VAMOS with Herc Gomez, Presented by Bud Light 05/04/23
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Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, host of Wondrous Business Movers. In our latest series, Phil Knight
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We did one 29 pick in the 2023, the NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys, select, believe me,
and the
Galaxy striker Luis Hernandez made an appearance. He became the first Mexican soccer player to
announce one of the Dallas Cowboys selections in the 2023 NFL draft in Kansas City. I still
remember El Matador Luis Hernandez and the 1998 World Cup. He was massive. Insane, just
in another level, scored four World Cup goals in one tournament. This is Vamos presented
by Bud Light. Easy to drink and easy to enjoy. I'm your host, Triculiz Gomez. In this episode,
Diego Volpi, more than just a goalkeeper for Touluca, but what's so funny? Ted Lasso
takes a jab at Jesse Marsh again and American coaches.
Kakakap Star is making waves in La Liga with ESPN analyst Alex Pareja and the value of
a failure. I will explain. Just stay with me. So what are you waiting for? Vamos.
It's safe to say that if there's one top league around the world that's been very good
to concave players, it's La Liga in Spain. I mean, you can go from Mexican international
cosanches to El Mexico on Sala Sala del Salvador, Kayla Hernandez Costa Rica, Julio Cesar de
Calevaldes of Panama. The list goes on and on. La Liga's treated concave players very, very
well. Finally, I'm joined by ESPN's Alex Pareja. You can catch them calling games in Spanish
and English for ESPN and their excellent coverage of all of your. I'm really thrilled you're
here, Alex. You're not only one of the best analysts in the game and I really do mean that
in multiple languages, but you're one of my favorite people in general, one of my best
friends when I was in Connecticut. My neighbor actually, while I was at ESPN there, I really
appreciate you coming on, Alex. Thanks for being here. No, thank you for inviting me.
Thank you for having me here. It means a lot to me because you know that I love you and
I'm thrilled to be here and to talk about what we love the most at ESPN right now, which
is La Liga. You know that in La Liga, teams are only allowed to have three non-European
players. So it's always interesting, at least to people, when they see a guy from Mexico,
Panama, Costa Rica, one of those countries, instead of having a new signing from Brazil,
from Argentina, from Uruguay. So that always raises an eyebrow for the fans. They're always
interesting and they always spark something different at the Spanish, Avithio, and I was
like, what did we sign this player instead of from a random guy from Brazil? So let's
keep an eye on them.
All right, let's talk concave stars. Let's focus on Unis Moussa right now. Unis Moussa,
the U.S. Men's National Team International, playing at Valencia. He sets them up. He's
had some downs. Valencia has a club right now. They are struggling. They're in relegation
problems. Valencia is a massive club. One, why are they in relegation problems? And how
does Unis Moussa fit into this role of trying to get them out of it?
We would need an entire podcast for explaining how Valencia got themselves into that hole.
It's basically a perfect example of mismanagement. That club is a mess. That club is owned by
Peter Lim, businessman from Singapore. He runs the club from there. All the main decisions
are made from Singapore and that is not sustainable. For a place with such a high passion for the
club, that's Valencia is. We were successful not that long ago. They won the Copa de Rey,
if you remember that in 2019 against Barcelona. But afterwards, Peter Lim went crazy and he
decided to dismantle the team and to start getting profits from selling players. And he
sold Parijon Coagalán, who were part of the center part of the midfield of Valencia. He
barely gave them away to Villareal. He started selling a lot of players. And the team has not
invested back to cover those losses. So the team got worse and worse and worse and worse
until it got to a point that they're seriously threatened by relegation. This could happen
in Valencia. The last time they got relegated was in the early 80s. And since then, they
played two Champions League finals. They won the league two times on the Rafavini death.
So it's a story of mismanagement and ownership not caring at all about the fans. And Eunus
Musa has been involved in this tricky situation with three different managers so far. I see
this, Hirk, as a chance, as an opportunity, as a learning opportunity for Eunus Musa.
Because he is the fourth player with more playing time so far in Valencia. So the three
managers trusted him in several different positions. He has played almost anywhere on
the pitch this season. He hasn't scored any goal but he's got two assists as well. This
can be a very interesting learning curve, this season, the whole season for Eunus Musa.
I'm afraid that he's going to be sold by the end of the season. But it could be good for
him to leave that toxic environment that Valencia has become recently.
What's his perception? What's the perception of Eunus Musa amongst pundits in Spain?
He's an interesting player. He's not a final product yet because he's super young but he's
very interesting when it comes to managers and pundits because he can play anywhere in
the midfield. And that's priceless for any club, for any manager. And he always delivers.
Right. He's always giving all the effort and he's got quality as well. So it's interesting
to see to wait until Eunus Musa's next step into his career because he's highly regarded
not only in Spain but in England, you know, that he was also part of Arsenal youth system.
Absolutely. We've heard reports of Liverpool, both Milan teams. Let's stay in the relegation
zone, if you will. Yeah. Cesar Montez, the Mexican center back who had himself a very
good World Cup with the Mexican national team. He's been a bright spot for Español, if
you will, because they're in that relegation zone as we speak. So bright spots are very
few and far to speak of. But Cesar Montez talked to me about his debut season in the
European top flight. It's like you go to a theme park and you start riding the most thrilling
rollercoaster. There's always a crisis at Español. They were relegated three years ago.
They went up the next year. They're always struggling with relegation. There's some similarities
with Valencia when it comes to the ownership. But the owner of Español is way more involved.
It's been a difficult season for them. They didn't invest that much in the summer transfer
window and they're paying that price because Cesar Montez joined Español after the World
Cup. Español wanted games in the summer transfer window but they didn't really want
to sell him. Just in case he completed a good World Cup so they could get more money.
When he arrived at Español, Español were already in need of results. He's part of a
usual five-by-the-back line. He's one of the three centerbacks. He has delivered already
goals, a good presence in the air. But he also committed a few mistakes. The other day
that Biarréal wasn't a pretty picture for him. It's the same as Jules Musa. It's a learning
curve but with the extra layer in Cesar Montez's case that he just got to the team five months
ago and he just jumped on a moving train. This is always difficult. Even more if we consider
that this is his first season in Europe or his first experience abroad. It's going to
be tough for him. The few fixtures remaining for Español. But again, if Español gets
relegated, he will find another team either in La Liga or in Europe because he's a good
centerback and he still has a lot of room for improvement.
Okay, I think it's a common theme, right? Both these players may be looking to get out
if they're as relegation so I'm going to put you on the spot. Which team and player saves
themselves from relegation or is it neither? Is it Cesar Montez with Español or is it
Unis Musa with Valencia or do neither get saved and both get relegated?
I would say Español. They have a crazy, crazy schedule. Barcelona next week in Barcelona
can win the title there. But I would say that both are in danger of being relegated. I would
put more money on Español getting relegated because they actually did three seasons ago
on Valencia. As I told you, this is a new thing for them. They've been in primera division
for 40 year plus. But they both are in serious danger of getting relegated and therefore getting
sold to all the teams in the next season.
Absolutely. Let's move away from the relegation battlers, if you will. Let's talk Luca de la
Torre. Luca de la Torre, Salte de Vigo was a guy that when he went there from Heracliss
in the air division after they got relegated, wasn't playing much with Callettes, with
the Argentin coach Callettes. Callettes leaves. In all of a sudden, he's playing now. He seems
to be somebody's participating more and enjoying his football more. Talk to me about Luca de
la Torre in his time as Salte.
Yeah, this is an example of how quickly life can change for a player when there's a manager
change. So, in touch with that, they don't like Luca de la Torre because he was playing
a 4-4-2, and a diamond 4-4-2 formation. So, he wanted more narrow mid-fielders and he
wanted a number 10 behind the two strikers. So, Caudet gets a sack because the team was
getting into a very dangerous area on the table. And then comes Carvail. And Carvail
was just the slightest tactical switch. He moved from a 4-4-2 in a diamond to a flat
4-4-2. He found Luca de la Torre, a perfect fit for both wings. For the left-hand side,
which is usually where he plays. And he's got a good partnership with Havigalan, who's
the left-back. He's one of the best full-backs of La Liga, actually. But he can also play on
the right-hand side. And he's been playing since Carvail took over. And let's not forget
that he was a direct petition, not by the managers, not by the sporting director, by
the owner of Salte Vigo. He's a Spanish and Mexican businessman called Carlos Morinio.
He was being related to the other Morinio, to good old Jose. And he wanted to have him.
He, for some reasons, saw him, the reckless playing. And he wanted to sign him. And it's
paying off because in this second part of the season, he's a regular starter. And he's
been producing good stuff for Salte Vigo.
Yeah, that owner, Morinio, I met him in San Jose, one of the most elegant men you can meet,
a very proper individual. And he spoke highly of Lucaels, spoke very highly of Orbelempi
Neda from Mexico, now in Greece, with ex-San Jose earthquake coach Matthias Almeida.
All right, I want to go to somebody who's just as well, having a very good season, but
very surprisingly. And I shouldn't be surprised. Kyle Laren's one of the premier goal-scores
in CONCACAF. Like, he's one of the better nines in CONCACAF. He was in Turkey. He was
scoring goals, but he goes to Valle d'Olivé. And he's scoring goals in an alarming rate.
He scored against Alle d'Olivé, last weekend. I called that game. So he just scored against
Valencia to Unismosis Valencia, not too long. So, yeah. Unbelievable season. Why has he
fit in so well? Besides the obvious that he's a goal-score.
It's a mystery, but seriously, Hirk, he's going to be regarded as one of the best winter transfer
window signings ever. Because his production rate is astonishing. Before Alle d'Olivé
is a game, he had six goals out of 12 shots on goal.
He only missed five. An efficiency rate of 50%. That's crazy for a striker. You know
that. You know those numbers are crazy. So, he's a perfect fit for Valle d'Olivé. And
Kyle Arin has been stunning. He's a big guy, but he's also got good technique, good fit
in the 18 yard box. He's an amazing discovery for Valle d'Olivé. And again, I'm telling
you that that series, one of the best winter transfer window signings ever.
Alle d'Olivé. Well, there you go. My Canadian fans Kyle
Laren making some waves. All right. Let's go to your Barcelona. Okay? Let's go to your
from the region. So, that's why I'm saying your Barcelona. Okay? There's a few concave
players in Barcelona in or around the orbit that I want to talk about. It's Sergio Dez
who's at a favor right now with Milan. He's wasn't signed up for the Champions League.
He's not registered. He's barely making game day rosters with Milan. And then there is
Julian Arajo ex-Galaxy player. And we know the transfer saga and what happened. And he
didn't get registered so he could only train. Which one of these two both right backs, by
the way? Yeah. A Mexican international right back in
Hologna, Rachael, and the US Miss National team right back in Sergio Dez. Which right
back makes the most sense for Chavier Nandez, the head coach of Barcelona, this system?
Today none of them. This is why they're not going to play. I mean, obviously, Arajo had
that problem of the registering going out of time. And he's now at Limbo, as you described,
because he can train with mainly the Barcelona, the B team and the Rafa Marchef. But he's
also got a few training sessions with the first team. And Sergio Dez is not even contemplated
in the plans for the future at Barcelona. He had his chances. Very disappointing because
he was the only right back at the point. The pure right back. But the thing with Sergio
Dez is that he lacked confidence. He never believed that he could play for Barcelona.
And there's a huge leap when you move from Ajax, despite having a very successful season
at Ajax and getting to the Champions League semi-finals. But when you go to Barcelona,
that's a different level, my friend. And when you get to the Camino and you see 90,000 people
just waiting for you to touch the wall and create some magic or understanding the positional
play of Barcelona, you can tell that he fell short and he fell short on Milan. So he's
due to go back to Barcelona because he's on loan and Barcelona is still on his playing
path. But he's going to be loaned out or even sold if Barcelona find a suitor that are willing
to invest some money. You know that Barcelona is in desperate need of money. So they will
sell him if any offer comes. And when it comes to Araujo, I've been checking on my people
there at Barcelona. And he's struggling again as well, understanding the positional play,
and the role that a right back has to play at Barcelona's style. He's got an advantage.
He's got no pressure this season because he's not registered. He can't have any playing
time. He's got another advantage. Rafa Marquez, the Mexico legend, he's the manager of Barcelona
and Latinx. So he can try to talk to him and he can establish a special relationship with
him. But I'm afraid that he's going to be loaned out as well for next season because I don't
see Barcelona taking a gamble and playing him as a starter for next season. So chances are
very high that he's going to be sent out alone.
There you go. Tough times for both players trying to get back into that Barcelona team.
We'll see what happens with Virginia just definitely. He's got I'm sure he's got a bit
of a market but how much of a drop that that'll go in terms of what type of team he can
get on to remains to be seen. I want to talk about Javier Aguirre who's an amazing just
quote machine. He's one of my favorite people in conca cafe, X-Mex national team manager.
Let me go on a little list here. X at the Latico Madrid, X Osasuna, X Japan, X Egypt
coach, national team coaches, X Montere coach. I'm sure I'm missing something else. He had
his own playing career by the way but he's just an amazing figure and he seems to have
a reputation. Being a bombero like a fireman, he saves people. The Mallorca faithful loved
him. Yes, that Mallorca team owned by Steve Nash, the Canadian basketball player. He loves
football as well. Stu Holden, my buddy who works out at Fox. They even started a meme
of Javier Aguirre as Sal Goodman who's the character from Better Call Sal. If you remember
what Breaking Bad, that great show, he made a name for the Latico's saving team. It's
a better call, Javier. That's what the meme is. That's what he basically has made a name
for himself in doing. He comes and he saves teams. How does he do it? Very simple question
for you. How does he do it? Well, very simple indeed. He's got the recipe of success at
Spain with he's able to turn small teams. Teams are struggling. He's able to turn them
around and to make them believe he's a very defensive coach. Let's be honest. He bases
his success over defense with Mallorca. They play a 4-5-1. Being Moritzi, the lone striker
and sending lone balls to this guy who's going to get ball poor guy because he's always flaking
balls and trying to head. But he's compared not only to Sal Goodman but also to Mr. Wolf,
Hibergiedel's character in Hall of Fiction because if there's a mess, he's going to come.
He's going to help you cleaning out and he's going to save you. You just have to obey.
That's the most appropriate comparison to Javier Aguirre. Just do what he tells you no
matter how crazy it sounds and it will work out. He not only managed Osasuna and led them
to Copa del Rey final in 2005. He got them into the Champions League qualifiers. They
finished fourth in La Liga with Osasuna. He then signed for Alle Tico Amade. He didn't
go well because Javier is one of those managers that struggle when they have a lot of talent
to manage. He's more a Rafa Benite. Those managers that can't take a notable player
can turn them into a superb performer. But when they get to a place, to a team where
there's a lot of quality, they don't know how to relate to them. That's a problem.
It happens with Monterey. That's what I was going to say. It happens in Monterey and that
star-studded team. He's highly regarded in Spain because he's a bombero. He's a firefighter.
He's Mr. Wolf. That's why you're here. Last one for you and then I'll let you go even
though I've enjoyed my time with you. Messi. We've all seen the news. Lao Messi and Pessé
J right now, everything that's going on. He's been fined to spend it for two weeks without
pay for going to Saudi Arabia for a commercial deal even though he had permission to do it.
The only thing important here is this situation is fractured. This relationship between PSG
and Messi is fractured. That opens the door on his next move. Barcelona has a lot of money
woes. They are insanely in debt. The only way to even think about Messi going there
is to get money off the books. How bad is it for Barcelona? Can they get Messi there?
Because obviously if they can't get Messi there, this leaves the door open for two places
realistically. Saudi Arabia and MLS. I'm sure lots of people on this side want to hear about
the possibilities of MLS being in place. Talk to us about Barcelona and Messi.
Barcelona as you described, they're in a critical financial situation. They need to somehow get
rid of 200 million euros of salaries for next season in the first team squad. They still
have to figure out a lot of things. You know that next season they're going to move to
La Study Olympic Muenjuik which only has 50 roughly 50,000 seeds instead of the 90 plus
thousand of the Kamnos. They're going to lose a lot of money while the Kamnos gets refurbished.
So it's very complicated for them. I don't see them honestly. I don't see the formula
for bringing back Messi without getting the club in a whole financial is speaking that
could only be ended. If the team, Barcelona is property is owned by its members, the Sofios.
Sofios on the club. Fans on the club. This is what makes Barcelona, Real Madrid, the
Leti club, and Osasuna different than any other club in La Liga because the owners,
the Fethiónados are the owners of the club, the Sofios. But that could get to an end if
Barcelona keep digging deeper in that financial hole and bringing back Messi. I don't see
the point honestly because financially speaking is a nonsense move. But also when it comes
to soccer you have a very young squad. You have a lot of young talent. All the team now,
the 11 players of Barcelona run press that they try to, they're collective and they're
cohesive and Messi would dismantle that and imagine playing with Messi and Lewandowski
together. You wouldn't be the best defensive team to legally Barcelona are today. They
have 11 goals against which is insane in 33, 34 matches. It's insane. But you're right,
where would Messi play? How would they play? I'm sporting wise. I don't think it makes
sense. But if it would be a nice end to an unbelievable career, what's, what are the
options?
Paris and German, we can, we can forget about that. So Barcelona are trying, are scrambling
to find a financial plan to present to La Liga. I know that Messi is in talks with Barcelona
members, try to find a formula. But I don't see that happening. And I see Messi with
just two options. So going to the MLS, going to Miami, we're also the Argentine football
federation, the Afa also has a plan to create a training system in Miami to kind of draw
all the Latin talent that is spread out in North America. And the other option is just
become the next Christian or another moving to Saudi Arabia. And that could happen. He
went there on Monday and had all that issue. But we need to keep an eye on Sergio Busquets
and Jor de Alba's future. Because you know that they're super close friends. Yours,
there's the three of them are super close friends. Messi, every time that he goes back
to Barcelona, has a dinner time with with Jor de Alba and Sergio Busquets. And if Sergio
Busquets next next week announces that he's going to play in Saudi Arabia next season,
you can expect where Leo Messi is going to play. And same if he announces that he's
going to play in the MLS for the next season. So it's going to happen. Whatever the decision
is, it's going to arrive soon. But I would say that Barcelona is almost impossible. If
Messi wants the money, he will go no questions to Saudi Arabia. But if he's still, if he's
still excited about creating something new about having a new experience and living in
a country where he won't have to be just locked down in a golden cage like Saudi Arabia,
he can always come to the stage.
Yeah, very quickly, Sergio Busquets has been linked to Inter Miami in the past. And Cristiano
Ronaldo, per Sky Sports, actually a few days ago, was reported about being unhappy and
wanting to leave Saudi Arabia. So there are pros and cons. I'm sure plenty of people over
here will be keeping an eye on what happens in the Barcelona situation. Alex Parrilla,
my man, it's been an absolute pleasure. You're one of the premier minds in football on this
side of the sphere. So I really appreciate you coming on.
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. Where can people find you? Give us your social media
handles. I'm on Twitter as Alex Parrilla with double L and on Instagram is the same.
But at the 14 Alex Parrilla, 14. These are my two main social media accounts. That's Alex
Parrilla, VSPN, La Liga coverage, premier coverage. So thanks for joining us, my man.
It's that time of year again, where every game counts, where a split second propels a
player to stardom, where the childhood dream of draining the last second shot to win it
becomes reality. It's NBA playoff season. Hey, it's JJ Redick host of the old man in
the three podcast. If you're a diehard hoop head like me, then you know there's no better
time of year than NBA playoffs. Tune in every week as I sit down with stars like Damian
Lillard, Luca Donchich and Kevin Durant. We get real about the inner workings of the
league like when Damian Lillard opened up about his 71 point game or when Paul George
came on to explain why nobody talks trash to Kawhi Leonard. We also unpack top stats,
trends and preview big games across the league. We cover it all without the outlandish takes.
If you're a basketball fan, follow the old men in the three wherever you get your podcast.
You can listen ad free on the Amazon music or wonder app.
Shoot it straight presented by Kamarina, the most awarded tequila. This week's shot, a
lesson on failure from a few sporting legends. All right, one of the most favored teams in
the NBA playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks, they lose to the lowly Miami Heat, a team that
wasn't projected to even be competitive in this series. A team that lost one of their
best players and you have Giannis Ante Docompu, one of the best players in the NBA, fielding
questions in this post game presser and he's up there answering these questions and a reporter
asked Giannis if this season is viewed as a failure.
Marco Jordan played 15 years, one sixth championship. The other nine years was a failure. That's
what you're telling me. It's an old question. There's no failure in sports. You know, there's
good days, bad days, bad days. This made waves around the world. I saw it everywhere. I saw
it on my social media timeline. I saw it on Facebook, saw it on Instagram, TikTok. I even
saw it in Mexican soccer shows down south. They were even talking about it. Many applauded
Giannis and his view. What a great example of not only how to view the sport, but life.
I heard this so many times over. Everybody seemed to have an opinion on it. Hell, Ramadred
had coach Carlo Ancelotti even spoke of it. If you don't believe me, take a listen.
What Giannis said was fantastic. I think 100% the same way as him in sport. You can't talk
about failure and in life, you can't talk about failure. Failure is when you don't try
to do something as well as you can. When you try to do your best, you have a clear conscience
and that's never a failure. Not just in sport, but in life. Carlo Ancelotti said that about
Giannis. Everyone seemed to be enamored with the Greek freaks failure take. I got to admit
it was one of the better answers I've heard about it, but I wasn't so sold and seems
that I wasn't the only one. Shaquille Neil. Yes, the big man Shaq. He even had his own
take on this and TNT's inside the NBA. He's not a failure as a player, but is it a failure
as a season? I would say yes, but also like his explanation, I can understand and respect
his explanation. But for me, when we didn't win, it was always my fault and it was definitely
a failure. That was brilliant. I actually agree with Shaq. I mean, why do we run from
this type of discourse? Failing to achieve something doesn't mean you're a failure. If
you fall short, it does not mean you're a failure. Is it the wording that gets people?
Is that what's going on? Is that what Giannis is taking offense to? Is that what everybody
seems to have a problem with? Failed to live up to expectations does not mean you're a
failure. It doesn't have to be negative. You can embrace failure, embrace in life, live
with knowing you failed, learn from it. Only then can you really succeed. John is even
referenced Michael, Michael Jordan. Yes, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan embraced failure. He
would have been the first one to tell you he failed. How he even made a campaign about
it. If you don't believe me, listen. I failed over and over and over again in my life. And
that is why I succeed. The greatest basketball player of all time in the eyes of many, Michael
Jordan was the first one to say I failed. The only thing wrong with failure is not learning
from it. Remember that. Last week in a vital game for both Toluca and
Necaxa, Toluca needed to win to keep the top four hopes in place so they could avoid
the wild card game, this play and game. And it's Diego Volpi, the Brazilian goalkeeper
stepping up to take a penalty kick versus Necaxa is goalkeeper on goalkeeper crime. And then
this happened. That smooth sound hitting the back of the net was the ball on a panengka
penalty from the Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Volpi of Toluca. Yes, a goalkeeper scoring
a goal. And it was a panenga, the disrespect. I love it. His third goal of the season,
by the way, third goal to Luka ends up in fourth direct play. They don't have to go
to the Red Pachaca, the wild card playing game. They're having a very good season. Diego
Volpi is considered one of the league's best goalkeepers. Pretty score to start goal. And
obviously fans started going crazy. They made memes. This is what they do. And one of
the memes was Diego Volpi and the amount of goals he scored compared to other Mexican
superstars and the little amount of goals they scored. 22 year old de gerez player Diego Linus
of the Mexican national team, zero goals, Chivas 25 year old Alexi's Vega. He's only got three goals.
Chicharito Hernandez of the LA Galaxy. I know he's coming back from injury, but he's got one goal
in the last six months. Roberto de la Rosa and Raoul Lopez. I know you're asking who. And the reason
I bring these two last players up is because they were both with Mexico in their last camp versus
the US Miz national team in Phoenix. So let me explain where I'm going with this. This meme
illustrates just how bad the landscape is for the majority of Mexican goal scores. Why? It's very
difficult for Mexican clubs to really develop and graduate like young goal scores in goal scoring
positions. Teams invest very heavily in foreign players, especially the nine position, because
when you need to invest money to win when pro rail comes into play and you need to win now when
you don't have time to develop and be patient with young players, you go with a proven product.
And normally that's a foreign product. And normally those players who are of quality end up in your
goals course. So the Liga and meckis player, the Mexican player, the domestic product has to wait.
And oftentimes it's not like elsewhere, because when I played in Mexico, when I played in League
of meckis, there was only five foreign players allowed. So Mexican players had lots of opportunities.
And now today you can sign as many as you want. Just don't feel more than eight at one time. So
essentially, if you want to have 15 20, go ahead and have them. You can only play eight at one time.
And this is sad. It's sad because essentially these players are falling by the wayside domestic
players. They don't graduate into first team football despite world titles in the 2005 U17 World Cup
in Peru, Mexico faced up against Brazil, the familiar Brazilian team. And they beat them
three zero in the final and Carlos Vela stepped up and did this.
He was one of those players that graduated into the first team. Back when you didn't have so
many foreign players taking up these important positions, that U17 team was stacked by the way.
They beat Brazil in a final three zero. You had Gio dos Santos, the Mexican international
ex-galaxy player in his prime yet Hector Moreno, who's a four time world cup veteran of Mexican
national team center back right now with Monterey Carlos Vela. I mean, you have world titles at the
U17 World Cup level, two of them. You have two medals Olympic medals at a U23 level, because
that's really Olympic. So you have a gold medal in 2012. And you have just recently,
during the pandemic, a bronze medal in Tokyo, but players now they get to a certain age and they
disappear. They they fall into the Liga of expansion, a best a second division in Mexico. So Liga
Mecces and FMF have a real problem and they need to take action and fast. They need to put a cap on
the amount of foreign talents. They need to be smart about it. Like in the UK, the Premier League
has certain requirements for the foreign players. They need to meet those requirements in order to
gain a work permit. So the Premier League in these requirements, they're not only capping the amount
of foreign players, but the quality of foreign players. So you have stars coming into your league.
You don't just have journey men clogging up the talent pipeline, the domestic pipeline.
And you also need to give these young players a chance to make mistakes, to succeed, because
the talent is there. The raw material waiting to be molded is there. Until then, it's more meme life
and the jokes on you. Do you realize you've put a bit of pressure on the US coaches that comes the
Premier League and they get a little bit for it? I do know that ultimately if American coaches
came into this league and won a whole bunch of games, that would probably go away.
Yeah. Okay. Jason Sudeikis takes a not so subtle shot at Jesse Marsh. Was it warranted? Was he right?
Just when and maybe people won't talk about the Ted Lasso jokes with American coaches?
Well, yeah. Ted Lasso, excuse me. Jason, he is right. If American coaches win more of the obvious
is that perception would change in England for sure. Yeah, I could buy into that. But Jesse Marsh
isn't the only one who feels this way. I mean, do you guys remember when Philly Union head coach
Jim Curtin said Ted Lasso was putting American coaches back like 20 years? Well, guess what?
Our very own Roger Bennett sat down with Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis. That's right. Coach Beard
and Ted Lasso and asked him about Coach Curtin's very comments. Jesse Marsh got hired at Leeds
after Ted Lasso had been out for two seasons already. So his timeline doesn't really jibe.
Secondly, like our show is not about an American soccer coach. Our show is about an American
coach who wins up coaching soccer. He is not the profile of the American soccer coach at all.
So if there's any like American state, that's brilliant. You can catch the rest of that on a
Rogers podcast. Good stuff there. And let's be honest for a second. It's fair. It's brutal,
but it's fair. The British press is very akin to the Mexican press and they're very much
lazy. They go with these narratives. They go with these polemic things like anything to grab a headline.
And oftentimes the easy targets. And one of the easier targets is just Americans in general,
the Yanks. And what they're saying when they referenced Ted Lasso, isn't that American
coaches don't know is that Yanks don't know footy. That's the easy targets for them. The Americans
don't know football and perception is reality. And they've witnessed American ownership groups
like the cronkeys, the 49ers at Leeds, the glazers that united and most recently Todd Boli at Chelsea.
So they have no reason to assume that the American knows football and they have fun with it.
That's where it's rooted. Whether we think it's fair or not, that's where this comes from.
I'm sure the stars of Ted Lasso are tired of hearing their fault for the shortcomings of American
soccer coaches, just like the American soccer coaches are tired of hearing the Ted Lasso jokes.
But the only way this will change, the only way this perception changes is with winning.
The only way American coaches winning, American owners just being successful.
Then these things, these lazy takes, as they say, can't go away. You shouldn't blame a fictional
character for the perception of you not winning. Only then will these jokes go away.
All right, all right, all right, all right. Let's make you some money. Time for drop the bag.
And I've got some good bets for you this week. All across the globe, we're going to Spain,
El Derby Catalan Barcelona versus Español. Listen, we spoke to Alex Pareja. He already told you
Barcelona can clinch the title versus their rivals Español. It's Mexican International
Center, back Cesar Montez and his team Español are in the drop zone. 30 points in 19th place,
and Barcelona have only given up 11 goals all year. It's insane. They're not safe. Barcelona is
also dominated this Derby. The last Español win was like in 2008, 2009 that season. But Español
have tied the last two matchups and they are playing for their lives. So I found a double chance
parlay that's Español win or tie at plus 155. There are some political ties to this Derby.
Barcelona has always been recognized as a Catalan club and Catalunya want to be an independent
sovereign nation. Well, in Español, the fans Español in general want to stay in Spain. They don't want
to become their own independent nation. So there really is this pull, this tug going back and forth
between the Catalanis in that region. So this political tie going on here, it dates back a long
time, but it gets heated. So let's play for a tie plus 155. I will take that. So again, that's
Español or tie double chance at plus 155. Manchester City, the best team in the world right now for
my money versus Leeds United. Oh, it's gotten bad. It's so bad. Leeds has changed coach again.
Leeds is at plus 1200 right now in this game. They're in 17th place with one more point.
Then Raj is lowly Everton who are in 19th place. You can see why they are plus 1200. I found a
little parlay here. This one hurts. I'm not touching Leeds. I'm not going there today. This parlay is
three picks. It's a man city to win. It's both teams to score because Leeds have scored in their last
nine straight. I'll give him that and Julian Alvarez World Cup winner with Argentina. Julian
Alvarez anytime goalscore. Remember he is the backup to Erling Holland. Erling Holland will
surely be rested for the upcoming Champions League game versus Real Madrid. So he'll get his chance.
So I see a man city win both teams to score and Julian Alvarez anytime goalscore and it plays
plus 270 again plus 270 for these three picks. Man City win both to score. Julian Alvarez anytime
goalscore. Good luck Leeds. All right. All right. All right. All right. Lega and Mekis
that's the playing game. It's a wild card game. It's wild card week. Let's go with Atlas versus
Cruz as well. And I want to focus on Julian Quignones who's been absolutely lighting up
Lega Mekis lighting up conca calf the Atlas forward Julian Quignones. He's an anytime goalscore.
I believe that's at plus 250. I don't know why it's so good. The odds the man has scored eight
goals in the last six games eight goals in the last six games. I firmly believe he would have had
a voice or a play in the Golden Boot that essentially Henry Martin of Blue America won. If it wasn't
for his teammate fellow forward Julio Furtz getting red carded in the first like 30 minutes of the
last game. But anyways, he's on a tear anytime goalscore. I will take that bet plus 250. And then
finally you have the Seattle Sounders versus Sporting Kansas City. Seattle is rolling their
top of the West. Nothing new. You guys know how Seattle rolls. Sporting Kansas City on the other
hand, they are terrible. A league worst. A historically bad start. Three points only. Only three goals
scored. Things have been looking worse and worse for Peter Vermees and their men. And they play
against the Seattle Sounders. Well, I mentioned our flying and I want to go with Jordan Morris here
as at anytime goalscore is plus 130. But Jordan Morris has gone cold. Hasn't scored in last four.
Well, we've got the remedy. I know he's been quiet, but he goes off against Casey. In the nine games
that he's played against Sporting Casey, he scored seven goals and two assists scored seven on them.
I like this bet. I think it's going to be another reason for Sporting Kansas City fans to be
upset. I know it's been that kind of season, that kind of year. But Jordan Morris, he'll get back
on the score sheet. And why not play him at Ford against Schmetz? Let the man roll. All right,
producer Juan, he loves turning this into parlay. So if you parlay everything, that's plus 7,495.
If you bet $10 on that, like Juan tends to do, you're going to make $750.50 off of that $10 bet.
Bet wisely, bet responsibly and blame Juan if it doesn't work out. Whether you're a season better
or just starting out, Vamos, we have you covered. And with that, me some egos, we come to an end of
this episode of Vamos presented by Bud Light, easy to drink and easy to enjoy. You can follow me on
my social media handles that's at Hercules G, H-E-R-C-U-L-E-Z-G. Again, at Hercules G, H-E-R-C-U-L-E-Z.
On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, all that good stuff, my friends. So thank you for joining us,
and don't forget, we'll be back every single Thursday. Until then, Vamos.
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