Futbol Americas: Chris Richards Doubt + Pep is Out + Zohran the Hero? +Cristo Fernandez

27:54men's national team. We've heard about Italy. Yeah. Does he really think he could change Italian football? What about England? We've always heard Thomas Tuchel just resigned. We've always heard Brazil. Carlo Ancelotti just resigned. What about España? He's Catalan. That would never happen. So when you look at places where the off the field and on the field meet and he's thinking to himself, this could be interesting. I think it takes a lot of boxes for him. I don't disagree. And while I'm sure he can and will be offered a lot of money if the U.S. does make an approach, Pep Guardiola is not short of light bill money.

28:28At the same time, for argument's sake, per the clip, he's about to have conversations with Manchester City ownership. What if the option they offer him is to come to Saudi ownership, come to Saudi Arabia, and do the same things you are proposing? he can make an awful lot of money. And it'll be a whole lot easier with a whole lot less pressure than doing that with the U.S. men's national team. Listen, again, I say I have absolutely no issue with the U.S. men's national team reaching out to Pep Guardiola just to gauge his interest. As a matter of fact, I'll be disappointed. I think it will be an abdication of their duties if they don't.

29:10But from a Pep Guardiola standpoint, looking at his history, looking at what options he may have. If we are talking working sabbaticals, let's call it, nothing comes easier. Nowhere will pay more than doing that in Saudi Arabia. Do you still think, though, his managerial style is what's suited to how U.S. soccer go about things? How the current crop of players... That's exactly why I told you he'd never work on the first team, but you can change that. I'm not looking at Pep Guardiola taking this crop of players, the incoming crop, the Julian Halls, the Mehmetis, the young players coming through.

29:46I'm not the Diego Cochins, if you will. I'm not expecting him to turn those players into Manchester City. It's the next generation of those players where I think he could change things. And then you've got yourself a proper footballing country. And then you can go from there. You have to be naive, borderline ignorant if you think that Pep Guardiola takes this U.S. men's national team and makes them contenders in anything. All right. Who knew that was such a hot topic? All right. Well, since we were talking about the future of U.S. soccer, this is what USSF CEO JT Batson had to say about Mauricio Pochettino's future.

30:20He said Pochettino is excited about the long-term vision and what we're doing this summer is really important. We'll be in a position to make a longer-term decision after the World Cup. Fair. Understandable. Do we read too much into it? It's decided? Apparently. Would you feel that? It is longer or you have until the World Cup to impress me? I'm still in the camp that I don't think Pochettino is the UN's best national team coach come August. I am still of the thinking that he would look for a club position. And while, per this statement, you're making all the right noises, especially on the eve of a World Cup, that's what you want leadership to be seeing.

31:06that's what you want to hear coming out of Pochettino's camp. I'm not believing it until I see it. Mark, what do you think of it? I think Marisa Pochettino's got July 4th as his last game as the U.S. Men's National League Manager. I don't think it's JT Batson or U.S. Soccer's decision to make. I think Marisa Pochettino's already made his decision. You feel he's already half-checked out? You don't have to take my word for it. Look at the paper trail. Anytime he does an interview, anytime he speaks to anybody about the Premier League or La Liga, this man is desperate to go back into club coaching.

31:42He still feels he's at an elite level as a club manager. And he's still a very young manager. We're seeing more and more older international managers. Why? Because they're done with the grind the day-to-day at the club level. He's not done. He wants more. So I don't think this is a JT Batson we will see from a U.S. soccer perspective. I'm with Shaq. I think it's, well, we'll talk to Mauricio and see what he wants to do. Must be nice to be Mauricio Pochettino. There's a couple of nostalgic links there, too. We will see exactly what happens after the World Cup on this one. Right, guys, shall we run it back?

32:16Right now. Let's run it back. And our producer, Beto, of course, would have to put this one in there. Tyler Adams played a full 90 for Bournemouth. That was brilliant to see. And it came in quite an important match for the Cherries as they held Manchester City to a draw. That draw that eventually gave Arsenal the Premier League title. Yeah, Tyler Adams was good for these 90 minutes. Got a yellow card for yapping away at the referee. I don't know what he said to him, but it didn't look good. But it's good to see Tyler Adams, A, healthy, and B, competing at this level. Shaka, you love to see this because you talk so much about Tyler Adams.

32:50I love Tyler Adams as a player. I love Tyler Adams as a leader. To see him play 90 minutes at this level, this close to the tournament, I think everybody is encouraged by that. Well, Max Arsene, he had a good day out, too. He scored the Open Cup match winner against NYCFC. Yeah, he plays as a winger right now for the Columbus crew. He's more of a wingback, but this is why they got him as a winger, because when he goes forward in open space in that final third with both feet, left foot, right foot, this is a right-footed finish for a left-footed player. Very good in those spaces. All right. Well, as we see some US Men's National Team hopefuls and players doing bits, they will be hoping that they are on that final roster.

33:32May 26th, that is when we will find out who will be at the World Cup for the USA. And we are having a very special Football Americas Roster Reveal Edition. Look at the crew right there. Mauricio Pedrosa, Herc will be back, Casey Keller, and the one and only Jurgen Klinsmann. Make sure to join us on Tuesday, 8.30 p.m. is when it all kicks off. In today's world, planning ahead isn't always top of mind, but not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times. In many cases, loved ones are left managing expenses, debts, or long-term obligations without a clear plan in place.

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35:35All right, in some brilliant news now, Zoran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, has done a brilliant thing. He has heard the cries of people everywhere in terms of talking about how expensive the 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets are. Well, he has made a deal for$50 tickets for New Yorkers. Just let's have a listen to what he had to say, as well as Tim Wehr. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. What a delight it is to be here together in Harlem, surrounded by so many soccer, football fans of the world's game, as we make an enormously exciting announcement. We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create.

36:24And that is why we stand together today to say that we have partnered with the New York-New Jersey Host Committee to secure a thousand affordable tickets for New Yorkers to the World Cup.

36:41These 1 ,000 tickets are going to be split into batches of 150 tickets for each of the five group stage matches and two knockout round matches in New York, New Jersey, and tickets will cost only 50 bucks.

36:56I just want to thank God first. I think this opportunity is really healthy for the community and for New York in its whole. I think as athletes it's important to have a voice because we are the pillars of this community. We're the leaders of the next generation and you know I think you know as a kid it was always a dream to be up here and to be in stadiums playing and if I can you know help the next kid get to that stage I think it's a wonderful feeling and the mayor has done an amazing job with making these tickets accessible to New Yorkers and you know my job is to bring joy and to put smiles on faces so I'm gonna do exactly that while standing by side and making sure that you know we can we can make it easier on anyone so i'm really happy to be here and and thank you to you all for coming out well very interesting there to hear timoya say that as athletes it's important to have a voice we're going to talk about that in a bit but first and foremost just your reaction uh guys to the news about these 50 tickets for new yorkers and just this deal that they've been able to strike excellent i hope more follow suit yeah There are a lot of different host cities that could potentially do the same, negotiate the same, try the same initiatives.

38:08There are kids, inner city kids, kids of all walks of life, that would love to attend these games. Real fans. Or maybe you're not a real fan. Maybe you're just interested, curious, and you become not just a fan, but maybe it grows into something more. We always hear these stories about the moment that you decided you wanted to be a footballer, The moment that you knew this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. It often involves the World Cup. There's a singular moment. There's some players, some kids, excuse me, that will never get the chance to go to a game, to go to a World Cup because of these inaccessible prices.

38:44So I hope more follow suit because if the city of New York can do it, you know, other cities can follow suit. It's such a difficult thing to do, difficult venue to get it done the way that the mayor of New York has done it and bring people together. I don't see why more don't try it. I Couldn't agree more. I think it's an incredible for the game and so often People talk about growing the game here in the US and it feels like lip service because anybody who Has kids in the game know how expensive playing this game is how inaccessible it is to so many people in All across this country. I know you talk about growing the game this one$50 ticket, somebody, some kid could go to a game, get interested.

39:32New York has two men's teams and a women's professional team. All of a sudden, now you have a fan. That's how you grow the game. And credit to me and Mamdani, credit to everybody in New York who are part of this initiative in leading in so many ways, as Herc says, that other cities can and should follow. So this is the truest value of hosting a World Cup. This is exactly what we want to see. Also another thing, though, as we touched on earlier, Tim Weyer, he recently did come under some sort of criticism from Mauricio Pochettino when he did speak up about how unfortunate it was to see some of these ticket prices for the FIFA World Cup.

40:13He talked about how he felt like this was going to turn real fans off and away from the game, and that would just be unfortunate. Now he's almost doubling down on what he said. But as he did say, it's important that we as athletes have a voice. Herc, what do you think? It's not just Timothy Weah. Mark McKenzie was right behind him. Yeah. The manager of the U.S. men's national team told one of the most high-profile players on the team to shut up and dribble. You're not a politician. Worry about playing. And Timothy Weah's response was to align himself with a politician and lower ticket prices in the city he was born in.

40:52GOAT status for Timothy Weah, but also he knowing this could put him in a position with the manager. It means more to him who grew up in a position of privilege to prove that the game, as Shaq stated, should matter more. It should be accessible to everyone. FIFA is not a corporation, though it acts like one. It's a non-profit. and the profit made off those games is supposed to be returned back to the game. Their mission statement is to spread the game. I can think of no better way than an initiative like this and for Timothy Weah to align himself just weeks out before a World Cup and something that could potentially harm him on the field or harm his relationship with his manager.

41:46He knows what side of history he wants to be on. And for me, I respect him for more than he will ever know and more than he could ever do anything on that field for. Shaq, you agree? Absolutely. When Pochettino criticized Timothy Weir after his statements, the next show I was on here, I said, those who are critical of what Timothy Weir had to say are the ones who benefit most from his status quo. And I stand by that every bit as much today as I did back then when I said it. The difference is Timothy Weir did not feel a need to answer Pochettino in what he said. He got involved in whatever capacity in delivering on his words, in backing his statements, in delivering this game to kids who look like him in a city who did not have access to the game, and certainly not in the capacity that it did today.

42:41I cannot think of a better way to respond without making it an issue and by occupying the highest of ground in doing that. Nothing else needs to be said. Nothing else should be said. Message delivered loud and clear. To Herc's statement, I will echo it. I will double down on it. Timothy Weah knows what side of history he wants to be on. Caso Cerrado. Case closed. Timothy Weah, you have officially got goated status here on Football Americas. Love that for you. All right, well, there's a couple more goats, some billy goats over on ESPN FC. Available seven days a week on ESPN+.

43:34All right, guys, let's talk about something I did not have on my bingo card this year at all. Casemiro, he's one of our own, we now know is leaving Manchester United at the end of this season. His deal expires in the summer, and now it seems that Inter-Miami are the ones that are closing in on his signature. Like I said, this is definitely not something we had on our bingo cards this summer, but would it make a great move, not just for MLS, but of course for Inter-Miami? Herc, let me come to you first. It's just your reaction when you saw this headline. Why not? Well, my reaction is how many DPs can Miami have?

44:13Can Inter-Miami realistically bring on board? Because you're not going to convince me that a player like Casemiro is not a multi-million dollar type player, whether it's what you pay him or what you bring him in for. You're not going to trick us again like you did with Rodrigo DePaul and say he's a TAM player. And then you purchase that and now you see what he is. And then the second one is, I understand the yearning for Major League Soccer teams to try to bring in a player like Casemiro. You saw him at United last season. Great player. Would be a great signing. But if he left the game in a year or two, it would be expected.

44:53Yeah. So what are you building for in the future? If you're into Miami, is this really what you need? You have a Yannick Bright who, in a league that's a salary cap league, can fulfill a job for you. A Segovia who's a good two-way player. Rodrigo De Paul, you've already bit the bullet for. He's a DP. He's been, I think, defensively a liability, abysmal for you. But you've already gone down that route. So where will he play? You don't really need him. You're just adding luxury to add luxury to a team that I think could get better in the back line. Chaka, of course we know this isn't the Casemiro of Real Madrid, but he is coming off of what was a good season at Manchester United.

45:35We now know, as Michael Carrick confirmed, he has played his last game for Manchester United. So what do you make of this move by Inter Miami? Ambitious indeed or just unnecessary, as Herc is kind of pointing out? Well, on the surface of it, I remain a huge Casemiro fan. I think he's one of the great midfielders of a generation coming to the end of his career. Yes, I understand that. given the clubs he has played for, major clubs in Real Madrid and Manchester United, I think it will also generate immense fan interest in Casemiro coming to MLS, even if not necessarily to a team that needs a whole lot more exposure or players to advocate for that exposure.

46:23So while I like it from a personal perspective, for Casemiro. I like it because he's an incredible talent. The first thing that comes to my mind is I thought, as Herc was saying, I thought this was supposed to be a league of a salary cap. I thought that there was supposed to be some kind of parity about how things are done in this league. I mean, we've kind of recognized that that's not been the case for four or five years. You make an exception for Lionel Messi, but it just seems to be doubling down for doubling down's sake. in terms of into Miami and justifying their spend when everybody else is living by a completely different set of rules.

47:07I don't get it. I don't get that aspect of it. But if you're asking me about there's no salary cap, none of that is any consideration. Yeah, I'm absolutely fine with it. I think it's a great move for into Miami. And I listen, I know Shaq's been in Miami very many times oh yeah i don't blame casemiro for wanting to live in miami there's a strong brazilian community there's a strong brazilian community in florida but but it's just not what i pictured going back to what shack said when you think about major league soccer being a salary cap league and a team that is constantly being criticized for pushing the envelope and maybe the math not Mathen, here's another move where fans are, I think, well within their right to question how this happens.

47:56Well, the thing about it is, as you said, Inter-Miami have pretty much pushed the envelope to bring in all these stars. It has been going well for them, at least to a certain extent. They were favorites again to become champions. So is this cementing them? Is this the win-now move, especially for Leo Messi, bringing in a quality player like him? He already won. But win again. The only thing they can win, I think they need to win. Well, Messi's there. All he wants to do is win. Win, win, no matter what. Well, it's not about MLS Cup. And I don't think it ever was about MLS Cup for the Moss family or for David Beckham.

48:27Contragar Champions Cup. Not even that. They want international. Yeah. They want to be an international, global brand. And the only way you can go global, and they've already tried, Jorge Moss. He's with Alejandro Dominguez, the president of the Combo Bowl. They are there. And they're scheming their way to trying to get Copa Libertadores participation because there's a Messi, it's a massive carrot dangling in front of Combo, and they have a window where if it happens, you can't take this team that's getting trashed in CONCACAF Champions Cup. You've got to really, really reload, and you've got to try to do something in front of the world.

49:01And if that's the plan, then yes, I understand the Casamiros of the world being of value to you. There is no salary cap in CONCACAF Champions Cup. There is no salary cap in Copa Libertadores. There is an MLS, and if you can get away with it, then I see the benefit of this move. But where are you going with this? Jack, does this make them ultra favorites now then? Yeah, I mean, I didn't think there was any doubt. I mean, everybody else has a puncher's chance. This is the game and we've seen the most ridiculous upsets throughout our own time in the game. We've been subject to a few of them ourselves in our own playing careers.

49:37But as you said right now, Inter Miami are huge favorites to win the MLS Cup. But Adelian Casemiro only doubles down on that in a way that, again, I'm not necessarily sure that they needed to to ensure that they win a MLS Cup. I don't know what he's really talking about, all the different parallels in bringing Casemiro into what is a nice little Argentinian, happy, harmonious crew there. And you just drop a Brazilian right in the middle. I mean, there's a little Barcelona versus Real Madrid there. I'm sure Messi's been on the end of a tackler or two from Kase with the football country. It was Sergio Ramos at PSG.

50:17It seemed all right. They seemed to get along.

50:23All right. Just as you know me, you had to throw in some little spice, a little bit of sazon. Well, speaking of Real Madrid, do not forget, it's the final day, weekend, and match day of La Liga. Real Madrid up against the Athletic Club, the Bilbao, Saturday, 3 p.m. Eastern time. But remember, coverage for all the games starts at 2.30 p.m.

50:47Christo Fernandez, actor best known for playing Danny Rojas on the hit TV series Ted Lasso. Well, now you're going to get to know him as the professional footballer. Yes, indeed, because he's officially signed with USL Championship Series side El Paso Locomotive FC. Now he's officially stepping into the world of professional football, something that's very dear to his heart. And you will know very soon that it makes up such a big part of his identity. Now, according to the coach, he has said that he's going to be adding a massive attacking threat to the side. So forget about Hercules Gomez in terms of going forward.

51:27Christo, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. Absolute pleasure to speak to you as Christo and not Dani Rojas, but I'm sure there's a lot of people that are going to be tuning in right now and wondering, hmm, what does he really know about football? We saw what he could do on the screen, but in real life. So tell us exactly, because you've said that football is such a big part of your identity. So tell us how it all started. No, yeah. Danny Rojas and I are the same. For both of us, football is life and football is vida. I started like any kid in Mexico with the dream of being a football soccer player.

52:08And I played all Fuerzas Basicas. And then 15 years old, I started to play professionally. And I had to do my high school at night and gave my parents a couple of heart attacks. But they always supported me and believed in my crazy dreams. then to make story short, injuries, and then also reflecting now with the past and not getting out of my comfort zone when I had to, not having the mentality that I should have had, that I have now, but I learned from mistakes. I learned from failing, but also discover new passion with studies and communication and filming and acting and that many years after that and working in different things in my life life insurances PR bartender waiter blah blah blah and studied my master in acting in the UK and it all came back with Ted Lasso and and yeah that was a big lesson for me the main reason why I got Ted Lasso it's because of my football soccer skills and somehow throughout this Ted Lasso journey this Danny Rojas journey both meeting heroes like Hercules and like Ronaldinho and like many heroes in football soccer and that put things in perspective and also fans that were very grateful with the work and what we did with Danny Rojas but also asking me can you actually play do you really play nah you don't play and I guess somehow that just stayed on me and I was like I think I can't play I think I still can't play I want to play I don't care and since a couple of years ago somehow I put it in my mind never told anyone just try and see because again my injury My knees are not new, but they are strong.

54:11And since last year, I started to train in Guadalajara. Big shout to Luis Carlos Bon Giovanni and ProSport and Guillermo Lopez Rodriguez, alphysio, physiotherapists and sports trainers that put me back on track. And it was just this year that I really went for it, doing some trials here and there. But finally, I'm grateful for the opportunity here in El Paso Locomotive and loving the city, loving the team. And I'm grateful with Coach Junior, Coach Rollo, President Mike, Saul Soto, but especially my teammates. And my teammates, since day one, they welcomed me. They let me compete. Didn't see me as the actor or the filmmaker, just sort of another teammate.

54:57And throughout these two months have been a journey, getting back to play until finally they believe in me. That's why I'm now getting signed, and I'm grateful and cannot wait to play in the pitch with my teammates and really show what we've got. We've got a great team, and I really believe in us, and we can do really well this season. Cristo, as you well know, Cristo is a tecolote. I was a tecolote. Tecos in Guadalajara, shout out there. You used to play soccer, my man, a fellow tecolote. What position do you play, let the people know? And I'm also curious because you're landing in a great situation with El Paso Locomotive.

55:38El Paso is football rich in this country. Big players. Ricardo Pepi is from there. You also got Sendejas, Santiago Nunez. Diego Luna came out of El Paso Locomotive. He's on the U.S. Men's National Team right now. What did you know about El Paso? Tell us what position you're going to play for El Paso. What did you know about El Paso before you got there? I played forward, striker. and yeah, we have good strikers so I'm learning lots from them and again, the support from my teammates everyone has been amazing and yeah I didn't know that much about El Paso, Texas

56:23I knew it was a border city but living here puts things in perspective Like, truly, I was telling you, I am in El Paso driving and then I see Juarez and I am in Juarez and I see El Paso. It's so close to each other. It's a bilingual, multicultural city, more of a relaxed city than what I'm used to, like Guadalajara or Mexico City or L.A. or New York. They're always busy here. I see mountains, which is a great change. And and the people, the people are really nice, good vibes all around. And as you said, it's a city with lots of football, soccer passion. And I love this Mexican-American situation all around.

57:08And I love it. I speak English and Spanish here all the time. And it's great. I love El Paso. Well, Christo, it's nice to hear you talk about El Paso like that, because it's obvious that, you know, te sientes como en casa. You seem to feel at home. We know, of course, in El Paso has such a rich Mexican culture down there, too. But one thing we know about Mexicanos is that they take their football very seriously and they let you know when you're not playing up to standards. So do you almost feel that pressure that you have to perform from the very, very first game? Yes, yes, we have to. And especially, honestly, not sure if you guys have seen yet our games.

57:49I really believe that Coach Junior and Coach Rollo are doing something different. This league tends to be very physical, but we're here playing good football. And we have players with lots of experience. Moramora, the co-keeper, Tony Alfaro has lots of experience. My ex-teamate. Yes. and we have Rubio Rubin and he's also with lots of experience Eddie Calvillo, Rob like we have really a good team and both upcoming players and experience and I'm just very excited to and that's also become a responsibility as you said I have to be at their level and I'm grateful they've pushed me to get there and it's work in progress it's step by step but again I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you watch our games.

58:46And I really believe we can do great this season. Oh, be careful what you wish for. Well, I'm still waiting for that ticket invite there from the good people at El Paso. Dos tickets. And we'll make it happen. Yeah, ya están, ya están. VIP, VIP, palco privado. Cristo, I have to ask you, I have to ask you, because you're a very good actor. It's not just Ted Lasso, the show. You've made lots of movies. You're a big-time actor in Mexico. Is acting taking a pause? and you're a full-time footballer? Or will we see, Cristo, will we see Danny Rojas in the upcoming season of Ted Lasso, maybe? Oh, spoilers.

59:23Well, first of all, thank you for saying I'm a good actor. No, because, again, like football and sports and acting are, sports and arts are very similar. They are very subjective. and you know sometimes you can give an amazing performance as an actor or an amazing performance as an athlete and not necessarily that would be what the coach or the director thinks and it's not whether you're good or bad it's just what works for them in their team or what works for them for their upcoming project and and when it comes to this new season of Ted Lasso first of all I am very excited because you will see when it comes out, it means so much to me.

1:00:15There's something very special about this season that it's very familiar and personal, and I'm so grateful with everyone there. And also, again, it's a reminder of always work on creating my personal opportunities, creating my opportunities, regardless of anything else. I always have to remind myself that. And now that you say that, with my sister Paloma, we have our film company, Spectrum X Films, and we have a new film coming out, No Se Requieren Traducciones, No Translation Required, bilingual, multicultural. And what I'm speaking about this film is because this feature film, regardless of the great opportunities that I am very grateful it's the first feature film that I am the protagonist and this film comes out of eight seven years of us developing this film and now putting it out there and it becomes my first feature film where I am the protagonist and this I want to tell people that is it's also a reminder of regardless of people believing you or not like a couple of years ago i was here saying some people i'm gonna come back and play football soccer and people were like ah really of course sure why and here i'm now after lots of personal work here and the same comes with acting like um regardless of these great opportunities there's always auditions and sometimes you get the role sometimes you don't and that's those are things that i cannot control but what i can control is creating my films creating my projects I'm putting the acting on the side, yes, but I'm still creating projects with my sister and with the team at Spectrum X Films.

1:02:05And maybe there's something coming out as well with this whole football soccer journey in real life. And I would love to have more Danny Rojas, 100%. If you guys do too, then we'll see. Well, I can't wait to see what you and your sister Paloma and the people at Ted Lasso are doing in the upcoming season. Really quick, it is a World Cup year. this summer, three different countries. You have the U.S. men's national team, USA, you have the Mexican national team, Mexico, and the Canadian men's national team, Canada. Which country is going to go further? From those three, Mexico. It's not because I'm Mexican, I also I mean, I'm basing myself in the last games and what's happening, I really believe 100 % we're going to defeat these It's a maldición of the discourse of the fifth game.

1:02:59Plus, we have to, there's more teams, there's more games. It's the sixth game now. It's the sixth game now. But I also believe in the U.S. The U.S. is playing more locally, if you want to think about that. And I think we're going to give surprises. I think the three countries. But we'll see. But if you ask me, Mexico. All right. No surprise there. All right, Christo, before we let you go, we have some rapid-fire questions I want you to answer. Are you ready? Yes. All right, so who's got the better matchday food? Tacos en Jalisco or something Tex-Mex in El Paso? Ah, sí. Come on. No, pues tacos en Jalisco, 100%.

1:03:41Ah, bueno, quiero esa invitación, por favor. Best World Cup host city vibe. Who's got the best vibe? Guadalajara, Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, or Dallas? No, Guadalajara 100 % también, en calle Chapultepec, en Santa Tere, en el centro. A lot of fun. All right. Next one now. Which player did you dream of becoming when you were growing up? Which player? Yeah. Ronaldinho is my biggest idol. Ah, we're going to look for some of that Ronaldinho. He also helped me with the ideas for Dani. You know, always joy for the game. Lots of joy for the game. Amazing. Must be nice to have VIP friends. I wonder what that's like.

1:04:27Final question now. If Dani Rojas played for Mexico in 2026, how many goals is he scoring? More than Raul Jiménez. I know. Raul is our leader, the top. Lots of respect to him. And also a big hug. Un saludo para nuestro amigo. but maybe one less than Raul Jimenez. Look at him, paying his respects. More penalties than Raul or no? Nunca. No, I mean, the foul does it in the penalty to Danny Rojas, and Danny Rojas says, Raul, take it, put it. I love that combo. That would be an iconic combo for El Tri. And you are an absolutely iconic person. Thank you so much for joining us. Cristo Fernandez, we're waiting for those tickets.

1:05:12Palco Privado, Cuento Contigo. We will be there. We will be cheering for you, and we cannot wait to see you in action. Muchas gracias. Muchísimas gracias, Alexis. Muchas gracias, Hercules. Muchas gracias to everyone who is watching. All right. Cristo Fernández, as you can hear, he's excited to take the pitch for El Paso Locomotive. And guess what? You get to see him in action right here on ESPN as they go up against Lexington Sporting Club. That's Saturday, 30th of May, 9 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN+. us avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is with thumbtack you don't have to be a home pro you just have to hire one you can hire top rated pros see price estimates and read reviews all on the Thumbtack app.

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1:06:45Cristo Fernández, actor best known for playing Danny Rojas on the hit TV series Ted Lasso. Well, now you're going to get to know him as the professional footballer. Yes, indeed, because he's officially signed with USL Championship Series side El Paso Locomotive FC. Now he's officially stepping into the world of professional football, something that's very dear to his heart. And you will know very soon that it makes up such a big part of his identity. Now, according to the coach, he has said that he's going to be adding a massive attacking threat to the side. So forget about Hercules Gomez in terms of going forward.

1:07:25Christo, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. Absolute pleasure to speak to you as Christo and not Dani Rojas, but I'm sure there's a lot of people that are going to be tuning in right now and wondering, hmm, what does he really know about football? We saw what he could do on the screen, but in real life. So tell us exactly, because you've said that football is such a big part of your identity. So tell us how it all started. No, yeah. Danny Rojas and I are the same. For both of us, football is life and football is vida. I started like any kid in Mexico with the dream of being a football soccer player.

1:08:07And I played all Fuerzas Basicas. And then 15 years old, I started to play professionally. And I had to do my high school at night and gave my parents a couple of heart attacks. But they always supported me and believed in my crazy dreams. then to make story short, injuries, and then also reflecting now with the past and not getting out of my comfort zone when I had to, not having the mentality that I should have had, that I have now, but I learned from mistakes. I learned from failing, but also discover new passion with studies and communication and filming and acting and that many years after that and working in different things in my life life insurances PR bartender waiter blah blah blah and studied my master in acting in the UK and it all came back with Ted Lasso and and yeah that was a big lesson for me the main reason why I got Ted Lasso it's because of my football soccer skills and somehow throughout this Ted Lasso journey this Danny Rojas journey both meeting heroes like Hercules and like Ronaldinho and like many heroes in football soccer and that put things in perspective and also fans that were very grateful with the work and what we did with Danny Rojas but also asking me can you actually play do you really play nah you don't play and I guess somehow that just stayed on me and I was like I think I can't play I think I still can't play I want to play I don't care and since a couple of years ago somehow I put it in my mind never told anyone just try and see because again my injury My knees are not new, but they are strong.

1:10:10And since last year, I started to train in Guadalajara. Big shout to Luis Carlos Bon Giovanni and ProSport and Guillermo Lopez Rodriguez, alphysio, physiotherapists and sports trainers that put me back on track. And it was just this year that I really went for it, doing some trials here and there. But finally, I'm grateful for the opportunity here in El Paso Locomotive and loving the city, loving the team. And I'm grateful with Coach Junior, Coach Rollo, President Mike, Saul Soto, but especially my teammates. And my teammates, since day one, they welcomed me. They let me compete. Didn't see me as the actor or the filmmaker, just sort of another teammate.

1:10:55And throughout these two months have been a journey, getting back to play until finally they believe in me. That's why I'm now getting signed, and I'm grateful and cannot wait to play in the pitch with my teammates and really show what we've got. We've got a great team, and I really believe in us, and we can do really well this season. Cristo, as you well know, Cristo is a tecolote. I was a tecolote. Tecos in Guadalajara, shout out there. You used to play soccer, my man, a fellow tecolote. What position do you play, let the people know? And I'm also curious because you're landing in a great situation with El Paso Locomotive.

1:11:37El Paso is football rich in this country. Big players. Ricardo Pepi is from there. You also got Sendejas, Santiago Nunez. Diego Luna came out of El Paso Locomotive. He's on the U.S. Men's National Team right now. What did you know about El Paso? Tell us what position you're going to play for El Paso. What did you know about El Paso before you got there? I played forward, striker. and yeah, we have good strikers so I'm learning lots from them and again, the support from my teammates everyone has been amazing and yeah I didn't know that much about El Paso, Texas

1:12:21I knew it was a border city but living here puts things in perspective Like, truly, I was telling you, I am in El Paso driving and then I see Juarez and I am in Juarez and I see El Paso. It's so close to each other. It's a bilingual, multicultural city, more of a relaxed city than what I'm used to, like Guadalajara or Mexico City or L.A. or New York. They're always busy here. I see mountains, which is a great change. And and the people, the people are really nice, good vibes all around. And as you said, it's a city with lots of football, soccer passion. And I love this Mexican-American situation all around.

1:13:07And I love it. I speak English and Spanish here all the time. And it's great. I love El Paso. Well, Christo, it's nice to hear you talk about El Paso like that, because it's obvious that, you know, te sientes como en casa. You seem to feel at home. We know, of course, in El Paso has such a rich Mexican culture down there, too. But one thing we know about Mexicanos is that they take their football very seriously and they let you know when you're not playing up to standards. So do you almost feel that pressure that you have to perform from the very, very first game? Yes, yes, we have to. And especially, honestly, not sure if you guys have seen yet our games.

1:13:47I really believe that Coach Junior and Coach Rollo are doing something different. This league tends to be very physical, but we're here playing good football. And we have players with lots of experience. Moramora, the co-keeper, Tony Alfaro has lots of experience. My ex-teammate. Yes. and we have Rubio Rubin and he's also with lots of experience Eric Calvillo, Rob like we have really a good team and both upcoming players and experience and I'm just very excited to and that's also become a responsibility as you said I have to be at their level and I'm grateful they've pushed me to get there and it's a work in progress it's a step by step but again I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you watch our games.

1:14:45And I really believe we can do great this season. Oh, be careful what you wish for. Well, I'm still waiting for that ticket invite there from the good people at El Paso. And we'll make it happen. Yeah, ya están, ya están. VIP, VIP, palco privado. Cristo, I have to ask you, I have to ask you, because you're a very good actor. It's not just Ted Lasso, the show. You've made lots of movies. You're a big-time actor in Mexico. is acting taking a pause and you're a full-time footballer or will we see cristo will we see danny rojas in the upcoming season of ted lasso maybe oh spoilers well first of all thank you for saying i'm i'm a good actor um no because i again like football and sports and acting are football sports and arts are very similar it's they are very subjective and and you know sometimes you can give an amazing performance as an actor or an amazing performance and as an athlete and not necessarily that would be what the coach or the director thinks and it's not whether you're good or bad it's just what works for them in their team or what works for them for their upcoming project and and when it comes to this new season of Ted Lasso first of all I am very excited because you will see when it comes out it means so much to me it's there's something very special about this season that it's very familiar and personal and I'm so grateful with everyone there.

1:16:23And also, again, it's a reminder of always work on creating my personal opportunities, creating my opportunities, regardless of anything else. I always have to remind myself that. And now that you say that, with my sister Paloma, we have our film company, Spectrum X Films, and we have a new film coming out, no translation required bilingual multicultural and what i'm what i'm speaking about this film is because this feature film regardless of the great opportunities that i am very grateful it's the first feature film that i am the protagonist and this film comes out of eight seven years of us developing this film and now putting it out there and it becomes my first feature film where i am the protagonist and this i want to tell people that is it's also a reminder of regardless of people believing you or not like a couple of years ago i was here saying some people i'm going to come back and play football soccer and people were like ah really of course sure why and here i'm now after lots of personal work here and the same comes with acting like um regardless of these great opportunities.

1:17:45There's always auditions and sometimes you get the role, sometimes you don't. And those are things that I cannot control. But what I can control is creating my films, creating my projects. I'm putting the acting on the side, yes, but I'm still creating projects with my sister and with the team at Spectrum X Films. And maybe there's something coming out as well with this whole football soccer journey in real life. And I would love to have more Danny Rojas, 100%. If you guys do too, then we'll see. I can't wait to see what you and your sister Paloma and the people at Ted Lasso are doing in the upcoming season.

1:18:21Really quick, it is a World Cup year. This summer, three different countries. You have the U.S. Men's National Team, USA. You have the Mexican National Team, Mexico and the Canadian Men's National Team, Canada. Which country is going to go further?

1:18:36From those three, Mexico. And it's not because I'm Mexican. I also, I mean, I'm basing myself in the last games and what's happening. I really believe 100 % we're going to defeat this maldición of the curse of the fifth game. Plus, we have to, there's more teams, there's more games. Es el sexto partido now. El sexto partido now, ajá. but I also believe in the U.S. The U.S. is playing more locally if you want to think about that and I think we're going to give surprises. I think the three countries but we'll see but if you ask me, Mexico. All right, no surprise there. All right, Christo, before we let you go we have some rapid fire questions I want you to answer.

1:19:26Are you ready? Yes. All right, so who's got the better match day food? Tacos en Jalisco or something Tex-Mex in El Paso? Fácil. Come on. Tacos en Jalisco, 100%. Ah, bueno, quiero esa imitación, por favor. Best World Cup host city vibe. Who's got the best vibe? Guadalajara, Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, or Dallas? No, Guadalajara 100 % también, en calle Chapultepec, en Santa Tere,

1:20:02All right. Next one now. Which player did you dream of becoming when you were growing up? Which player? Yeah. Ronaldinho is my biggest idol. Ah, we're going to look for some of that. He also helped me with the ideas for Danny. You know, always joy for the game. Lots of joy for the game. Amazing. Must be nice to have VIP friends. I wonder what that's like. Final question now If Danny Rojas Played for Mexico In 2026 How many goals Is he scoring? More than Raul Jimenez I know Raul is our leader The top Lots of respect to him And also a big A big hug Un saludo para nuestro amigo Pero Maybe one less Than Raul Jimenez Aw Look at him Paying his respects More penalties than Raul Or no?

1:20:52Nunca No No, I mean, the foul does it in the penalty to Danny Rojas, and Danny Rojas says, Raúl, take it, put it. I love that combo. That would be an iconic combo for El Tri. And you are an absolutely iconic person. Thank you so much for joining us. Cristo Fernández, we're waiting for those tickets. Palco Privado, Cuento Contigo. We will be there. We will be cheering for you, and we cannot wait to see you in action. Muchas gracias. Muchas gracias, Alexis. Muchas gracias, Hercules. Y muchas gracias to everyone who's watching. All right, Cristóbal Fernández, as you can hear, he's excited to take the pitch for El Paso Locomotive.

1:21:30And guess what? You get to see him in action right here on ESPN as they go up against Lexington Sporting Club. That's Saturday, 30th of May, 9 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN+.

1:21:43Let's get into some action of the semifinals of the 2026 CONCACAF Women's Champions Cup. Club America up against Gotham FC. The defending champions. 21st minute is where we pick this one up. Scarlett Camberos will score and give Club America the lead. What? I thought Gotham were the champs. Oh, they were about to get cut open at the back a lot in this game. Just have a look. 48 minutes. Gotham did pull one back, though. Yeah, nice little through ball to Esa Gonzalez. Gonzalez, from a tight angle, finds a really nice finish. 57th minute. remember what I said about cutting up people at the back Kirk?

1:22:21Well Scarlett Camberos remember the name because she makes it 2-1. Yeah Scarlett Camberos comes back to America it's the second act and she's making the most of it. 70th minute now Eileen Aviles she'll tap it in right here and Club America flying 3-1. I'm just saying Gotham making their own problems this time around trying to pass out to the back got dispossessed. Now have a look at this one. 88 minutes. Kaya Harper would get a yellow card for committing a foul in the box. Outside of the box. No more. Well. Oh, good Lord. Scarlett Camberos. She scores the penalty. She got nervous. Her hat trick.

1:23:07She completes the hat trick and Cuba America are heading to the final. The defending champions knocked out. Elsewhere Pachuca hosting the Washington Spirit just before half time. Now nice little passing game here from the Spirit. The shot though would be saved but great opportunity still. Yeah right at the goalkeeper very easy. 65th minute Abril Fragoso she will shoot but it's just wide of the post. Yeah, it's a nice little ball across the face of goal. Kipper maybe got a very slight touch to it, never much danger. Into the dying moments of the game now. Trinity Rodman with a backheel pass to Di Guglielmo.

1:23:50She slips it to Claudio Martinez and Claudio scores. Yeah, I'm going to be honest. I tried that backheel play. I'm pulling a hammy. I'm tearing it right off the bone. It's a great opportunity Rodman and it's half the goal. into stoppage time now long ball forward it's knocked down here by Corral who will shoot but it is saved by Sandy McIver McIver does really well initially well out of goal looking for the long ball over the top backtracking and still able to sort the feet out to make a good save in the end Washington hang on to this one and they are in to the final where they will go up against Club America who will come out on top will it be Liga MX Femenil or will it be an NWSL champion yet again.

1:24:34Saturday, 9.30 p.m. Eastern Time. You know where, ESPN+. All right, well, that's going to do it for this edition of Football Americas. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. Remember, we will be back next week, Monday. A big week next week as we are expecting the U.S. men's national team roster to be announced for the World Cup. But we'll also be looking back at the Liga MX final. Plus, Hurt got a little exclusive with a certain Clint Dempsey. Did he have that dog in him? Oh, you don't know where he's from. Well, yeah, well, tune in just for that.

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