going to see it and hear about it everywhere. So, yeah, it's going to be a challenge.

[Matt Turner]

It's going to be cool, but very different.

[Landon Donovan]

For sure, Definitely.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, two from me. Just two quick ones. I'll get you out of here. So let's talk about Arsenal. How are you feeling about Arsenal? I'm guessing you still have a ton of friends and contacts there, Obviously, my former teammate and Landon's former teammate, your old gaffer, Mikel Arteta. We're pulling for him. So you think they can get across the line and do it?

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, I think this team's different. I think they. I think they get across the line. They just. They are winning games in. In many different ways. And it just felt like this, this last derby was a statement, you know, to come off the back of a disappointing performance and just lay. Lay down a performance like that and get goals from guys that hadn't been scoring quite as much as they. People might have expected them to. They're still having great seasons, by the way, but, like, you know how Arsenal just gets put under this microscope. So it's so funny having been in that and then now seeing how people talk about it on the outside, it's just. It's. It's too funny to me. But the process, that football club, the people that work there, from the guy that's, you know, saying good morning to you at the security gate, to the people that are cooking for you, everyone is bought into the vision of what they're trying to achieve. And, man, if they. If they do it, I will. I will be really happy for them.

[Tim Howard]

It's a brilliant football club. Landon needs help in a lot of areas, and so I need you, as we close, to help him. So he believes in this myth called the goalkeeper union. And I try and tell him all the time, it's a lot of shite. No one believes in it.

[Landon Donovan]

No, it's not.

[Tim Howard]

No one believes in it. And so help him understand that it's not real. Unless of course, you are a card carrying member of this so called union that I don't subscribe to.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, he don't subscribe to it. Well, that changes everything. Let me tell you why.

[Tim Howard]

No, no, let me tell you why. Because Brad Guzan, who's a friend of the show, he watches and listens every single week. He's a dear friend of ours. He was a great friend. He always said to me, good luck, clean sheet. And I thought, you're full of shit. Every single time I said, you're full of shit. You want to hurt me. The way he squeezed my hand before the game, I thought he was trying to break my hand. He wanted me to concede five. It's. It's a lie. That's my own personal opinion. He can come on and tell us that himself.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah, I tell you what, I did notice a few firm handshakes in Gold Cup 2021 when he was dapping me up before the game. So I'm starting to reevaluate things here.

[Tim Howard]

Right. Thank you. Landon just believes in this myth.

[Landon Donovan]

Tim, you heard him speak about Matt. Freeze. Zach, Stefan, everyone's great, everyone that he is clearly a card carrying member.

[Tim Howard]

I. And I think Matt Turner's full of too.

[Landon Donovan]

No, I think you're. You're an anomaly and you just don't like anyone. That's fair.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, we love you, man.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, Matt, man, last thing I want to ask about because I think this is maybe the most important question. So we saw a clip of Aaron Ramsdale saying that you were, quote, the funniest player on Arsenal, but for unintentional reasons. Meaning you don't know how funny you are. Just in maybe, I don't know if you're saying you're weird or whatever and that at one point you told Kevin de Bruyne in the FA cup, relax, dog. It's a dog fight out there. Is any and all of this true?

[Tim Howard]

I feel like you gave Katie the business.

[Matt Turner]

I gave him more than I. There was definitely not. There was. There wasn't two dogs. That's for sure. There wasn't. Relax, dog. But you didn't double dog him. All right, I didn't. I didn't double dog him. But you know, the best part of that is I told him that in confidence after, you know, because I was like, bro, like we Lost. We lost one nothing at the Etihad. And it was a. I played a great game, and, you know, Man City were what they were at the time. And I just. I think there was a little scuffle up, and I think Rob holding might have been down, and everyone. KDB was getting all, like, hot and bothered. I'm like. And I was just like, bro. Like, I. I told him. I did say, relax. It's a dog fight, bro. Like, just chill.

[Tim Howard]

I don't mind.

[Matt Turner]

Because he was just going nuts at the ref, you know, I'm like, just leave it right now and, like, let's get on with the game. I hate the. I hate the crowding, the referee. I'll never understand it. And, yeah, so I. I like. You know, we're listening to. We're playing cards after the game on the flight home, and I sort of like, stop. I don't play a card. I'm like, guys, I got to tell you something. You know? And I tell him all the story of what happened, and it. He never let me live it down. He obviously threw that out to Raj on a Men in Blazers interview, I think it was. And it caught fire. But, no, it's good. Him and I still really good friends to this day. I am. I guess I have to say, I'm a car carrying. It's. It's. I. I love goalkeeping. I love. I love goalkeepers. I just. Yeah, it's who I am, I guess. I can't.

[Tim Howard]

I appreciate it, Landon. Let me. Maybe it's me. It's. Maybe it's me.

[Landon Donovan]

You know that song? Who sings it? I'm the problem.

[Matt Turner]

It's me, Morgan Wallen. I'm the problem.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, no, I'm the problem is Morgan Wallen. But I'm the problem. It's me.

[Tim Howard]

Is.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know.

[Tim Howard]

Whatever. He's not. He's not. Pop culture. That's not a thing for him.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, Matt, look, I will say. Goalkeepers are so weird.

[Tim Howard]

Stop it.

[Landon Donovan]

Always have. They're in their own bubble. They do. They train on their own. They do all the. But you are the most normal goalkeeper I think I've ever interviewed or talked to.

[Matt Turner]

I appreciate that.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. And in all sincerity, wishing you the very, very, very best with New England, but also this summer, most importantly, and I think they are so lucky to have someone with such a great head on their shoulders and a leader who can help, who can put his ego to the side, you know, and let it be what it is. And by the way, the soccer World's funny. So you might end up starting.

[Matt Turner]

I say all these things, but I think you guys know I'm gonna keep pushing, you know, because in the end, like, I'm not gonna be sitting here saying like, oh, yeah, I'm happy to just be on the roster. No, I want the responsibility, you know, and I don't think there's any secret of that. But with grace and respect as always.

[Tim Howard]

But we, we certainly appreciate you coming on the show and I wish you all the best this season. Got a couple of games between now and the World cup, so, yeah, keep pushing. I can see you getting. Absolutely. So that's, it's all exciting stuff.

[Matt Turner]

Thank you.

[Tim Howard]

Thanks for coming on the show. I know our listeners were. We're super stoked to, to hear from you, so thanks, brother.

[Landon Donovan]

It's stoppage time. Sponsored by FanDuel. New customers can bet $5 and get 100 in bonus bets if you win. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app to get started. All right, the return leg of the Champions League fixtures from last week. This week we're going to focus on PSG and Monaco. Our guy Flo Baligan is scoring for fun these days, which is good for him. But unfortunately think for he and Monaco, this is going to come to an end. His Champions League run is going to come to an end. PSG just have too much. They're at home. They're up 3, 2 on the aggregate so far. And I think they win. I think they score a lot of goals. I think it's going to be a one sided affair. So unfiltered soccer's Champions League same game parlay this week. PSG to win the game. They will go over two and a half goals because I think PSG scored three or four. Monaco are going to have to open up. The game's going to get open and I think PSG scored three or four goals. Only one team will score and that's psg. I think, I think they just have too much. Monaco will try to push forward, but when they do, they're going to get punished the other way. And Desiree Due will score or have an assist. Absolutely on fire. And I don't anticipate that stopping anytime soon. Don't forget to check out the full list of unfiltered soccer's Champions League same game parlays on our socials later this week. Let's take a break. When we come back, we'll dive into your questions in the AT&T fan connection with Junior right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, as always, presenting by Volkswagen. This episode is brought to you by Airbnb. Timmy. I'm going to be traveling a ton. You're going to be traveling a ton. I just got back from Vail. Travels include San Jose, San Francisco. In March, I'm going to the US Games in Atlanta. Have part of my World cup schedule. Mexico City, Louisiana. Houston. I'm going to be on the east coast, your neck of the woods, New York, Boston, Philly, Miami, all over the place. And for fans that are also going to be experiencing the World cup this way, you want to stay local. You want to experience the culture around not only the games, but the city and find out what the city is all about. And that's where Airbnb comes in.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Local accommodations, as we know, can be tough to find in these host cities. If you happen to live there, hosting your home on Airbnb can help lots and lots of fans. But here's the cool thing. It might even help you find some money, earn some money to fund your next soccer experience.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host LD we

[Tim Howard]

got a big year coming up, man. Huge year. The obviously the run into the Premier League title, MLS starting back up. There's a big, big summer of soccer going on. You and I are going to say that we'd be busy or we're going to be busy is probably an understatement. It's going to be chaos. We're going to be here, there and everywhere. We. I know you and I will find a time. I'm going to have to find lots of time to choose chill between crossing the country, being on all these different flights. I'll definitely. You'll catch me in the airport, pointed up to the bar, having a Coors Light. And then to be hon. In my off time, I'll be at the beach. Any, literally any single moment. LD that I'm not doing something for the World cup, which is not a lot of days, but I will be at the beach and I will have a cooler full of Coors Light.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, it's, it's already started. As you know. I was in Vail this weekend in the heart of the Rockies, by the way, doing an appearance. And you just. We're going to be traveling a lot. We're going to be seeing each other a lot. We're going to be meeting a lot of fans and people, and we want to take advantage of it and enjoy it. But I keep reminding myself, I told my wife last night, like, we gotta find ways to chill and choose chill so that I can stay energized, refreshed. Um, it's gonna be few and far between, but if we don't, we're gonna have, we're gonna have some problems. So thankfully we can choose chill, grab a Coors Light, relax, and make sure we're staying refreshed.

[Tim Howard]

And when you embrace a chill mindset this year, it's a good time to choose chill and crack open a Coors Light. Choose chill from the start and reach for a Coors Light. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit Coors Light.com UFS or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer.

[Landon Donovan]

Celebrate responsibly Coors Brewing company Golden, Colorado

[Tim Howard]

there's nothing better than feeling like someone has your back and that things are going to get done, even without you having to ask. Like your crisp new Jersey waiting for you in the locker room or a perfectly set up wall for a free kick.

[Matt Turner]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

As we unfiltered soccer get ready for next summer, we know that very little in the beautiful game is guaranteed. But as we prepare to bring our unfiltered brand of non stop soccer coverage, it's good to know AT and T has your back. With the AT and T guarantee, staying connected matters.

[Tim Howard]

That's why in the rare event of a network outage, AT and T will proactively credit you for a full day of service. That's the AT and T guarantee.

[Landon Donovan]

Learn [e-mail] guarantee@&t connecting changes everything Credit

[Tim Howard]

for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or a wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers must be connected to impacted towers at onset of outage. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guarantee for full details. Time for the Fan Connection Presented by AT and T. Every week, we invite you, the listener, to connect with us by submitting your questions at AT&T. Connecting changes everything. And on USLNT, our connections with you will help grow the game. All right, LD, it's time for the AT&T fan Connection. This is. We're laughing because we always have such a good time during this segment. Jordan, how's the snow?

[Jordan]

Dude, please. You're buried alive.

[Tim Howard]

I'll never get out to the group was so funny this morning. You sent us a video outside your front door and there's this teeny little shovel walkway that goes to nothing. Just another wall of snow. And I joked and I was like, how's the shoveling going? You're like, I basically am shoveling that path to get to the snowblower.

[Jordan]

Yes. And the snowblower will help, hopefully. But the problem is the snow has not actually stopped yet, so. And the wind is also insane. So we have these places where like right outside the back door, when the dog goes outside, there's no snow because it has blown it all up against the fence and it's like almost as tall as the six foot stockade fence. It's wild.

[Tim Howard]

But, but, but here what I would say is rookie, rookie mistake. Cuz you kind of need to shovel, plow and then let it fall again. And then shovel plow again. You just. You're going one and done. It's not. It's not great.

[Landon Donovan]

Serious question.

[Jordan]

Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

Is this. What is a. Is a snowblower like a leaf blower thing, but actually blows snow?

[Jordan]

No, it's more like a lawn mower and it pulls the snow in and then pushes it out over the top.

[Tim Howard]

It's got like a. It's got like a chimney stack thing.

[Landon Donovan]

Is it. Or whatever to like.

[Jordan]

It's gas powered.

[Landon Donovan]

What if the snow is frozen? Like becomes ice?

[Jordan]

Yeah. Not. Not doesn't work so good.

[Tim Howard]

This is her problem. I just said definitely not my problem.

[Jordan]

Okay, well, how about we talk about things that are your problems, which is some of the comments that came in this week. Yes. A little less on the question question and more on the comment side. So, Landon, I'm gonna start with the smoke that comes your way.

[Tim Howard]

Give it to him.

[Jordan]

Okay, this one is from Bob the email.

[Landon Donovan]

Hey, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob. B. Bradley.

[Jordan]

E O B. Just Bob. Here we go. One episode in November, a fan wrote in asking Landon why the World cup is so expensive compared to Qatar, and Landon said that not enough people went to Qatar. And FIFA is a for profit business, so they have to make up the cost of the previous World Cup. This is incorrect. FIFA is a nonprofit governing body, not a commercial entity. Sure, they rake in the billions, but with this specific World cup, they're taking a cut from the sale of tickets and the resale of tickets. Quite frankly, FIFA is using the US as an excuse to price gouge fans worldwide. I've been looking forward to this World cup since it was announced all those years ago. And I can't go because I'm priced out. FIFA is supposed to develop football everywhere and for all and promote it globally, not just for people who can pay the outrageous prices.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, I did say FIFA is a non is a for profit. I did not say they need to pay for the previous World cup. So I'm not sure where that came from. Look, I'm sympathetic, I really am, but FIFA technically a non for. Non for profit, but their mission, and it's not their mission does not say to make tickets affordable for all fans. Right? Can you read Jordan? What, what, what he said with the FIFA mission was FIFA is supposed to

[Jordan]

develop football everywhere and for all and promote it globally.

[Landon Donovan]

Right? So they are, they're doing it to promote. And look, I'm not a, I'm not like shilling for FIFA here. They are trying to promote it and grow it globally. And of course there's been throughout the years a lot of misdoings and misdeeds by, by people in the past around FIFA. And so that's, that's all part of it. But they are trying to grow, grow the game globally. They do never, they never say we're trying to make it affordable for fans. They don't claim to do that. I don't agree with it. I've said I wish the tickets were way cheaper. I wish I'm going to have to pay for it too. It sucks. It does. But big sporting events cost a lot of money in this country particularly, and it sucks. Dude, I'm sympathetic with you, but they are trying to bring in as much money as possible so that they can do what they believe is best for the game, to promote it and develop it. That's, I mean, that's just the reality. You can like it or not like it, but that is the reality.

[Tim Howard]

Have that. Bob, thanks for calling in.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm just saying I'm sympathetic. I'm not saying I'm with, I'm with you. I wish it were cheaper.

[Tim Howard]

The next comment and you can't win because the next comment's going to be, yeah, you have to pay for it, but you can afford it. So it's not, it's a, it's a

[Landon Donovan]

never ending look, I get it, but you're, you would you want like $10 tickets to a FIFA World cup game? Like, come on, dude, I don't know.

[Jordan]

But $100 tickets would be nice.

[Landon Donovan]

I agree. And I, I'm again, I told you, I don't agree with it. I do think they can be and they have, I think, adjusted and I think prices will adjust.

[Tim Howard]

I was gonna say. Wait, wait, do you think they will

[Landon Donovan]

adjust because the market dictates what you can, what you can charge and not charge. It happens at every sporting event. So then I Would wait. You know, I don't like it, but it's just. That is the reality. We can all we want, but that's what it is.

[Tim Howard]

Sorry, you're gonna have a follow up. I know you are. Jordan, two seconds. LD Is it right in saying with working the World cup, you're not going to get to go to any. Will you go to any games?

[Landon Donovan]

I may be a couple with my family, but not really. That's what people don't realize about when you work it. I know, and I'm not. Believe me, I'm not. It's not a pity party.

[Matt Turner]

But.

[Tim Howard]

No, no.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm just saying when you work it, you're. You're either working the game or you're traveling to the next game.

[Tim Howard]

I think. I think. I think I'm going to, like, I'm definitely going to two games, but maybe three. But I. It might. I might just be tapping out at 2. So.

[Jordan]

Yeah, I will say, Bob, that those of us who live in the cities where World cup games are happening are at an advantage because we can pull the trigger a lot later than people who were considering traveling either from outside of the country or from cities or states that are not getting World cup games. So, like, the guys are saying, try to be patient and keep looking and seeing what the ticket prices are if they adjust over time. Because, you know, unless you were trying to decide between going to your cousin's wedding and going to a World cup game, you can just make the decision, like, literally the day before and be like, all right, I'm gonna go.

[Landon Donovan]

And I would advise going to a World cup game over your cousin's wedding anyway.

[Tim Howard]

Holy.

[Jordan]

All right, how about some smoke for Tim Howard?

[Tim Howard]

Give it.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't care.

[Tim Howard]

Come with it.

[Jordan]

So this one is from Russ via email.

[Tim Howard]

Russ.

[Jordan]

Russ would like to know if we have been watching the new season of Netflix reality dating. We have Love is Blind.

[Tim Howard]

We. Us.

[Jordan]

Okay, let me. Let me get all the way through the question before you say anything. Tim. Here we go. If not, I'm here to report that Tim's name was mentioned. One of the contestants is talking to his fiance and he mentions Ronaldo. In her attempt to show that she also knows something about soccer, she says she knows about Tim Howard. The bad news is that the guy claims to have met him and says that he was a weirdo. He did not elaborate. The good news is that the woman then mentions Beckham, who the guy then says isn't even good. And then there's a crying, laughing emoji here. So On a super popular mainstream show, when listing off notable soccer players, it goes, ronaldo, Howard, Beckham, in that order.

[Tim Howard]

It's good company. It's good company. Here's what I would say. I had a friend. This first came to my attention. I had a friend video his screen while he's watching. I love. Love is Blind, by the way. I've seen almost every season. I haven't seen last season, this season, I'm into it. And he shows me this clip of this guy called me a weirdo. And he goes, I'm gonna find out where he lives. And I said, no, don't worry. It's fine. Relax. My friends are loyal. I said, relax, it's fine. And then ld, you can appreciate this. This is what happens when you have college aged kids. My daughter is at the. She's at the training ground. They have practice, right? So she's in like the corridor of the training ground and she facetimes me and she's in like her training kit and she and her. And her teammates go Vols. They watch all these shows. They watch all, like Love is Blind and Dancing with the Stars and all that. And she's like, dad, you're never gonna guess what happened. And I was like, what? She was like. We were watching Love is Blind and this guy was talking about you. I said, don't worry, I'll handle it. It's fine. So anyway, here's what I know. Alex Henderson.

[Landon Donovan]

Is that the guy's name?

[Tim Howard]

That's the guy's name. That's the guy's name. Here's what I would say. I know you're a fan and I have this on good authority. So all I'll say is we can make everything right with the world, and you just issue a public apology on whatever platform, Whatever platform you're on, you can issue a public apology and I'll in advance accept it. If not. If not, then I'll have more things to say about you. So we'll leave it there. How's that sound, Jordan? Is that acceptable?

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I'm not. I'm not leaving it there.

[Tim Howard]

First go. Give it. Give. Give him. Well, you did talk about.

[Landon Donovan]

So I watched. I. I saw the clip and I don't. I don't love. What's this called, Fantasy Island?

[Jordan]

Love is blind.

[Landon Donovan]

Love is blind. This tool

[Matt Turner]

for.

[Landon Donovan]

Look, even forget about saying that you're a weirdo, which is just the dumb. Like, what a dumb. What it. He's trying to hit on this girl and pick up this girl by saying, Tim Howard's A weirdo. Like, what an idiot. First of all, figure out a way to get some game. Second of all, saying Sir David. It's Sir David Beckham, by the way. Okay, Alan, whatever. Sir David Beckham saying he's not even good to try to impress some girl, that you're like, what an absolute tool. So let's just put it back. It. Let's put it very clearly. Alan, keep Alex, Tim Howard, and David Beckham Sir David Beckham names out of your mouth. Okay? And keep it as simple as that.

[Tim Howard]

Smoke.

[Landon Donovan]

Ridiculous.

[Jordan]

Also, I would like to add the following things. One, Alan, Alec, Fred, whatever your name is. There's more than one person called Ronaldo in soccer. So maybe if you knew that, you would want some clarification on that. Second of all, those of us who have actually now I work on a regular basis with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. I know exactly how weird these people truly are. It would never occur to me to ever use that word to describe anybody that I work with to another person. Like, if you want to be cool, like, be cool, tell people about the famous people that you've met. That's great. But calling somebody you've met probably once weird to try to impress a girl, I don't know who the girl is, but, honey, that's a red flag right there.

[Landon Donovan]

Think about how hard he was trying to, like, really be cool by one showing that he knew Tim or. Or came across Tim or something. And then to. But then to say bad things about Tim and Sir and Sir David Beckham is just like. It's just. Anyway, we're spending too much time.

[Tim Howard]

I love my squad. Thank you for having my back. You come out of the king, you best not miss.

[Jordan]

I love that we asked this question and Kim was like, I'm gonna cut this guy some slack. And me and LD are like, absolutely not.

[Landon Donovan]

Not happening. Not happening.

[Tim Howard]

The public apology is coming for sure.

[Jordan]

Okay, so ld, last week you asked people to write in with their World cup emphasis predictions, and someone actually sent us one. So this is from Nick via email. And Nick said everything will somewhat be centered around appealing to a broader audience and upping the integrity of the game. So here are his three. Three things. Number one, time wasting goalie rule, but also forcing players off for one to two minutes for injury time wasting. If they can stomp out the flopping stereotypes in the game. Huge win. Number two, captain only communication with refs. And number three, speedy V to keep the game moving.

[Landon Donovan]

He thinks that's what they'll be.

[Jordan]

Yes, the.

[Landon Donovan]

The time wasting. One has gotten like, they tried, but it just, like with anything, you have to then hold everyone to account and they just won't. Like, they just won't do it. Referees will not do it. They're so reticent to actually enforce that stuff. I love, like, if you go down and the training staff has to come on the field, then you have to go off for a certain amount of time. I'm totally fine with that. Because there's times where you're like, just give me 15 seconds and I'm good. I know the pain will subside. And there's times where like, no, I need treatment. So the staff has to go out or a time limit. You go down and you get 30 seconds and you got to get up or you're off the field for a minute or something. I love that.

[Tim Howard]

Here's why I don't. Here's what. I don't like that. Ld as. As we're talking through it, there's like a subjectivity, right? And of course. And we're asking in certain rules, right? Like tackle and different things. We're asking referees to. We're basically saying, you don't know intent. That's not how you call the game. You don't call it by saying, I know what the defender was thinking, right? So we take that out of it. So then you can't then ask a referee to go, well, he went down. He's faking it. How do you know he's faking it? Well. Cause I can tell.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, yeah, no, that's true.

[Tim Howard]

No, you can't. Because we've said, take that out of it. You're not. You as a referee, aren't allowed to sort of judge and gauge intent when we said that across the board. So then you can. I don't think you can say that when it comes to. You just add more time properly at time.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, they, they. I mean, that's subjective too, though.

[Tim Howard]

Ish. It doesn't have to be. Don't have to.

[Landon Donovan]

By the way, what were the other two?

[Jordan]

Jordan, the other two were captain only communication with the referees.

[Landon Donovan]

Another one, I'm super in favor of sue, and they just won't do it. And I. I would love that to happen in the first three games of the World Cup. There's a mess and they just go, yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow. That's your second sending off. Boom, done, over. And then everyone go, oh, okay. Because they've tried it and they just don't do it.

[Tim Howard]

It works in rugby. It works in rugby and it works really well. In rugby, so it's great.

[Landon Donovan]

I love.

[Jordan]

It's just getting it over the line, right?

[Landon Donovan]

No, it's just the official doing it. And just say, I don't care. If you have to send someone off, you send them off. That's it. Bang. Yellow.

[Jordan]

The third one was speedy var to keep the game moving.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's a tough one because you got to get it right. So it could be, though. Yeah. All right. I like this.

[Jordan]

Finally, a new rule. This one is from Robbie via email. Robbie says, uno, reverse. What if American sports were to adopt the player loan process? Could you imagine the Cowboys drafting a quarterback round one and sending him to the Browns for three seasons?

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, all right, I love it. You hate it, Tim. Why not?

[Tim Howard]

Go on, give me, give me.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I'm just saying, like, okay, here's a great. This is a great. There are now many, many GMs, coaches, commentators, who say, you have no idea if a quarterback is good or not. If they're on a bad team. And it's happened over and over and over in history where, like, they changed to a good. I mean, Aaron Rodgers was drafted, like, mid-20s, but if he had gone to the Browns, is he the same quarterback? Sure, sure. Because if you. If you have no offensive line, you have no threats, your defense is terrible, so you're always throwing like, you can't. How can you be good? Right? And so I love it. I think other. Why don't, you know, in baseball, they draft a guy and send them to the minors to develop in the NFL, they draft them and they put them in, you know, week three to try to be. It's like, what are you doing? Yeah. All right. Fair. They're not ready yet. Some of them. Some are, but some aren't. And that's fine. I love it. So loan them out.

[Tim Howard]

He loves it.

[Landon Donovan]

You're in.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Jordan]

That's all I got.

[Landon Donovan]

I love it. Or what? If you don't loan them in your division, that's fine. Somewhere outside your division. All right, Junior, keep bringing the heat.

[Jordan]

Thanks, guys.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, Timmy, another great show. We appreciate all of you as always. My friendly reminder to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere. You get your podcast and then follow us at Unfiltered Soccer on Social Media. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our presenting sponsor, VW, our fan connection sponsor AT&T, and our stoppage time sponsor, FanDuel.

[Tim Howard]

Thanks also to our unfiltered refresh sponsor, Coors Light, and our additional sponsor, Airbnb. Have an amazing week. We'll be back next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.