MLS All-Star 2025 and YOUR Questions Answered

Summary

Podcast Summary: "MLS All-Star 2025 and YOUR Questions Answered"

Podcast Title: Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Hosts: Landon Donovan, Tim Howard
Episode: MLS All-Star 2025 and YOUR Questions Answered
Release Date: July 22, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of "Unfiltered Soccer," Landon Donovan and Tim Howard delve into the intricacies of the MLS All-Star Game of 2025, share personal anecdotes from their All-Star experiences, critique current MLS management practices, and address listener questions. The conversation is candid, insightful, and packed with memorable quotes that highlight their deep understanding of the game.

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MLS All-Star Game 2025

Hosts’ Past All-Star Experiences

Landon Donovan reminisces about his standout performance in the 2001 All-Star Game in San Jose, where he scored four goals. He remarks, "I played my first professional season in San Jose... I took the game really seriously" (00:33). Tim Howard shares his memorable moment from the 2007 All-Star Game against Everton, highlighting his three penalty saves: "I made three saves in the penalty shootout" (46:30).

Preferred Formats for All-Star Games

Both hosts express a desire for more competitive and exciting All-Star formats. Tim Howard criticizes the current setup where MLS All-Stars face European clubs, suggesting alternatives like East vs. West or MLS World All-Stars vs. American Players. Donovan echoes this sentiment, stating, "All All-Star games struggle with how to make it competitive" (03:35), and suggests incorporating elements like penalty kicks to heighten excitement (07:56).

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Team Management and Player Salaries

Critique of Toronto FC’s Management

Donovan and Howard discuss the mismanagement of Toronto FC, emphasizing the poor performance and high salaries of players like Sebastian Giovinco and Michael Bradley. Donovan asserts, "They have bad hires, bad leadership... and Bernardeschi has been a joke" (15:43). Howard underscores the unsustainable salaries, noting, "Insignia's salary was 15.4 million. That's insane" (17:00).

Salary Cap and Roster Construction

The hosts debate MLS’s salary cap policies, advocating for investing in a few high-quality players rather than spreading funds thin across many. Tim Howard emphasizes, "Build me a roster like 21 million... Why can't we get there?" (20:44). Donovan agrees, highlighting the need for better valuation of existing talent to retain top players within the league.

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National Team Issues

Home Stadium Debate

Listener questions initiate a discussion on whether the US Men's National Team should have one or two home stadiums to boost attendance and provide a consistent home-field advantage. Howard supports the idea of a central national stadium in a major city like Washington D.C., while Donovan questions its effectiveness, "If it's in Atlanta and we play Mexico, that doesn't guarantee anything" (55:48).

Enhancing National Team Appeal

Both hosts agree that improving team performance and player commitment is crucial for increasing fan attendance. They critique recent national team struggles and emphasize the importance of star players engaging with fans to inspire greater support.

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Playoff Picture and Season Analysis

Current Standings and Team Performances

Donovan and Howard analyze the current MLS standings, focusing on teams like San Jose, LAFC, Austin FC, and Salt Lake. They discuss the potential of Austin FC and Salt Lake, noting key players like Diego Luna could influence their playoff chances (24:28).

Outlook for Playoffs

The hosts express skepticism about certain teams making the playoffs despite strong performances, citing San Diego FC’s potential but questioning their playoff viability due to roster limitations and lack of star power.

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Fan Engagement and Listener Questions

Listener Interactions and Q&A

In the Q&A segment, Donovan and Howard address various listener questions:

• Reducing Diving in Soccer: Jonathan from Instagram raises concerns about players taking dives to draw penalties. Donovan agrees that simulation damages the sport's image and suggests stricter penalties for unsportsmanlike behavior (50:58). Howard offers a different perspective, advocating for players to leverage diving when contact occurs to gain legitimate advantages (53:48).

• National Stadium for USMNT: Keenan suggests having two home stadiums to boost attendance. Both hosts discuss the logistical challenges and potential cultural impacts, ultimately leaning towards the idea of a single national stadium but acknowledging it may not fully resolve attendance issues (55:21).

• Adopting NHL’s Tie-Breaker System: Greg proposes introducing a shootout system similar to the NHL to reduce tie games and attract more fans. Donovan is enthusiastic about the idea, while Howard remains cautious, emphasizing the importance of preserving soccer’s unique dynamics (65:21).

• Starting XI for the World Cup: Both hosts share their ideal starting eleven for the US Men’s National Team, reflecting their tactical preferences and player evaluations (40:32).

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Donovan and Howard emphasize the ongoing challenges and opportunities within MLS and US soccer. They advocate for better team management, fair player compensation, and strategic marketing to grow the sport's popularity in the United States. They also highlight the importance of fan engagement and continuous improvement to foster a thriving soccer culture.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Landon Donovan:
  "I took the game really seriously. I scored four goals in the All-Star Game" (00:33).
  "We have to get that out of the game" (54:23).
  "If you go down without contact, then you should be punished for it" (55:12).

• Tim Howard:
  "They need to have spice. All Star games have lost their spice" (07:56).
  "Build me a roster like 21 million... Why can't we get there?" (20:44).
  "If you have contact, players should go down to gain legitimate advantages" (53:48).

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions, insights, and memorable moments without delving into advertisement segments or non-content sections.

Transcript

[Tim Howard]

To our listeners, please disregard what you just heard. Please continue to subscribe to Unfiltered Soccer. Do not. Do not. Do not leave us. Please do not leave us.

[Landon Donovan]

Would that not be fun?

[Tim Howard]

I'm not having that.

[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 in, everybody, to another edition of Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. I'm Tim. He's Landon. LD what are you up to, man?

[Landon Donovan]

Can I complain for a minute?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You ever.

[Tim Howard]

Always complain.

[Landon Donovan]

I do. True. Do you ever ride your bike? Like, do you ever ride a bike outside?

[Tim Howard]

Oh, like, every day.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. You're not one of these, like, biker people, right? Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Tim Howard]

I don't know what you're talking about. Keep going.

[Landon Donovan]

So you're in. You're in the city. So, like, people are just riding their bike. Whatever. So when you live. I live, like, out in the country. So you get all these people who ride bikes, but they're really serious.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Like, if you ask them, they're like, they're on the Tour de France this week.

[Tim Howard]

Okay. So, like, street bikes. Yeah. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And they got, like, the tight Speedos on and shirts and. And I'm like, okay. The whole kit, so, whatever, fine. So I ride my bike normally, and I ride it like an aware human being. What I mean by that is I stay way on the right side of the road.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

When I hear a car coming behind me, I pull off the street, like, and keep going to.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

These guys and women, they ride down the middle of the lane, and they are. They're convinced. I swear to God. They're convinced that. Yes. They're convinced the road was made for them. No, they really are. Like, they. They'll be like, no, the roads are made for bikes, not for cars. And I'm like, you lost your mind? And then the other thing is, this is great. So, like, I'll wear, like, a T shirt or a baggy shirt and, like, shorts or whatever. When I ride by and they're coming the other way, I'll give them a little, like, peace sign or whatever. Tim. They don't even look at me. They're like. They're disgusted.

[Tim Howard]

Totally.

[Landon Donovan]

They're just. They just. They, like. They'll glance, and then they're just like, this guy is a clown.

[Tim Howard]

I'm, like, slightly on their side because I do ride the way they do.

[Landon Donovan]

So you wear the speedo and all that.

[Tim Howard]

I have the whole kit. Yeah, we got a. We got a squad. Me, my boy.

[Landon Donovan]

Do you really?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, man.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[Tim Howard]

Listen, this is how we do. I'm on their side. But you're. Yeah, you're angry and I appreciate it.

[Landon Donovan]

Whatever. We're going to have another conversation about this. This is a. I had no idea you're that.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. I'm glad you went there.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, my God. All right, let that go, guys. Follow social media Unfiltered soccer. Subscribe to the show on YouTube. Make sure you follow Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can leave a review. It's helped lots and lots of people find us, which has been great. And then you can email Jordan, as always, feedback at Unfiltered socce. All right, I'm really going to let that go now. All right, Tim, we are. We are recording this. What's the date? The 8th. Because we got a lot of stuff coming up. So MLS All Star is in air quotes this week. We will be there, which will be great.

[Tim Howard]

Yep. Can't wait for that.

[Landon Donovan]

So if we say anything that is not timely, you understand why. So there's been a lot of iterations of this game through the years. We've played in a lot of them. East, West, MLS versus the world. Played the national team specific club teams, League mx. Now. Now there's. It's like the version of the. Yeah. League MX All Stars, right?

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

What's your preference on all this?

[Tim Howard]

What's this? And this. This year is what?

[Landon Donovan]

It's the League MX All Stars.

[Tim Howard]

All right. Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

What's your preference? What did you. What did you like? Because I think All Star games. All All Star games struggle with this. Like, how do you make it competitive? And, you know, baseball made it. Whoever wins gets the home field advantage.

[Tim Howard]

Which I love, by the way. I love that.

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, it made it kind of real for some players at least. So what's your preference?

[Tim Howard]

I don't know. I'm trying to think. So the game. I mean, how many goals do you have in that game that I. We played in east first.

[Landon Donovan]

Andrew told us. Andrew told me it was six. I played like 15 games.

[Tim Howard]

But you had. But in that game.

[Landon Donovan]

In that game I had four. I only had six total in 15 all star games.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. So you and I played. Was that in San Jose? Ld.

[Landon Donovan]

That was in San Jose. Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

So east vers. West is 2001. That was cool. I. How many. How many MLS ulcer MVPs did you win?

[Landon Donovan]

No idea.

[Tim Howard]

I. I won one. But anyway. But I. But again, I played in. But I was on the opposite side. So it was Emma's All Stars versus Everton.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I played that game too.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. And that was Insult Lake, I believe. But I don't know. It's an interesting. It's an interesting question on, like, what. I think it should be the same. Like, they should kind of get to one iteration of it. Stick and stick to it. Yeah. Look, I will say when I. When I came back from Europe, 20, 17, 18, one of those years, I played. I was on the. I was on the All Star team, and we played Real Madrid in Soldier Field. And I just remember going back to your point about how baseball changed it a little bit and basketball's changed it. Like, I just remember thinking, like, I think we played on the Saturday. I can't remember. I'm old at this point. I'm like 39 or 40. We played on a Saturday. And then the All Star game was like, midweek on, like a Wednesday. And, like, I want to train and take it seriously. And I'm kind of like, I'm not trained. Like. Like, if I. If this was a regular week, I wouldn't train. Like, I wouldn't train right. Monday, I travel Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, I'm not training yet. The game is on Wednesday. Just like. And, you know, the staff and taking it all seriously. I'm looking at this goalkeeper coach. Like, you can throw the ball over there, but I'm not diving for it. So, like, we got a problem here. I don't know the question about what I like best. I. I tend to. I tend to want to see, like, east versus West. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Or competitive, you know, like May.

[Tim Howard]

Or maybe like MLS World allstars versus American player. I don't know. I don't really know. I. I like mls.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm not sure.

[Tim Howard]

There's. Here's the thing, LD. There's enough. There's enough summer exhibition games with European teams.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's true.

[Tim Howard]

They play each other. I'm not that interested. Like MLS All Stars versus Real Madrid again, the game I played in or with Everton. Not that. Not that I don't love that I can go see Real Madrid or Premier League club play. I kind of want to see the best players.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

In the league play.

[Landon Donovan]

And I think the league wanted it to be like, wow, if we beat Everton, it shows everyone how good. It's like, guys, this game means nothing to them. Means nothing to us.

[Tim Howard]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Landon Donovan]

You know, What I would love definitely this year, and I think I can convince myself going forward, is playing the national team. And the reason why is just it would give first selfishly for the national team, or at least the MLS national team.

[Tim Howard]

We did that, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, we did do that. And it gives them another chance. I did that one year. It gives a national team another chance to play a game together because, I mean, it's not like a real competitive game, but just another chance to get together. I would have loved that. I wonder if that was talked about.

[Tim Howard]

I don't know. What year was that? What year was it? It was in D.C. did you play? It was after a World cup.

[Landon Donovan]

It was in D.C. i don't even remember. I might have played a half and a half, honestly.

[Tim Howard]

You're unbelievable, man.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, no, it was in my contract. No, wait. So I have no idea.

[Tim Howard]

It was. It was in D.C. and I think it was after a World Cup. So I want to say it was 2002 or 2003, something like that. Anyway. Interesting. I don't know. I. I just, I. I would love to see east versus west and then. And then put a. Put a cherry on top. Right. So whatever the Major League Baseball is doing or whatever NBA is trying to do, do it that way. It needs to. It needs to have spice. All the All Star games have lost its spice.

[Landon Donovan]

So. Yeah, maybe put a big bonus on. Yeah, maybe just make. Yeah, I mean, I think it'd be fun. Guarantee penalty kicks at the end.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And, you know, just make it, like, exciting. And the old ones?

[Tim Howard]

30.

[Landon Donovan]

30, actually. That'd be love to watch that.

[Tim Howard]

Did you. Did you do it?

[Landon Donovan]

No, I didn't do it.

[Tim Howard]

It was after you.

[Landon Donovan]

No. Did that actually. Did those goals count for your, like, record?

[Tim Howard]

What do you mean?

[Landon Donovan]

For your own personal record. Yeah. Like if you scored 10 in the season, but four of them were.

[Tim Howard]

No, no, no.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, it didn't count. It was separate.

[Tim Howard]

I'm almost certain I remember Bora Molotinovich. Is that how you say his name? He used to. Yeah, he coached. God, these are the dog days of mls. He coached the. The mighty Metro Stars. And I was. I was. I was just breaking the team or I was getting some minutes. I don't know. Must have been 19 years old or something. And he has. He has one of the coach. After, like, the third one I got pumped on, right? Like the 3, 1, 2, 3, bang, they go in. He, like, has a coach run down behind the boards to, like, tell me some tactic of how to even at 19. I was like, you can just do one out of here. Yeah, amazing.

[Landon Donovan]

Jordan said, that was 2002. I played for the national team and scored, baby. Let's go. And Tim was in goal for the Ms. All Stars.

[Tim Howard]

No. How many goals did you score me? All Star Game. Jesus.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know. Well, they said I only had six and 15.

[Tim Howard]

So you scored. You scored at least. At least two or three on me. Let's just, like, keep taking number, getting line. Everyone scores on me. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Not a great goalie. All right, who are you of the players? Who are you excited to see?

[Tim Howard]

Well, I don't really know. I mean, Messi. Is Messi going to turn up? Because obviously, that's very simple.

[Landon Donovan]

That's actually a great question because they've had so many games. I mean, he has to. That's. It has to be part of his contract, has to show up.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, the league would absolutely lose it. Ultimately. Ultimately, I want to see Messi because I haven't seen him. I haven't seen him play live. How many times do you play against him?

[Landon Donovan]

Actually, I've never seen him play live except playing against him either.

[Tim Howard]

That's it. I just realized I played against him twice, and then I haven't seen him play live, which is kind of crazy.

[Landon Donovan]

So, yeah, we should see him play. Oh, no, I did see him play live. I saw him play in Nashville. I think that was a league's cup.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

It's pretty fun to watch. He does not. Tim, when I tell you he doesn't move, he doesn't move until he has the ball. I mean, at all.

[Tim Howard]

But if you're him, you don't have to move.

[Landon Donovan]

He's still the best player on the field by a mile, which is. But you. If you just watch him, he doesn't do anything. Nothing. And then he scores two goals, and you're like, this guy's a joke.

[Tim Howard]

The fear factor around him is amazing. Like, there's no. There's like, no player in the league who's just like, hey, listen, old man, I'm going to boot you. Like, no one. No one does that. Like, still, everyone's scared, scared. Which is fair.

[Landon Donovan]

Totally fair. I'm actually. I'm curious to see all the national team guys who come back. You learn a lot of. I remember Moyes told me when I went to Everton, he said, landon, I'll be honest. One of the reasons I decided to sign you in the end was because of that All Star game. He said, it was a nothing game. Nobody cared. I subbed in late in the game. And he's like, but you were into it. You were trying, you were running, you were tackling. And he's like, if you're going to do it in that game, I know you'll do it in any game. And I was like, okay. Interesting. So I'm really curious to see how the guys approach it. You know, how does Diego Luna react to this month? Right. Because he became a big star. Stay humble. Does he keep, you know, keep grinding and keep, you know, what does Burhalter look like? What is. What is ajamong if he's there? And again, we're recording this way ahead of time. So is he there or is he at Darby County? I'll be curious to see how Max Arston, these guys really take this.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Because it's another opportunity to showcase yourself. They become stars this month. Right. A lot of people didn't know about these guys.

[Tim Howard]

It's still a tough sell. All Star games are still a tough sell to get everybody on board.

[Landon Donovan]

It is. But you can, like, be a leader. Just say, guys, that we don't need to kill each other, but, like, let's try to win the game.

[Tim Howard]

I. I don't know. I don't know if that can come from a singular person. I hear what you're saying. I think it needs to come from a bonus structure or some sort of.

[Landon Donovan]

They need an incentive.

[Tim Howard]

They need an incentive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, ld, it's time for the unfiltered refresh sponsored by Coors Light. Choose Chill. Get Coors Light delivered. Go to coorslight.com USLNT okay, a couple players who chose Chill, and I'm thinking of some MLS All Stars. You got Brad Stover, goalkeeper for Austin FC, makes his first MLS All Star game after his 13th season. That's pretty impressive.

[Landon Donovan]

That's amazing. Congrats.

[Tim Howard]

You know, he was backup for his most of his career, so that. That's awesome. Ty Baribo, the striker for Philadelphia Union. His MLS career kind of got off to a slow start, but he is on fire this year. I mean, absolutely on fire. Guy in your neck of the woods, Anders Dreier, he's been. He's been the key for San Diego fc. And Alex Freeman, kid we've known now this summer with the U.S. men's National Team from Orlando City. I mean, those are some good pictures. Others for me, I think Baribo's been amazing. I think he's absolutely been amazing. So he would be my choice. What's your choice?

[Landon Donovan]

So I love Tim when You've talked a lot about dps coming into the league, and I think your. Your stat is only 10, right. Sign a new deal. And so over time, like we've either had dps we played with or watched throughout the league. Other dps don't take it serious, come here on vacation, have already made a name for themselves somewhere else, and they just come here with an attitude that isn't befitting of a DP and they don't own it. The opposite has been true for Anders Dreyer, and obviously I'm close to it here in San Diego. I'm telling you, Tim, if he played for the Galaxy or LAFC or one of the New York teams or Atlanta, this guy would be a megastar. He would be a megastar. And it's. What's really interesting about him is so we have the list and then in. In the list, it tells you how you got picked. So you could be in. For instance, you could be a commissioner's pick.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

Chuki Lozano is a commissioner's pick. I think I was at one point. Patrick Ajamong's a comm. Commissioner's pick. Or you can be voted in or you can be a coach's choice.

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

And it was always interesting who were the coaches choices, because you knew coaches pay attention and they knew who the real players are.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

So Anders Dreier did not get voted in, which is why, again, he's not in a huge market vis a vmls. So you can understand that. But the coaches were like, Estez in, in. In Austin was like, yeah, I want that guy on the field. So he's been phenomenal. I think he's an MVP candidate, very much under the radar. But when you watch him play, that guy is a real, real player. So for me, Anders Dryer definitely chose chill all season. He's going to choose chill again in the All Star Game. I can't wait to watch him play. And cheers to you on your track.

[Tim Howard]

Cheers.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, so that's All Star Game, which means we've gotten through the first half of the season. Been an interesting first half. We'll get to that a little bit. Second half of the season. So one storyline I think that's been. Well, there's a few storylines, guys leaving, getting transferred. We'll see what types of players come in now in the summer window. But guys who left two guys at Toronto up with your guy, Robin Frazier, who been an absolute disaster, let's be honest. They've had flashes, but insignia and Bernardeschi, it's really honestly been embarrassing is the. Is the word to use. Not only I know things haven't been great. Toronto's made some really bad decisions. They had bad hires, bad leadership, bad gm bad. You know, they've been bad.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

But those two have been a joke.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And so they're gone now. So I'll just start. I mean, I guess I really hope now they give Robin a chance to just start to build this thing. And Tim, this is not a three month thing. Six month. This is like year, year and a half, two years, two and a half years to really get this right. But they need to. If you believe he's the guy, you got to stay with him. This is, this is what really good teams and clubs will do. And bad ones will go, oh, well, he's been terrible. And look at his roster. It's terrible.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, the story, story jumps off the page. I mean, I, I think Toronto has got it right for a very long time. You know, I think they, they, they were kind of the Atlanta before Atlanta, you know, where they're like, all right, we're gonna go give big contracts. And it worked out with Josie Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco, I mean, those worked out. So to throw big money at players was a good thing for them. Kind of what you said, the, the Bernadeski and Insignia thing. They should be ashamed of themselves a little bit. They should be ashamed of themselves because if I'm reading it right, Insignia, his salary was 15.4 million.

[Landon Donovan]

Insane.

[Tim Howard]

Bernadeski's 6.3 million combined. That's more than the total wage bill of all but seven MLS teams.

[Landon Donovan]

That is, that's a crazy.

[Tim Howard]

Here's the thing. Crazy stat. But here's the thing. I. Denver, when I came to Colorado, didn't pay me nearly that much. But by the way, they paid me very handsomely. And you know what? I felt a responsibility.

[Landon Donovan]

Damn right.

[Tim Howard]

Like, I felt a responsibility to be more than just a player, but to be a leader in the community on the field, try and drive the club forward and help build the club to what it wanted to be inside and outside. Yo, the fact that this guy's getting 15.4 million and he downs tools, like I'm telling you now, I'm telling you now, I'm going over top on him. If he's my teammate and he down tools like that, he and I are going to have at it. Like, that's crazy to me.

[Landon Donovan]

Crazy. And you look to those guys, they just think, oh, well, I'm just a great player, you know, from the culture they come from.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You get paid a lot of money. You understood the responsibility. I did. We all understood the risk. Like, this is way more than just playing soccer.

[Tim Howard]

Which is why. Which is why also I firmly believe in the MLS they don't have to spend 15.44 million, but the 6 million. Go spend that on Christian Pulisic or maybe more. Go spend that on.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, go spend 15 on Christian.

[Tim Howard]

Our biggest players. The way they did with you, the way they did with Michael Bradley and Josie Altor. Like America, America's best players. Test their resolve, bring them back, because they will feel that responsibility will help drive the club forward. Yeah, it's not done enough. It's a. But, but, yeah, to your point about Robin, ultimately, Robin Fraser is a very, very good manager. He's been hamstrung with this situation. You hope. And, and I think that that management will understand that, get rid of some of that dead weight, bring players in that are his players. That. That's kind of how it works. And so they should absolutely and will stick by him.

[Landon Donovan]

So well. And this should have happened a year plus ago. Right. But now, finally, I mean, I cannot imagine how much relief Robin Frazier has getting those guys out. I cannot even imagine. And MLSE has proven like the Toronto ownership, they will spend money, they will spend. Now you have to get the right players.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you have to. You just wonder though, like, they got it so right at the beginning that this has kind of scorched them now. Right, These two. So I wonder on the back end, are they going to spend, you know, maybe, maybe spend, but not spend as much, or are they still really gung ho and saying like, okay, yeah, and.

[Landon Donovan]

And Bernard Deskin and Zigna, remember those. They came when Bob was there.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

When Bob. And, and Bob was always obsessed with Italian soccer. Like, yeah, he was upset. And so for him it was probably like, do whatever, let's go get them. But the reality is, is we are way more advanced now. There's so much data and you have to make sure you're getting the right player, also the right personality.

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

Absolutely crucial.

[Tim Howard]

But he. That's right. But listen, I know we, you and I bang, bang this drum, but let me get the, Let me get the numbers. So, like, for 15.4, 6.3 million. So let's say round about 21 million. Just, just for giggles. Okay, we'll call it 20 million on two players. You and I said this all along, and I know there's, there's mechanisms and all these.

[Landon Donovan]

I want to Build a roster like 21 million, right?

[Tim Howard]

Yo, if you, if you were to say, if you were essentially to say to any ownership group, any GM and any coach, would you rather spend a million dollars on 20 players or would you spend $20 million on two players? The answer, the answer, every day of the week would be the same.

[Landon Donovan]

Correct.

[Tim Howard]

So why can't we get there? Why can't we get there?

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, it's, it's pretty easy.

[Tim Howard]

We're spending the money.

[Landon Donovan]

You're not spending the money. They're spending money.

[Tim Howard]

You spend it on two players. I'd rather spend, I'd rather have 20 players at a million dollars a clip because you're getting really good players, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

Right. So I was at the national team final this week, at the Gold cup final this weekend. We're recording this on July 8th, and there was someone who's high up in US soccer, we were talking and this is, this is a little bit of the problem. So I said, I said exactly what you just said, why don't we do that? And he said, well, the problem is what we would end up doing is just paying all the same players right now a little more money. And that, that's like Sunil Galati used to say, well, why are we going to raise the cap? You'll just pay the same players more money. And I'm like, what are you talking about? No, you wouldn't, you'd pay some of them. You'd keep Patrick, Ajamong, you'd keep Luna instead of having to sell them because Ajamong's making 100 grand, he's going to go make a million dollars at Darby. So either in, in this scenario that we're talking about, you just keep him and now you keep a star who's going to be on the World cup team and da, da, da. And it's great, but that, that is, that is going to happen with some players, but you're also then going to just go spend on a, on a 20 year old Ecuadorian, a million dollar who's really good or you're going to sign Jack McGlin or you're going to sign somebody who's, to really do the business.

[Tim Howard]

So we're, we're, we're, we're going left and we're going to stay left here because, because I, I'm currently having a conversation, okay, and that's as far as I'll go. But to your point, the people who you spoke to or the person you spoke to don't know what the Hell, they're talking about, here's why we, we so drastically undervalue the talent that we currently already have. Drastically. Right. So what that person is saying that you spoke to was, we're just going to pay the same players. My point would be there's guys that I played with, right, that were making, like you said, $100,000. We put that valuation on them. Patrick Ajimang should be making a million dollars. It's clear as day. He's actually going to then go do that and make more than a million.

[Landon Donovan]

Because the market is saying that's what he's worth.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, so, so the point is, the person that said that to you or persons that send it to you, they created the market value. They know nothing. They know nothing. I'm sorry if that's disrespectful. They're basically saying we've created a cap. We're paying this guy 150,000. That's what we think he's worth. He's not. He's worth more. So we drastically undervalued these players. So then the second we say, let's build, let's construct the roster differently, they say, well, we're going to pay more money for the same players. Those players, we can pay more money anyway. And, and, and to, and to my point and yours, the person you spoke to, I would say, okay, you, you, you, you have the Toronto, you have the Toronto method. And I'll, and I'll take mine and Landon's method. My team beats yours every day of the week. So he's wrong.

[Landon Donovan]

And the, and Tim, the problem is too, is this was a league executive, I believe that. And a league executive, this is part of the power dynamic is like they, some of them think they know what, what Toronto FC should do. And Toronto FC is like, don't tell me what to do. Jorge Moss in Miami is like, don't tell me what to do. Sure, I'll spend the money, sure. You know, you help me get the contracts over the line, whatever, you know, but like, don't tell me what to do.

[Tim Howard]

It's crazy.

[Landon Donovan]

Anyway, we'll get, we'll talk more.

[Tim Howard]

That's good. While we went left, I, I was hot. I was hot.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, current playoff picture. Don't sleep on your dynamo, Tim. I'm looking now up to eighth place. We're currently tied, tied with lafc. You're only two points behind San Jose.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, we can, we can leapfrog a few teams with a win.

[Landon Donovan]

So, okay, so anybody in the bottom, let's start in the West. Anyone in the bottom out of the playoff race that we think's gonna make it. Austin's an intriguing one. Salt Lake. Salt Lake's interesting. If. Salt Lake. I mean, poor Salt Lake, man. Obviously, I know Pablo, well, I know Nate Miller. They're the assistant coach. And these guys, like, they just. They sell their best players.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And then they don't replenish them. And so these guys, they fight hard, man, but they. They need one or two offensive pieces. If they do, they're a good. They actually are really good team.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Showed it last year.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. I could see Salt Lake creeping. They get Luna back.

[Landon Donovan]

You know, they need a player or two.

[Tim Howard]

They do, they do.

[Landon Donovan]

But if they player, too.

[Tim Howard]

If, you know, you know, you know, Diego Luna is going to come back highly motivated after the summer. If they can add one or two pieces. It's a big if. Yeah. Then. Then, yeah, I think. I think so. Like, obviously, Austin's easy example because they're in touching distance. You know, Houston, Colorado and Austin all on 26 points. So, yeah, I would say. I would say Salt Lake or Austin. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

The Galaxy have won two of their last three or four.

[Tim Howard]

I was gonna say. Are they gonna make a late. They're gonna make a late push.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know.

[Tim Howard]

What is this, like, what is this like for them? Like, like the season's a wash. Well.

[Landon Donovan]

Here'S the thing about MLS, dude. So what are they, 14 points back?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

That's a lot. I mean, that's.

[Tim Howard]

Build me. Build me a story.

[Landon Donovan]

And six teams, right. So that they have to climb over. But, dude, this league, if you win three in a row, all of a sudden it looks way different.

[Tim Howard]

When does your boy get back? When does your boy get back?

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know when Pooj is back. I don't know. I don't even know if he'll be back this year. Who knows? But if he's not in there within touching distance, it's like, okay, watch out.

[Tim Howard]

Here we go. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. So. So just so we. You and I like to keep our receipts, and I'm gonna. I'm going to put you on the spot. So I have a receipt. Galaxy currently on 12 points. I. You actually don't believe they can make a push, but at what do they finish a season on? They're on 12 points right now.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. They've played 21 games. Is it 34 games? 32 games. Games.

[Tim Howard]

Let me look.

[Landon Donovan]

So they have 11 more games. Oh, my God, they're so Bad, I think.

[Tim Howard]

Do they get to 20 points?

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, yeah, they get 20. Oh, yeah. It's only eight more points from 11 games. Maybe not.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm talking about making the playoffs now. We're saying they can't even. 20 points. 34 games. Okay, 34 games. So they have all 11 more. No, they have 13 more games. Yeah, I think they'll get 20 points from those 13 games. So I think they finish on 32.

[Tim Howard]

Okay. Okay, we have that. Clip that off, please. Production, clip that off. Third.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, let's move to the East. Anybody at the bottom is of the east that could get in. I think New England could get in.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, you're just trying.

[Landon Donovan]

No, cold weather's gone, baby. The cold weather's gone. They really come out. New England, when it comes, gets warm.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, my God.

[Landon Donovan]

They could get in. Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Making a little late push. So we didn't get a lot right about our. Our preseason predictions. Not a ton. But we got Montreal, right.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, man.

[Tim Howard]

Sadly, I love. I love Montreal as a city. I just. Atlanta. I tell you what, there's. There's some woeful teams, by the way. Like, they're bad. Really bad, bad, bad teams. Really bad in the bot like that.

[Landon Donovan]

DC, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal. I don't think there's any chance. I mean, Atlanta has good enough players. They could get on a little run. Run, but, man, they're bad.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Okay. Right again. Charlotte's the closest, so that's the easy one. All right, I'm gonna go with New England. We. We both have to get back on their good side, so we'll. We'll. Not happy with those, are they New England seems easy.

[Landon Donovan]

We believe in New England, Tim. We've all, as we've always said, we love New England.

[Tim Howard]

You're a bad guy. You are a bad guy.

[Landon Donovan]

Last thing before I break. Who wins this supporter shield. I want to get this on tape, too.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, God.

[Landon Donovan]

We got Cincy on 42, Nash Nashville on 40. 41. 40 for Philly 39, San Diego 38, Vancouver, and Columbus, Minnesota 37.

[Tim Howard]

I'm gonna say they're on 42, tight.

[Landon Donovan]

Vancouver have one less game played.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah. Also Vancouver, great place to play and live. All the turf's not great, but cool stadium. Well, Cincinnati seems so easy to say. I. I like Cincinnati. I do. I like the way they're set up. I'm gonna go with Cincinnati. There, I said it. Don't fail me.

[Landon Donovan]

Have a receipt. I'm going to go with my hometown.

[Tim Howard]

I knew it.

[Landon Donovan]

San Diego. You know, they Just sneak up, nobody pays attention, and all of a sudden they're three points back.

[Tim Howard]

A lot of people are paying attention.

[Landon Donovan]

Nobody's paying attention.

[Tim Howard]

Wait, so did Chicago won in their inaugural season, right. 98. I think that's.

[Landon Donovan]

I believe that's right. Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Under Bob. And I don't. For the amazing team.

[Landon Donovan]

And I'll say this on record, I don't believe San Diego can win in the playoffs. I don't think they're built that way, but I think they're built as a good regular season team. I think it's just hard. Like, you gotta have. I mean, Dreyer is a. He's a real player.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

But you gotta have, like, real stars and guys that can really make a difference. That's fair. It's my. My opinion.

[Tim Howard]

I like it.

[Landon Donovan]

Also, a week from today, as. As this is coming out, leagues cup starts. It's hard right now to put our minds around that because there's been Gold cup and Nate and Women's Euros and Club World cup, and there's been so much soccer on tv. I think, and this is my opinion, Tim, over time this will get better and better and more relevant. I know it's hard right now because it's new and it's novel, but I think it is going to be fun for people to watch. It does make it challenging for MLS teams because the season has just been so stop and start and stop and start. But I do think it'll be intriguing and I think people will be into it. We just need to let Gold cup settle down a little bit. Club World cup settle down a little bit.

[Tim Howard]

I mean, let's talk about how challenging the stretch is for Inter, Miami, LAFC and Seattle Sounders. I mean, they had to play Club World cup and then at least cup, and.

[Landon Donovan]

And, well, they started early, too, with the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

[Tim Howard]

Right. That's what I'm saying. You know, the funny thing about. Like, this is the funny thing about the Messi conversation. Like, I know we talk about. He. Like, he doesn't run. He doesn't run or whatever. He's just. He's still the best player in the field. It's a little bit like, yo, you want this guy to play every game? Every game. Doesn't make any sense. Like, I have so many games.

[Landon Donovan]

Crazy. I know. So, yeah, it'd be interesting to see how they prioritize it, actually.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Because there's also still. I mean, Argentina's qualified, but there'll be World cup qualifiers still. This. There's so much soccer this crazy. Yeah, Crazy. All right, we'll keep our eye on that as that gets closer. It feels a little bit away right now, but once, once Leagues cup starts, we'll be following it. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, time for a special, very, very extended edition of the AT&T fan Connection. Jordan's got tons of messages piled up, so we're just going to get through a bunch of them. Get your questions answered right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Stay right there.

[Tim Howard]

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

[Landon Donovan]

As the U.S. gets ready to host the world for soccer's biggest moment, Volkswagen is helping people discover new turfs and new ways to play the beautiful game right here in the US from death.

[Tim Howard]

And power wheelchair soccer to beach and futsal, VW is actively supporting all the communities and teams within the U.S. soccer ecosystem. They've signed U.S. soccer talent from across the portfolio of the federation, and we'll be helping to give these less popular forms of soccer a platform moving forward.

[Landon Donovan]

As a longtime friend of Volkswagen, I'm excited to support them in their mission to increase visibility of all forms of soccer. I was recently on set with them shooting their new campaign to do just that.

[Tim Howard]

Keep an eye out for that launching soon alongside the all new redesigned 2025 Tiguan. It's a beautiful car. We've even had one with us at a recent live show. Make sure to check it out in person and learn [e-mail] all right, Timmy.

[Landon Donovan]

It's summertime. You remember these days, kids are home. It's exhausting. You're babysitting all day. I know you don't think it's babysitting. It is babysitting. In order to choose chill, I'm on the golf course, man. My wife knows when it's time to get away and choose chill. See you later. I'm gonna go play golf.

[Tim Howard]

I gotta be honest. I choose chill a lot in the summer. Going to concerts, family barbecues. I spend a ton of time on the beach. I reach into the cooler, get a Coors Light for me. I choose chill very, very often.

[Landon Donovan]

Coors Light is mountain cold refreshment, crisp and refreshing. As the Colorado Rockies make the most out of the times you choose to chill. Choose Coors Light.

[Tim Howard]

Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit coorslight.com USLNT Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado Beer.

[C]

With the Venmo debit card, you can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch.

[Landon Donovan]

You can Venmo this or their next show.

[Tim Howard]

You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license.

[C]

By Mastercard International, Inc. Card may be used everywhere.

[Landon Donovan]

MasterCard is accepted.

[Tim Howard]

Venmo purchase restrictions apply. It's time now for Control youl Game, presented by nhtsa. When you speed, you have less time to react. Follow the speed limit to keep other road users safe. Speeding catches up with you. Paid for by nhtsa. Okay, ld, you and I, at one point in time, were very much in control of our game. MLS all star game. MVPs. You in 2001 and 2014. I in 2009 with Everton. What stands out for you most from those games?

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, most stands. But don't say what you're scoring against you.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Okay, here we go.

[Landon Donovan]

That was. Well, I would say it was exciting, but I did it quite a few times. So. 2001 was cool because it was in San Jose.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And I just played my first professional season in San Jose. And I really took the game serious. I'm not sure everyone did, but I took the game really seriously. I was excited about it, scored the four goals. It was a really hot day. I remember that day. And everyone was kind of over it, but I was like, I want to play. And it was at that time, an All Star game was so wide open. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like NBA All Star. It was just like back and forth. So I was just hanging out.

[Tim Howard]

The uniforms were nice. The kids were nice. They were wild.

[Landon Donovan]

I still have one.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I have the one.

[Landon Donovan]

One. And then 2014 was interesting because that was right after I got cut by Jurgen from the World cup team. So I played a few games with the Galaxy, and then we had the All Star Game, I think it was in August, and it was up in Portland. And we played Bayern Munich, I believe.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, that's right.

[Landon Donovan]

And Manuel Neuer was in goal. And the irony was we played Germany in the World cup that summer.

[Tim Howard]

Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

So one thing I wanted to say so badly, but I never did, was I was going to say in the post game, like, I anticipated scoring against Manuel nor this summer. I just thought it would be in Brazil in the World cup instead of here.

[Tim Howard]

God, such a good line.

[Landon Donovan]

Great bottle. So I scored in the game one. Yes. Scored in the game, was named the mvp. And then actually the next morning is when I announced that that was going to be my Last season. So I remember that whole time, like really vividly.

[Tim Howard]

Busy stretch, man.

[Landon Donovan]

It was, it was.

[Tim Howard]

It's funny how that happens in, in careers.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so how about for you, 09? I was at that game, by the way. It was in Salt Lake.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you played. It was in Salt Lake.

[Landon Donovan]

What were your memories?

[Tim Howard]

We were over with EVERTON for preseason and obviously played against the All Stars. I'd love to lie to our listeners and say that I remember a lot of it. I didn't. Our producer had to remind me that I made three saves in the penalty shootout. But I guess I had a good game. As you mentioned, it matters, you know, like if you have an average game, it's fine. But like if you know you played well and you do know when you play well in these games, it was like, yeah, I want to be mvp. Like, it would have hurt if I wasn't, you know.

[Landon Donovan]

So how did you save three penalties in a game and not remember? Remember you were the Matt Freeze of the 09 All Star Game.

[Tim Howard]

What's Matt Freeze? I don't know.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't remember that.

[Tim Howard]

There's a lot, I, I, it comes back to me, but I vaguely remember that. You know why? I know why. Because I definitely hated preseason. Hated it. So I think I was on preseason and I was like, that was part of.

[Landon Donovan]

You're blocking it out.

[Tim Howard]

I've tried and block out all the preseasons. Like I wish talking to my NFL friends, like I wish I could just hold out and just go, I, I'm not coming to preseason training. And on the back of that you're going to give me an extension. I know that's what the NFL guys do, but not sure. I don't know how I didn't remember. It was always interesting All Star games because you're in the locker room with like rival players, you know, and I.

[Landon Donovan]

I think, yeah, you're right.

[Tim Howard]

I think on the outside people think that like there's contention and all that. Like guys don't pay attention to, to each other. Like you come in, you say hi and you just hang out with the guys that, you know, you know, just do your thing. It's very clicky. But it's all not in a bad way. Cause it's only a couple days. So.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I also, the best part was I just loved playing with those guys.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Like guys you watched every week on the highlights and doing all the things and like it was so fun to then just be in the same locker room, watch them train, play with them. I loved it. I Loved it. I thought it was fun.

[Tim Howard]

Levels. Good levels. It's time for the Fan connection presented by AT&T. Every week, we invite you, the listener, to. To connect with us by submitting your questions. The best way to grow the game of soccer in the US is to keep asking questions and keep talking about the sport we all love. At, AT and T. Connecting changes everything. And on uslnt, our connections with you will help grow the game.

[Landon Donovan]

Let's head into the AT&AT and T fan Connection with everyone's favorite co host, Jordan Rizzi. Rizieri.

[C]

Are you telling me that after all these months, you don't even have no idea how to say my last.

[Landon Donovan]

I know it started with an R. Is it good?

[C]

It's Rizieri. He said, what's your favorite.

[Landon Donovan]

What's your favorite Italian dish, Jordan?

[C]

I'm a really big fan of eggplant rollantini. It's my favorite thing in the world.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know what that is.

[C]

It's like a really thin slice of fried eggplant with regatta cheese in the middle, and then it's rolled up and baked with tomato sauce over it and some fresh basil stuff.

[Landon Donovan]

Delicious.

[Tim Howard]

That's. That's a really good answer. Speaking of favorites, who's your favorite Miranda?

[C]

My favorite what?

[Tim Howard]

Who's your favorite Miranda?

[C]

My favorite what?

[Landon Donovan]

Uslnt host.

[Tim Howard]

Former player and host. They have to be the same.

[C]

My favorite former player and host, I think is Becky Sauer.

[Landon Donovan]

I was gonna say you made it way too.

[Tim Howard]

No, this show. Do it.

[Landon Donovan]

On this show, I don't pick.

[C]

You know, I don't have favorites.

[Tim Howard]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You produce this show that's called Unfiltered Soccer, and you expect us in this segment to run up the chimney and you're ducking the smoke? One answer before we start. One answer.

[Landon Donovan]

She's never going to answer.

[Tim Howard]

Never. Let's go.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, what do you got?

[C]

I have so many things. First of all, I just want to thank everyone who has. A couple of weeks ago, I complained about jerseys. I just got something in the mail. I'm not going to show you what it is because I don't want to get. I don't want to deal with all of the complaining that I'll hear.

[Landon Donovan]

You got a jersey in the mail.

[C]

I did.

[Tim Howard]

Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

Wow.

[C]

I love that.

[Tim Howard]

You deserve. You deserve jerseys. You're part of this.

[C]

You wouldn't want it anyway because it's red. So happy about it.

[Tim Howard]

You can give me a red jersey. I can tell you what I do.

[C]

With it but send it to me. Tim's just going to send it to me so I'll. I'll wear it on a future episode. Okay so before we get into the questions because we do have a lot of questions there is one thing that has been requested of both of you by many people. So instead of picking one of the questions I am just going to ask you before we do anything else to please give us right now your starting 11 for the World cup for the US Men's National Team.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh by the way I just saw you put in the chat that Tim did not save my penalty in that.

[Tim Howard]

Everton all starting you just have a free you you live rent free free.

[Landon Donovan]

In my career so good. Okay, here's my team. You ready in goal from your Colorado Rapids Zach Stefan right back Sergino Dest right center back Chris Richards left center back. A little controversy here. Cameron Carter Vickers.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

Left back Anthony Jedi Robinson.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Midfield three of Tyler Adams going to elect to have two choices here. It's my show so I'm just. You're going to have to deal with it. A motivated Weston McKinney. If it's an unmotivated Weston McKen I would say Tanner Testman.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

Ahead of them Malik Tillman. I think off the right Christian off the left Timothy Waya and Ricardo Pepe is the nine.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

Any differences there?

[Tim Howard]

I have this going to be weird because I'm looking at the Mexico game. Right. So we're going to play two teams in our group of the three. We will probably be slightly on the back foot. I think.

[Landon Donovan]

I think we'll probably play that will be better than. Yeah, that's a good shot.

[Tim Howard]

That that they'll be better than us.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh you think we'll play two that are better than us. We're going to be one of the seated teams, remember.

[Tim Howard]

I know, I know. Okay. Regardless I'm thinking of the Mexico game so I have us in a 442. Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay.

[Tim Howard]

I think Zach Steffen. Right right. Fullback desk. Right center back Chris Richards. Left center back Tim Ream.

[Landon Donovan]

The cockroach.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Anthony Robinson left back midfield four starting on the left Tillman Tyler Adams. Weston McKinney. Weah underneath the striker Pulisic and then Flo Ballian.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. We were close to similar we were.

[Tim Howard]

Close but again our formations are different. So the the piece but the pieces who didn't we have we didn't have Pepe and Flow are different.

[Landon Donovan]

Who else and you didn't have okay so but.

[Tim Howard]

But to the point it's going it's going. You're starting. 11 is going to come from 13 players, essentially, or. Or 14 players. Right?

[Landon Donovan]

I agree.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Okay. Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

There you go.

[C]

All right. That should satisfy at least the first 14 questions I have in here. So here we go. All right. How about some individual questions for you guys?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, let's do it.

[C]

The first one is for Landon, and it is from Pedro via X or Twitter, whatever you prefer to call it. Landon, could you share your thoughts on the differences between your first and last seasons in MLS regarding the level of play, the coaches, and the overall working conditions?

[Landon Donovan]

Great question. It's. They're almost unrecognizable. Yeah, 24. And if you go 2014 till today, I think it's even more skewed. So in 2001, let me give you a story, Pedro. I used to drive from my apartment in San Jose to Spartan Stadium, where we played our game. San Jose State University. Okay. We played in a college football. State, whatever. Almost a D2, college football stadium, a D1, but barely. San Jose State was not a great college football team.

[Tim Howard]

Team.

[Landon Donovan]

We had portables, portable trailers outside of the stadium. We would go in, get dressed. We would drive 30 minutes to a juke, a junior college facility. They had one field, West Valley, West Valley College, where we would train. We would train. We would drive back 30 minutes to the stadium, to the portable shower, and then drive home another 15, 20 minutes. So that was our. That was our. That was how we did things. We would travel almost exclusively on Southwest. We had team administrators who would like, book the travel a week before we left because they, for some reason, they couldn't figure out that you could book this months and months in advance. So we'd all be sitting in middle seats. And that was. That was how it was everywhere. 2014. A few times a year, we would charter planes, we had the Galaxy's beautiful training facility, stadium, sold out stadiums, etc. So that's on that side. Coaching, you can't even if. If you had played the game before, you got a coaching job, if you had played in mls, you got a coaching job, but basically, period, end of story. If I was finishing my career at that time, any team would have been like, you want to coach? Sure. Do you have your licenses? Nope. Okay, fine. Here you go. Coaching job. So now. Well, not now, but even by 2014, there were much better coaches, much more qualified. So everything, I mean, everything has changed. And Tim can speak to that too. But those are. Those are just. Those are just a couple examples. And by the way, from a League standpoint, if you were willing to pick up the operating expenses of any club in mls, they would give you the club. So the Galaxy owner, Phil Anschutz, God bless him, owned I think six teams in the league. The Hunts owned Kansas City, Dallas and maybe one other. The Crafts owned a few teams and they were like, look, if you want to take this $20 million loss off our hands, we'll give you the franchise you cut to today. It would cost you probably a billion dollars to buy some of these franchises. So that's another example of how it's changed.

[C]

So Tim, for you, Hudson, via Instagram said, tim, do you have a favorite save that you've ever made a favorite save?

[Tim Howard]

Hudson? I don't know. It's a tough one. Probably one of the. In either the Mexico game or Liverpool game. I think I saved a penalty off of, of Dirk Coit at Everton.

[Landon Donovan]

You made a big save. I think it was 07 at Soldier Field. At the end of that game, we won two one. You made a really big save at the end of the game.

[Tim Howard]

That's the thing. The fact that you remember that is amazing because that's probably of all of the great moments that I've had, that's the one that nobody remembers and nobody talks about. So at the end of that U.S. mexico Gold cup game for final in Soldier Field, 2007, you scored the penalty, scored a pen.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Scored the volley. You know, they scored right before halftime. So it was one nil going halftime. We're up 21, 89th minute. I made, I make an unbelievable point blank save that like obviously it then ties the game. We go to penalties, right? And I keep it at 2 and I remember Ricardo Clark like, like jumping on me or smacking me or something. It was amazing. Yeah, totally forgot.

[Landon Donovan]

I, I can, I don't remember the exact save, like how it happened, but I do remember the reaction of you getting up in him and I was like, oh, amazing.

[Tim Howard]

Good times.

[C]

Well, we have a bunch more questions, but maybe we should give people a little break first. What do you think?

[Landon Donovan]

Sure. Right back. All right, cool. Just kidding. Jordan, what do you want to do? All right, when we're going to take a break. When we come back, we will take more Questions from the AT&T fan connection and we'll talk anything but soccer. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon, Tim and Jordan. Presented by Volkswagen. Stick around. When you speed while driving, you have less time to react to whatever comes across your path.

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So slow down, obey the law, and keep everyone on the road safe.

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Speeding catches up with you. Paid for by NHTSA there's nothing better.

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Than feeling like someone has your back and that things are going to get done without you even having to ask.

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Like fans who start to sing and chant at the exact moment their team needs to rally.

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A keeper you know is defending your.

[Tim Howard]

Goal, or a forward who is always.

[Landon Donovan]

Ready to receive the ball at Unfiltered soccer. Tim and I know all too well how important it is to be sure someone out there has your back. And that's precisely why AT and T has a new guarantee.

[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

AT and T connecting changes everything.

[Landon Donovan]

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[C]

Morning Decisions A creamy mocha Frappuccino drink, a sweet vanilla, maybe a smooth caramel or that white chocolate mocha. Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Start your day with bottled Starbucks Frappuccino drinks. Pick up a bottle near you wherever you buy your groceries.

[Tim Howard]

Back with more of your questions. Tim Landon Jr. Let's knock it out of the park.

[C]

Should we do another question?

[Tim Howard]

We should do lots more questions.

[Landon Donovan]

Many more questions.

[C]

This one is from Jonathan via email. He said, I've been a USA Soccer fan since the 80s when I played. I was at the 1994 World cup game USA vs Romania at the Rose bowl as an active duty US Navy guy stationed in San Diego. Love you guys. My question is, what can be done to reduce the number of players taking Dives to draw penalties, not just in the box, but all over the pitch. I believe it kills momentum. But more importantly, when you talk to casual sports fans, this is the image of soccer everywhere as a sport of fakers who excel at falling to the ground and acting hurt. I believe this is the barrier for the sport to grow, especially here in.

[Landon Donovan]

The U.S. first of all, thank you very much for your service, and thanks for the support of our sport. It's amazing. This is interesting because this is very much a cultural thing, and it. And it differs country to country. So when you play in a CONCACAF game, we would just. Tim, just get used to it. Like, it's just. For a lot of Central American country, you just get used to it. Sure, you go to England and you dive and players destroy you for it. Like in training, in the games, they're like, get even. Your teammates be like, get up. Get on with it. Get up. And it's just. It's a really unique phenomenon. We saw it during the Gold Cup a lot. It's too bad. One. One thing that has helped is all the cameras. All the VAR referees are reluctant to give yellow cards for simulation. But they. They're doing it, and I think it started to crack down on it. I think they can do more of it. The one that's the most frustrating is when you get hit, like in the arm or the shoulder or the neck or whatever and go down and hold your head. And I would be fine with, in video review, if you got hit in the neck or in the chest and you went down and held your head. If you got a yellow card for it, I'm totally fine with it. Because you are just trying to dupe the referee. I mean, that's the only thing you're trying to do. So I would be totally fine with that. So I guess that would be my. That would be my take.

[Tim Howard]

So we. So we disagree on this. And anyone who's talked soccer with me knows diving is a thing in our sport. I'm talk specifically penalties. Anybody who knows me knows I. I always encourage. Whether it's my own team or if I'm watching a game, I encourage a play. If. If there's contact that I think. I think the player should always go down. Here's why. Here's why. In basketball, they did away with flopping, right? The margins aren't that high. You flop you. If you. If you take. If you dive in the penalty area, right, and you put that type of pressure on the referee to get it right, the worst that can happen to you is a yellow card. The best thing that can happen to you is you get a penalty. And we know the likelihood is you're going to score, so you get a goal. Because our games aren't 10 to 20 or 105 to 106 like in basketball. The opportunities to score and you know, this are so small. So that's an opportunity for me to gain an advantage. So, and, And. And by duping the referee to your point, Landon, if you go down without contact, that's going to var. So that. That's. That goes to var. And it is a clear and obvious error. If you like, completely not touched and they overturn it. I still think in those moments, you should go down and you should.

[Landon Donovan]

So we don't. We don't disagree as much. You think? So the keys there were with contact, without contact. So I used to get mad at referees. Like, I would be running into the box with the ball, and I go to shoot. And right as I'm shooting, someone gives me a push. And it's not a massive crazy push, but a push that throws me off balance and I kick it into the stands.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Or pushes me and I fall over because I'm running at my fastest. And the ref would go, well, that's not a penalty. And I would say to him all the time, do you think when I'm eight yards from goal, I'm just going to fall over on my own?

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

You think I'm going to intentionally, with all the goals I've scored in my life, I'm just going to fall over and say, you know what? Let's try to get a penalty here instead of doing what I know I can do, which put it in the corner and score the goal. And so I used to get so mad at that. Now if there's no contact and you're trying to dupe the referee, then you should be punished for it. But I do agree with. The problem is, especially with big players like Shaq always dealt with this. Guys would hang on him, climb on him, smash him, and he's just big. So he could take it. And they wouldn't call a foul.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And it's like, that's a foul. Yeah, it's a foul. If that happened on anyone else, they'd fall down. Right. So I don't think we disagree as much as you think, but fair. You can't. It does hurt the product a lot when people are just flopping around, pretending like they got hit in the face when they. When they didn't. And we need to get that out of the game.

[Tim Howard]

Fair. Thanks, Jonathan.

[C]

This one is from Keenan via email. First, I would like to thank you guys. I grew up watching you both in the national team and think that built my love for the game.

[Landon Donovan]

Thank you.

[C]

As U.S. men's National Team fans, I think we all agree attendance has been weak for our games. I think it would be great if we pushed for the US Men's national team to have two home stadiums, an east coast one and a West coast one. Atlanta has a strong following, as does LA or Kansas City. If we did this, it could help provide a true home field advantage to our team for international matches. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[Tim Howard]

I think U.S. soccer, which is baffling that we're in 2025 and we don't have a national stadium, But I think U.S. soccer is looking to do that to build and create a national stadium, which again, we should have had 20 years ago. Every country does, you know, you, you, you cherish that and it's kind of like a pilgrimage to go there and see your team play. Absolutely. I, I agree with. Attendance has been down and I, and speaking to some people at U.S. soccer, probably even like a year ago, that was a real concern like that. That's not something that went unnoticed by them. And so obviously doing other things to, to market differently and, and trying to get more butts in the seats is, is something that they're concerned with. Yeah. Do. Do things change if we have a singular national stadium? I don't know if you can have two. So I don't know. It's a tough. It's a big country. It's a big country. So tough question. But yeah, I do like the idea of having one national stadium.

[Landon Donovan]

I will say during the Gold Cup, US Soccer does not control the venues, the ticket prices, etc. So there is, you know, there is some nuance there as far as tickets, as far as buying tickets to see your national team. Now, actually, let me just start with the stage. So if we're going to have a stadium, does that guarantee that people are going to go and watch and does that guarantee that we're going to have a pro American crowd? I'm asking you, I don't, you know, does it. No, if it's in Atlanta and we play Mexico is, you know, that doesn't guarantee anything, right?

[Tim Howard]

No, no. You're despair. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. So the question is then where do you, you know, because Columbus would be great, but you're not gonna have the national stadium in Columbus. I don't think right. Maybe you are. I don't know.

[Tim Howard]

No, I don't think so.

[Landon Donovan]

And then as far as buying tickets, what people forget about this country still is. People don't have this dedicated. No matter what, I'm going to watch my national team personality. Yet in our country, there are some people, the American Outlaws, etc, but it is still an entertainment option for people in other countries. It's not. When El Salvador plays, you're going to the stadium, period. End of story. That's it for the national team. It's like bunch of the star players. I'm just talking about this summer. Bunch of the star players didn't want to play. The teams had lost five games in a row coming into the Gold cup or four games in a row, whatever. So people are like, I don't know. Why am I gonna go pay to watch? Our guys don't even want to be there. Why would I want to go? Right. So I think that is part of. We have to remember that. And. And you know, there were times, Tim, where, like, people were spending money to come watch you and goal or come watch Clint play or come watch Josie. Like, people were paying money for that. But if it's a bunch of guys you don't know and you just like. And it's $112 for the ticket and you got four kids, like, I'm not going to do that. And I don't blame them.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. You're saying that you don't know if the. If building a national stadium rectifies that problem, but having a nice. Shouldn't it? I mean, I'm thinking about globally and the three of us. You can tell me if I'm wrong or our producers. Most national stadiums are in the capital city. Am I right in saying that? Like, most.

[Landon Donovan]

I would say outside of. Well, do European teams have, like. Germany doesn't have a national stadium, do they? They call it Berlin.

[Tim Howard]

I thought they did have a national stadium.

[Landon Donovan]

England has Wembley. What does France. Yeah, yeah. Does Spain have a national stadium? No, they don't have a national stand. But in the. I would say the lower sort of level countries.

[Tim Howard]

Yes. Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

Respectfully, they all have a national stadium. Yes. All through the Caribbean.

[Tim Howard]

All usually in the capital. Usually in the capital.

[Landon Donovan]

Because that's usually in the capital.

[Tim Howard]

Populated.

[Landon Donovan]

Correct.

[Tim Howard]

So we should have one in D.C. i mean, I'm. I'm okay with that.

[Landon Donovan]

I'd be okay with that too. But you do, then you do open the door to lots of El Salvadorians, Hondurans, Mexicans. When we play Those teams. Right. Being in the stadium.

[Tim Howard]

But that. That. That doesn't. That's no different than it is now. That's gonna be soccer in America.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's right.

[Tim Howard]

Good question.

[C]

Here is a question for both of you from Dan via Instagram. I don't know what the outcome of this is going to be.

[Tim Howard]

I love when I love. These are my favorite ones.

[C]

I know can because sometimes I put this list together and then I go. I was confident when I put made this, but now I'm not so sure. Will you name all the teams that reached out and expressed interest in potentially signing you throughout your career?

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, that's a great question.

[Tim Howard]

Great question.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm going to do. I'm going to write it so I don't forget. Do you know yours already, Tim? It's only two.

[Tim Howard]

It wasn't many.

[Landon Donovan]

Some of these are going to surprise some people, I think.

[Tim Howard]

Okay.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know exact timeline for this one. I want to say it was after 2002. World Cup Kiev, Overona. I don't even.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know what.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Division they're in now after 2000.

[Tim Howard]

What too.

[Landon Donovan]

I believe so.

[Tim Howard]

Nice.

[Landon Donovan]

When I went back. This is actually in my book. This is a cool story. When I went back to Leverkusen and then came back to the states in 2020. I'm sorry, in 2005, right at the death, right before I was going to sign with mls, Portsmouth reached out and put in like a very real offer. And I had to really think about it. Like really think about it. The second time I went back to Everton, Tim. Club America reached out and basically matched the offer from Everton. And that one I actually really thought about too. I don't remember when this one was.

[Tim Howard]

America would be wild. Let me say. No.

[Landon Donovan]

Can you imagine?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't remember when this one was, but Rao Vallecano in Spain at one point because Casey had been there. Like, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And then the last one was actually. Right. Right after I retired Salt Lake reached out and said. Okay. And I actually went far down that path of considering it. Yeah. And I'll tell that story another day.

[Tim Howard]

But yeah, great question. I'm trying. I'm googling the name of the team. Who's the. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You don't know the team?

[Tim Howard]

I don't. I don't. Who's. Who's the other team in Barcelona?

[Landon Donovan]

I think it was Swindon Town, Tim.

[Tim Howard]

Who's the other team? Who's the other team in Barcelona? What's the rival?

[Landon Donovan]

Espanol.

[Tim Howard]

Espanol.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Okay, so clearly made an impact on you.

[Tim Howard]

No, I forget most of these. That's a great question, because it jarred so many memories. So start off the Metro Stars. Casey was at Ray of Iacano. Right. And was a coach. Juan de Ramos.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't remember.

[Tim Howard]

I could be getting this wrong. Anyway, he might have went to Espanol and I think they were kicking the tires because they had Casey and they're like, oh, this. This particular coach liked American goalkeeper. So it was one of those Spanish clubs. It was either Espanol or I kind of can't remember. Then I went on. Then I went on trial at Feyenoord and This was in 2002. I was on. I was on trial at Feyenoord. They. Pat. They passed, which was fine.

[Landon Donovan]

You had to go on trial at Feyenard?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Wow.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You're a starter, right, with New York at that point?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

You had to go on trial there.

[Tim Howard]

That's crazy. I went on trial and then they said no. And then less than a year later, I signed for Man United and it was like they got like, the coaching staff in the Dutch paper got like.

[Landon Donovan]

Absolutely caned because they're like, oh, because it came. Oh, because they knew you're on trial.

[Tim Howard]

They knew I was on trial. Yeah, yeah. And they were like, we didn't sign. Huh? What just happened here? So, yeah, in fact, you know who told me that story is when Edwin Van de Sar came to Man United a couple years later, he was telling me that story because obviously, yeah, he's the king. After I was leaving Man United, I chose Everton. But Wigan, Portsmouth and Everton were in for me. Thousand percent, made the right choice and then went to Colorado. And then, as you know, at the end, you both know this story, the coolest part was at the end of my. My Colorado career, I don't remember what year it was, so 20, 18, 19, somewhere in there. And I don't know, I don't know how, it was all a bit chaotic. My agent called me and he was like, boca Juniors, which is amazing, have come in for you. And essentially they were in Copa Libertadores. And I think. I think they're number one and number two goalkeepers were injured and it was some immersion emergency thing that got triggered where they had to sign, like, they basically went sought out to sign an experienced goalkeeper with. With international experience. And I think because of the rules, they could only come from either Mexico or the United States or something. I can't remember exactly. And it was down to me and another guy and they chose the Other guy. But I remember for like a couple days thinking, what like, oh, that would have been. I mean, imagine that cherry on top of your career, like just playing for Boca. But anyway, yeah, that's a really fun question.

[Landon Donovan]

That was great.

[C]

Okay, one more?

[Landon Donovan]

Sure.

[C]

Okay, this one is from Greg via email. I've been trying to get more of my friends into soccer this summer with no luck. But they all share a common hang up the possibility of a tie game. Honestly, after watching the 7v7 tournament again this year, I'm starting to see their point. I know this is a long shot for professional leagues outside of the U.S. but do you think there's any chance soccer could adopt a system similar to the NHL? In that league, both teams get a point for a tie and then they go to a shootout for an extra point. I really believe a change like that could attract more fans to the sport here in America.

[Tim Howard]

Possibly. I don't love it. I don't love it. I think, I think the other part, it's all about education, right? So you're getting, you're getting a group of friends together. I get it. It's very American to have playoffs. It's very American not to end in a tie. I get that. Anybody who's ever watched or understands soccer knows that it's the beautiful game for a reason. And I think the education part is you get a group of friends together and rather than try and completely reinvent the wheel, educate them on why it's a beautiful game. That why over the course of 90 minutes, the goals matter, but individual plays and players and the nuances, if you understand the nuances of the game, you then can teach that to them. Um, so yeah, I, I, I don't know. I don't hate the NHL way, but I'm also like, I'm not, I'm not sure, not sure I love it either.

[Landon Donovan]

Who is this? Greg.

[C]

Greg? Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Greg. I don't like it. I love it. I love it. So I've been saying this forever with my friends. I don't think I've said it publicly, but this is what I would do. So I love the NHL way where you get a tie and then you do a shoot up. Great. I think it'd be fun, exciting. They do it in a lot of like MLS. Next pro does it. In league MX, the under 20s, they take shootouts after every game, they take penalties and you get an extra point no matter what the score. You could lose 8, 0, you could still get a point. But it teaches you in those big moments during Penalties, like, when you get older, you're used to it. You've been in those pressure moments. I think it's great. What I would love to see, and I know it will never happen, and I'm going to get caned for this. When in tournaments, when you go into extra time, when you start extra time, Instead of starting 11 v 11, you start 9v9 after 5 minutes and think about, like, the strategy involved. Who do you take off after five minutes already? If it's still tied, you're going to love this. If it's still tied, you take another. Each team has to take another player off. So now you're 8v8, including the goalie. So 7v7 on the field. Five more minutes, take another. And it's. It's like. It's like Hunger Games. It's like, who's going to survive? I love it. It'd be so fun.

[C]

But I'm stressed out just listening to our listeners.

[Tim Howard]

To our listeners, please disregard what you just heard. Please continue to subscribe to unfiltered Soccer. Do not. Do not. Do not.

[Landon Donovan]

Would that not be fun?

[Tim Howard]

Do not leave us extra time.

[Landon Donovan]

The biggest waste of time. Now everybody's like, let's just. Da, da, da. One team's, like, praying to get to. I'm like, just do it then. Let's make it fun then.

[C]

Can I split the difference? Because I don't. I also agree that nothing like that is ever going to happen, but I would absolutely. In the same way that, like the. The WNBA 3. The. The. The league that happened. The 3.3v3. Unrivaled. Yeah. Like, all the rules that they had about, like, you had to beat the other team's maximum points or whatever in the fourth. All that made it more interesting. So if somebody wanted to do a. A tournament with those rules, everyone would watch. Because it's like you said, it's like the Hunger Games, but I don't. Somebody's gonna make an awful lot of money off of that idea. Ld it might as well be.

[Tim Howard]

Did we have a shot clock? Did we have a suggestion of a shot clock?

[Landon Donovan]

Last week, my first thought was, like, how are the. How are the Europeans gonna take this question?

[Tim Howard]

Oh, my God. Anyway. Yeah, you're. You're.

[Landon Donovan]

It's still. To be fair, it's a brilliant idea I have.

[C]

Being honest, I always just tell people, if you're looking to get somebody into something, soccer in this country, just tell them you can watch 45 minutes of sports with no commercials. And if that's not enough, they're never.

[Landon Donovan]

I would actually, I always say take them to a game. Don't try to watch on tv. Take them to a game and sit in a, go to U.S. mexico and Houston and they're gonna be like, yeah, I'm into this.

[Tim Howard]

Or go or, or if you're gonna, if you're gonna watch on tv, go to like a supporters bar.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, totally. Watch with other people.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

That's right.

[Tim Howard]

For sure. That's, that's the second best sometimes first.

[C]

Great. This was fun. Thanks, guys.

[Landon Donovan]

Thanks, Junior. All right, guys, thank you again. We recorded this early, so keep that in mind. But thank you as always for being with us. As Always, follow on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, subscribe Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show across all social media for lots of bonus content. And as always, we appreciate you guys.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, VW, our fan connection sponsor, AT&T, our controller game sponsor, NHTSA, and our unfiltered refresh sponsor, Coors Light. Thank you. Thank you, the listeners, for writing in. Tell us what you love, what you hate. Interacting with us. It is, it is awesome. We love it. We love to be around you guys and gals every week and we'll do it again two week break. Is that right? We'll be back on Wednesday, August 13th with a brand new episode.