Messi Chases MLS Cup & Brian Schmetzer's Toughest Loss of His Career

Summary

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard

Episode Summary: "Messi Chases MLS Cup & Brian Schmetzer's Toughest Loss of His Career"

Release Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Landon Donovan, Tim Howard
Special Guest: Brian Schmetzer, Seattle Sounders Head Coach

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the high-stakes world of Major League Soccer as Landon Donovan and Tim Howard break down Inter Miami’s dominant playoff run, led by Lionel Messi, and preview the MLS Cup Final versus Vancouver. The duo delves deep into the tactical nuances of Miami’s "mental monster" status, the psychology of big games, Vancouver’s underrated strengths, and the league's evolving landscape. The second half features a candid, insightful interview with Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer, discussing how to stop Messi, his toughest playoff defeat, the rise of Christian Roldan, and broader reflections on MLS culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inter Miami’s Dominance & Messi's Impact

• Miami’s Playoff Form (02:00–04:24)

  • Miami has outscored opponents by huge margins (last three games: 4-0, 4-0, 5-1).
  • Discussion on Miami's shift to "mental monsters"—a team opponents fear once they go down a goal.
  • Quote – Tim Howard (02:26):
    "Inter Miami have entered the realm now of mental monsters... if it went one nil night night."
  • Miami’s lethal transition play and why the first goal in soccer is so crucial.
  • Donovan credits Miami and especially Messi for peaking at the right time and targeting the MLS Cup from the start.

• Strategy and Management (04:24–06:19)

  • Miami’s tactical approach: prioritize winning MLS Cup over other competitions, manage star minutes.
  • Quote – Tim Howard (06:19):
    "The best thing they could have done was win the Supporter Shield last year... then this season doesn’t matter. The regular season doesn’t matter. We can manage minutes, which they did."
  • The rise of a “villain” team in MLS making the league more compelling.

• Not Just Messi (08:39)

  • Players like Allende (8 goals in 5 postseason games) and rising star Silvetti (2 goals, 3 assists in 3 games) contributing deeply.
  • Miami are "not a one man show"—multiple attacking threats.

2. Vancouver's Path and Strengths

• Vancouver’s Masterclass (09:37–12:21)

  • Vancouver’s tactical discipline and grit highlighted; comparisons to top MLS sides.
  • Stand-out players named: Sebastian Berhalter (“tenacious”), Tomas Müller, Brian White (“pure goal scorer”), Ryan Gauld as X-factor off the bench.
  • Strategic breakdown of how Vancouver beats higher-profile teams.

• Key Players in Focus (12:21–14:32)

  • Müller’s unrelenting style and how White changes Vancouver’s offensive game.
  • Quote – Tim Howard (14:32):
    "If you got a bag of money, put it on... I think [Berhalter]’ll get to grips with Lionel Messi, I don’t know why, because he’s a little rat and he wants to get under people’s skin..."

3. MLS Cup Final Preview & Predictions

• Unfiltered Refresh: Player of the Week (14:49–16:14)

  • Brian White awarded for his return and two goals in Vancouver’s semifinal.
  • Comparison to classic MLS target men: “He’s a little bit of a throwback...holds the ball, fights, battles.”

• Matchup Analysis (16:12–18:50)

  • Hosts remain confident in Miami’s edge, but see Vancouver as a credible threat.
  • Quote – Landon Donovan (16:12):
    "They (Vancouver) match up well against Miami...Gonna be a great game."
  • Predictions: Miami favored, but expect a close match (2–1 or 3–1 scoreline).
  • Müller’s strong track record against Messi noted (7 wins in 10 matches).

4. The Brian Schmetzer Interview (25:18–56:08)

Culture & Atmosphere in Seattle (29:09–31:17)

• Deep roots: Sounders' 50-year legacy, history of packed crowds even in the USL days.
• Building tradition and fan culture—parade, colors, and authentic atmosphere.
• Quote – Brian Schmetzer (29:09):
  "There was a lot of history here before it changed to the MLS...there was 18,000 people stuffed into an old stadium."

On Facing Messi (31:41–34:42)

• Tactics for defending Messi: ultra-compact shape, double-teaming, denying turn-and-face, prioritizing defending in numbers.
• Quote – Brian Schmetzer (34:42):
  "We didn’t want him to face forward...let Messi face forward, ball at his feet, dribbling at you, you’re in for a long night."
• Specifics: Avoiding overload on Jordi Alba’s side, collective effort rather than individual marking.

Vancouver’s Strengths (35:27–36:53)

• Trio of players to watch: Kubas, Berhalter, White.
• Brian White compared to Brian Ching: strong, relentless, key in breaking pressure and extending possession.
• Quote – Schmetzer (35:27):
  "That guy is such a tough mother...inside the 18 reminds me of Brian Ching..."

Schmetzer's Toughest Loss (37:00–40:26)

• Playoff defeat vs. Minnesota after being up a man—a rare breakdown for Seattle.
• Emotional reflection on losing in penalties, high-stakes decisions about keeper selection.
• Quote – Schmetzer (37:12):
  "That stuff doesn’t happen to us...going up a man having the lead and having a team fight back..."

Juggling Competitions & Squad Rotation (41:20–43:19)

• Schmetzer’s philosophy: “Every game matters,” regardless of fixture congestion.
• Deep roster allowed for rotation across Club World Cup, Leagues Cup, and regular season, emphasizing unity and confidence gained from international tournaments.

The Rise of Christian Roldan (44:05–46:44)

• Positional switch to central midfield reinvigorated Roldan’s game and national team prospects.
• Roldan’s humility, tactical intelligence, and “DNA” of national pride.
• Quote – Schmetzer (46:44):
  "He would work his [butt] off to do whatever it takes...team wins games...the national team is the most important thing."

Club vs. Country: National Team Call-Ups (49:29–50:46)

• Sounders’ long-standing policy: proud for players to represent their countries, despite roster strain.
• Value in promoting international opportunities for their players.

MLS Schedule Change: Winter Play (50:55–53:29)

• New calendar aligning with world football brings pros (“matches up with the rest of the world”) and cons (weather challenges, e.g., in Minnesota or Kansas City).
• Seattle positioned to handle rain but not snow; Schmetzer ready for the shift, optimistic but practical.

MLS Cup Final Outlook (53:54–55:22)

• Sees this final as one of the most evenly-matched in recent years.
• "Mueller vs Messi, Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest grit vs Miami’s South Beach superstars..."
• Gives Miami the edge due to home field, but acknowledges both teams’ paths and strengths.

5. Listener Q&A (60:27–77:25)

• Fan Engagement: Listeners share first-game experiences, praise for MLS atmosphere, and supporting USMNT at Lumen Field.
• Lighthearted Banter: Debates over who would make a better role swap (Howard as striker, Donovan as goalkeeper).
• USMNT Captaincy: (64:47–66:39) Consensus leans toward Tim Ream (“on the field, he’s going to be your captain, your leader, your father figure…arband or not”).
• Behind-the-Scenes: Tim Howard discusses unique dynamics of goalkeeper rivalries.
• Rule Innovations: Debate on whether a stop-start clock would improve soccer and address casual fans’ complaints about time-wasting.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Tim Howard on Inter Miami’s Transformation (02:26)
"Inter Miami have entered the realm now of mental monsters. Right? So what that means is... you knew if it went one nil night night."

Landon Donovan on Miami’s Season Planning (04:24)
"They saw this coming, right? They were putting all their eggs in this basket... Now they get to host a final."

Schmetzer on Defending Messi (34:42)
"You let Messi face forward, ball at his feet, dribbling at you—I mean, you're in for a long night."

Schmetzer on Brian White (35:27)
"That guy is such a tough mother...inside the 18 reminds me of Brian Ching..."

Schmetzer on the Toughest Loss of His Career (37:12)
"That stuff doesn’t happen to us...going up a man having the lead and having a team fight back…"

Schmetzer on Roldan & USMNT Mentality (46:44)
"…in your DNA that the national team is the most important thing...and Christian has that."

Howard on Goalie Rivalries (69:02)
"I wanted them to be so horrifically bad in their games...but all that being said, you always walk the line."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Inter Miami Playoff Domination: 02:00–04:24
• Miami’s Mentality & Tactics: 04:24–06:19
• Vancouver’s Rise & Style: 09:37–14:32
• MLS Cup Preview/Predictions: 16:12–18:50
• Brian Schmetzer Interview: 25:18–56:08
  • Seattle soccer culture: 29:09–31:17
  • Defending Messi: 31:41–34:42
  • Vancouver analysis: 35:27–36:53
  • Toughest Loss: 37:00–40:26
  • Rotation/philosophy: 41:20–43:19
  • Roldan’s story: 44:05–46:44
  • Club vs country: 49:29–50:46
  • Winter schedule: 50:55–53:29
  • MLS Cup Final prediction: 53:54–55:22
• Listener Q&A: 60:27–77:25

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Summary

This episode of Unfiltered Soccer delivers a comprehensive, unvarnished look at the MLS Cup Final, with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard’s mix of expert analysis, player insight, and banter. Inter Miami’s transformation into MLS’s superpower, the nuanced threat Vancouver presents, plus Brian Schmetzer’s hard-earned wisdom—especially on defending greats like Messi and the ethos of playing for club and country—take center stage. Listeners come away with a clear sense of the tactical battles to watch, the emotional stakes behind every playoff run, and the inner workings of top-level soccer in the U.S.—all in the original candid, passionate style that defines the show.

Transcript

[Landon Donovan]

Can you talk to us about Christian Roldan?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Look, I've never been involved at you guys level with the national team, but for me, it's got to be in your DNA that the national team is the most important thing and Christian has it.

[Landon Donovan]

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim presented by Volkswagen. 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 to Unfiltered Soccer. I'm Tim Howard. He is Landon Donovan. We are your co host. This show, as you know, is presented by Volkswagen ld. I feel like things are getting, like super busy. I mean, things are always busy for us, but I feel like things are getting super busy. And I had the weekend off, so it's just. It's soccer.

[Landon Donovan]

It's all soccer all the time. Yeah, there's a big week all the time. The draws this week, I will be there in D.C. cannot wait, Tim. This is one of. There's like five or six best days of the year. As a parent, it's the Monday. Once your kids have been off for like spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, ski week, that Monday. Yeah, it's like hallelujah once you get them in the car, off to school, drop off. Peace.

[Tim Howard]

You come on. You come on our podcast, you talk soccer for two hours and bang, you're in a golf cart down to the country club, right?

[Landon Donovan]

Most days.

[Tim Howard]

Yes, most days.

[Landon Donovan]

But not when they're home all week.

[Tim Howard]

No, no, no. I'm saying now, now.

[Landon Donovan]

But I'm going to New York today.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, you are going. You're coming. You're coming to see me?

[Landon Donovan]

I saw. It's gonna snow, by the way, tomorrow.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it's so rad. But it won't be. It won't be much. It won't be much. Just bring a big coat. We can't bear to lead. We have an awesome, amazing guest today, so we're excited to speak with with him and you guys are gonna be delighted.

[Landon Donovan]

Follow the show the Follow the show on social media at Unfiltered Soccer. Email Jordan Feedback at Unfiltered Soccer for Follow and subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, anywhere you get your pods. Leave us ratings. Love what we're doing. You can review us all that stuff. It helps people find us. All right, let's jump into mls. Tim. Two conference finals this weekend. We'll start with the headliner, Inter Miami battered NYC fc. I thought they would get through all of this, Tim. I did not think they were going to just cruise and like the game was a little tighter than, than that. But they've now won four nil. Four nil, five one in their last three games. And they are flying.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I think. And I, believe me, I, I've been on the other side of this. So I can speak well, I can speak well to it. Inter Miami have entered the realm now of mental monsters. Right? So what that means is there were times I'm trying to pick one. So I was playing in the Premier League during the Roman Abramovich Chelsea days with Jose Mourinho and John Terry and Lampard and all the greats, right? And you would g yourself up for the game, right? LD but you knew if it went one nil night night, right? Like if it was a stodgy like nil nil game, you're like, we'll keep plugging away, we'll keep trying. And then all they have to do is score one. Or maybe, you know, when you're a two nil game, like, we can, we can, we can get one back. It was like, oh God, oh God, this is happening to us, right? And I think, does that make a little bit of sense? Like that's what Miami's doing now.

[Landon Donovan]

And the, the, the reason why with Miami is because they're actually better when they don't have the ball and teams attacking and then it turns over and they go. And so in these one off games, if you have to win the game, so NYC FC has to get back in the game, guess what happens? The whole field stretches, opens up more space, more space, more space.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, that's the. You, you've been making that point for a while that they are and Messi are at their best when they're in transition. And to your point, that's. And anyone. And people who listen to the show understand. Anyone who understands soccer, that's why the first, the first goal is so crucial. Like the first touchdown isn't crucial. First points in a basketball game aren't crucial. The first home run isn't crucial. In soccer, the first goal is crucial because then, then what you have to decide, and we see this all the time, is you're down one nil. But you're like, we can't open up yet. We've got to wait till like, we've got to wait till like the 75th minute to even pretend like we're going to open up. But the natural tendency is to go hunt for the next goal. And the second you do that, you just, you just showed us it. Game opens up and bang, they hit you yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And I have to say, I think, I mean, first of all, you've called this from the beginning, right? Because through the leagues cup and club World cup and, you know, some of the games that Messi took off along the way, or they rested guys and people were upset and, you know, he's not playing in Houston or he's not. They were. They saw this coming, right? And they wanted. They were putting all their eggs in this basket. They were. It's not that they weren't trying in the other tournaments, whatever, but they knew end of the season, whether we're first, second, third, fourth, and the east doesn't matter. We can go anywhere and win. And now, lo and behold, now they get to host a final, right? Because they finished with more points in Vancouver. So now all of it is coming to fruition. And if my, If Miami win on Saturday, Tim, I can't imagine there's been a better MLS season ever. By the way, when we were, When Andrew put these stats up, I didn't realize Joseph Martinez scored 31 goals in 2018, and Vela scored 34 goals and 10 assists. That's insane. But Messi, I mean, aside from that, Joseph Martinez, I just think everything he's done and doing, he. Every week he scores or he assists or he's impacting the game. And if they win at all, you have to say is probably the best MLS season.

[Tim Howard]

Well, I'm going to. I'm going to lean on you for that because you've been a part of some of the greatest seasons and one of the greatest franchises in this league's history in LA Galaxy. Look, I'm going to accept the fact that you just said, I've gotten this right. I got a lot wrong this year in mls, but I got this right and I called it. Like I said, having won this, if they win the MLS cup, the best thing they could have done was win the Supporter Shield last year. Because once they won the Supporter Shield last year, they put it to bed. They're like, then this season doesn't matter. The regular season doesn't matter. We can manage minutes, which they did. And people don't like that because Messi sometimes doesn't show up. But it was all about winning the MLS Cup.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

And that's the holy grail in our league. And I just. I love it. I. I love Sir David Beckham. I love that he had a vision for this league when he came in as a player. You play with him. I love that he got in his contract that he'd be able to buy a franchise. I love that it took him longer than most people thought to get the franchise up and running and get the stadiums and all this stuff. But he did it. He did it and he said he was going to do it. And Messi comes into the league and the television deal and all the things that go into it and I don't know, I just think it's. I look at the rest of the world and right now everybody in MLS who aren't Inter Miami hate Inter Miami. And I'm here for it, Len. And I think you have to have a villain. When you look at Italy, England, Spain, Germany, there are three teams in those leagues that everybody freaking hates because they always get the calls, they always get more money than everybody. They think they cheat, they think the referees are on their side. It makes, it makes for a better league. I love having the haves and the have nots. I love having the heroes and the villains. This is amazing. This is amazing for the league. So if so if you think Inter Miami sucks and you hate them, that's amazing for this league that passion is awesome. So I hope they go on and win it. Not that I'm rooting against Vancouver, I just think from a story historical standpoint, it's pretty special.

[Landon Donovan]

I think what happened over time, and that's really well said, is when Messi first came there was like this awe fact. Oh, it's Messi. And now especially teams, the east, they're like, hate this guy. It's like fans, they hate this guy. So I'm actually curious, you guys listening, do you end up, do you find yourself rooting for Inter Miami? Not rooting for them, rooting against them. Because we do that in all sports, man, someone will be my kids every time I'm watching game, who do you want to win? I'm like, yeah, I don't care. But then there's some games where I'm like, oh, I want the Cowboys to lose. Sure, right. But some people are like, oh, I love that. I want the Cowboys to win. It's America's team and all that stuff. So it's an interesting human.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, I mean the best thing about being a Giants fan, a New York Giants fan, is that Dallas plays football every Sunday. It's like, I don't know, I'm not even sure I watched one Giant game this, this year other than the fact that I watch every Cowboy game desperately hoping they lose. But you get what I'm saying?

[Landon Donovan]

Well, Miami and the last piece of Miami and we'll get to Vancouver, it's not been a one man show. Allende now has eight goals in five games. He's been absolutely on fire. That is tied with Carlos Ruiz, my former teammate from 2002 for the most in single postseason. And just bursting onto the scene, Matteo Silvetti, who's kept Luis Suarez on the bench. He's got two goals and three assists in, in the last three games. So they are not a one man show. All right, let's move to Vancouver. So I watched it was Vancouver came to San Diego actually tweeted. The first half was an absolute masterclass by Vancouver. And Mikey Varas, the coach of San Diego has done a phenomenal job. They don't have. They have a okay roster. They don't have a great roster. He's done a phenomenal job getting that team to where they are, but I mean, he, he got outclassed a little bit on, on the weekend.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

And he's, he's going to be an amazing, amazing coach. Already is too. But it was like to a tee. The game unfolded exactly how Vancouver wanted. And they were disciplined, they were gritty, they were nasty. They knew San Diego wanted to have the ball and they pressed and they won the ball. And then they were calm. And San Diego for a while just looked like they were chasing shadows. And that team is good, man. Vancouver's really, really. Sebastian Berhalter, Tomas Muller in there, the other guy, I'm forgetting his name. Sabas, Kubas, whatever. Sabi on one side and Ali Ahmed on the other side. They didn't have Tristan Blackman in there. Tateoka's really good with his feet. So they just, they have so much control of the game. I cannot, Tim, honestly, I cannot wait for this final. It's going to be really good. But yeah, I think San Diego can build on this. Now they need one or two more pieces. They would have total miss on Chuko Lozano. You can't spend $8 million on a guy a year and get that production or lack of production.

[Tim Howard]

What happens with him now? Do you know how long he signed, man? How long?

[Landon Donovan]

It's a long deal. I think it's three or four years. It was a. From the beginning, I hated it. I thought it was a terrible signing.

[Tim Howard]

How did.

[Landon Donovan]

I think it's three or four years.

[Tim Howard]

I have inserted trading info. I'm gonna make a phone call today and find out.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. But yeah, I mean, that's, that is a problem because he, I mean, he scored the goal, it was deflected, but he was just not a Part of what they were doing. If you think about what you could have gotten from that position with one or two other dps or spread that money out, that's like, now you have a real, real team.

[Tim Howard]

I, I have a friend in, in the MLS who coaches and he told me a long time ago, which is crazy that it's still true. He told me a long time ago, when you construct a roster, you cannot miss on a dp. You can't, because there's no mechanism to. There's no exit strategy. Like in like Man United missed on Hoyland, right, The striker, what'd they pay, like 90 million or 100 million for him? They missed on him and they're like, all right, shop window time. He's going to play, he's going to play and he's probably good enough to compete at the very high level in Syria A. So someone come have a look at them. We'll take our loss and then. But we'll get a bit for him. Just don't have. The market's not there and I'm listening like, so you cannot.

[Landon Donovan]

And you generally sign these guys to long term deals, right? And that, yeah, it is a problem. So anyway, Tristan Blackman back this weekend. But yeah, and then Brian White, who's an absolute stud up front. I forgot about him. And then they have Ryan Gauld who's in my opinion, he's one of the best players in the league coming off the bench now because he was injured, but they were winning, winning, winning. So they've kept him coming in for 30 minutes or so and he's a killer off the bench.

[Tim Howard]

So, you know, Thomas Muller is just so hard not to like him. He's goofy and he's determined and he's won everything. Like he's the type of guy one I love watching. He's the type of guy ld and you know these players, he's going to retire from football one day. I don't know, maybe in a decade and a half, I don't know. But he'll play every Saturday. Like every Saturday he'll be in the park somewhere trying to get a pickup game. Yeah, like that's just who he is. And you know, I think, I think Brian White, I watched him live this year in Houston sometime in, I don't think it was August, maybe September. And I was just like watching him, like I watched him for the national team a bit on television, but watching him in the MLS live, he's different. Gravy. And so I'm. I tell you what, I'LL tell you what I said this to in our production meeting. I, as much as I as a storyline would like for Miami to win, given the whole Messi and Sir David Beckham thing, I just like calling him Sir David Beckham. So I'll say that a few more times. But like, Vancouver could win. Vancouver could win this game. Like, it's not, it's not a long shot. It's not like David versus Goliath. I don't think that that that's this matchup. I really, truly don't. And so, you know, here's the other thing. And you know, I love Sebastian Perholter. Love him. I think he's a type of son of a gun to say, all right then I'll have a bit of you, Leo. Like, and I know that sounds crazy and I'm not saying that Sebastian Burhalter is a better but if you know his dad, Greg's crazy and Greg, Sebastian doesn't care. And when Greg would play, Greg Burholter played and we were teammates of his, he didn't care. He was like, give me, give me the matchup and I'll kick the lumps out of you and I'll figure this out. And Sebastian's got that in his DNA. And also he's, by the way, he's a very good player and he uses the ball well. But like he's got some tenacity and like, if you got a bag of money, put it on. The fact that I think he'll get the grips with Lionel Messi, I don't know why, because he's a little rat and he wants to get under people's skin and Sebastian does that. Great. Shout out to Sebastian. So like, I'm excited.

[Landon Donovan]

I love it.

[Tim Howard]

I'm excited for it. All right, LD it's time for the unfiltered refresh. Sponsored by Coors Light. Choose chill. Get Coors Light delivered. Go to coors light.com USLNT who you got this week from the MLS?

[Landon Donovan]

A lot of candidates. Allende was great. Messi was great, Silvetti was great. Sebastian Burhalter, Tomas Miller were great. But I think the guy who's made the biggest impact for his team right now is Brian White coming back in for Vancouver. He scored two goals. Second goal in off his chest. Like, he's just Tim, he's a pure goal scorer. I know you love this guy too. He little bit just like big old fashioned target man. He fights, he battles and then when he's in the box, he's A killer. He runs and he works. I talked to someone who's played against him a few times this year in MLS who coached against him and just said he's a nightmare to play against. He's just a nightmare to play against. Kudos to him. Another great performance. And if they're going to win this weekend, he absolutely needs to bring it again.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you stole the words out of my mouth. I mean, I just think the way that he moves and operates within mls, he's at another level. Like he's ascended to the top of that and this weekend was no different. And he's a difference maker. I tend to think we're choosing him this week because we think he chose Chill. He might go to freezing cold if he, if he, you know, bangs one in this weekend and lifts Vancouver to the MLS title. I just think he's, I think he has the ability to be a star and certainly is making the case that he is one. So, yeah, hats off to him.

[Landon Donovan]

He's a.

[Tim Howard]

He.

[Landon Donovan]

He's a little bit of a throwback, like I said, Tim. And when you play with a guy like that, like someone like me who played sort of off a fry, had a guy, Brian Ching, who was like that, where he took so much pressure off you because he holds the ball, he fights, he battles. Even if you don't win the ball, the ball gets knocked down 2 yards instead of someone heading it 40 yards back down your defense. And so everybody around him, Thomas Mueller, Sebastian Burhalter, Sabi Ahmed, they can, he's predictable. Like they know what he's going to do. So he makes the game way more predictable and it makes it way easier to play. So Brian White, cheers to you for choosing Chill. Hopefully you do it again this weekend. Good luck. Reminder, by the way, they played in the Champions cup this year and I was, it was actually right when I was starting to do my, a lot of stuff around my book and my. The publishing companies in Vancouver. So I was up in Vancouver and they were so amped about this and they thought for sure that Messi wasn't going to show up and play in this game. And so like the fan like bought us, sold a bunch of tickets, but they weren't sure they walloped them. They beat him two nil and three one. So five one on aggregate. And I know it's different, I know it's not apples to apples, it's an MLS Cup Final now it's in Miami. But they match up well against Miami. They do. They match up well. It's Going to be a great game. What's your prediction?

[Tim Howard]

I think Miami will win, but I think it's. I think it's going to be tighter than what most people like. I don't think. Don't think they'll run away with it. I think it'll be close.

[Landon Donovan]

You want to score probably 2 1.

[Tim Howard]

2, 1 3, 1, something like that. Yeah. I don't know.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I think Miami win. I think. I think in the end, they just got the best players ever played. But Mueller has played against Messi 10 times and won seven of those, so.

[Tim Howard]

I think the guy wins. You right? I will say stats are funny because some of Mueller's teammates were a little bit different back then. No, no, it's fair. It's a fair point by me.

[Landon Donovan]

Yes.

[Tim Howard]

All right. Anyway, he's tilted the balance, so hopefully you get one more over.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, you're so dumb. Okay, who do you guys want to win? I think we're gonna get a resound. I mean, if you're Canadian, it's pretty obvious. Who do you guys want to win? Air Miami or Vancouver?

[Tim Howard]

It's an interesting one because we want to hear. We want to hear what you think, because now these are. These aren't, you know, the. The people listening to this podcast aren't predominantly Inter fans or they're not predominantly Vancouver fans. So this will be a really interesting gauge.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I mean, obviously, the. Those fan bases, but you have to. I mean, just what I was saying, like, all the Eastern Conference teams and fans, they have to want Miami to lose, right? Sure, I would think so. Yeah. We'll see. But there's so many messy fans, so.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Like, the whole globe.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, it's stoppage time. Sponsored by FanDuel. New customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. Download the FanDuel sportsbook app to get started. All right. Excellent matchup in MLS cup final this week in Miami. Vancouver traveling a little bit through Canada, all the way across the country, about as far as they can go down to Miami. Vancouver has had Miami's number this year. If you remember, they won 51 on aggregate in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They're a good matchup. Miami is a. Is a good matchup for Vancouver, and they've tended to do well. That being said, Inter Miami feel like they're unstoppable. They had a really long sort of up and down season, all these competitions, and it seems like they're peaking at the right time. Three straight wins by score lines of 4, 040 and 5 1. So they've won by four goal margins in three straight games. Messi is Messi six goals, seven assists in the postseason today. Allende also been great as has Silvetti, the young kid who's keeping Luis Suarez on the bench. Vancouver again, really good matchup against Miami, but it's hard for me to guess that Vancouver is going to go all the way down there and beat Miami. So I've got Inter Miami to win the game. Matteo Silvetti who I just talked about keeping Luis Suarez on the bench is going to score, Messi to assist and both teams to score in the game. I really like this one. Plus 545 on the four legs same game parlay for this week FanDuel exclusively exclusively has 120 minute betting markets live for the MLS Cup Final. So this parlay is good even if you go into extra time. Really important. Don't forget to check out the full same game parlay on our socials later this week. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we are joined by none other than the Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer. He's such a lovely guy. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim Presented by Volkswagen.

[Tim Howard]

The Unfiltered Soccer Podcast is brought to you by Volkswagen, the presenting partner of U.S. soccer.

[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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As a longtime friend of Volkswagen, I can tell you they're really making a difference, opening up new turfs and new possibilities here in the US thank you.

[Tim Howard]

To Volkswagen and the Tiguan for being the presenting partner and for bringing nice things to everyone. Find out more about how VW is supporting U.S. [e-mail] There's a certain energy to soccer in Latin America. The footwork, the creativity, the passion from fans. It's more than a sport, it's a rhythm. That same spirit shows up in Cafe Bustello. Bold, vibrant, smooth, turn up the Latin flavor Cafe Bustello has been bringing for generations. You can't miss this iconic staple anywhere from the bodega to your local grocery store. They are everywhere. And now there's even more to love. They released a whole new line of roasts to match every mood. Light roast, medium, dark and dulce de leche. Each one with its own vibe. Available in pre packed bags and K cup pods. Delicious hot or iced. However you take your coffee, Cafe Bustelo shows up strong. I like mine black strong every afternoon. Cafe Busello is more than coffee, it makes you feel alive. Try the new Cafe Busello roasts today.

[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

LD we always get excited about guests, and this is no different. He is one of MLS's most successful ever, ever managers, having won two MLS Cups, a CONCACAF Champions cup, and this year's league's Cup. A man that we both fear and respect, certainly when we were on the pitch. The pride of Seattle, Washington, the Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer, joins the show.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Brian, welcome coach Tim Landon. Pleasure to be on here. Happy to be on here. It's an honor to be on your show. How about that? Wow.

[Tim Howard]

I appreciate it because I hated the sight of you and going into that place, I just knew what the outcome was going to be. I mean, it's really, really nice to have you on because your insight and your experience within this league is second to none, really. So thanks for jumping on.

[Brian Schmetzer]

I'll try and give you as many tidbits as I can. I am getting a little older, so I forget stuff. You know, Zig had a way better memory than I did. That's one of the many reasons I love Zig, and God rest your soul, Zig. But, you know, he could remember details of every single game, back to his college days, back to ucla, all that sort of stuff. So I'll try and do the best I can and, you know, help out on the show.

[Tim Howard]

Ziggy Schmidt was amazing. Yeah, I had. I had the good fortune of playing for him. El, did you ever play for Zig?

[Landon Donovan]

I did not. I always wanted to. Even though some of the players would always bitch about him and complain about him, I was like, he wins. I want to play for this.

[Tim Howard]

You don't have a. You don't have a good coach if you don't about him.

[Landon Donovan]

Exactly.

[Brian Schmetzer]

It's a fact all players bitch about all coaches.

[Tim Howard]

Correct.

[Brian Schmetzer]

It's standard operating procedure for the players.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right. We'll complain about anything. Before we start, Coach, I just want to say, you know, this is kind of weird, and I think your goalkeeper and Stefan Fry, this happens, too. You guys get overlooked, you two in particular, for how good you've been over how many years. And I think people always want the sexy new toy and the new this and the new that and the grass is greener. And just reading through your accomplishments, you've just won and won and won. And I was just thinking to myself, if there's a Mount Rushmore of MLS coaches, you're absolutely on with ziggy, with Bruce, etc. So I just want to say congrats just buttering you up because the hard stuff's coming now. No, no, just. Just grateful for all you've given to. To the game and to Seattle in particular.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Thanks. Thanks for that, Landon. Coming from you two, you know, obviously top class players in your own right. I love talking about Steph, you know, I don't like talking about myself, but, you know, Steph has been overlooked in my opinion. Best outside of the guy in. Up. Right above me up here. Best shot stopper in MLS history. The save in 2016. I mean, the footwork, it's freezing cold. I don't know how he gets himself over there, but, I mean, he's been overlooked for sure in my opinion.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it's. You know, the interesting thing about. And I said this about Nick Raimondo as well. And Lenny, you talked about the sexiness. Nick Romano just got boring. Like, at a certain point, he should have been goalkeeper of the year. Every year people were like, well, I can't vote for him again. Right? And Steph's the same way. And when I look at. When I look at MLS in particular, every time there's a breakdown in your defense and it's not often and a guy goes in one on one, I'm like, steph's gonna make the save, he's gonna push him wide. Like, he just plays really big, so obviously hats off to him. I'm. I'm curious. And as a MLS minority owner in Houston and having been around the league and Landon is the face of the league, there are special teams. There are special teams, and Seattle's one of them. And so I kind of want you to take us into that culture. So my uncle lives in Ballard.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Love it.

[Tim Howard]

And he's a season. Yeah, he's been a season ticket holder for forever. When I came back from England and I was playing in Denver and we went to Seattle, I remember going to your place and I went back in the locker room, and I swear to you, I said this, I said to our young players, I said, if you never make it to Europe, enjoy today, because the atmosphere that you guys have in Seattle, the march to the game, the colors. How. How. How has Seattle done that? How have you and the. And the group there done that?

[Brian Schmetzer]

You know, Timmy, it's a good question. I. I don't know. I mean, look, there was a lot of. There was a lot of history here before it changed the mls. And when. I mean history, I mean, we just had our 50th year anniversary last year. You know, there's a lot of you know, a lot of activities surrounding the 50 year anniversary. Lots of good highlight reels. I mean, there was some old black and white film that we used to go through. And Memorial Stadium, it holds about 12,000. It's being demolished now. They're going to make a new stadium for the high school football, soccer. It's going to be really cool. But the Sounders used to play there and it held 12,000. But they added seats around the back of the goal. And those were some of my earliest memories. Going with my mom, my dad, my sister, going to Sounder games. There was 18,000 people stuffed into an old stadium. And you get to see these, know these old English guys running around and Pepe Fernandez from Uruguay and a couple of guys, and it was. It was good. So we had that little bit of history. But in 2009, that opening game, Tim, we didn't know what to expect. And all of a sudden we walk in there, you know, we're walking out and me and Tommy do our thing and Zig comes, likes to come last and the players come out there. The fans were going nuts. I mean, it was like at that time, you know, they held it at like 30,000, I think for that 2009 season, but it sounded like 60. I mean, there was like. It felt like there was 60,000 people. And that was coming off, you know, the USL days when, you know, we'd get on a good day, you know, if we're playing an open cup or something like that. We get 10, 12,000 in lumen. You know, normal average attendance, maybe 4 or 5, 6 was in that range, depending on the season. So that was a big jump for us. I mean, I was. I was fired up.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You know, people have to remember too. Next. I. I was just talking about this next summer. You've got a USA G game going to. In the World cup. To Lumen.

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

And I can only imagine what that atmosphere. It's going to be insane. All right, coach, if we can. So we have MLS cup final this weekend and I want to. We want to pick your brain on just how you. You've been in a lot of finals. When you talk about a player like Messi. Right. When you are. When you're trying to prepare.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

What I mean, there's so much that goes into it because like, on one hand, I'm guessing you don't want to give too much attention because you don't want it to be all about him, all that. Because they have a good team otherwise. Yeah. But how are you preparing and game Planning when you come up against what I would say is probably the best player that's ever played the game. So if you're Vancouver, how are you? You know, what are you thinking? What are you doing?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Look, I agree with you, Landon. I think he's the greatest player that the, you know, the world has produced. I can only tell you what we did. And then I try and give Jesper some advice, but he kicked my ass two games this year. So, I mean, I really can't tell him anything. Look, when we, when we played him in the leagues cup final and then we went to, we went down to Miami, you know, a couple weeks later, and we lost three nothing or three to one. I think Obed Vargas scored a goal. Our idea was to stay really, really compact and make the field as tight as possible for Messi. And we didn't, you know, Christian and Obed in the middle of the field. I didn't say to one of them, you know, you guys got to stick to him. It was by committee. Because you have to. Because you're right. They have other weapons on the field that, that, that can hurt you. So we tried to stay, do the same thing, press higher up the field so deny him opportunities to get the ball. You know, they don't like lumping long balls or at that point of the season, they didn't like they were effective, you know, last weekend because they got the two young guys running this way. Well, Miami's in all those soft areas, but we just tried to make the field as small as possible. Whenever Messi got the ball, you had to double team him. We could one guy. We. Our tactics were one guy has to slow him down and then we need a second guy coming at all times and back. Pressing from our forwards was critical. And Albert in that position or Jesus from that position, Pedro on the field. In the leagues cup final, we wanted to back press always because you had to do that. And then if they did break you down, then look, get 10 guys back because, you know, in front of the goal with their one twos, their little tricks and, you know, the ability to see all those, you know, intricate little passes, you know, you need to do that. The only other thing I would say, because Jordi Alba is just like, I mean, that guy's maybe the left back that the world has ever produced. He was good. So we tried to force him down to the right side of the field, not the left. We tried to keep the ball away from Alva as much as possible.

[Tim Howard]

Interesting. When you look at, you know, this is Heavy on the messy topic. When you look at him as a coach and you said, like, you can't stop him, is there. We talk about how dangerous they are in transition, but as a manager to your team, is there one thing you're like, okay, guys, he's going to do a bunch of things, but we can't let him do. I don't know what this is, is that transition, is that fouling in, around the box, like, what's the message?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Well, we didn't want him to face forward, and, you know, his eye, you know, his vision is extraordinary. I mean, he sees the passes that no other players can. And so we didn't want him to face the goal. We want him to go sideways this way, backwards, if whenever possible. But you let Messi face forward, ball at his feet, dribbling at you. I mean, you're in. You're in for a long night.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

So on the other side of the field, so obviously, you know, Vancouver, well, Cascadia rivalry, Cascadia cup, et cetera. So you played that. I think you had that 2, 2 game against them, right, in September, and then you lost three nothing in June. What about them is, you know, why. Why have they gotten there? What about them makes them so dangerous?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Well, I. They're, they have a. Look, they have a ton of good players. Kubas, you know, Burhalter has just. Berhalder is going like this. You know, he's just, he's skyrocketing forward. But the guy who I believe is critical for their success is Brian White. Now he's back from injury. They were winning games without him, but that guy is such a tough mother, you know, I can't swear on the show, but he's. He is tough and hard and he fights and he scraps. And inside the 18 reminds me of Brian Shing a little bit, you know, because I had Brian Ching in the USL days, and Brian inside the 18 yard box was extremely good and tough and big and strong. And Brian White might not have the height because I think he's barely 6 foot, but he plays bigger. He plays like this, you know, and he gets him out of a ton of pressure. Long balls, he'll fight for long balls. He'll. He'll. He'll be able to knock stuff down and, you know, extend their possession. So I think that's been one of the keys. And then, look, we started off talking about Steph Rye, you know, Takaoka makes them a better possession team, you know, because they can really play from the back and If Miami wants to press, you know, okay, my, you know, Messi's going to press in certain moments, but not all the game. And, you know, if they want to press, you know, Vancouver might be able to open him up.

[Landon Donovan]

So I wanted to ask you. So you're lost to Minnesota this year in the playoffs.

[Brian Schmetzer]

You said still hurts.

[Landon Donovan]

Quoting you, yeah, that. That was the toughest loss I've ever experienced with this club. Why? You know, you've. You've coached hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of games. What, what about that?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Because that stuff doesn't happen to us. Going up a man having the lead and having a team fight back and, you know, score two goals shorthanded. That stuff doesn't happen to us. And I, you know, I'm still pissed about it because, you know, it's just those, those two set pieces, you know, came from a long throw where we weren't totally switched on. You know, they took it short and he crossed the ball and Obed lost his guy in the back, but knew who should have done a better job. And, you know, the other goal coming on a corner kick, the guy mark, he ran unmarked from the top of the box all the way to the back post. And we have a guy that's supposed to be back there at the back post covering, but Alex didn't, you know, wasn't there, and Albert lets him run. And, you know, it was just. It was just unbelievable that stuff was actually happening to the Seattle Sounders. And then. And then you. You couple that by, you know, there was a lot of. There was a lot of talk in Seattle about the goalkeeping controversy because Steph is coming to the end of his career, and Andrew Thomas was lights out in the penalty kicks in leagues Cup. And so there were a lot of people chattering saying, hey, you should put Andrew in for the penalties. And I'm like, oh, I'm a traditionalist. I'm old school. I'm not changing my goalkeeper. Steph beat Toronto in 2016. In Houston the year before, we won because Steph saved the sixth or seventh PK to get us through in the playoffs the previous year. But look, Andrew is better than Fry, so I had to manage that situation. And credit to Steph, when I brought the, When I brought the conversation up, you know, I could tell it. It stung a little bit. I mean, he's a proud guy. He wants to play, but he's such a team guy, he said, okay, coach, if it happens again, look, you make the best decision that you think you need to make. And so we get through all of the game where they scored the two goals. But we get, you know, the equalizer late. We can't, you know, we can't do anything anymore. We. I mean, we threw the kitchen sink at him. We couldn't get the last goal. Goes into penalty kicks. And sure enough, you know, sudden death penalty kicks. We've got two chances to win the game. And it's just like I'm like thinking, Obed's going to score because, you know, Dane Sinclair, look, he's very good at penalties as well. And maybe more so in the mind games, he hadn't seen Obed take a penalty because Obed really doesn't take a penalties. And Obed was lights out in practice. He was making it all the time. And then, you know, the miss from, you know, young Osaze, Saze D. Rosario, I mean, that guy's hungry. And he. He was like. He was in my face. He was like going, you got a coach. I want to.

[Landon Donovan]

Like his dad.

[Brian Schmetzer]

He wanted to be.

[Landon Donovan]

He.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Landon, he wanted to be in the top five. And I said, no, I got to push out here.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Brian Schmetzer]

And so just the way that thing unfolded, you know, and look, credit to Minnesota. I don't want to take anything away from Minnesota because fair and squared over, three games they went through. But, you know, that stung. It stings.

[Tim Howard]

The. It does sting. Losing. Those are big decisions I want to talk to you about. Sort of like the season that was. Right. So you have CONCACAF Champions cup, you have the FIFA Club World cup, and then you won the leagues Cup. That's. That. That's part of being good, is that you're gonna have these fixture buildups. And we see it all the time in Europe. Right. And managers speak about it all the time. But how do you. That obviously then takes a toll on sort of your league selection or your league performances, Right. Cause it's just these players can't. These players can't play every game all the time. And so like one. How does it take its toll on your team in a tangible way? And how do you as a manager, sort of balance between. People don't like to hear this, but you have to prioritize something. You have to figure out where you can manage your players. And so how does that manifest itself with all of those competitions?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Yeah, here's where I might disagree with you. For us and my messaging and this is something that I hold dear. This is one of my truths. Everything matters. Everything matters to us now. The players you put on the field, people can dissect that and say, oh, he's resting some guys and he's doing stuff. I know where questions coming from. But the message to the team is every freaking game matters. And so the way we did that was a number one Craig, Craig Quibel. He gave me a deep roster. This was one of the deepest rosters. You know, when Garth was here, we had like 11 or 12 or 13, you know, TAM level players. And that's the way we operated back then. And it was successful. But Craig has given me a bunch of good players and we fed off the, you know, the team being together and we fight. We're gonna live and die in the trenches and we're gonna do all that. And I needed that, Timmy. I needed that throughout the long season that we had. And so when I think about the season and I reflect back on it, you know, that club World cup, we didn't win a game, but we won in the sense that it gave the team the momentum and the belief that we could play with the best teams in the world. And that carried over. That carried over into the slog of a MLS season. You guys know what it's like. I mean, it's hard to get motivated for games in, you know, July in Houston or Dallas, you know, and in the heat and, you know, it's hard. But we had that mindset because we could compete. We could. We competed against Botafogo. We competed against, you know, all the best teams in the world. And so that was actually a positive for us. And, you know, look, De La Vega at the end, getting injured again in New York, the last game of the year, we took some other injuries with Jordan and stuff like that. We needed the entire roster.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Brian Schmetzer]

I mean, we had to use everybody. I think every single player, all 30 of them, played, you know, at least one or two games.

[Landon Donovan]

That is. Yeah, that is rare. And certainly when we played, there just wasn't enough depth in this country to do. And now you can do that. Can you talk to us about Christian Roldan and his. I mean, I'm reluctant to use the word ascendancy because he's been such a great player for so long, but getting recognized now with the national team and what that's meant to him, I mean, he is firmly on the bubble for sure, and maybe leaning in at this point to be on the World cup roster. And we would have never said that five months ago. Right. So can you just talk about him and what that has meant to him?

[Brian Schmetzer]

I think, Landon, I think what happened again is, you know, it's a funny how things go in your career and you know, positional changes, but normally it's like, you know, okay, forward moves back to be a center back or you know, a right midfielder might move back to an attacking right back or, you know, there's certain areas. And I always had Christian on the right in my 4, 2, 3, 1, because he was effective. He can get up and down the line. He was great defensively for me in that position, in that formation. He did a lot of the defending. We had Nico at the time and Raul and we were doing good things, right. So at the end of last year, we toyed with it a little bit because JP came up with some knocks and Christian played a little bit the previous year in the middle. And then this year in preseason, we, you know, we said, okay, Christian played a couple good games last year. Let's see what this looks like in camp. And he and Obed, all of a sudden we're like, oh, okay, this looks pretty good. These two can play together, you know. And it was the new position, Landon, that kind of like Christian was like so laser focused in like he was a 18 year old kid again learning something new.

[Tim Howard]

That's awesome.

[Brian Schmetzer]

And Precky does a good job with, you know, how we play and we start our possession three, two, and the pivots, the importance of the pivots and how they rotate and where they rotate. And Christian, you know, he's a tactical guy. He loves all that stuff and so he was like just dialed in and you could see that that was starting to take effect. But again, I go back to the club World cup, he was arguably best player on the field against some of those teams. And so that gave him the confidence. So he had the energy from the new position and learning new things at age 29 to confidence, to the success that you're seeing now.

[Tim Howard]

Is he 29?

[Brian Schmetzer]

I feel like he's 30.

[Tim Howard]

He's been around forever. I mean, he's played so many games. I love him because he's just. You couldn't as a coach, as a teammate, you couldn't build a better person, player, teammate. And I'm just curious, given his humility, you guys will obviously have intimate conversations. Where is his mind at with the possible, the possible selection to go to a World Cup? Is he, is he over the moon? Is he keeping his feet on the floor? What's he been like?

[Brian Schmetzer]

He's keeping his feet on the floor. He's obviously excited and he's working hard to get there. I'll just tell you one little side story. So Miguel Agostino, the national team assistant coach, came and visited us a couple of times during the course of the year, and he told me, well, we talked about a bunch of stuff, but this one story that stood out, Christian got the first call up. Kind of was out of the blue, they told me that Christian came up and said, you know what? Thank you for calling me up. And it was something that, you know, the coaches, you know, Poticino and those guys, they didn't hear that a lot from players. Hey, thanks for calling me up. It's like, you know, a lot of players say, yeah, I should be called up, you know, But Christian thanked them personally in Spanish and said, you know, gracias for, you know, the chance, the opportunity to play and the way those guys operate. And I love this because it's coming from here. Those guys were talking about not the tactics, they were talking about the feeling and the feeling in Argentina that, you know, you can play for river or Boca, but you're playing for the crest of Argentina. That's built in DNA in Argentina, and they're trying to build that into the United States culture. And, Timmy, you nailed it on the head. Christian eats that stuff every day for a living. He loves committing himself. He's so humble. He would work his way ass off to do whatever it takes, whether he's on the field or off the field, to make sure that the team wins games and has the right, you know, mindset going into the games. That's. That's Christian to a T. And I. And I love it. And I hope he gets there, because, look, I've never been involved at you guys level with the national team, but for me, it's all about. Yeah, it's about that. You guys, really, you can say that and you can look at this and you can score a goal and go like this, but you got to believe that. You got to understand and it's got to be in your DNA that the national team is the most important thing that's happening to you right now. And Christian has that.

[Tim Howard]

You're nailing it. Well, thank you for sharing that. I know that's. That's personal to you and him, but you've just taken him off the bubble. You think the coach in Spanish, we're calling the camp. I think you're on the plane.

[Landon Donovan]

He's, you know, he's one of those guys, and we've seen him throughout the. Chris armis and Dax McCard. They make you better, they make you win. And you just touched on this. So I think I know your answer, but on the club versus not. I don't like to even say club versus country, like the club and country thing. My guess is now, you know, hearing you speak, obviously you have to protect your roster and the Sounders and whatever, but when guys get a call up, my guess is you're saying, yes, of course you're going to go, this is your. This is your country.

[Brian Schmetzer]

We've been. We've been really, really good, I think, as a club, not denying. And it happens a lot more with some of the younger guys that are coming up. And, you know, they changed the rule and now it's mandatory, even for friendlies and all that sort stuff. But we've been. We've been really good about that sort of stuff. We are super proud that Christian and Jordan got to. Got to go. Jesus was there, you know, the last World Cup. It's. It's. It's tricky, Landon, because I know what you're saying. We do have to protect the club. And there's been times where, you know, guys have gone away and gotten injured or they're fatigued or, you know, we get it, but we deal with it. You know, for us, you know, the. The. The time. The. The worst time it really pinched us was again, this was like, you know, five, six years ago, we had 11 guys missing because we had Joven Jones and we had some guys from the Caribbean areas, and we were missing 11 guys, and we could barely field a team. But, you know, we. We accept it because, you know, it's just what it is. And if the player commits to us, he knows that he has the best chance of playing for his national team. And then when he plays for his national team, that commitment and that effort and everything has to go even higher because you guys are playing one step higher. And we try and prepare them for that.

[Tim Howard]

It goes hand in hand. I want to talk. So MLS announced big changes a couple weeks ago, right? To the roster or, excuse me, to the calendar.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Calendar, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

And in Houston, we're buzzing about that because we get to play in some games that aren't in August and July. But when we look at the rest of the world, and it's a twofold question, the rest of the world, whatever league you're in, you have the same climate, right? Like, London might have one sunnier day than Manchester, but everyone's getting the same climate, okay? In America. And this is why we're delighted to have you answer this question. You're going to be one of those northern teams where we're saying wow. Wow. The weather in Seattle during some of these months, this is going to be interesting. So, 1. Do you like the change? Are you for the change overall? And then how. How. How do you, as a staff, as a club, prepare for what is to come, weather wise?

[Brian Schmetzer]

So, to me, being German and practical and all that sort of stuff. Yes. That. Those were the first things that jump into my head when I. When I heard about the change in the format. How you. How are you supposed to play a game in Minnesota in January or late December or, you know, February even, and, you know, there's snow in Kansas City or Chicago or, you know, New York. It's going to be challenging for the weather. We're actually, we're actually. I just. I think this is good information because I heard it from one of our guys upstairs in the office. We're actually considered one of the markets where you can play in January and December because we don't get a ton of snow.

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

But look, no, it just rains every day all year. Yeah.

[Brian Schmetzer]

It doesn't matter what it is. You took the words out of your mouth. Hey, Landon, that's one of the reasons why we win in the playoffs, because we love those October, November days where it's pouring down rain, it's cold, it's freezing cold. The turf, all that sort of stuff.

[Landon Donovan]

Except when the Galaxy came to town.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Well, yes, okay.

[Tim Howard]

He's always got that caveat.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Fair comment. You and Pete were very, very good, I will admit that. So Seattle, the market, we will be able to play some games because of just logistics, the weather, the turf, all that sort of stuff. But, yeah, fixing the league as an entirety, Timmy, I think it's going to be good. I'll tell you more definitively, once we're in it, if I really like it better or not. But right now, it's a good idea on paper. Matches us up with the rest of the world. And, you know, I get it. I hear the things that you're competing, the playoffs. You know, there's no NFL or, you know, so, I mean, I get it.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. All right, well, last one here, Coach. And you've been very gracious with your time. Thank you. As a. You know, you played both of these teams this weekend, right? And everyone's going to be watching this weekend. Who do you give the edge to? Does the home field matter in that way for Miami, if you had to pick? I mean, who do you think has the edge? Doesn't mean they're going to win, but.

[Brian Schmetzer]

No, but I think this is about as evenly matched MLS Cup Final in a long time, in a lot of years. I mean, look, there's been some great finals. And look, whether you're a guy that only watches European soccer or not, some of the playoff games, they've been great, and I love decision day. And so this has been an exciting month and a half for our league, for our sport here in the States. You couldn't have picked a better, you know, Mueller versus Messi and Vancouver, the, you know, the guys from up here versus the, you know, guys from way down here, it's like. It's like. It's like the furthest distance possible. The opposite teams. You know, you got the white caps who are gritty, Pacific Northwest grid. I talk about that all the time. You've got Miami, you know, south beach, the superstars, Messi, Alba, Busquet, you know, all that. I think it's going to be a tremendous thing. I will give the edge to Miami just because they are at home. Because I think that in, in. In MLS there is, you know, there is a little bit of advantage playing at home. Now, you would say that Vancouver just went down and knocked off a darn good San Diego team, but LAFC was pretty good, too, and they were the beneficiaries. Vancouver was. They were the beneficiary of playing up in BC Place against lafc. I mean, on another night, LAFC could have. Could have beat him for sure.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, Coach, we really appreciate this. I always find ourselves, like, I just want to sit here and keep talking for hours and pick your brain, but we've got to pay Tim salary, so we got to take breaks. You know what I mean, Coach, wishing you the very best in your cabin there in Seattle in the off season and really successful year next year. It's going to be exciting again. World cup match there, the second US Game, which we'll find out who their opponent is this week. We'll be at Lumen Field in June, I think. June 19th. Does that sound right? Yes, it's June 19th, so that'd be awesome for you guys and for the city of Seattle.

[Tim Howard]

Very, very.

[Brian Schmetzer]

It'll be great.

[Tim Howard]

It's an honor to have you on, Coach. Good to see you again.

[Brian Schmetzer]

Well, you guys can invite me back. Landon, I could talk to you guys forever as well. I'll return a compliment.

[Landon Donovan]

Appreciate that.

[Tim Howard]

Thank you.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we'll get into your Questions in the AT&T fan connection right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim and Coach Schmetzer presented by Volkswagen. Stick around. This episode is brought to you by Airbnb. Tim Nothing like MLS playoff season. My favorite time of year, end of August, September, it's cold. You travel to the Midwest or the eastern cities. The leaves are changing. You get outside, it's freezing for the game. I love this time of year.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, totally. LD Playoffs are what make American sports unique. It's how you end up with an underdog team making some insane run for the championship or David and Goliath duking it out in the final.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, you don't want to miss a second of the playoffs, no matter where your MLS team might be playing in the first round alone. Fans from New York are heading down to Charlotte. Dallas fans making the trip up to the Pacific Northwest to play against Vancouver. Last year in the final, the Red Bulls had to come all the way down to SoCal, where my galaxy beat your Red Bulls.

[Tim Howard]

Tim Soccer fans in the US Are dedicated to their teams and making the journey to support those teams as they make a run for the MLS Cup. Whether it's the first time or the sixth is a top priority.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, MLS fans bring the energy everywhere they go, so why not let that passion pay off While you're on the road supporting your team, you could open your home to fellow fans on Airbnb. Hosting your home on Airbnb while you travel is an easy way to earn a little extra and keep the spirit of soccer alive even when you're away.

[Tim Howard]

Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host all right.

[Landon Donovan]

Tim, it is holiday season and boy, do I need to choose chill sometimes. Thanksgiving's an interesting one for me. I with the in laws to a hotel. It's nice. Most of them I like. Some of them are a bit challenging. Sometimes I got to walk outside, grab a Coors Light, choose chill. Christmas is fun. I enjoy it. I love it, all the things that come with it. But the kids are home for two weeks and that is brutal sometimes. So sometimes turn on the hot tub, go out in the jacuzzi, watch a football game, grab a Coors Light and chill.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you're right. It's all. It's always about family around the holidays and of course, big family meals. Every time I finish eating, I'm out back. I get around the fire, I reach in the cooler, grab a cold Coors Light and choose chill. Because as you mentioned, it's hectic. And then at some point, someone calls me inside to play spoons or card games. And so I'm Having a Coors Light.

[Landon Donovan]

Choosing Chill when you embrace a chill mindset this holiday, it's a good time to choose chill and crack open a Coors Light.

[Tim Howard]

Choose Chill this holiday season and then reach for a Coors Light. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit coorslight.com USLNT 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.

[Landon Donovan]

Yes, we on 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&T has your back. With the AT&T guarantee, staying connected matters.

[Tim Howard]

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

[Landon Donovan]

Learn more at att.com guarantee AT&T connecting.

[Tim Howard]

Changes Everything Credit 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. It's 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 and T. Connecting changes everything. And on uslnt, our connections with you will help grow the game. Welcome back to Unfiltered Soccer. This is the segment that we all love. It's the AT&T fan Connection. It's a moment where you get to speak to us, yell at us. Well, yell at Jordan, really. And send. Send your comments in so we always get excited. Jordan, welcome.

[Jordan]

Hello.

[Tim Howard]

How are you?

[Jordan]

I'm splendid.

[Tim Howard]

You're very Christmassy. You got your little Charlie Brown tree in the back. That's good.

[Landon Donovan]

I just saw that. That's cute.

[Tim Howard]

Cute.

[Jordan]

Yeah. I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit, you know.

[Tim Howard]

Great.

[Jordan]

Spread some joy and happiness, especially now that my football club is winning things again.

[Tim Howard]

Wow. While you went there, I actually have a vanilla cedar candle burning in my new studio, so I feel festive as well.

[Jordan]

Yes, I love that. I love a tree scented candle. So we have A lot of things going on in the feedback email. So let's start with some comments that we have gotten. So there's no question here, but just some. Some thoughts for you to. To noodle over. The first one is from Aaron via email and Aaron said last night. This is from a couple weeks ago. Last night I went to my first MLS game watching San Diego FC versus Minnesota in the second round of playoffs. It was also the first time for all nine other people I brought, ranging from no soccer experience to those who follow mainly epl tailgated, had great seats for a reasonable price. And love the San Diego positive energy, especially the samba drums as Landon has touted. Andre Stryers delivered a classy, clinical quality finish from a sweet back heel along with some great saves from the defense in clutch moments that Tim would applaud. It felt great to see how far the game has come with my son and others in a relaxed local experience. Thank you for promoting MLS and the beautiful game so broadly.

[Landon Donovan]

That's awesome.

[Tim Howard]

Well written. Amazing.

[Jordan]

That was very nice.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, it's. And. And to be honest, like soccer. We. We love soccer. Love it, obviously, so we're partial, but like, if you have no idea about soccer, it's still a great viewing experience to see live. It's fun. It's.

[Landon Donovan]

I always say that Tim.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Same. Like TV is one thing and sometimes a game can be boring if there's no goals and all that. If you go in person, it's so electric.

[Tim Howard]

Totally. Because there's songs, there's drums, there's energy. So colorful. Yeah. And we obviously enjoy it because. Because we're partial.

[Jordan]

As somebody who. We talk a lot about my love of music and live music on this podcast, but I think all the things that make me love live music also apply to going to see soccer live. Like, it's that feeling of being in a crowd of people who are all cheering the same people, you know, doing the same thing. And that's like just really a wonderful experience. I'm glad that Aaron had such a good time. So did all his friends. Also, we have a comment from Renee via email, who wanted you guys to know that they just bought four tickets to see the US Play at Lumen Field because of the comments on this show. Watch you guys every week. You are a great resource. Go usa.

[Tim Howard]

Go usa.

[Landon Donovan]

I'd like to petition FIFA for a percentage of those ticket sales.

[Jordan]

The four tickets that Renee bought, you.

[Landon Donovan]

Know, Expose, probably cost 100 grand.

[Tim Howard]

That might fall on deaf ears, even though you know people in FIFA.

[Jordan]

All right, well, let's get into some.

[Landon Donovan]

I'll be there. Come say hi.

[Jordan]

Renee, here's a question from Chris via Instagram. If you had to start your careers over again and play in each other's positions, who do you think would do better?

[Tim Howard]

I'm. I'm world class. I'm world class. It's amazing. Question.

[Landon Donovan]

Sam would have played for Barcelona. I would have played for Barcelona of Ecuador.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, Landon would have, like. No, I. I win. I edge. That. I edge.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I'm five eight, dude. I'm more than Raimondo.

[Tim Howard]

But by the way, stick the ball up to the big fella. I'd be pinning people like Victor and Ichaby. And if you don't know who Victor Nietzsche is, shout out to Vic.

[Jordan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, the man could pin you and put you in a chair.

[Landon Donovan]

Are they saying, like, we had the same skill but just different bodies or what's the. I don't know, like, imagine he had my level of, like, skill and all the things.

[Tim Howard]

Then we'd be the same body.

[Jordan]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

In that body, I would have played for Real Madrid.

[Tim Howard]

Ld. I give you. I give you no goalkeeping credit. So I'm like. I don't know.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm actually pretty good. I would be a pretty good. Too small.

[Jordan]

Okay, here. Here's another question from Matt via email. If the World cup started today, who is the captain of the US Men's national team and why?

[Tim Howard]

That's a good question.

[Landon Donovan]

That's a great question.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, so who. I'm a little bit baffled. I know I should know this. Who is. Is there a rotating system or hasn't it been Ream?

[Jordan]

Yeah, it's mostly been Tim Ream. It was Christian very. We talked about this on the podcast. It was Christian. No, but then, shockingly, very recently.

[Landon Donovan]

But then he didn't play, and then he hasn't had it until there was a game where I think nobody else was on the field. So he was given. Or the other people weren't on the field. So he was given the armband.

[Jordan]

It's been Tyler, too.

[Landon Donovan]

It was Tyler at times, and Chris Richards wore it a couple times, didn't he?

[Jordan]

I think maybe he did, yes.

[Landon Donovan]

I would guess. Timber. My guess.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Right.

[Tim Howard]

My four candidates would be Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Christian Pulisic, and Tyler Adams. I tend to think.

[Brian Schmetzer]

I.

[Tim Howard]

Look, here's the thing about Tim Reeve. Tim Ream's on the field. He's going to be your captain, your leader, your father figure. He's going to be everything, armband or not.

[Landon Donovan]

Right.

[Tim Howard]

I'm Also not in favor of giving it to players to empower them, because I think that backfires and never works. I don't know. I don't.

[Landon Donovan]

It's actually. It's sad that we.

[Tim Howard]

No, I know, I know, I know.

[Landon Donovan]

And it's sad because in all four cases, there's, like, you can make a decent argument as to why they shouldn't and someone else should. Like, Tim Ream is good, but I think he's a little more quiet, so. Which is fine. That can be Christian. He's, you know, for. He's had some challenges in and out with Pochettino. Tyler, he's kind of in and out. And, you know, maybe Ty. But Chris Richards, he has all the makings. He's so experienced.

[Tim Howard]

He will be the guy.

[Landon Donovan]

So that's. I mean, that. That is kind of an issue.

[Brian Schmetzer]

You.

[Tim Howard]

So the question is a great question.

[Landon Donovan]

Who will be. If it started today, I would say Tim Ream.

[Tim Howard]

I guess I'd have to go with Tim Ream, too. Wow.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Jordan]

Interesting. I have a question for Landon from Lindsay via Instagram. Landon, this is such a strange question, but it's wonderful you put it in Lindsay. I. I know, but it's like, why.

[Landon Donovan]

Are you so handsome, Landon.

[Jordan]

Okay, Landon, how was the experience of the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg?

[Tim Howard]

I was there, too. Why didn't she ask me?

[Landon Donovan]

Were you there?

[Jordan]

I don't know, bro.

[Tim Howard]

I was there.

[Landon Donovan]

Steve Shack, right?

[Tim Howard]

In Winnipeg.

[Landon Donovan]

Steve Shack.

[Tim Howard]

Amazing.

[Landon Donovan]

That's a hell of a question. Is Lindsay from Winnipeg?

[Jordan]

I don't know.

[Tim Howard]

Has to be. She has to be.

[Landon Donovan]

I'll tell you two things I remember about that trip. One was I flew into Fargo, North Dakota, same where I ran and drove up to Winnipeg. You what?

[Tim Howard]

Go ahead. Keep going. Keep going.

[Landon Donovan]

And the second was there was a Casey and JoJo song playing. Like, that came out during that time. And, I mean, I had it on repeat. And all my life. It was either all my life or it was another one. Tell. Maybe it's. Tell me it's real.

[Tim Howard]

That's.

[Brian Schmetzer]

We're getting real.

[Jordan]

Did you want to sing a couple bars?

[Brian Schmetzer]

Did you?

[Landon Donovan]

Tell me it's real this feeling that I feel. Oh, maybe Jordan's loving. This was Aiden Brown on that trip I played.

[Tim Howard]

So I don't know.

[Landon Donovan]

I want to say Aiden Brown and I were listening to that song, like, on repeat. Those are the only things I remember.

[Tim Howard]

So I also flew through Fargo. I'm guessing that's the route you go.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm guessing.

[Tim Howard]

And I ran into. I'm gonna butch. I'm gonna butcher this. I ran into either Little Richard.

[Landon Donovan]

Is that Little Richard?

[Tim Howard]

Maybe. Is that. Is that right?

[Landon Donovan]

Is that a singer?

[Tim Howard]

A singer singer, or there's another one that looks like him. That. Who's got the permanent hair and makeup anyway?

[Landon Donovan]

Stevie Wonder.

[Tim Howard]

No, it wasn't Stevie Wonder.

[Jordan]

Like, like a Muddy Waters.

[Tim Howard]

I think it might have been a.

[Landon Donovan]

Little richer in the airport.

[Tim Howard]

Where am I? Yeah. But yes, I was also there.

[Landon Donovan]

Question.

[Tim Howard]

Great question.

[Jordan]

Okay, well, I included a question specifically for Tim because I thought the other one was specifically for Landon. This one's from Lucas via email. Tim, I was wondering what it is like competing with your fellow goalkeeper teammates on your professional club and national teams. I imagine that you are friends, but also competing for one spot. Does the competition ever get in the way of your relationship? Just wondering what that looks like at the pro level.

[Landon Donovan]

Great question.

[Tim Howard]

Good question. No, no, it doesn't get in the way. I remember. I remember, like, in all of the times that I played, like, in the Premier League or what have you, like, like, I've been openly admitted this Brad Guzan's my guy. You know, I competed against Casey Keller and all these guys. I wanted them to be so horrifically bad in their games and in their league. Like, when Brad Guzan was on the rise and he was pushing me, he was at Villa, I was like, I hope he gets pumped. Every week I turn. He's my guy. And I'm guessing he's going to come on the show soon. He'll probably say the same thing because that's the only way. That's the only way you can compete. It's not like they're not like Tyler Adams and. And Landon playing in the same midfield. They can play in the same midfield. They can both be amazing. There's going to be one. So. In fact, I saved. I remember the Villa park is one of the most amazing places to play in England. And we're playing. We were playing. He was. He was down the other end and they were giving me loads of pelters. They were like. They were calling Kuzan, like, us number one and all sorts. Like, it was crazy. And I remember being so angry and I saved a penalty and I started giving it back. Cause I was like, nah, man. But. No, I think there's a but. All that being said, you always walk the line. So, like, I never spoke out of turn to Brad. Brad never spoke out of turn to me. We always had each other's back. We always looked after each other. We were like, best of friends. But deep down, when he gave me a big old bear hug before the game, I'm also like, mm, I felt that. I know what that means. You're hoping that I'm not great today, you know, but that's normal. That's what you want.

[Landon Donovan]

It's like, it's like quarterback in the NFL, right? And this is why I always say clarity is so important and knowing your roles, because if, if, if it's too close and there's competition, it can create some issues and it's challenging. Like, Tim knew he was the guy. Now, if he had three bad games in a row, it can change. But, like, he knew. But he also knew in the back of his mind, okay, this guy's coming. And.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And to your point, if me and Clint and Ricardo Clark were all phenomenal in training, it's not like one of us was gonna. You can find a way to get us all on the field.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right. But a goalkeeper, there's only one. So.

[Jordan]

Great question, Tim. I'd like to ask a follow up question. So I never really thought about it until you just told that story, but goalkeeper is maybe the only player on the field that it would be okay for them to, like, engage with the fans during the game.

[Tim Howard]

All the time. All the time. So what.

[Jordan]

What is that experience? Do you feel like you need to be funny or like, like have a quick quip for them or anything? Or you. It's just instinctual. Like you're reacting to.

[Tim Howard]

You're so close, you hear everything. And the thing I could be. I could be. I could be thrown in jail for the things I used to say to people because. And vice versa, we'd be, we'd be sharing the same jail cell because of what they said to me. But we used to people, they would, they would say things and it would make you, like, enraged. And so I would give it. I would say some horrific things because I was like, I'm getting it from you. It's not like, if you think for a second I can't give it back, like, do one. Did I tell the. Did I ever tell the. I'm trying to think. I told it recently. Did I tell the story on here ld about. I think it used to be one set of fans, but then it kind of started all over where they would make fun of my Tourette syndrome. Did I. Did I ever tell you that?

[Jordan]

Yeah. So you swore at them.

[Tim Howard]

So I swore at them. And then they just started laughing and it was so. It was so funny. But no, then that Was. That was the fun part. But I think overall, like, you would, you would, you would say some things back or you should. I'm not just gonna take it on Chin.

[Jordan]

Okay, one last question. I feel like I just want to say to all of the people who write into the show, I love when you write in with your ideas of how to make soccer better, because those I almost guarantee will end up on the show because sometimes they are. I just like the idea of winding Tim and Landon up with some of these suggestions, but I think this one is like an interesting concept.

[Tim Howard]

I talk about man Mark and Messi.

[Landon Donovan]

So, like, I'm all, I'm all for, for suggestions, innovation.

[Jordan]

Landon wants to start getting rid of players in extra time, so.

[Landon Donovan]

Totally.

[Jordan]

Okay. This is from Tyler via email. I do my best to convert fellow Americans into soccer fans, but I find that many get stuck on the faking injuries and time wasting tactics in general. I think if soccer ditched the running clock and adapted a start stop clock like basketball, for example, it would disincentivize a lot of the quote unquote dark arts that are huge turnoffs to the average American viewer.

[Landon Donovan]

It's an interesting. I mean, in college soccer, they do.

[Tim Howard]

That like, no, we're not, we're not adopting college soccer rules. We gotta get rid of, we gotta get rid of half of those. Just keep going, keep going.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm just saying they do it like they're, they're. The challenge with added time is it's all subjective. It's just the ref. I mean, there's not. I know they say like 30 seconds per substitution and 30, but that doesn't. Sometimes the sub goes off in four seconds, sometimes it takes them a minute to get off the field. And so, yeah, there's so much subjectivity. And I remember during. Was it in Qatar, in the first round games, they had like 12 minutes. They were like just taking the piss out of it. And so it was like, I don't know. It's not. I don't know if that's the solution, but doing away with that would be immense. Now, don't they have the rule where you have to stay off for 30 seconds or something? Do they do that in MLS?

[Tim Howard]

That's an MLS rule.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I don't, I don't hate that because I'm like, dude, if you really that hurt, I always tell my kids when they get hurt when we're playing soccer, I'm like, fine, if you're hurt that bad, go inside.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Otherwise, let's go. Get out. Yeah, let's play.

[Tim Howard]

I don't know. I'm, I'm okay with it. I'm okay with. I think they've done, I think they've done a good job from a rule standpoint of just trying to get things moving and cooking a little bit quicker. It's also part of the game, you know, some, some of these things. So I think the referee, what they're.

[Landon Donovan]

Saying, Tim, is like, it's turning people off from watching. I get that comment all the time. People who don't. You're in, like, the Die Hards, right? Like, people turn on NBC. Those are like the diehards every week. But, like, these are people who are like, I really want to watch, but they're rolling around for three minutes. It's just, like, stupid.

[Tim Howard]

I, I, I, I disagree because I've been, I've been in the game a long time, you know, almost as long. I think you and I have been the same, and I've heard it as, like, an overarching comment, but people say the darndest things to me. People say anything to me. I've never had someone come up to me and go, I really liked Chelsea, and I wasn't really into soccer, but I really liked him. But I got halfway through the season, and this rolling around thing, I just never watched again. Like, no one's ever said it as a blanket statement. People will, will, Will. Excuse me. Will call a call in or write in and say, like, I just don't know if that's, I don't know if that's turning people off. I don't know. I don't think they're getting deep because I think if you're deep into the game, then you're not turning it off anyway.

[Landon Donovan]

No, but my point is, is, like, people are like, I'd like to watch, but this is all I want. Every time I turn it on, this is all I see.

[Tim Howard]

So I don't buy it.

[Jordan]

Honestly, I, it boggles my mind that people who are so dedicated to American football, which takes like, nine hours to watch 15 minutes. American football is like. And there's no commercial breaks. Like, there's one big commercial break in the, in the middle of the game. Guys, like, set aside two hours, watch your soccer, and then go about the rest of your life. It's better on this side.

[Tim Howard]

It's also, it's also fandom. Like, and we talked about this with, with Messi and people hating Inter Miami. Like, there is part of this where you brought we. The best rivalry you and I have ever played. In is usa, Mexico. And I'm telling you, if there was a team who I hated to play against because that's what they were going to do early in my career, they're going to take the lead and then they were going to bleed that clock and. But it creates this hate and this love and I don't know, I'm here for it anyway.

[Landon Donovan]

Fair.

[Jordan]

Okay. As a reminder, if you would like your suggestion for how to make soccer better featured on this podcast, you can email me at Feedback Filtered Soccer. That's it.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, Timmy. Another amazing show. Thank you all for being with us. Remember to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcast. Follow across all social media. Unfiltered Soccer for bonus content. Thank you as always to our presenting sponsor, VW, our Fan Connection, Fan Connection sponsor AT&T and our stoppage time sponsor FanDuel. Also thanks to Brian Schmetzer. He was phenomenal. And a reminder that the draw is this week on Friday and we will be on afterwards.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, Coach Schmetzer, thank you. One of the best to do it. Incredible human, incredible coach. Some amazing insights. So thank you for taking the time come to come on the show. Thank you to our unfiltered refresh sponsor, Coors Light. Our additional sponsors Cafe Bustelo and Airbnb have an amazing week. We'll be back next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.