Futbol Americas: Brazil Squad Set! + Pepi Reaches 100 Appearances + Messi and the Fans Beefing?!? + Lewandowski Leaving Barca + Liga MX Final Set

Neymar Junior Santos I think I saw his face That would be the same cheer we would expect anytime we say welcome to football americas tonight show Alejandro Moreno hurt Gomez I am Mauricio Pedrosa that was Carlo Ancelotti announcing to the world that Neymar is back we have a packed show as you would come to expect 24 days away from the start of the world cup a lot of things to touch and troubling paradise for Messi and friends we'll talk about what happened in Miami and exclusive chat with Ricardo Pepe and Ken Robert Lewandowski land in Major League Soccer make sure to download the football americas podcast whatever you download your podcast and let's take a look with Carlo Ancelotti's squad for the World Cup 2026 it was a whole show to announce the squad and this is it the 26 players that will represent Brazil in the World Cup the biggest surprise obviously is the inclusion of Neymar he will be back after almost three years the last time he played for the national team Joe Pedro was shockingly left out of the roster Carlo Ancelotti set the following regarding Neymar we've been evaluating Neymar all year and we've seen that in recent weeks he's played consistently and improved his physical condition we believe he's an important player and he'll be an important player in this World Cup he has the same role and responsibilities as the other 25 players he has the possibility of playing of not playing of being on the bench of coming on it is important not to place all expectations on one player I think we have a shared responsibility as a team and everyone has to give their all using their own qualities for one thing only to help the national team win the World Cup I ask for nothing else I don't want stars I want players who are ready to help the team win games and we have our best team player joining us on football america Gustavo Hoffman ESPN reporter Brazil insider welcome Gustavo the first question obviously about Neymar how big of a surprise was for you and for Brazil that he was included in the final roster hello Mauricio Hercules alle everybody well over the last hours over the last 48 hours there were many reporters reports in Brazil suggesting that Neymar would be called up so about it about the last 24 24 48 hours I would say that was not a surprise to see Neymar on that list but if you if you asked me one week ago two weeks ago one month ago for sure for sure I think that everybody's a little bit surprised because that's the first time carlo and cello calls Neymar for the team he hasn't been called up with carlo and cello that's the first time I think that it's important to say that Neymar is playing for Santos in Brazil over the last month and he hasn't been the Neymar that we were used to see Neymar nowadays he wasn't making the difference in the Brazilian football in the Brazilian championship he of course that he has as he has a huge talent he's a star for Brazil people in Brazil love him people in Brazil I think that most people of Brazil wanted to see Neymar at the World Cup but I think that he has been called by carlo and cello not because of what he has done on the field not because of what he has played for Santos but because of what he what he has already achieved at his career all because of what he has already played at the highest level possible but I think that's really important to say that Neymar wasn't making the difference in the Brazilian football so it was a little bit surprised for everybody but over the last 48 hours as I said there were many many reports suggesting that he would be on that list what do you think Eric why was he called up well he's called up because what he means for brazil he's called up because at some point in time they understand that maybe they're gonna need some creativity maybe they're gonna need a moment of magic maybe they're gonna need somebody to step up because they know the game is going into penalty kicks maybe they're gonna need that leadership Gustavo was right it's not because of his current moment it's because of what he means for that country who he is for that country what he's done for that country has very little to do with who he is today on the field but again if you're carlo and cellotti you weigh what can he give me in terms of leadership what can he give me in terms of guidance what can he give me in terms of mentorship and if I need something on the field if there's a moment of magic can he unlock something on a set piece can he look something with that creativity can he give us something going forward he's one of 26 he said it himself he's probably not going to be a starter he may be a starter may not be a starter most likely won't be but if you need him in a pinch he could be of use you're asking this rhetorical questions uh from carlo and cellotti's perspective as to what can he bring or why can a mar bring in terms of leadership and mentorship I'll ask you the question what can he bring in terms of leadership and mentorship because that hasn't been a strength of neymar in his career at club level it hasn't been the case and it certainly hasn't been the case has of late either so you you answer the question what can he bring in terms of leadership and mentorship I think you could see by the way the players speak about him joel pedro days ago when they asked who would you like to go I'd like to see name well um you just mentioned joel pedro one second neymar has a spot in this national team joel pedro does no so maybe joel pedro didn't need to say that to begin with well maybe he didn't but he did but you're asking me what he can bring there there's a crew there's a long list of these young players who look up to neymar who idolize neymar and I don't think carlo and cellotti's the type to just give something out he wouldn't bring neymar if he didn't think he could provide something so if you're asking me hypothetically what ancelotti is thinking I think he's thinking that I think he's thinking not only the mentorship the leadership but in a moment of crisis within a game a moment of magic I think carlo and cellotti is a very smart individual an incredibly smart individual who has been around this game for a long long time and he knows full well as dos gustavo and really all of us that have been talking about this subject for seemingly the last six months eight out of ten articles in the Brazilian media over the last six months have been about the same thing is neymar going to be part of the world cup is he going to be in the team is he not going to be in the team what is what is carlo and cellotti thinking what is he going to do it all surrounds neymar so in my estimation this is far more of a political decision by carlo and cellotti than a sporting decision by carlo and cellotti he is kicking this can down the road so I named the team neymar is part of the team we no longer have to talk about this there will be no questions as to what he needs to answer regarding what neymar whether neymar is on the team or not on the team he is and so now you allow yourself sometime if you're carlo and cellotti to assess the player very closely and to and then figure out can he really help me can he not help me he's already made the statement his role is not going to be hey I don't know starter he may come off the bench he may know this is not about superstar but what I have said all along and I've been very consistent about this not not from the perspective of carlo and cellotti from my perspective if I were carlo and cellotti if this were a sporting decision there is no doubt in my mind that this player does not deserve to be part of this world cup national team for Brazil he does not in terms of what he has done as of now if it is a lifetime achievement award so be it we can go ahead and do that you just said that carlo and cellotti doesn't just hand things he just handed something to neymar because neymar did not deserve to make this team let me ask gustavo because of what you said gustavo if carlo and cellotti hadn't called neymar up to the left to the national team what do you think would have been the reaction from the brazil media from the brazilian fans if an cellotti would have said no neymar for the world cup it would be a nightmare for sure it would be all about neymar out of the squad it would be everything again like happened in 2002 when romario was left out of the squad and then over the last days we were talking a lot about that comparing the situations you know what happened to romario in 2022 and what could happen to neymar now so for sure I definitely understand what ali is saying I don't think neymar is a leader I think that he can be a technical leader because of what he he can play but he's not a leader of this team definitely he's not a leader of this team but yes he's an idol for many many young players many players like vinesus jr vinesus has neymar as an idol and I'd like also to to remind everybody that brazil lost in the the last weeks two probable starters rodrigo and stevan so there were spots available on this team rodrigo and stevan would probably be starters in the world cup and ancelot was trying a team with rodrigo on the left vinesus as a as a center forward matos kuhn matos kuhn or hafin hafin of course would be the the start and stevan on the right so there were some spots jon pedro said that he wanted to see neymar neymar probably got the spot that would be for jon pedro but it would really be a nightmare if neymar wouldn't be in the squad the star was today the reports would be everything about neymar out you know just really I think we're not giving carlo and celote enough credit here I think it's going to be more of a nightmare forum now answering questions because now you have a player like neymar and I'm not discounting what you're saying about neymar being a distraction if you will but the moment you choose neymar the questions now in the world cup every single game are going to go back to neymar so you could have gone down the easy road and you have to say to yourself is it worth it because every single time that we play and neymar doesn't play there's going to be a neymar question if we lose there's going to be a neymar question so I have to think I have to think I have to assume that as political as it may be I'll let he's weighing the pros and cons here and he sees neymar being part of a group to slightly above it being a con because you're going to have to answer questions about neymar every single game herk let me just tell you if you're going to try to present a case for neymar being in this world cup it cannot be a sporting case it cannot he has done nothing over the last six months to a year to warrant this call up to the national team so so if you cannot then make a sporting case then what is the other reason sporting just gave you a sporting case there's going to be moments on the field when you need a player of his creativity a presence there may be a moment where they're going into a penalty kick shootout where you know a neymar could handle that type of pressure okay wait you watch neymar play over the last six months you tell me if that player is at the level of the Brazilian national team that's that and I say yes or no of this pool of players of this pool of Brazilian players I think you could use a neymar okay use that so so so who who who does he play in front of he just played in front of Joao Pedro that's what I'm trying to tell you I don't see any rational explanation I'm not saying you're entirely wrong on his level I'm just saying I don't care if you think I'm wrong or not Hercules I'm I'm asking you I'm asking is this player is this player worthy of a call up given his performances that's a simple question he's got six goals in the last what 1314 games oh boy and you can only like that what hold on you could only play who's in front of you so you're asking me I am telling you in this world cup if you guys are trying to tell me he won't play I'm not buying it I guarantee you in that group he's going to play against Haiti and he may even do something of worth versus Haiti and all of a sudden it's going to get louder and louder for Neymar to play more that's a good segue because I wanted to ask Gustavo as well with Neymar as a part of the team but also you have Vini you have Rafinha I have I'm going to do two quick questions just the first one answered real quick and then expand on the second who's going to wear the historic number 10 jersey for Brazil in the world cup that's number one and number two who will Carlo and Chilodi bail the steam around for the world cup that's starting in less than four weeks answering number one Neymar for sure Neymar there's I think that there's no doubt about it it will be Neymar because of his his history with the Brazilian national team answering number two now I think that nobody really knows what's going to happen because I think that the pressure was on Carlo and Chilodi to make the decision to to leave Neymar in Brazil or to take him to to the States he took the decision to go with Neymar okay I think that now the pressure is on Neymar to be fit to be ready for the world cup and so we're going to see how Carlo and Chilodi handle this situation in the next weeks when the team after the team presentation in Terezopolis it's gonna be May 27 so from that point on to the world cup I think that we're gonna we need to see how how how fit will be Neymar how fit will be Neymar and how Carlo and Chilodi will handle this situation because as I said and everybody knows Neymar is the first time that Carlo and Chilodi calls Neymar for the national team so I cannot say today that the team will be built around Neymar it would be something that I can't even imagine nowadays when I project the team for the world cup after the exits of Rodrigo and and Steven I want to see if Vinny Juni will play a center forward or on the left who's gonna be they started on the on the right Afinha will be playing on the right or in the center with Matheus Cunha or not and Neymar will he be a starter I don't think so is he gonna he's gonna be fit that's the main discussion now in Brazil because Neymar okay he proved that he could have some sequence of games he has he has been playing for Santos but not in the level that we always expected so now he's gonna he's he needs to prove himself to carl Ancelot on the training so it's it's not clear who carl Ancelotti sees as the player that he should be building around and there's really very little time to work on that before the start of the world cup but Ali if you if you have to point at one player the carl and childe right now is thinking okay if things goes out things are wrong I can rely on this player that the rest of the team will follow so it hasn't been Vinny Jr and it won't be Vinny Jr and so you you're looking for maturity you're looking for a guy who who can take on that responsibility and who I believe has the trust of the players in this group and I believe that player has to be Rafinha now Rafinha on his talent level alone is not going to be enough for Brazil to go on and win this world cup but I do think that if we're looking for leaders of this team he's got to be at the forefront of that and he's got to be an angular piece to the success of this group but if you are given that responsibility to Rafinha it's because this team is going to play an entirely different style than what we're used to when he comes to Brazil it cannot be built around Neymar because right now Neymar is not good enough to do that has proven to be good enough to do that at Santos certainly not good enough to do that for Brazil at the world cup now if you watch Brazil play as of late they have become a version of what Real Madrid was late with Carlo Ancelotti and how they went on to win Champions League with Carlo Ancelotti in his latter years with Real Madrid a counter attacking team a team that is going to absorb pressure and in the latter stages of the competition that's how they are more than likely or more likely to go and beat bigger teams give them the ball we'll absorb pressure and we'll get on the counter and that's when it's important to have any that's when it's important to have Rafinha that's when you need the legs of those players this Brazilian team is not a jogo bonito sort of Brazilian team it's not the scratch duoro it's not a salisson no no no no no no it is not this is a different version and so again i go back to my initial question if it's a sporting decision if it's a sporting decision and you're thinking about the latter stages of this competition Neymar doesn't match the needs and wants of your national team and what you have done and how you have built this national team if you are Carlo Ancelotti bottom line with the inclusion of Neymar in this in this group Brazil is neither more likely or less likely to win the world cup before the announcement he doesn't make them less less likely to win it or more likely to win it i don't think he tips the scales one way or another because i don't think right now at this point in his career he is the player that he once was Gustavo just told us he's not making a difference for Santos what makes us think that he's going to make a difference for Brazil in the world cup in a quarter final match maybe maybe he takes a penalty maybe that's his role maybe coming out late and maybe maybe but these are maybe's that we have an answer and more importantly he has an answer not not me not you not us he has an answer on the field yeah i'll tell you who has an answer on the field Rafinha for Brazil Vinny Jr for Brazil Enric for Brazil we can go down the list of players who have been no shows for Brazil so much so that a center back like Marquinhos has more goals than all these players i've named combined for the brazilian national team that is the brazil of today Hercules would you start Neymar in the world cup i didn't say that no but nobody's saying that that's probably nobody's saying that no but no but if you're suggesting if you're just going to name that Vinny hasn't scored and Rafinha hasn't scored and Hendrick hasn't scored and this guy hasn't scored is because then then then then the next evolution is well Neymar is the all-time leading goalscorer in brazil so yes by that logic then okay should he be starting that plays a factor to why he's here is what i'm trying to tell you nobody's saying he's going to start but if we're trying to presume that there is some logic in carlo ancelotti's decision that would be it is that the weak player pool plus somebody who can you can maybe count on in a pinch is of enough of a factor where i agree with Adelaide it doesn't sway one way or the other if he's in the roster then maybe that's a deciding factor you know who could have scored a lot who has been scoring as of late João Pedro and he's not a part of this team that was one of the questions i want can i just ask what can i just say one one more thing because we're focusing on the attacking part of this team yeah if you want to have a concern about brazil don't you worry about Neymar don't worry about the absence of Pedro worry about that minfield we'll get there we'll go lord jesus trust me we are going to lord jesus uh carlo ancelotti was asked regarding the absence of joao pedro from chelsea who's really had a very good season and ancelotti said i understand that people say european soccer is different but it's more intense but we have to take many things into account as we've said before playing soccer here is very complicated a grueling schedule travel the heat it is hard to compare and i don't know if that answered the question gustavo were you shocked by the absence of joao pedro and what do you make of ancelotti's explanation well i think that as he took the decision to take Neymar he needed to to left to leave someone someone out and the one who who left the spot for Neymar was João Pedro so i really i was really not surprised to see João Pedro out and maybe because he's a center forward and i think that he lost the position also because of the momentum of Igor Thiago uh if if you ask it for in brazil one year ago if he ever knew Igor Thiago nobody knows him in brazil nobody knows him two years ago two years ago Mauricio i was i was having an interview with Igor Thiago for our international football podcast in ESPN brazil when he he was hired by bruj after leaving ludogorez in bulgaria so i think that there are Igor Thiago he was he made he turned the point for brazil in the last one year playing a high level in the premier league and he got the spot i think that over the last two three matches João Pedro i think that as i said ancelotti had to leave someone out and he took the decision to leave uh to leave João Pedro Hayan is another surprise because one year ago two years ago he was a teenager he's still a teenager and now he's playing the premier league for bornmouth in brazil he played a few matches with vasco and then left the country so i think that well i i don't think that the the the forwards are the problem for brazil as Erkul said i think that we can talk about the midfield and we can talk also about the full backs on the right for example militão would be the starter for brazil playing under as a fullback on the right so i think that brazil has some problems in the defense and also in the midfield with the lack of maybe a like a little bit of lack of talent in the midfielders and also the full backs okay let's let's say with ad gustavo because even if you go to the goki preposition ederson had even past the last part of the season horrendous time uh with fender bache alison missed a lot of games because of injury even though he was the regular starter for the national team so you can count the goalkeeper center backs full backs midfielders if you have to name just the one spot where you think brazil is the most vulnerable what part of the field would that be full backs for me full backs definitely i think that on the left dola santos and alex santos alex santos are good players but that's it not more than that and on the right you have wasley a very young and talented player who's now playing for roma but with no experience international really international experience and then ilo the veteran center and also full back all right we'll reconnect we will reconnect with gustavo in just a second we had the chance to see brazil live when they play friends uh in massachusetts and i was going to ask you this because when we were watching the game and we saw the french players they immediately pop in front of you in front of your eyes it's seeing olise shirky it is like what what am i watching yeah did you have that kind of feeling with any of the brazilian players we saw during that very same game only in the second half and that was with the player who's not very well known luigi enrique when he came on i thought he made a difference but there was that type of game that you're thinking when is brazil going to show you that they're brazil and when you look at the outside backs i completely agree this is a team that it's a far cry from what you once had roberto carlos ocafu or marcello adani alves to what you have today with the ball and defending where the most dangerous players in this world cup are going to come from outside positions those wingers if you will those creative players that come from the outside in this is a team right now that is a far cry from that dna they once had even if they will be that transition team that can be vulnerable defensively what uh what kind of nightmares could garlo enchilote have when trying to come up with the starting 11 i think while the fullbacks are an area of weakness for this national team at least you have well defined who is that is going to play there they're not the best options but they're the best options available right now to brazil now that speaks to the lack of talent and there i say the lack of talent for brazil which is even when i say it i i feel a little cringy saying it but that's you just mentioned in watching friends is what are we watching here i can say the same thing the same expression when i see brazil what are we watching yeah just just your facial expression changes right yeah well who's that guy and who's that guy right and so the fullbacks are a problem yes but as i mentioned earlier if indeed you're going to play this transition game that i that i spoke about then you have to have a presence in the midfield where you're able to press the ball together so that you can force a turnover and then you can get out and transition i look at that midfield line and i'm thinking men we're still depending on lucas paqueta and and and and so it's going to have to be like bruno guimará is and casemiro and and those are the numbers because if you look at how this team is is put together it's like it's a four two four kind of thing and the outside players in the attack are going to have to track back and help out and whoever plays through the middle so it's also going to have to track back and you're thinking who are those personalities that are going to do that naturally for you it doesn't seem to match up i think they're shorter numbers in the midfield i think obviously they're shorter numbers in the fullback position the center back position you know we talk about marquinhos and some people because of some of the moments that he has had at psg you're thinking man this guy's own special i'm saying this is marquinhos on the other side of his career on the back side of his career in which he can get exposed because at times he likes the speed and so it is easy to focus on the front end of brazil and that's where most of the players have been called called up in the front end of brazil the concern for me for brazil are midfield backline goalkeeper and you need all those three lines to be working at a high level in order to pretend to get to the latter stages of this competition i think this team is vulnerable especially since one of the players we saw that i thought did very well in the cladding against france was casemito but casemito is 34 years of age and you're gonna if you plan to go far it's another game instead of seven it'll be eight games to the final a game every three four days for a player that age in the climates that he will be playing in with the travel it could be asking for a lot to expect them to play every single game and hold up physically gustavo before we let you go i know today's uh name our news gave the brazilian fans a boost of optimism much needed boost of optimism but with all being said the whole breakdown of the squad what is real expectations for brazil during the world cup maricio well the expectation in brazil is always to win the world cup always i think that the fans in brazil the the most fans are in brazil they really believe that brazil will win the world cup but i think that when you we talk a little bit to people who really follow the national team who work with talker i don't well i don't see brazil as one of the two or three best teams in the world now of course brazil is not one of the main favorites for the world cup but if you ask me about the expectation in brazil it's always to win the world cup and this is the kind of pressure that that caron chelote will take with him can i just throw something out there in the table for your consumption this is factual information it's not even it's not opinion it's not a matter of thought or opinion coming from me brazil and you know i love me some venezuela right yeah i love me some vino tinto man i believe vino tinto and i'm passionate about the vino tinto this version of brazil that we're talking about potentially in the latter stages of the competition and maybe the expectations are for them to win the world cup this version of brazil did not beat venezuela and world cup qualifiers did not they drew both games now i love me some venezuela but if that's the standard that brazil is playing at right now and that's what we have seen from them and it's what we saw from them for the most part during world cup qualifiers in in south america winning the world cup is never never never in the cards for this version of brazil and i mean never because that would suggest that venezuela is at that level and let me just tell you as much as i love venezuela we are not at that level and that not gustavo that that's the way we say obrigado and thank you for joining us i mean i don't know what else to add it so it's all being said but i don't know but it all honesty is wearing the vino tinto as well yes vino said vino said gustavo thank you so much thank you so much for staying up with us and uh we'll be talking to you very soon uh football americas and every other platform because you're everywhere my friend thank you gustavo obrigado thank you always a pleasure gustavo hofman our espn reporter brazil insider speaking of neymar in case you missed this he was playing over the weekend he was getting some treatment but then the fourth official displayed his number as he was going to be subbed out that was not part of the plan and the other player actually stepped into the field so it was official and neymar was not let's back into the field he even he had receipts he had receipts to prove it he's got the actual substitute card right there he's showing him that's not me how does this happen at this level island he never happened to you well can i may also say and just again just to provide some context the player that was supposed to come in that was on that substitution card was number 31 number 31 was supposed to come in or come off how do you go from 31 to 10 look at it and say yeah we'll put up 10 yeah you got 31 and 10 and you were somehow you from 31 you go to 10 i look i'm i haven't sometimes i come across as somebody who doesn't like neymar i don't mind no nobody thinks i don't mind i just don't think he deserves to be in this national team but that's a different conversation right i don't mind neymar but in this particular occasion i understand why he would be frustrated right and i i get it and if i had receipts i will probably show it as well and say this idiot somehow confused 31 for 10 and now i'm off the field that was actually going to be the last minutes that neymar would have had to show carlton cellotti well he would fit enough he didn't need those minutes anyway that happened for more soccer breakdown from around the world remember to catch the gavin jewels show i was actually listening to the latest episode so basically you're from majesty city so basically you listen to gavin very interesting available on espn spot center and apple podcasts now you can check if you already have espn unlimited as part of your tv package for no additional calls visit activate dot espn dot com to learn how to access your account or sign up then start streaming in the espn app so all the espn all in one place sign up or activate now brian ricardo pepi scored for the third fifth game in a row that's his 100th appearance with psv three full seasons his team comfortably won the league el tren pepi just sat down for this exclusive chat with espn if you have to rate the season so far for yourself on a scale from one to ten what would you give it i will give it i will give it a solid eight nine to be honest i feel like it's been a pretty decent season even though all the injuries because i i can guess that's the one or two points that you take off the test definitely the one or two points that are missing from the ten of course but you know it's part of the game part of football and you know it's part of what i do yeah what makes it eight or nine yeah i feel like you know i just been efficient the whole season to be honest you know i've had a good amount of goals you know i've been able to help the team as much as i can you know when i'm on the pitch i feel like you know i've been scoring goals i've been playing good so i think it's been a pretty decent season if i if i can tell yeah to be honest with you i think you're one of the best strikers that has been playing in a netlands that has not been a starter yeah how does that feel for you yeah you know it's a little bit of mixed feelings of course because you know it's uh you know you always want to play as a starter of course you know but it always takes time it always you know you have to have to earn your spot of course and i feel like you know like i've said i've i've done that sometimes this year you know i've been able to start i've been able to play way more minutes than i did the last two years so you know it's been great it's been a learning experiences and you know it's been good it's been good overall yeah there's always two type of persons when they're on the bench the one that gets crumpy and the one that's calling the coach every day and saying or maybe maybe even talks to the media about it or you have the other one and that's the part i think you are in the one that that still can say it's a good season i have to earn my spot is that is that just your personality does it have does it have anything to do with you as an american maybe yeah it could be it could be you know i mean just the way i've been taught ever since being a young kid that you know my parents always tell me just work hard no matter what you know and everything's gonna be okay um i feel like you know i wouldn't say that i don't get mad or i don't get upset of course but i always keep my cool i always try to do the best that i can for the next game and prepare myself so you know i feel like it's the right balance of you know just being a little bit upset but using that as motivation at the same time nice your your nickname in in in the states was el tren the train um i think in in groningen they also called you that did i call you an eindhoven as well yeah you know a lot of people do here maybe they don't call me as much but they definitely use the emoji as well so you know whenever they make a pose or you know whenever people see me here at the club then you know they use the tren of course um yeah it's just a nickname that stuck with me ever since i was at fc dalis to be honest yeah well why why did you get the nickname el tren i've heard so many different stories you know but based on what i understood when i was young uh it was just kind of like a hype train that you know dalis fans gave me a little bit and so they just decided to call me el tren because you know i'm part mexican as well so i think it just sounds better in spanish yeah el tren el tren the hype train um if we're talking about trains and stations uh you're now at station eindhoven do you think this will be your end station in in edland you know it's too it's too quick for me to be to be able to say that of course you know it's uh at the moment i have one more game that you know coming up with with psv is probably the final game of the season of course and you know i have a world cup coming up so you know we're gonna see what happens you know i'm just really focused on finishing the season strong here and looking forward to the world cup hopefully that i can get an opportunity and you know we'll see what happens from there yeah how hard was it for you to to uh see that next station already maybe you went already to london uh you come there you already feel like okay this is going to be my new home and then all of a sudden on the last moment the deal's canceled how do i feel for you yeah difficult i would say you know it's uh it's definitely a hard moment of course you know it's all about emotions you know as a player you want to you want new experiences of course and you know you feel so close to it but yet so far away so it's just about just being able to manage the emotions of course it was a difficult moment but you know i feel like at the end i used it as you know good energy good motivation to be able to continue my season here and you know score more goals for the team yeah but it's also a crazy part of football especially in in the states when you see the the draft uh for example or trade system you have there you're kind of like just a puppet how does that feel as a football player in europe yeah it's difficult of course it's difficult you know it's uh i say a little bit more controlled than it is in the states of course you know in the states anytime you can just get traded to another team so you know that's also a very difficult thing to deal with but i feel like here you know being so close to to making a transfer and then it doesn't happen you know it's like i said it's a roller coaster of emotions but you know it's all about staying stable and you know having you know having that balance in your life yeah how hard is it to keep that balance there's a world cup coming up um there's already trade rumors there will always be trade rumors around strikers that make goals uh do you try to um keep those trade rumors away from the world cup and just talk about it after the world cup or are there already things going on before the world no to be honest i always just try to focus on what's coming up you know and like i said you know i have one more game coming up here and hopefully i get an opportunity at the world cup so then you know whatever happens before that i'm not really focused on you know i'm just really focused on finishing the season strong and looking forward to see if i can get an opportunity do you tell your manager i don't want to hear anything about it yeah 100% okay 100% but what if you score three four five goals at the right time you know then that changes a little bit of course you know but i still tell him you know like at the end of the at the end of the world cup you know at the end of the season then if we have the right time you know we will find the right time to be able to talk about those things but let me just focus and let me just finish the season strong it's full of still an option though uh you know i can't really talk about that at the moment it's just you know just really focus on what's coming up yeah a hard no could also be an option yeah it could also be an option yeah but it's not it's not it's not okay um if you would have to choose a country to go to because it's always about opportunities but if you had all the opportunities beforehand would you definitely go for the Premier League yeah i feel like you know there's a couple leagues that i definitely see my game you know fitting fitting well into i've said like the Premier League is always a dream come true to to every single player i feel like every player wants to play in the prime of course being the best league in the world but you know i'm open to to a lot of competitions so you know hopefully it's a top five competition of course i feel like that's the next step for me but you know like i said i'm just really focused on what's coming up next yeah well that was an interesting deposition that Ricardo Pepi was put against the wall all the hard questions he answered them all the proper way but i mean she was asking the right questions he was not always a starter for this club but whenever he had a chance to play he delivered he scored has he outgrown the other the bcpsv at this point ah you're right okay it's just you'd love to see him as a consistent starter and i'd love to sit here and say well he wasn't a consistent starter because of the injuries but we will never know what we do know is Ricardo Pepi has a penchant for being on the field and scoring a goal he gets himself into great positions and he puts the ball away how that translates from the era de visi to a league like the premier league or another top five league in the world i do not know i i think he's a player that is just in between he's in between in how he uses his body how he combines but he's a finisher and he's a true finisher i don't know if i see him in a league like a premier league where he is thriving but i do think there is a level in the top five league in the world where Ricardo Pepi can find consistently a way to score goals i would have loved to see him do that at the area de visi for a whole season healthy as a starter to see how that can translate and right now we don't know what a backhand accompaniment he received there from the interviewer you're the best substitute there is really making a difference coming up congrats to the 12th men award yeah congrats on that guy that doesn't doesn't really earn a starting spot consistently but you really make a difference off the bench and but as a backhand accompaniment as that might have been it is indeed the way that you describe his career at psv and it's uh whether we'd like to look at it from that perspective or not is a guy that yeah coming off the bench has proven to be a player that gets on the end of things and gets opportunities and more importantly puts those opportunities into the back of the net which is exactly the same role that he's going to have with the united statesmen's national team come the world cup now as he pertains to his club career the natural evolution would suggest that first you become a consistent starter wherever your club may be in this case psv and then you grow from that consistency of performances you evolve into whatever the next phase may be we have seen many a player from the area of the vc that are well-established players that are out and out starters that then they go on to the next phase whatever that may be certainly the premier league seems to be what he's focusing on and those players have a difficult difficult time sorting out their time in the premier league it was a different time in his life rickardo beppy had an opportunity in the bundesliga which is not the premier league and again i qualify that coming by saying that it was a different time in his life and he was younger and not as mature and his game hadn't evolved nearly as much as he has now but that didn't seem to work out or match any of the attributes that he brings on the field and so it's a leap of faith now if i'm rickardo beppy i'm taking the leap of faith because i'm banking on myself i'm believing on myself this leap of faith would be on whoever and whatever the club may be on the other side that's saying this is our guy reportedly fulham has been fulham for a while we have discussed that many a time in this show but it's a leap of faith and a risk from those from that club whatever that club may be to think that this is going to be the guy and the answer for you just go on to what al is saying that leap of faith of rickardo peppy wanted to bank on himself a club like fulham was willing to do a record transfer fee for a player like rickardo peppy so that leap of faith goes two ways so he has that going for himself and certainly a good world cup whether off the bench or not can do wonders for that transfer market in his future but i'm with alie you would have loved to see that body of work leading up into this moment yeah and he will have as alice said maybe that kind of a same role the next weeks once he's called by mauricio pochettino and play for the national team in the world cup um let's run it back let's stay with rickardo peppy as i said before fifth game in a row scoring hurt this is his 16th goal of the season for the champions psv yeah as the reporter said leading goal scorer of the club while not being a consistent starter but he backs another goal adic you believe this is antony rovinson's first goal in the premier league it came from the spot against wolves why what i cannot believe is that we're showing a full penalty kick is not taken by raul Jimenez good lord we have done that enough here only conca cap penalty takers wasn't on the field awesome trusty is a game league champion with oh sorry christian ballistic first fourth assist for millen this season okay that's half of what he had last year you're bearing the lead he finally got a goal contribution it's his second of the year this is good this is good fourth assist we are highlighting fourth assist of the year what about this trusty again league champion with selting but at what cost literally breaking hearts around the world thank you thank you thank you sorry to a good pal mark donaldson this was i mean yeah this was not off i thought it was offside at first but second play it was a dramatic finish in the scottish premiership selting win the title again hearts they led the league for most of the year they had this final chance in one of the most incredible stories of the current football season in europe but good for us and trusty winning another league herc yes and trusty gets the game or some wins the league with uh selting and maybe find himself with the opportunity comes the champion or not you get it too well there you go uh and that's a great news for the usmen's national team let's start with brandon erinston substituted after 59 minutes with what his manager called a dead leg former pro players what is a dead leg it's a contusion well a dead leg is something that you can treat and you'll be fine with his manager come the world cup if it's a left knee injury that's a different conversation a dead leg is a it's a muscle contusion that it's treatable and he'd be fine what about an ankle injury this is what happened to chris richards his match against brand fort oh boy he needed to be assisted off the field with an ankle injury yeah he would come back on certainly we have to see once the adrenaline wears off where he's at chris the palace has a few big games coming up espn fc catch the show every single day right here on espm plus all right a lot going on with inter miami seems like a regular thing to say but especially let's start with the game the actual game miami face important 31st minute rizuarez to telas co segovia and then mesi takes it home miami is leading one i do not know if segovia meant to do that sweet little back heel great finish your anti-venezuelan i definitely try to do this what an assist for herman vertebrae beautiful combination then this one from messing tight spaces attracts all the attention lays it off to vertebrae i mean at this point you're saying herman please please put this into the back of the net and he certainly does that to nothing it's called the season for yeah it's uh will he be a part of the mexican national team we're about to find out and this is a great save by james pantomous mesi with a free kick it's two nil the win for each of my enemies lightly getting double u at home but what what take a look at what happened during the game the fans started chanting something to the tone of players you gotta come and say hi you haven't approached us in the last games mesi with a reaction that maybe leads to think that he was not pleased with what the crowd was chanting in the end waving at some other part this is from this official supporters group called la familia there's another clip where leo mesi pulls his own players yeah and basically tells him not to go to where la familia is because it's a it's a common thing to do for players to go where the supporter group is say thank you gracias for the support is this i mean what is going on here between inter miami mesi and the fans it's just another disconnect between this club and and i would say it's fan base but i think major league soccer fan bases how they feel they are above certain things and i'm not saying the players have to go and acknowledge i'm not saying mesi has to go acknowledge la familia the supporters group or rodrigo the paul has to acknowledge a luiz suarez but this is i think an immediate reaction to by the way the first game they won yeah their new stadium was this game and this fan base have been there not only all the other games they've not won supporting singing chanting but years before there was a mesi before there was a suarez before there was a rodrigo the paul and they feel connected to the club they want to feel acknowledged they want to feel heard and they think that maybe some of these idols are checked out once the 90 minute hits that they send the young kids to go do the pressers that they act above and there would probably be people out there to tell you what they are above mesi is above this club suarez is above this fan base or the group paul is above this and that they just want acknowledgement they want to feel heard and part of this story and they don't i understand mesi being frustrated and i'll concentrate on mesi i understand mesi being frustrated as a what are you are you seriously saying this to me i'm part of this team this is you're going to say this to me after i've given you everything i understand that part i don't understand rodrigo the paul i don't understand luiz suarez these are two players that maybe feel they are above this but in rodrigo the paul's case he's been bang average in major league soccer and just along for the ride with mesi so if i'm the fan base here i feel slighted sure should you be slighted at mesi probably not this is this is so easily addressed so easily resolved if you have a club and a front office that actually have something about them that can control the behavior of the players which front offices should be able to do and communicate with the players and say listen you have a meeting with them now monday morning before they go out to training for that week and you say listen when we play at home and we finish the game regardless of what happens in the game you must go and acknowledge the fans that is a mandate that comes up comes down from the ownership and is for you to go and execute it as part of you being a player for this club and it doesn't take much it doesn't take much it doesn't take much for getting messy for rodrigo the paul for luiz suarez for noah allen for anybody in this club to go and just give it one of these and then we move on with our lives you may not mean it you may not be fully engaged but just just walk 10 yards from the middle of midfield 10 yards towards the fans maybe 15 make it 18 and then just a little clap and then you move on it's a mandate that can come down from ownership is a mandate that can come down from the front office you address it with the players and and you present it as such it doesn't take much we're not asking for much here we're this is not a this is not a a thousand items autograph session that you have to attend to now you're not taking pictures with anybody you're not having to do this that or the other you're just acknowledging this group of people in fact how about you make it a global thing and then once you acknowledge these people then you kind of give it one of these give it one of that and then walk away it takes less than three minutes to be able to do that if players are not willing to do that then you have a bigger problem you have a cultural issue in your club and players may very well be above mls never mind the club mess is above major league soccer yeah 100% yeah he's above major league soccer but you tell him you you you don't have to force him to do it you reason who who who tells him ownership ownership mass well my brothers do you honestly i mean and this is it's not our it's not a rhetorical question do you guys honestly believe that Jorge Mass and David Beckham will take the fans side on this topic well to Ali's point this isn't something unreasonable like it is not it is not a reasonable it's not even it's not even like i'm taking the position of the fan it's quite honestly just common sense like you could sit down and talk to messy fans are irrational we know this but they idolize you and all they want from you is acknowledgement of their existence and i am not of the vein of the fan pays your paycheck i am not of that veins you get you buy a ticket it does not give you the liberty to demand to to yell to aparex to heal a certain type of thing but if you are somebody of messy stature this is so far beneath you it should be like of course of course i'll do that of course i'll do that i don't think it's too much of an ask especially for the headlines that this is getting you know like you could think it's stupid and we're talking about it here but it's not just that we're talking about it here this is being this is headlines elsewhere especially because it's probably the first time in 20 plus years of professional career from Lionel Messi that we have heard of a disconnect between messy and a group of fans and a group of supporters psg psg was a little different it's not that he was disconnected with the fans it was just he hated being there but you can never question his commitment to the club in general and acknowledging the fans thanking the fans for the support is part of being committed to a club which leads me again to question is this the last word seen from Messi at Inter Miami after the World Cup or after this year finishes maybe so he doesn't feel a part of that anymore maybe not but he is tied to this league essentially as an investor and and and so a lot of which brings a different conversation yes and so how whatever direction this league takes post-messy is going to affect him so look if all it takes is for you to wave smile wave and smile then it's not I don't think this is Jorge Mas or David Beckham taking the side of the fans is as much as it is we're all in this together right we're all in this together and and and while you are the central figure to what everything that has happened and will happen at Inter Miami for the foreseeable future you're also a reference point and there is a certain responsibility that comes with that so reason with Leonardo Messi and say it takes a couple minutes and it's gonna it's gonna save you me you know what if I'm the owner I said fine you know you don't want to do it for the fans then do it for me just as a favor to me of course and and and you presented like that but yeah I've done I've done everything that I could to make your life as easy and convenient as possible here at Inter Miami and you in turn have provided us with so much success on the field but as a favor to me can you just go and do this I don't think it's a it's unreasonable at all Ali I'll go back to what you just said about maybe being a cultural like the culture at the club to me that's the bigger issue here yeah and it goes you mentioned front office from the way they handle media to pulling credentials to the way they treat their fans to the way players feel they are above not only their team but the league and choose what media to do and what not to do choose to send the kids to go out and talk to the public after they lose to their rival after winning by three goals which are sorry to interrupt you heard which I think is connected to this that's what I'm saying yes that's the bigger issue and that and that I think the fans see that it's no island that is thrown out there in in front of the media to answer questions and they're kind of like okay this is great but we need to hear from the others and that also generates a connection of course and they refuse to do that too yeah no I agree 100% with you so I think it's it goes much deeper than hey you didn't say hi to us that this is the fans saying hey maybe for you this is a stop in your tray station but this is my home yeah this is a club I chose it will say a lot whether Messi addresses this or not either way it will say a lot of how Messi right now persists stands on Major League Soccer and Inter Miami big game coming up this weekend is the women's champion league final Barcelona lost last year to Arsenal now they face Olympique Lyon that's on Saturday at noon on ESPN the port is in on the ESPN app Barcelona lights up carrying the weight of a story that keeps growing Barca returns to the top of La Liga EA sports a season built step by step months of demands conviction and an idea carried all the way through because this title is no coincidence it's a reward Barca doesn't just win Barca does it their way it's a triumph for the club for the fans and for a style a journey that has found its destination Barca lifts their 29th league title and the story shines once again Barcelona won the league again Robert Lewandowski said his goodbyes to Camp Nou on Sunday he announced that he will be leaving the club after four seasons seven trophies so for 119 goals for the Polish international this is Robert Lewandowski saying goodbye to all the Kule fans at Camp Nou and this is Hansi Flick talking about his striker it was a perfect goodbye for him we will never forget this I think how we said it was very emotional and you can see also his whole heart is here in Barcelona with this club with the people here in this area and I have to say thank you thank you Robert because he's a fantastic person and an a work class player he gave us very fantastic unforgettable moments here a lot of goals a lot of titles and I think we also miss him we also miss him but at the end it's a part of the life it's a part of the game and at the end of the season so some players are leaving some players new players are coming it's normal but of course the club will miss him everyone will miss him because he's not only a work class player he's also a good person all right that was Hansi Flick Robert Lewandowski he decided to join Barcelona at the lowest point of the club and that's why the people were very grateful to him and wanted to say Adeu the right way all right let's play buy or sell Robert Lewandowski herc leave it to Major League Soccer buy or sell i'm buying listen i know he's going to be 38 in august so 38 this summer but there are a few plazas i think he just makes sense this is a goal score give an opportunity score a goal he was scoring in La Liga he's been scoring in Champions League only Messi and Cristiano those two monsters have more goals in Champions League than Robert Lewandowski he's going to score goals he's got a certain profile a certain presence that i think would be very valuable for certain franchises within Major League Soccer and i'll go out and just throw in right now i was of an age where the chicago fire was a place where polish national team players went with that community and were very successful and they can draw in numbers the polish community i think he would be a good fit they have ugo kipers right now who's actually leading the league in goals if they played a two striker type of setup with greg burr halter and the verticality that he has shown in his major league soccer career with the understanding of what it's about i think Robert Robert Lewandowski can strive in a market that has been underserved would be the the word i would use within Major League Soccer for quite some time this could be the jolt that chicago needs i think it's a perfect fit for both ah that that makes a lot of sense i'm just going to look at it from the perspective of Robert Lewandowski never mind the perspective of chicago fire and Major League Soccer how about sale just go and lay in a beach somewhere huh go play some golf they got beaches in chicago okay not good beaches look just go play some golf enjoy your family you know your kids are growing up there's no need for this man to be going across this country this way that way this way that way there's there's more than 10 million dollars a year on the table for Robert Lewandowski either either at Major League Soccer uh Saudi Arabia or he has other offers from European clubs that will play Champions League next season with all the respect there is a way of doing both Ali and i think i think some of these players see Major League Soccer in that way this is the bail certainly did well yes the golf art but the his good buddy Marco Royce is in Los Angeles right now i'm sure there's a part of him 38 years or not that still enjoys competing that still wants to compete that wants to give his family maybe a different taste of the life while competing and there is that itch for a lot of european superstars of america what is Major League Soccer like and i think there's a way of getting both where he takes it seriously enough for Major League Soccer but enjoys his time away from the field enough that a country like the united states can provide for some of these athletes do you bite now no i will go sit on a beach i will go play some golf now look i'm not going to tell a player i'm not going to tell a player that he should retire if he feels like he can still contribute and he has a passion for it and that's and that's the part that i really think it's important here if he still has a passion for it and and he doesn't feel that there is such a letdown from being a barcelona then having to go and play elsewhere where where it becomes a transition to retirement uh then then okay hey listen go and do you and if the family wants to go on some sort of expedition and and live a different experience sure you do you and and and the family will take or will get something out of it as well i'm just merely suggesting at some point even though there's a lot of money on the table and it's hard for me to say to somebody hey walk away from ten million dollars you know maybe you jump ahead of the curve maybe you are the one that is making decisions on your career and you can do that in mls you can do that soria rabia you can go to whatever team that is that is offering you this money and and so be it if he has the passion for it go do it but if there's any doubt then you look at you look at your kids and you kind of go i want to be there all right now on the barcelona side of the story they're going to miss out on 25 goals per season that's an average what robert levando all comes that's what robert levandowski provided for barcelona in the past four years who would be an ideal player to take his place at barcelona at barcelona well the name that's been in the headlines which i don't know how realistic it could actually be given barcelona's financial circumstances but julian alvarez would be a perfect fit julian alvarez embodies what i think would fit perfectly in a barcelona uniform hashtag valors but also on the field and his play his ability to combine his ability to press the way hansy flick would like to press his ability to score goals to facilitate i just think it's a perfect marriage again given barcelona's financials or what we know of it i don't know how realistic that would be but in terms of on the field and in the profile i think that's the the perfect player for him i i think it's a one name list and it's julian alvarez what about joao pedro who's been his name has been also uh thrown a hat for replacing levandovsky well talk to carlo ancelotti see how see how he feels about it uh and i'm not don't think he's quiet at that level and um there there's been other names that have been thrown around like alexander sorlos the other day i heard that at murici and i always i always fell off my chair i'm like look if you if you this this man is perfect for mayorka i'm leading scorer in the league right now perfect for mayorka but if you look at a player that does not fit the profile of barcelona player that would be the murici and so there's a lot of names being thrown around but the name that really makes the most sense is julian alvarez but it's probably the most unrealistic name and if they're gonna make that happen then they're gonna have to make other decisions is they're gonna have to open up some more space there's some space of course with with the absence of robert levandovsky but there i think there are other decisions to be made by barcelona and other players that are going to be sacrificed yeah the crucial part will be the finance element to this how much can barcelona afford would they sell someone in order to balance the numbers and try to bring a superstar striker robert levandovsky is gone after four years and so forth 119 goals for barcelona he won the doyche pocal now bayon goes for the domestic double facing stuttgart one of the best clubs in germany in the past years saturday 2 p.m. eastern on espn plus espnu and espn deportes semi-finales liga mx chivas facing cruz azul to all the aggregate after the first leg and it was gonna be cruz azul striking first jero in marques leading the way yeah it's a good strike but walle is going to want this one back he gets a whole palm on that and she was down one zero through a minute later you do it to me i'll do it to you almost the same way or margo vea everything one one it's a good hit but similarly as you just mentioned goes through the goalkeeper seems to help over the goalkeeper and at this point our producer was jumping he was excited yep three minutes later long ball for christian ebere ebere makes the move takes a shot and now oscar walle makes the same yeah christian ebere for me was a difference in this match up in this series he's just so powerful he's so strong he created tons of opportunities for cruz azul but that's an excellent save first minute of the second half palavecino no rotondi what is he doing no no no no no mamita what happens what happened he missed it is what happened you know that's my kind of range by the way is it yes it is three yards out yeah i can take care of that palavecino all walking for chivas they were calling palavecino during the broadcast why is that my friend lope salido i don't know lope salido thinks he's italian that's not the right way to pronounce his last name but cruz azul is back on final chivas adios now who would cruz azul face pachuca leading after the first leg one ill now at ciudad universitaria facing pumas this is the first chance for robert morales who had a complicated game this was a good try yeah crossbar la pantera gets a pie but no good again morales how why why why is he sliding for this there's no need to slide for the stay on your feet and make clean contact oh lord the moment he starts sliding the ball his body is going backwards and the ball is going up oh lord pumas only needed one and this is jordan carillo the 24 year old it is a goalkeeper mistake it is both he got the keeper sleeping yeah it's the keeper's post he caught him sleeping this is wild stroke tons of pace but cesar moreno's gonna want this one back he guesses the wrong way leans one way catches him sleeping now pachuca will would have their chances stoppage time efray in Juarez look at that celebration from the pumas manager 91st minute have us with the safe kennedy with the cross salomon rondon ale will have the best chance of the game again kennedy rondon no oh no salo salo that's not this is not what we talked about this is not what i taught you oh no no no no oh my god look at solari solari did not believe it pachuca had it they let it slip and it's pumas going back to the final to face cruz azul this is the tail of the tape you can see how pumas first top of the table after the regular season first in scoring second in conceding not a lot of chances created but they've been a very effective team on their current manager of fray in Juarez cruz azul changed managers during the season and it's now joel wiki leading cruz azul to the final that means that we have two mexican managers in the final for the first time in 13 years the last time that happened miguel herrera with america facing yermal basques with cruz azul that famous moises muñoz header to the final and then on penalties america winning the title what what does it mean to have two mexican managers back facing each other for the title well not just mexican managers they're young mexican managers yes you're changing that rolodex it isn't the same baraja it isn't the same you know coaches that used to coach in mexican soccer that are recycled from one team to another but it almost feels like it was done by accident well wiki was the assistant coach with three different coaches from anselmi to visenta sanchez to now larcamon and finally gets his chance and they were winless in nine and now they're undefeated and playing a beautiful brand and on the other side efrain juarez may be the coach or the flavor of the month if you will when it comes to coaching in mexican football but he had to leave he was an assistant coach a major league soccer then he was an assistant coach in belgium and then he became a head coach in columbia he took the road less traveled and why these two coaches are here now it's because he finally got an opportunity in mexican football a mexican league a league in mexico that doesn't give opportunities to the domestic coaches for whatever reason they value the foreign coach more and these two finally got an opportunity and they didn't just get an opportunity and i say this without the respect with all the respect with all the respect with all the respect they got it into the biggest that's a lot of disrespect that's what it is they got it at the two biggest clubs in mexican football and these teams are playing the way they've coached it's not by accident they are here there's no there's no coincidence that javier aguirre is on his third term as a mexican national team coach that means that they have no other places to look for mexican managers uh and you know how they call joel wiki's style of play what's that wiki pittia oh well of course great great they do uh can i just say um what's important yep that was beautiful it was well done it's a it's a good try really wiki pittia the um what's what's really going to be critically important for both of these managers is that that they have staying power yeah because if there is something that we know about league i make is is that manager is hot today it's very cold tomorrow and now the door the day after that and so could there be a possibility by which both of these managers are able to develop a project a project for longer than a six month season because that's all of this that we're talking about loses a whole lot of steam and loses a whole lot of value if six months from now a year from now both of these guys are out of the picture and wiki pittia is no longer it i'm just and that is if we were to sort of place bets as to what's more likely to happen is for these guys to thrive or for these guys to eventually being faced out because they didn't get not necessarily the right results but the right results according to the ownership or according to somebody who got emotional about a loss and said we've had enough for this guy and sometimes those emotional decisions in league i make is lead to lacking consistency and continuity and if you don't have consistency and continuity you cannot fully develop a project into something that can become truly successful to your point last season at franjuares and puma struggled and struggled big time and there were reports that he may be on the outs there were actual reports that he was going to leave because they couldn't get the results they wanted six months later they're playing at a final at home though they will host return leg at home they're saying that even if where wiki doesn't win the title they look for another manager he's an entry manager and he led the club to the final that's that's the uh hypocrisy of mexican soccer if you will uh it's time to odds for liga mx champion according to draft kinks for the first leg kuru sasul is favorite and pumas a heavy underdog la máquina the blue machine it is the favorite to win the title minus 160 if pumas win at all it's plus 120 for the first leg the draw is at plus to 90 who will win the 2026 liga mx clausura hurt uh by the better with cruz sasul listen in pumas you have a very good story but come this post season it's a very different team it's a team they gave up three goals in the home leg first series against uh cluba america excuse me a weight leg and then three homes at three goals at home against america six goals series right there you go up pachuca they lost 1-0 here they win 1-0 they didn't win a single series in aggregate now they have to win that goes out the window they have to win outright against a team that is flying and they just have they don't have to but they well they can go to penalty kicks but you still have to win in penalty kicks they have to somehow find a way to win against a team that is just deeper and them being deeper i think will be the difference koal wiki has a lot more to pull from from that bench than an f rain joares yeah it seems to me ali that cruz sasul has over all the better team the better squad and even though f rain joares is a more experienced manager um koal wiki just has best players around him but it feels like pumas is a team of destiny they have momentum uh it's been almost 15 years since pumas won their last title and it feels like it is sorry ahora o nunca for pumas under the frame what is i'm taking pumas to win it all who you got can i just say in general just seeing that it's pumas and cruz sasul in the final i you guys know this better than i do but it is this feeling of two clubs that are usually the bridesmaid and never the bride that uh i i think and i don't think this is an unfair statement to make that chronically underachievers in liga and mechies and that they don't quite reach the level that the potential would suggest they should at least that has been the case in terms of getting to this moment of of where you need to take that next step to win the title and it's like and it feels like it's just it's a letdown and so the emotional part to that point i think is critically important and so maoricio i am with you thank you sir i see in pumas a team that yes that has had difficulties in the in la leaguilla but has survived and how many times have we seen in competition in tournament competition the teams that barely make it that barely survive that barely get there that haven't been all that dominant that don't seem to have the momentum in terms of the level of play but have found a way to get to the final that eventually they are the ones that lift the trophy i'm gonna take pumas if for no other reason because i like the the logo better than i do my logo can i ask you where they playing the first leg i don't know has it been announced already no that's a thing they were trying to go play in a estadio azul former estadio azul they can't play in estadio asteca because they got to turn that over to fee and they don't want to go to puebla ciudad de los deportes okay formerly known as estadio azul they used to play that could be a problem for them as well there yeah yeah for whom for cruz azul okay for cruz azul i just mentioned ahora nunca you can catch the popular esp in the port of show or on uca and you can subscribe to ahora on uca's youtube channel become part of la banda the youtube now or no no boy just talk some trash to her got a very barcelona like it's very bars it's it's it's very much so uh on thursday's show herk will have a conversation with clint demsey wow so make sure to check that out remember to download the podcast and uh it's been awesome to be back on the show so thank you ale thank you maudicio see you guys january next year hercules boy neymar will be in the world joining us since has been football america we'll see you next time