Futbol Americas: US Men's National Team Players Lack the Basics?!?

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20:45Herc Gomez:Now we welcome Derek Ray, Bundesliga expert. Derek, my friend. Legend. Legend. Bundesliga legend. Legend slash expert. Derek Ray, my friend, how are you doing?

20:57Ale Moreno:Very well, guys. Legend, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Just take it.

21:02Herc Gomez:Take it. Take it, Derek. Take it and run with it. We don't hand out compliments lightly. You take it. What I want to know are the hard-hitting questions. Did you watch the Super Bowl halftime show? Are you a Benito fan?

21:16Ale Moreno:Yes, very much. I enjoyed it. I thought it was great. And I have to say I did enjoy hearing all the different countries of the Americas mentioned. And, of course, we're on football Americas. So there you go. There we go. This man's stock is up.

21:33Jesús Pérez:I do have a question. And then does that mean, look, if I don't think I'm in the age demographic, that was the target. Don't go. Wait a minute. Hold on a second. Does that mean that Derek?

21:45Herc Gomez:Derek is in the age demographic. Derek's in the demographic. Listen, if they wanted a global audience, they got a global audience.

21:54Ale Moreno:Well, don't forget, in one of my other gigs, I do speak to the younger demographic in my role as a commentator. That's right. video game.

22:05Herc Gomez:An introduction to newer generations to the game, Derek Ray, stock up in my book. All right, Derek, time to play a little stock up, stock down, CONCACAF's best in the Bundesliga. And first, we're going to go with Malik Tillman. Three goals in the last two weeks, a brace in the Champions League versus Villarreal. What say you? Stock up or stock down?

22:27Ale Moreno:I'm going to say stock up, but with a slight question mark, Herc. And it's because I don't think he's had a particularly good season the one thing i do like about malik tilman is he's very self-critical he's very honest and i think when you consider the price tag and we're talking here 35 million euro it's a pretty hefty price tag he is slightly underwhelmed but he came good against via real in the champions league scored two goals and then promptly scored again against eintracht frankfurt but in the last couple of games and i've commentated on his last couple of matches against Dank Pauli in the Pokal, and they won it.

23:05Ale Moreno:Didn't think he was particularly effective in that match. And the same at the weekend against Gladbach. So I think the overall trend is not too bad for him, and we know he can play better football, but still just one or two reservations when you consider the price tag and who Leverkusen thought they were buying.

23:25Herc Gomez:What do you think, Ale? Is it Florian Vert's fatigue here? Is the $35 million price tag a fair SMS assessment, excuse me, from Derek Ray.

23:33Jesús Pérez:Well, when Florian Verz walks out the door and you're the next guy to come through the door, there is a level of expectation from a fan base that was looking at Florian Verz and going, all right, well, I guess this is the guy that is going to take that position, which I think, to be honest and fully transparent, I thought it was the wrong assessment to begin with. Malik Tillman is not at that level. He can do a job and a different type of job, but Florian Verz is among the best players, best young players in the world. So if that was the expectation, then you say stuck down. I think he's gotten better as of late.

24:13Jesús Pérez:So maybe not fully stuck up, but, you know, trending. Trending.

24:18Herc Gomez:We'll go with trending. I like the trending there. He was a little bit slow start at Rangers. Slower start at PSV, though. Once he heated up, he was very good. Hopefully that stays the same for him at Leverkusen. we're going to jump to Gio Reyna right now. Stock up, stock down. I could already see the side coming out of Alejandro Moreno's side. What does Derek Ray say about Giovanni Reyna?

24:40Ale Moreno:Yes, I also heard that sigh from Ali. And I think there are quite a few sighs at the moment as regards Gio Reyna. He's played 14 times for Gladbach. He's only started four matches. Much of that has had to do with injuries. But also when he has played, I have to say, I don't think I don't think he's completely done himself justice yet. And whether that is all injury-related, I'm not sure. He does have a bit of a problem, and I've mentioned this when I've been on your show before. He has rivals at Gladbach for that position. They have a number of players who are playmaking types. People like Kevin Sturga, who played at the weekend.

25:21Ale Moreno:Much older, much more experienced. I thought they might sell him on in January. That hasn't happened. Florian Neuhaus, another very good player. And they have a young talent called Wael Moya, who's a teenager, and he might be stealing Reina's thunder. So I think if you're a U.S. national team fan, you might be a little bit concerned because he's running out of games between now and the World Cup, if that is your focus. I think from a Gladbach point of view, they're sort of on the cusp of a relegation scrap. I don't think they will go down, but they're only three points ahead of the relegation playoff position.

25:57Ale Moreno:and when you're in that sort of position you need certain types and Eugen Polanski, the coach, is very much what I would say is a pressing coach, pressing style, high pressing against the ball not necessarily a lot of possession but making those pressing moments count. Is Gio Reyna when he gets fit the player for that sort of set up in the predicament Gladbach are in? I think it's going to be tough.

26:22Herc Gomez:When he gets fit he's currently nursing another muscular injury. Ale, let's look at it from the perspective of the U.S. men's national team. He's got three games under his belt since Copa America 2024. I know you're very high on Giovanni Reina. You've spoken about his talent to his ceiling. Where do you see him in this 11 for the U.S. men's national team? Is he in the 11?

26:50Jesús Pérez:If the conversation is stuck up or stuck down as it pertains to Gio Reyna, there is no stock. No stock. It's not even up or down. You can't evaluate the player if he's not on the field. And the concerning part is that this has been the story of Gio Reyna not just this season, but we're talking about years. You just mentioned his absence with the national team. And so now when it almost becomes as you remember when you remember when Gio Reyna did this and did that. And those moments seem fleeting and part of a past life of history that is no longer the case, that we're no longer seen on a weekly basis.

27:36Jesús Pérez:There is no stock for Gio Reyna right now. It's not down and it's not up there. It's not even part of the conversation. And that, I think, is the most concerning part.

27:45Herc Gomez:It is the most concerning part because Giovanni Reina at one point was, I'd say, a long Christian Pulisic, the star of this U.S.

27:52Jesús Pérez:Men's Announcement Program. There was a moment in which you could have made a very convincing argument that Gio Reina's ceiling was higher than that of Christian Pulisic. And I was very much kind of getting on that bandwagon, and as I was about to get on that bandwagon, then injuries and this and controversy and Berhalter and this, that, and the other. and you kind of go, uh-oh, this bandwagon ain't going to lie. So I'm out.

28:19Herc Gomez:He just played with the U.S. Men's National Team. He played very well. Could it be a situation like Christian Pulisic when he was at Chelsea, even though he wasn't playing, even though he wasn't fit, he would use the U.S. Men's National Team as a refresher? Because I only ask you, most people I think right now are trying to peg, because Christian Pulisic is number 10, number one. There are two 10s. Are trying to peg Weston McKinney as the second number 10. I don't think Marisol Pochettino is going down that route. So you have Malik Tillman, Alejandro Sendejas, Brendan Aronson, Diego Luna, Giovanni Reina.

28:49Jesús Pérez:So Gio Reina, at his best, or close to his best, is better than all those guys. All those guys. The problem is we haven't seen it for a while. I am a fan of Gio Reina. When he can play, when he's close to his best, I think he brings a different profile to this team in the attack. But man, you can't make an argument for him if he's not available to play. And that's the problem. He just can't seem to get himself right physically, mentally. He's just not in a position where he can actually make a case for himself because he's not on the field.

29:30Herc Gomez:I'll tell you who is on the field, Derek, and who's been on the field the same age as Giovanni Reina. That's Joe Scali. People forget, but Joe Scali has been a consistent starter for Gladbach for the better part of five seasons. This season, Joe Scali, stock up or stock down?

29:45Ale Moreno:Well, I'm actually going to say, and this might surprise you a little bit, stock down. This is based on the last few matches, not necessarily the whole season, because I think he started pretty well in this campaign, scored a goal against Augsburg when Gladbach wiped the floor with them. But since then, it has been stock down and his performances have deteriorated. and so much so he lost his place at the weekend to a guy called Jens Kastrop, who's an international for the Korea Republic. And Kastrop was one of the best two players in the game, playing in that right wing-back position. And Scali only came on late on.

30:21Ale Moreno:That was in the 1-1 draw with Leverkusen up against the aforementioned Malik Tillmann. So I think Scali is still the sort of player who Gladbach will rely on. And, of course, he is great pals with Gio Reyna. They're very close off the pitch. but he's got a bit of a challenge, which actually may be no bad thing with the world cup in mind, knowing that he's not just going to walk into the Gladbach side every week. He's got to really work for it. And as I say, Mauricio Pochettino might be quite happy about that.

30:54Herc Gomez:Very quickly, Ali, Joe Scali right now, top two, right back. You have Serginio Dest, Alex Freeman, who just made his debut for Villarreal. Joe Scali is in that top two conversation.

31:05Jesús Pérez:No, he's not. And the reason that he's not is because offensively, I don't think he gives Pochettino what he wants to get out of that wide position. I think Joe Scali is a very solid defender, but doesn't quite have a presence in the attacking half. And so you have no natural outlet with him playing on the right-hand side. And it doesn't feel, certainly in the way that he has been used or not used by Mauricio Pochettino, it doesn't feel like Pochettino really senses that he can get a whole lot offensively from Joe Scali. and therefore it limits what the United States can do, and they become a very left-sided team.

31:38Herc Gomez:Speaking about being a left-sided team, Kevin Paredes is the next one in our Stock Up, Stock Down. Derek, 22-year-old who has been injured a large portion of not only this season but last season. Stock Up, Stock Down?

31:51Ale Moreno:Stock Up, without any shadow of a doubt. And yes, injuries, foot injuries, all the way it seems for poor Kevin Paredes. it's funny at the start of the season when you had me on I actually labeled him as the one player I was most looking forward to in this campaign from an American point of view because I thought that surely he was going to enjoy a bit of good luck on the injury front at long last and then of course the injury jinx hit again but he's back in business they've been using him Wolfsburg his club judiciously as a substitute and then he got to start against Dortmund they lost the game thanks to a late goal from Cerro Girassi.

32:32Ale Moreno:But I thought Paredes did really well for a 64 minutes on the pitch. And there is a player there. I know that he perhaps doesn't fit into what the US national team is trying to do at the moment, but definitely stock up. He's still young, 22, got time on his side. And if he can stay away from these foot problems, I'm convinced that we're still going to be talking talking a lot about Paredes in a positive way in the years ahead.

33:00Herc Gomez:Yeah, early on in the Pochettino process, he got a call-up with him, even played a game, forced an own goal. Let's stay with you, Derek, here. We're going to go James Sands for St. Pauly, who has been one of their Ironmen, has only missed one game, and it was due to a concussion. Stock up or stock down?

33:16Ale Moreno:Stock up. I'm actually a big fan of James Sands. Now, you might look at James Sands and say, well, he's not a memorable sort of player. he's an artisan rather than an artist let's put it that way he's somebody who I think coaches value and certainly his coach at St. Pauli Alex Bessin values him and watched him really closely in the Pokal last week and thought he was one of the best players on the pitch actually playing in central defence playing as part of a back three because they had to do that due to the personnel situation and he was part of the St. Pauli side that shot Stuttgart at the weekend playing it as more customary position in central midfield.

33:56Ale Moreno:He had a bit of a dip earlier this season after a really good start. I remember watching him, and I think we all watched him in the Hamburg City derby, when if he wasn't the man of the match, he was pretty close to it. So I think he's slightly underrated, Sands. As I said, he's not the player who immediately catches your eye. But again, if it were me, I might be looking at a player like that who can be versatile, who can do the sort of the odds and ends, who can be relied upon to work really hard and is a good guy within a squad. So, yeah, James Sands, stock up.

34:30Herc Gomez:Yeah, I like James Sands. He kind of reminds me of, remember Michael Parkhurst, the U.S. men's national team, that kind of converted center back you can put into the midfield, very technical, anticipates well, very good player. Stock way up. Let me just say for James Sands, stock way up.

34:45Jesús Pérez:Now, for us, I don't... Because you said for us. It's what Marisa Pochettino did. Yes. Yes. And I don't know whether he values him nearly as much as Derek and myself do. I honestly, because we watch St. Pauli as closely as we have to with Bundesliga coverage, he has been impressive. And sometimes he's been put in positions where it's almost as if, well, we don't have anybody else. so I guess this guy is going to have to be it. And he took that opportunity early on in the season to say, well, there may not be anybody else for you to play, but I am the guy. And so much so that he has hung on to the position and has become now one of the first guys on the starting sheet.

35:31Jesús Pérez:And so that tells you for a guy, a newcomer, to be able to do that and do it in the manner in which he has in a team that needs every point that they play for to stay up in Bundesliga, that there is value to James Sand. And actually, I say it stoke way up because this is a guy that's playing under pressure every weekend. Every weekend, every point matters to St. Pauli.

35:53Herc Gomez:I think most people forget he actually played in Europa League final not too long ago. He's got a little experience under his belt. All right, we have Noah Kai Banks, the very talented 19-year-old German-American for FC Augsburg. Is this a stock up or stock down?

36:11Ale Moreno:Oh, this is a huge stock up. And I think potentially one of the great American stories in European club football at the moment, Norkay Banks. At the age of 19, he almost became Augsburg's youngest ever Bundesliga scorer. He missed it by a couple of days. and he's very good friends with Mert Kürmür who's another young player who's come through the ranks at Augsburg going the Augsburger Weg, as they say the Augsburg way along the Augsburg path and he's in good hands now with Manuel Baum as coach and what I like about Banks is he has a maturity for a player as young as he is he's got the physical presence but he's also got calmness on the ball He can make those line-breaking passes.

36:59Ale Moreno:And I think the upside is really high for him. And I know a lot of American fans have been watching him with interest, thinking, hmm, you know, would you take a chance on a young player like this when it comes to a big tournament? Would it be too much of a risk? But if you have a squad, and I don't know what the final number is going to be for the World Cup, but let's say FIFA decide it's something ridiculous like 28, which is too big as I think most of us would say but it could be that you know do you say this is a player who we want to give experience to in a tournament like this I can't think of too many really bad games he's had and I think there's a consistency of performance there that's very rare for a young defender the fact that Augsburg are giving him the chance every week the fact that he is delivering every week.

37:49Ale Moreno:I think Banks is somebody who is really going to hit the big time one of these days.

37:54Herc Gomez:You know, I think Derek's riding the money when he talks about the noise this kid is making, especially on social media with all these youngies, this new generation who's seen this kid play his trade in the Bundesliga at 19 years old, and they see the pool of centerbacks for the U.S. Men's National. Ali, right now we're seeing Alex Freeman at the centerback position. You have Miles Robinson, you have Tim Ream, who's almost, I believe, 40 still playing. You have Mark McKenzie, Austin Trustee. Was he part of the demographic? He was probably not part of the Benito demographic. But given the pool of centerbacks for the U.S.

38:28Herc Gomez:men's national team, Maris Pochettino, does he have an outside shot of maybe cracking the pool, making the World Cup team at 19 years of age of that position?

38:39Jesús Pérez:The point to be made is exactly what you just said there. Who's the competition? Who in this group is so impressive that you go, no, no, we'll take him over the guy who's playing consistently in Bundesliga. And not just playing consistently. Chris Richards would be your exception to everybody else. Right, right. So it's Chris Richards. But everybody else has got a point to prove. And I think Alex Freeman will have a role in this team as well. Perhaps not as a starter, but he will be part of the mix. Beyond that, I'm thinking, all right, well, I suppose the experience of Tim Rehm is important within the locker room.

39:09Jesús Pérez:And I think that's the argument that a guy like Pochettino would make. But if I go back to the point of Noah Kaibanks, not just playing for a career, not just starting, but playing well. Standing out. When you look at the guy play, you kind of go, there's something there. How many of those players do you have in the pool for the United States men's national team that even at 19 years old, you say, there's something special here. There's something that you got to pay attention to here, especially in that back line. I would take a look. At the very least, if I were Pochettino, I would take a look.

39:49Jesús Pérez:I'm curious enough. He's made me curious enough that I would take a look and then I would bring him in as quickly as I possibly could and I want to see what his interactions are with the rest of the group within the team. What kind of player is he on the field? What kind of player is he off the field? And how important could he potentially be as part of a group? And if he fits, then I would have no issues whatsoever in putting him as part of the rotation.

40:18Herc Gomez:I think you're both right. And you're talking to a guy who played zero minutes, zero camps in the lead up to a World Cup and made a World Cup team. So Noah Kai Banks at 19 years of age with that pedigree, that talent playing in the Bundesliga. And given, as you said, the pool of centerbacks, definitely a possibility. All right. Finally, for CONCACAF, Derek Ray, Alphonso Davies. Fonzie's been dealing with injury, trying to come back. What are we thinking with Alphonso Davies in his brief time with Bayern Munich?

40:45Ale Moreno:Stopped down because while I'm a great admirer, of course, of Alphonso Davies, since he's come back, he hasn't quite got into a rhythm. He's had some problems. Now, one of the problems he had wasn't really his fault, was being asked to play right back in that game against Augsburg when they lost. And that's not easy for a left-footed player, not really a right back. but that was a situation that was required on that particular day. But I would put it this way, Bayern have got a really big Pokal match coming up, quarterfinal game against Leipzig, which of course we'll have on ESPN Plus on Wednesday.

41:23Ale Moreno:And I'm not sure against the talent that is Jan Diomande, I'm not sure that Bayern are going to trust Davies in his current form, playing at left-back against the threat of Diomande. So I think that tells you where we are with him. It does happen, of course, doesn't it? You guys know as former players, you come back from long-term injury and it does take you a while. He's had some okay moments. Remember in the match against Hamburg just a week and a half ago, he had a very spectacular clearance almost right on the line. It looked as though Fabio Vieira was going to score for Hamburg, a big breakaway moment.

42:01Ale Moreno:But you're not really judging Davies on moments like that. You're judging on his ability mostly to get forward and to be a threat going forward, as well as to defend from time to time. But he had difficulties even dealing with 33-year-old Vladimir Tsofal of Hoffenheim at the weekend there. So I think for the moment, while we know he's a super player, one of the best in his position anywhere in the world, it's stocked down right now for Alphonso Davies.

42:27Herc Gomez:Derek, what do you think he's, excuse me, I'm just saying, physically, if you had to rate his percentage of where he's at, because he's known for his breakout speed, he's known for his anticipation, being the last man at times, where do you assess him physically?

42:42Ale Moreno:I think that is the big issue. He's just not quite back to where he was. I would anticipate that he probably will get there. But Vassel Kompany, the Bayern coach, actually said it pretty well. He said that there's no such thing as a soft reintegration with Bayern when you come back from injury at this time of year because they had, what, seven games in 20 days in January. And that's absolutely brutal for a player coming back. So I think it's a work in progress. I think he needs to be rested from time to time. I think he will be rested. I'd be very surprised if he plays on Wednesday in this crunch game and the Pokal.

43:18Ale Moreno:But he's going to be used. He's not going to be out of the team completely. And hopefully in a few weeks, he's back to where he should be. and certainly Canadian fans will hope that he's back to where they want him to be come the World Cup. In his return from injury, while he's trying to complete this return

43:37Jesús Pérez:and actually regain his starting position on the left-hand side of that back line of Bayern Munich, I'm going to throw just about all the names that have been used in that position by Vincent Kompany. Tom Bishop, who's actually a midfielder, was used there. Joseph Stanisic, who's a right-sided player, was used there. Iroki Ito, who's more of a central defender, was used there. Conrad Leimer, who has played mostly right back, but is actually a midfielder, has also played there. I mean, look, we're two or three names away from us playing left back for Bayern Munich. They've used just about anybody in that position instead of Alphonso Davies.

44:19Jesús Pérez:and it just kind of it tells you that he's not quite there. Right. So stuck down right now, but I imagine that as he gains more strength as he gains more confidence as he trusts his body and his knee a lot more as he goes through more training sessions more game action, then I think we're going to begin to see some of the best work from Alphonso Davies and I don't know if it's going to be towards the end of the year. We're yet to see it, but this is a player that depends heavily on explosion. Yes. And we just haven't seen the explosion just yet.

44:57Herc Gomez:Well, Jesse Marsh, the Canadian men's national team, Alphonso Davies, they have four months to get Fonzie back in his shape. And I think you're right. It's all about confidence, him believing that that body, trusting that knee again to having a good World Cup. One player who looks like he is poised for a ridiculous World Cup is Luis Diaz, the Colombian international. Scoring not one, not two, but three goals. And Bayern Munich 5-1 win over Hoffenheim. Brings his league total to 13. He is four. I repeat, four off the tally of a career high in his club European football resume. It's just, what can you say, Derek, about this player and how Vincent Kompany has brought out the best of him in the Bundesliga?

45:47Ale Moreno:it's a perfect fit and sometimes it just comes down to that he fits Bayern like a glove he probably is thinking to himself I really should have made this move a few years ago because it is absolutely perfect and in most games he dazzles and he's up to 13 Bundesliga goals now 18 in all competitions and it was just a wonderful hat trick everything about that performance from from Diaz was football at its finest at its most watchable and this is the thing Bayern really wanted in their heart of hearts they wanted Florian Wiertz and so Diaz wasn't necessarily the top choice but they paid a lot of money what 67 plus million euro and then bonus fees on top of that but he he just fits and you know when you look at the players around him you can see that they appreciate having him he appreciates having them having harry kane having whoever is going to play at number 10 and of course it it hasn't been musiala for most of the season though he's back now and available serge gnappery has played there quite a lot and you've got michael olise on the other side but there's a a real joie de vivre about how diaz goes about his business you know it's one of these things we can look at all the technical aspects of what he does But sometimes it's as simple as looking at expressions on faces and feeling that a player is enjoying himself in this new environment.

47:16Ale Moreno:And it's not a guarantee either. You think about certain players down the years. And I think back to his compatriot, James Rodriguez, when he was at Bayern. It wasn't as smooth and free-flowing for him as it has been for Luis Diaz. and countless other examples in terms of other nationals, other nationalities. So I think right now, I think those of us who watch the Bundesliga for a living and are ensconced in German football, I think we see it as a great privilege to be watching this player doing it week in, week out. And that was his best so far, though there have been other close calls in this campaign, but his best so far against Hoffenheim at the weekend.

48:01Jesús Pérez:the chaotic nature of his game brings something entirely different to Bayern Munich. And you think of Bayern Munich and what they are currently under Vincent Kompany and you have the classy finishing of Harry Kane and at times the classy passing from Harry Kane from deeper positions. You have this mood and I mean it's almost as if he's gliding Michael Olis on the right-hand side where the game just seems to come so easy to him. But it's all very beautiful and it's all very elegant. Luis Diaz brings chaos. And it's chaos that has impact behind it. It's chaos that creates something entirely different for this team on the left-hand side.

48:46Jesús Pérez:And because the nature of his game is chaotic and is disorganized, it is mayhem for other teams trying to defend. He's on the left. He's in the middle. He's running in behind. He all of a sudden appears underneath Harry Kane and sometimes appears beyond Harry Kane, and he is the one finishing the chance. There is no structure to what Luis Diaz does because he himself is just making it up as he goes, but he does it at a very high level. That chaotic nature of his game is something that Bayern Munich needed. He gets out of the structure of Bayern Munich and makes things happen from a different perspective entirely.

49:22Jesús Pérez:Ali, very quickly.

49:25Herc Gomez:can Colombia be chaotic in this World Cup? 29 undefeated games, and they played in a Copa America final against Argentina where they lost an extra time. Can Colombia be that dark horse with this Luis Diaz in form?

49:36Jesús Pérez:With this Luis Diaz in form, yes. But I'm going to mention a name that Derek just mentioned just now. James Rodriguez is still very much at the core of what they do offensively, which is it's hard to believe. It's hard to wrap your head around it. And yet, when he puts a Colombian national team jersey, it's like he becomes an entirely different player. Now with Minnesota United, till the World Cup, I don't know what version we're going to get from James Rodriguez, but James Rodriguez, still very much the key to what they do offensively. Luis Diaz benefits from that.

50:11Herc Gomez:All right, we're going to leave it there. I want to thank Derek Gray. If you want to catch more of Derek Gray, he's going to be on Wednesday's Pokal matchup. Bayern Munich host RB Leipzig. What is it? Atta bay. Arbe Leipzig. Thank you. And the quarterfinals coverage starts 2.15 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.

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52:53Herc Gomez:All right. Some people are going to cry. Reports say Fulham will not renew Raul Jimenez's contract. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Mexican international, he's been on quite a second act with Fulham this season. Coming through for the injured Rodrigo Muñiz. The reports suggest Fulham, well, they're thinking that it's time for Raul Jimenez to move on. And maybe this benefits Raul Jimenez, who will be on a free transfer post-World Cup 2026. That could likely mean the end of a 12-year career in European football. Ale, best for Fulham. Maybe a storybook ending for Raul. Come back to this side of the hemisphere.

53:36Herc Gomez:maybe Club America, his boyhood club, the club that he left for Europe. What do you think of the whole situation?

53:44Jesús Pérez:I'm going to touch on Raul Jimenez in a second. But there is somebody who right now is on a sling at PSV, Ricardo Pepe with his broken arm, going, yep, that's right. Open space at Fulham. Come for me in the summer. You can't help but think that this is a direct path. You think so? Well, I'm just saying, if you're Ricardo Pepe, you like to think so. Right, right. He would think so. Yeah, he would believe so. It's like, well, if they're doing this... They were interested before. Uh-huh. They were interested before when Raul Jimenez was there. Now that Raul Jimenez is gone, that opens up a space, and here's daddy.

54:19Jesús Pérez:And this arm is going to be working nice. It's going to be working nice. I'm just saying, Ricardo Pepe is probably excited about this. As for Raul Jimenez, he, I think, is an example, or should be an example for a lot of Mexican kids as to what it takes to persevere through major injury, major concern, not even about playing, but about his life, and push back all the doubt, push back all the naysayers, push back all the people that may have been saying, ah, he's done, he's done, he's done. this guy was able to, for lack of a better term, resuscitate his career and not only become a cult hero at two different clubs, do so because of his work rate, do so because of his personality, do so because of his leadership on the field.

55:19Jesús Pérez:If you're a teammate of Raul Jimenez, both at Wolves and Fulham, you have to love having this guy on the field because you know that he's going to give you everything that he has. And I will say, in watching Raul Jimenez as a young player, that wasn't quite the case. Something happened in his career that demanded for him to take his game to a different level in terms of the work rate, and he was able to meet that challenge. And that's the example that I'm talking about. This wasn't going to be good enough. He had to take his work rate to a different level. He did so, and that's why he has remained an important part of the clubs that he's played for in the Premier League.

56:02Herc Gomez:I think you're right. Let's not forget that out of Club America, he went to Ataligo Madrid. It didn't happen for him there. He went to Benfica. It sort of happened there. Made the jump to Premier League, and at Wolves, it changed his life. I don't know if you saw Anthony Robinson, the U.S. men's national left back, his comments about Raul Jimenez. And I have to forgive the outlet because I don't remember where I saw it, but he was saying, I wish so badly that I could dislike him. Yes. But he's such a great guy. He's such a great teammate. You can't help but respect and like the player. That's who he's been everywhere he's gone.

56:31Herc Gomez:And this Fulham report about not offering him that contract, I kind of think it's unilateral. I kind of think it goes both ways. This is Raul Jimenez saying, hey, I've gone as far as I could go or as I'd like to go 12 years away from home. I think it's the right time where maybe it benefits him. It behooves him to cash in to a Club America or to a Major League Soccer post-World Cup in his home country. He's third all-time goal scorer right now on the Mexican national team. Will most likely catch Jared Borghetti, which is no small feat. He's not going to catch Javier Hernandez. But at one point, not too long ago in the last year, people were rooting for that to happen.

57:10Herc Gomez:That's how well-liked he is. I think this is a win-win for everybody involved. He will go away a folk hero, like you said, that cult hero with Fulham. His second team in the Premier League. well-respected, very good career in European football, and come back and show not only Mexican kids, CONCACAF kids and kids abroad that you can have setbacks, you can have near-death experiences and still fulfill your dreams. It really is one of these inspirational stories. I see no negative here for Raul Jimenez and Fulham.

57:39Jesús Pérez:I'm going to throw a name at you. Yeah. You know, yeah, we're going to hit on that Mexican market, Rexham. you know Chicharito's reported for Wrexham if you can pick one or the other you're going with Raul Jimenez the player you know where I'm going with this the player

58:03Herc Gomez:you know where I'm going with this I think Chicharito and a Wrexham jersey would be interesting on so many levels I just think if there's one player who deserves his happy ending his send-off, it is Raul Jimenez. So whether it's Club America or Major League Soccer, I think he's got something in the tank. And something tells me if Mexico has any hope of doing anything, it starts and runs through Raul Jimenez. Agreed? I agree with you. All right. Wrexham. All right. All right. Raul Jimenez has been running it back on Football Americas all year long. And now we're going to go to some other CONCACAF players who are running it back as of late.

58:42Herc Gomez:Oh, no, we're not doing it running. I'm sorry. We got a highlight. Inner Miami. This is what happens when you see you're partying at the Super Bowl. It says right there, man, Chai, I was partying too much. I'm sorry. You can have Lionel Messi and Barcelona Guayaquil.

58:55Jesús Pérez:You might want to mark him, right? That guy is good. Yeah. Yeah, that guy is good. You know, he plays in Major League Soccer. What a unique situation Argentina has.

59:03Herc Gomez:Yeah. Oh, no. Oh, no. And then we're going to... Johan Garcia crossing the box. And is that... It's hunting for butterflies is what that is. Is that St. Clair? Was that Sinclair? And then Germán Bertrami, the new addition, a little deflection, but he'll take it.

59:20Jesús Pérez:It's amazing that in our shot sheet still, it highlights that Messi provided the pass. Yeah, I guess so. What about the deflection?

59:26Herc Gomez:Let's highlight the deflection. And then in the box, all by himself, nothing that Dane Sinclair can do right there. It's a 2-2 tie. And now we can run it back. Now we can run it back with Comcast Best. And who else? You just mentioned it. Alex Freeman making his debut. It was a 4-1 win versus Espanol. Man, Espanol is struggling. Manolo there is struggling, but Alex Freeman will not care. 27 minutes in his La Liga debut. Oh, Weston McKinney with another one here. Say what you will. The man, he's got ups and he knows where to be, Ale.

1:00:04Jesús Pérez:Yeah, and we continue to mention this, that there is instinctive movement from Weston McKinney inside the 18-yard box. And all it takes is, as he started sort of kind of backtracking and figuring out, okay, where is the space going to be? I got to separate myself from this defender in the near post, but not get too far to where the other defender picks me up. That's instinct. And beyond the instinct, there's the quality of the header.

1:00:32Herc Gomez:Oh, look at this quality. Jonah Dos Santos to Cendejas gets in his left foot. Watch him sneak this through the near post on his 28th birthday for the game winner.

1:00:42Jesús Pérez:What about this guy? what kind of role is he going to have? That's an interesting question. What kind of role is he going to have? Well, you're the expert, aren't you?

1:00:50Herc Gomez:Not tonight.

1:00:51Jesús Pérez:What?

1:00:52Herc Gomez:Not tonight. You're the expert. Are you kidding me right now? You're the expert. Listen, I hope you enjoy being here. I came back for you. I came back for you. For me? For you. I came back for you. You did that? It was a seven and a half hour trip, two plane rides to be here with you guys, with you.

1:01:09Jesús Pérez:But what would have happened if you hadn't made that flight? You wouldn't be able to listen to the Football Americas podcast tomorrow. Well, you would have, but it would be a monologue of me. A soliloquy of me.

1:01:20Herc Gomez:Maybe we are back on Thursday, if all goes well. I'm Hercules Gomez. I'll be back on Thursday. Are you back on Thursday?

1:01:27Jesús Pérez:Apparently.

1:01:28Herc Gomez:Hopefully, America's for life. FA for life. We're going on six years.

1:01:43Derek Rae:From 30 for 30 podcasts.

1:01:52Herc Gomez:Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gunned down.

1:01:57Derek Rae:The key to this case, it's Brian. Boy, he's ripped him. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. He's been placed under arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now.