Messi, Inter Miami stunned in historic loss to Orlando City

24:02Herc Gomez:And Ali, we're talking as if we understand the books and how he would fit into this. We are not saying we understand that because Major League Soccer has shown that it can get tricky when it comes to solving or cooking those books. And they usually have gotten away with it. And I'm saying in the most respectful way, I'm sure it's all legally done. But at the De Allende, who scores eight goals in the playoffs, who doesn't end up triggering and becoming a DP, all these different things, if they can get it in the books, I still don't think it's a good fit. We've seen his name linked to the L.A. Galaxy.

24:37Herc Gomez:they could probably have the money and they would also have the need. I think they have actual defensive midfielder need. They've got other needs, of course, but actually it's something that makes sense. I don't know how much sense this makes for Inter-Miami. It's just plugging another big name into the Inter-Miami orbit. Yeah, like you said, we don't know the books necessarily, but it has been very interesting that they've been able to attract so many names and also make it happen. It seems like the trend is, hey, we're hearing this name, And a few weeks later, we're hearing from our Lizzie Becerano pretty much confirming also the transfer for Casemiro.

25:11So we'll have to see if this happens. I mean, he is set to leave the club at least on a free transfer. So that would be at least beneficial to Miami or whoever contracts the services of a gas it. Confetti craze five hour energy tastes just like the best birthday cake ever. Vanilla, buttery, frosting vibes. It's basically a party in a bottle. And here's the best part. All cake, no sugar. So you get that big birthday energy without any sugar guilt. The bottle's small, easy to toss in your bag, and perfect when you need a quick, tasty caffeine boost to cake-ify your day. The Funfetti flavor is back on 5hourenergy.com or Amazon.

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27:21He is close to the final year of his contract. and the move could also involve a swap deal, including Joshua Zerksi. So it would be an interesting move here for Christian Pulisic. We know he has struggled as of late. 17 scoreless games here for the American. So I was asking you, Ale, about Casemiro and Inter-Miami. Christian Pulisic possibly at Manchester United. How good of a fit could that be for the club and or for the player? see i i thought and correct me if i'm wrong times that i've been in this show before i thought that christian pulisic at the beginning of the season could not have found a better place than milan where he was getting opportunities where he was finding flexibility where he was out in wide areas but he could also be underneath sometimes he would be up high sometimes he would be coming from deeper areas and look at Christian fly.

28:19Now because his performance his lower performance has gone south and there's no productivity then we start talking about whether Christian Pulisic is a good fit at Manchester United. Well what I would tell you is that the current level of Christian Pulisic would not start in the current version of Manchester United. He would not start ahead of Mateos Cunha and wouldn't start ahead of Mbemo either. So So, and it's a team that they themselves are trying to figure out what they're going to do with their coaching situation. So if you were Christian Pulisic, you don't know exactly who that manager is going to be.

28:53You don't, because it could be Michael Carrick, but it could be that they wait for another manager that comes off of a World Cup team. So there's a lot of uncertainty about Manchester United. I don't know why this would make sense from the perspective of Christian Pulisic. yeah your performance has gone uh very quiet over the last couple of months but what has changed since those moments in which people were so excited about christian and milan and the opportunities that he was getting and his level of performance and the productivity well what happens is that sometimes a player goes goes cold a player loses confidence a player doesn't quite trust his body because injuries have been a problem and then the level of performance drops.

29:41At some point, you got to snap out of it. The solution can be, well, I got to go elsewhere. Well, that elsewhere may not be better than where you're at right now in terms of you getting opportunities to play because, as I said before, I don't think he gets on the team ahead of Mateos Cunha or Mbemo. I could not agree anymore with what Alejandro just said.

29:59Herc Gomez:He's not playing over Cunha or Mbemo. When you call me Alejandro, that's sexy. Thank you, my man. You know who he would be? You know who he would be? He would be Mason Mount. That's who he would be. And that's not who you want to be today. And you said, I don't know what happened. Since his goal-scoring prowess, Ali, AC Milan had stalled on that contract they were going to give him. As much as you would. And there's no more contract. So this is why I think we're hearing Christian Pulisic's name being chopped around. Or chopped around, excuse me. It's because AC Milan understands that this player has a market in the Premier League.

30:32Herc Gomez:Has a market because of the North American star that he is. So$60 million right now for a Premier League team may not be too much money. But if he snaps out of that drought at the World Cup, what would that number balloon to for the Premier League, for a team like Manchester United? Would Milan want to keep him at that point? Well, no. They want to sell him because Milan isn't the type of team and they've not gotten the majority of their signings right in the last couple of years. But the one they did get right was$22 million for Christian Pulisic, and he was one of the best players in Serie A.

31:04Herc Gomez:22 million and you get that kind of goal productivity. If somebody's going to give you 60 million right now when he's in the midst of his worst career scoring slump, you put him up in a bow and you package him there. You put him in that bubble wrap and you physically take him there yourself. They're going to give you that much. But if he has a good World Cup, Manchester United, they're going to probably pay a lot more. I think he's being shopped around because of his name. He's being shopped around because of the market. And he's being shopped around because there are a lot of teams that know that they don't want to take the risk of a player blown up at the World Cup.

31:36Herc Gomez:And Christian Pulisic, as bad as he is, we've seen this before at Chelsea. He's used the U.S. Men's National Team as a refresher. And I can think of no bigger motivational factor than playing a home World Cup. I agree with everything Ale said, but there is that carrot right there for Manchester United to think about. And he is an enticing market for them. Yeah, they would want to get it done before the World Cup, like Kirk said. But when it comes to Christian Pulisic and what he has done for Milan in their worst moments and now in his worst moment, Milan wants to get rid of him. Is this a short-term memory thing here for Milan?

32:14No, it's just business. It's the business of assets that are depreciating. and it is your responsibility as a club to evaluate the current form of the player, what the player has been for you, and what you can project that he's going to be for you, and whether that makes sense to exploit whatever his value is in the market. And you wouldn't be doing or you wouldn't be making correct decisions if you're a club as Milan if you don't do your homework and you actually see what's up there. because you you i think you owe it to yourself to say all right we love this guy certainly we did in the earlier part of the season right now love has gone cold cold and uh when that love goes cold then it is in the best interest of the club to know okay well let's see what the value is and if something comes about that is something that you cannot ignore then then you get after it I don't think he's been good enough for Milan for them to be like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

33:22He's staying with us forever and ever. This guy is going to be a Milanista for the rest of his life. He's got to be here. No. The mathematics of the game and the economics of the game force you as a club to kind of go, all right. He hasn't been all that great for us as of late. Let's see what his market is and then let's make the best decision for the club. It really is simple math.

33:43Herc Gomez:Yeah, and if you're AC Milan, you're also thinking, okay, we can get a player that was once successful in Serie A, a la Jolene to Napoli, in this deal as well. Yeah, it's good business. Yeah, it might be good. We'll have to see if Christian Pulisic can have – I don't think it's good for Christian Pulisic, though. That's – and I think – I don't know if I made that clear in my first analysis of the move. But I don't think this is a good move or would be a good move for Christian Pulisic. He has uncertainty of his own. There's uncertainty in Manchester United. Yes, they have improved. But part of that improvement has been the new players that they have brought in.

34:18And who are those players? Players that play his position. So the upgrades that they have made offensively are in the positions in which Christian Pulisic potentially would play. And so I think he would be second choice. I don't think he would come in there with the same sort of pedigree nor the same sort of know-how and presence that he does have at Milan because of what he did in the earlier part of the season. Would he be as or more limited than when he was at Chelsea? He would be in that same conversation. Yeah. He would have to earn his place. And we have asked that question of Weston McKinney.

34:57Yeah. And he has done so. With Christian Pulisic, when that question has been asked before, eh, yeah, I don't know. he did so in Milan earlier in the season, but he certainly didn't do it at Chelsea. Yeah. And so it just feels to me like right now he's in a good place for him. Yeah. Whatever happened to like the relationship with the coach, the relationship with the club, and I'm scoring goals and I feel good and I'm confident and all these things, all of a sudden that has disappeared. I don't think it should be that simple.

35:29Herc Gomez:I love the question because at Chelsea, there was a carousel of players. So you never really know where you stood and who are you going to compete with. If this is the current situation, same coach, Garrick, and same amount of players, I think he's got a legitimate shot at being first off the bench, but he's not taking a starting position. Not right now. No. And assuming that he's the only guy that they go after. Correct. Exactly. Is he going to play on their knees for Bruno Fernandes? Yeah. Especially this version of Bruno. And we just don't know what Manchester United is going to look like and who the manager is going to be.

36:03There's a lot of questions. Yeah. A lot of questions, but here's a place where you can find a lot of answers. ESPN FC, available daily on ESPN+. Do I trust you guys a little bit? Too much there? Ian Fitzsimmons here. Bass Growing Trees is America's largest online nursery. They offer everything you can imagine. Fruit trees, privacy trees, shrubs, houseplants, and they're all backed by their Alive and Thrive guarantee and support from plant experts. And right now, Fast Growing Trees has great deals on spring planting essentials with up to half off select plants. And as a listener to this show, you get an additional 20 % off your first purchase when you use the code SPORTS at checkout.

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38:16All right, let's take it to some Liga MX action. America versus Pumas in the quarterfinals. Leg one, Club America, bad turnover on a bad pass.

38:30Herc Gomez:Yeah, look at Borja right there. Look, this ball is from the left back, trying to cross it over to switch the field to the right back. Juninho takes advantage of this and slots it, and early on, 1-0 Pumas. 13th minute, a chance to level it up. Club America for Violante, and he does, Ale. It's really poor defending to begin with. Holdo playing a really tight area and a nice, clean finish to the far post. 44th minute, a response from Pumas from distance, Herc. So, I know Ale wants to blame the goalkeeper. Keep an eye on Dorado. There's a deflection here. Yeah. Nobody helps him out, but still, that's an abysmal goal to give up.

39:09Oh, this is pretty, though, Ale. What a response there.

39:12Herc Gomez:This is nice. I'll take this. Not even a courtesy dive from the goalkeeper. That's fine. Well taken. I like that goal. 3-1 for Pumas. Blue America corner. A penalty would be given. I don't understand Carrasquilla here. He's such an experienced player. Why wrap your arms around the player like that? Penalty kick, Kenny Martino, put it away. Yeah, it's something that we don't hear often. Kenny Martino scoring, does it from the penalty spot. 83rd minute across into the box. More calls for a penalty. And the ref hurt pointing to the spot. I mean, this is a penalty kick, right? Yeah, I'll say so. What is your boy?

39:52That's him. It's your boy. There it is. Alejandro Sendeja scoring the penalty. It's a 3-3 game. Leg two is on Mother's Day. So a lot of moms are going to have to go to the stadium there on Sunday. A lot of moms are going to be mentioned at the stadium too. Yes. Yes. That is very true. So Pachuca beat Toluca 1-0. Tigres beat Guadalajara 3-1. You okay? Got something stuck in your throat there? Cruz Azul 3-2 over Atlas to kick off the Ligue 1. But our focus is going to be on Alejandro Sendejas. With his 40 appearances, 11 goals, 7 assists, but truly does not tell the tale of how important this player is for Club America, one of the most important clubs in all of Latin America, whether it's on the field or mediaticamente hablando, or all of the media that surrounds America.

40:49I almost forgot how to speak English. With Alex Zendejas and what you've seen and the pressure that he's able to kind of hold on his own, Herc, and you pointed out to us that there was a Zendejas cam too.

41:04Herc Gomez:So, Club America, to people here in the States, they've known from playing against Liga Mexicans, but for those in Latin America, it is a massive club with a massive history. And here you have an American kid who's captaining the side, and they're playing against one of their rivals. And all eyes are on this kid. Not because he's of the moment, because he's been so consistently good for Club America. Here's a player who's risen to the occasion in a team that's played four straight finals. And those four straight finals won three straight times. They lifted a trophy. And he was a massive part of that team.

41:37Herc Gomez:Here he is on the biggest of stages responding. he had himself a hell of a game and it gets you thinking why can't a player like this be a consistent fixture on the national team this u.s men's national team this version of the u.s because i grew up in an era playing in liga meckes where it was good enough to get you on the u.s men's knowledge team maybe not keep you there but get you in that orbit you have to do whatever you had to do to maintain yourself there but it was a big platform and here he is on the grandest of stages performing and all those players that we point to europe they're all of his generation he grew up with the weston mckinney's that's one of his best friends he grew up with the tyler adams the christian police is the haji wrights the luca de la torres he played u17 national team with these guys he's seen where they are he could easily be somewhere in around there but the kid is making millions playing for one of the biggest teams in Latin America.

42:36Herc Gomez:And I ask myself, what more does he have to do? So who's ahead of him? Well, that's the thing. Right now, I'm asking you. You're the expert. Right now, in the current formation that Pochettino plays, the two dual tens where I think he would most legitimately compete, you have a Christian Pulisic, you have a Gio Reyna, you have a Brendan Aronson, you have a Malik Tillman, you have a Diego Luna, and a Christian Roldan. And those guys are all ahead. I'm not saying they're ahead. That's who we That's what you do. I don't. The options. I think nobody. He's at least ahead of Giorena. Well, here's the thing.

43:08Herc Gomez:There's only one player that cemented himself. And that's Christian Pulisic. I think everybody everywhere else is fair game. You look down the line. Malik Tillman's not gotten off the bench in how many games he's not started. You look at Diego Luna. Diego Luna wasn't involved in the last go around. You heard Pochettino making comments like maybe something happened in the offseason where he didn't prepare himself. You look at Christian Roldan. That's not exactly a world beater for some fans, pundits, to say that that keeps Alejandro Sendejas off the field. Brendan Aronson, who I think has gotten very good with leads this season, but also is in a lock with the U.S.

43:41Herc Gomez:Men's National League. There are players here that I can't say are legitimately ahead of Alejandro Sendejas. So you would have him in your squad is what I gather. Yes. And who would stay out then? Oh, I think there's a few that could stay out. So in your mind, he's ahead of how many of those that you just mentioned? I think two or three, and here's another reason why. When you look for roster positions as a coach for the World Cup, you can't go two to three in every position. You have to think to yourself, okay, in a pinch, who plays multiple positions? This kid started off at Necaxa as a double six, goes to Club America as a winger on the right-hand side, has played as a 10, has played as a 9.5, has played as a double 10, and as an 8.

44:24Herc Gomez:I think he is so well-versed in those positions, and he's a left-footed player, something that you don't really have much of in the U.S. men's national team pool. I just think it's good business for Pochettino. I don't think anybody in this pool, there are a few players, I should say, in this pool that have really cemented themselves as World Cup locks. I, for the life of me, can't think of why he hasn't received more opportunities. And if we think about the last time he received an opportunity, he scored a golasso against Japan. Right. My question, though, because you mentioned the platform of Liga IMAQs over the years, is the platform the problem?

45:03Not a problem, but it's not a solution. Has it become weaker?

45:05Herc Gomez:Of course, because you have the pool playing in Europe. When fans get upset, Major League Soccer fans, just because you're in Europe, it doesn't mean you're better than somebody in Major League Soccer. Maybe not, but they're in Europe. So their perspective is they competed at a higher level. doesn't necessarily mean we know what Major League Soccer is, that you're a worse player than somebody who's in Europe, but they compete at a higher level. And as a coach, that's what you should strive for your players, that they compete at the highest of levels. All I heard is that you've invested a lot of money in the agency that represents Alejandro Zendejas there.

45:40Which one is that? What I'm saying, you seem to be very invested in Alejandro Zendejas. The problem is nobody else seems to be nearly as invested because in the call-ups that seem to be critical or at least point us in the direction as to what players are going to be part of the mix. Which is the last one. Yeah. He didn't seem to be anywhere around the important player that he could have been or should have been during those call-ups. So if we're going to read some of the messages that Pochettino is sending, none of those messages are going in the direction of Alejandro Zendejas. They're going every which way.

46:14It doesn't feel like he's even in the picture, which, to your point, would seem to be the incorrect approach from Pochettino, given that he has expanded the player pool to just about everywhere. But it doesn't seem like Alejandro Zendejas, regardless of how consistent he has been, that he's even in the picture.

46:32Herc Gomez:Yeah, you know, I know exactly what you're saying. And he's in this tricky area with the timing of the injury and how he's coming back. Or if I'm Pochettino, I have an easy out saying, well, he was coming back from injury. Yeah. You know, I didn't call him because he was coming back from injury. But if you're not in the last call-up for the final FIFA fixture window, it's not a good sign. It's really not. So it's how much stock does Pochettino put into his performances for a struggling Club America team? The key there, what you just mentioned, Herc, is the easy out for Pochettino. It's an easy out to leave Zendejas off the team than leaving Gio Reyna off the team.

47:17even though Gio Reyna has had as much action with Muchen Gladbach as I've had with Muchen Gladbach. And nobody thinks higher of Gio Reyna and his potential with the national team than I do. But it's impossible to make a case for him above players that actually have been on the field consistently. That hasn't been the case for Gio Reyna. It has been for Zendeja as of late. But if you were to ask me, it's more likely that Gio Reyna is on that team than it is for Alejandro Sendejas.

47:48Herc Gomez:Yeah, and I don't have a problem with Gio Reyna being on that team. And I don't have a – I have nobody to take away a player's dream. But if you're sitting here and telling me that the likes of Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, even a Christian Roldan, a Brendan Aronson in the last two months have cemented themselves with their club play, They have cemented themselves with what you saw out of them on the U.S. men's national team. I could push back on that. And because there are no locks, if I'm in Mauricio Pochettino. It's also 26 players that you're taking to the World Cup. I mean, you know, it's quite a big roster.

48:26Herc Gomez:Of course. But if I'm Mauricio Pochettino, Ale, maybe there's a few winners and losers that I clearly saw last FIFA fixture window. Yeah. You know? There were a lot of losers. I mean, 5-2 loss to Belgium, 2-0 loss to Portugal. It's not great. I do want to say this about Alejandro Sendejas because when he gets the Liga MX, I was still covering Chivas. And I remember it was the whole, but is he really allowed to play with Chivas? Is he truly a Mexican? And, you know, I talked to him in English. And to me, it's like, well, yeah, he's a little, maybe a little more American than he is Mexican. But I mentioned that because he never appeared for Chivas.

49:03And he was willing to put in the work, the grind, to make a name of himself or maybe a little more at Necaxa and to really make a name of himself at Club America where the pressure is constant. Alejandro Sendejas, if he gets the opportunity to go to the World Cup, he will grind for the U.S. men's national team because he has been consistent at least the times that we have seen him at the national team level. So I know you've been in Alejandro Sendeja stand for years now, and I completely understand why, Herc.

49:35Herc Gomez:Well, it's just you look at the players for who they are, and I just think he holds more quality than some of the other players. And I see the pedigree of where he's been, that youth 17 national team, and most of those players feel comfortable with him. For me, it's an easy decision. I'm not the coach. Yeah. Some see it clearly. Some don't. We'll have to see if Javier Aguirre sees it clearly. Some don't see it at all. Some clearly don't see it at all. But we'll have to see if they suffer the consequences of their actions coming up here in the World Cup. Harry Douglas here. Let me ask you something.

50:12Herc Gomez:What if you can enjoy the taste of a cocktail, the warmth of a spirit, and still stay fully in control? That's RK Zero Proof, a pioneer in the alcohol-free spirits category. RK delivers bold flavor and a real warm and sensation with zero alcohol, zero sugar, zero carbs, and zero calories. Perfect for nights out, social gatherings, or any time you want the experience of a drink without sacrificing tomorrow. Check it out at rkbeverages.com. That's A-R-K-A-Y, beverages.com, R-K. All the flavor, none of the alcohol. Mother's Day is coming, and you gotta show love to the mothers in your life. Between my mom and my wife, who is now a first-time mom, I got a lot of appreciation I need to show.

50:51Herc Gomez:So yeah, Mother's Day matters, and you gotta get it right. That's why I'm sending farm-fresh flowers from the Bukes company. Right now, get 25 % off with my code CANTY. Bukes flowers are cut fresh, so you get bigger, brighter blooms that last way longer. They've got incredible flowers. Some are even grown on the side of a volcano. And the best part? Bukes makes it easy. Pick the bouquet, the delivery date, and you're done. No last-minute panic. That's why Books has over 55 ,000 five-star reviews. With 25 % off using code CANTY, grab flowers for your mom, your wife, and grandma, too. Mother's Day is May 10th, so don't wait.

51:30Herc Gomez:Go to Books.com, use code CANTY for 25 % off. That's B-O-U-Q-S.com, use code CANTY. Books.com, code CANTY. But someone also on the Mexican radar, of course, is Obed Vargas in his recent move to Atlético de Madrid, and he had this assist against Valencia. Trust us. Yes, trust us. It was good. It was really good. But you know what was also good is that tweet that we saw from Atlético de Madrid saying, Buen partido, wey. Good game. What, dude? Yes, I guess the vulgar dude. The direct translation. So, Atleti clearly backing their player, And Obed Vargas really hasn't been there long, Ale, but to have this recognition already from the club, gaining more minutes week in and week out, to you, is that a no-brainer?

52:25As we see it with Alejandro Sendejas and the U.S. men's national team, do you see it the same for Vargas and Mexico? Yes. Yes. And I think for all of us, Obed Vargas has played far more minutes than we thought he was going to get with Atletico Madrid when he went there. We thought, all right, look, just being around that environment and Simeone and the experienced players, and that is going to be helpful for him. And even then, I was saying he still should be part of the Mexican national team, if not to participate in this World Cup actively to at least be part of the experience because you are building for the future.

53:04But now that he has played and he has been, I think, as impressive as he has been, I do think that there should be a place for him in this team, and there should be a place for him to compete in this Mexican national team. I do have a question because as I was coming in, I was giving some thought to some of the things that we were going to talk about. I was going to ask the question to the expert, Hercules Gomez. Let's assume that we are in a NAFTA trade agreement sort of situation. And you were the manager of this team that included Mexico and the United States. We're going to ignore Canada for a second.

53:47Sorry, Canada. Sorry, my bad. If you were making the choice as to who would start for the team, would you pick Johnny Cardoso or Obed Vargas? Oh, that is a great question. It's a lot of thought. Are we talking club or are we talking national team? No, no. You have the two teams. You have the two players, and I'm giving you a choice as to who starts. Because right now, Diego Simone makes a choice, and it's Johnny Cardoso. It's Johnny Cardoso. But as it pertains to you, because I know. See, the amount of times that I've worked with you, I can now sense that Johnny Cardoso doesn't really fill you up with a whole lot of joy.

54:29You have a lot more joy for Zendejas than you do with Johnny Cardoso.

54:32Herc Gomez:He usually does it with the U.S. men's national team, but against Arsenal, I thought he was. He fill you with joy? was ridiculous. Okay, well, then who starts with you? Well, right now it would be Johnny Cardoso, but I don't want to be unfair to Obed Vargas. Mexico doesn't have a healthy Johnny Cardoso right now. They have an Edson Alvarez who's being booed by Turkish fans coming off an injury. They have a Marcel Ruiz who's playing a partially torn ACL. They have Eric Lira, who we just saw get cooked in the CONCACAF Champions League by Denny Boanga. Right. You know, like this CONCACAF Champions Cup, excuse me, cup.

55:12Herc Gomez:Correct. This is an Obed Vargas that and. And you were right about the initial assessment of we didn't assume he would play this much. Atletico didn't assume every pundit that we spoke to from the Atletico side would say would tell us he will be loaned out. He needs to gain experience. And then you had injuries to Barrios. You had injuries to Cardoso and it forced him to stay and he started playing. And now maybe the plan wasn't. for Atletico Madrid to make it to the semifinals of the Champions League. But here they are. So they are playing with alternate squads. They have to play with some players who normally they wouldn't play with.

55:47Herc Gomez:And Obed's taking advantage of that situation to his credit. And you have Javier Aguirre, the Mexican national team coach, who openly admitted he was an afterthought. Obed wasn't in the orbit. He wasn't in the picture. But now that he plays in Atletico Madrid, I have to call him up. I have to bring him in. I've got to see what this is about. He is green. He is green at the club level. He is green at the national team level. But everything I've seen from this green player leaves me wanting more. So if I'm Javier Aguirre, who's already made a bunch of mistakes in the 2002 World Cup and the 2010 World Cup with player selection, I have Rafa Marquez, who's going to take the team over after I leave this World Cup cycle.

56:32Herc Gomez:I am hoping, begging, somebody there is pleading with Javier to have an eye for the future. We need this player because you said it. There's 26 players on this roster, Ale. Realistically, player 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 may not see the field. Right. Prepare for the future. Show me another player in the Mexican pool playing in a top five league with this platform. There's only one, and that's Obed Vargas right now. I don't know how Javier Aguirre keeps him off this roster. I say that knowing what I know of the 2002, Tato Noriega being the second leading goal scorer of Copa Libertadores as a midfielder from Morelia and being left off the World Cup roster.

57:19Herc Gomez:I say this knowing what I know of Guillermo Ochoa being the goalkeeper the whole World Cup cycle in 2010. Then, come tournament time, he puts in a 40-year-old, almost 40-year-old Conejo Perez as the goalkeeper. Knowing what Javier is about, I don't know what he's going to do, but I, for the life of me, can't see him not being part of that roster. The most obvious question to ask is, are there – let's assume that you're taking eight midfielders. It's a random number, but it seems about, right, eight or nine midfielders. Are there eight midfielders better in Mexico right now than Obed Vargas? And I think to that question, if it's as basic and simple as that, I think the answer is no chance that there are eight midfielders better currently than Obed Vargas.

58:08Herc Gomez:Especially now with defensive responsibilities like that. Edson Alvarez is coming off an ankle injury. We don't know what he's like. Eric Lira, I happen to like. But there are physical things about his game that don't match up well at the international level. So your obvious like for like with Edson Alvarez, I do feel is more Obed Vargas. And because of that, that number eight, I think it puts him in a special category where it makes him even more unique. Right. Yeah, it would. Man, it would be bad if he was left off the World Cup roster. That's that's all I say. Would you put it past Tavier Aguirre?

58:46No.

58:46Herc Gomez:OK, no. with exactly what you're saying because it seems like he has other interests as well. And you know, be good with everybody. I mean, it has to do with the decisions that he made in the past. But anyway, we're looking towards the future. I know a lot of people agree. Hey, you asked. But we wonder if I do about what's coming up this weekend with La Liga Atlético de Madrid. Speaking of Ovid Vargas, the face is still time being going. Of course, I won't be here this weekend. I lay why? We're going to Barcelona, Barcelona and classical on Sunday 2 30 PM Eastern and you can of course watch that on ESPN.

59:35Alright, this is interesting. Something nothing or everything. A very interesting goal that we saw in Panama. Take a look at the goalie. It bounces and it goes in a strange way. Well, at the end now, this is raising questions of possibly fixing the match, obviously, for betting purposes. This is San Miguelito's goalkeeper, Jose Calderon, with an own goal. I don't think I've ever seen an own goal like this in my life. Ale, I want to get your reaction Oh, boy. This is everything. All of it. All at once, everything and everywhere. Oh, San Miguelito and Jose Calderon. Let me tell you. Everything. He knew the odds.

1:00:30He knew what was necessary. He knew the over-under. He knew the props. Hold on a second. Are you telling me that this guy who has the ball trapped to the post, his choice as a goalkeeper, instead of just utilizing his arms to just do this, to hold on to the ball, this was a better choice to chest it into his own net, and you're telling me he's not on the take? Come on. This is everything.

1:00:58Herc Gomez:You know what didn't help him? Is that one of his teammates on his social media actually said, it looks like he's in on the take. That's what did not help him. Listen, we don't know if he's on the take or not. What I can tell you is it's a very suspicious looking goal. This is the type of goal that gets scored on you if your goalkeeper gets red carded and you're forced to play in goal because you have no more substitutes. A person who has never played in goal, this is the type of goal that you may give up. Maybe if you didn't have the athletic coordination. But is this an actual goalkeeper? It's very tied to the post, but the initial reaction goalkeepers aren't to catch the ball there.

1:01:39Herc Gomez:It's the period. It's the pocket. He wants to catch it and then when he catches it, he wants to push his chest into the post. He's got the ball trapped with his chest in the post. Now hold on to the ball and look at the move. Oh no! Oh no! This is everything! Yeah, this is a... It's a bad look. I don't know how you... I mean, I don't know how you lift it. Catch it, catch it, catch it and go, no, no. Do everything but that. I don't know how you lift this one down. Forget about the embarrassment. To what Ali's talking about, I don't know how you defend yourself here because if there are not flags being raised and alarm bells going off right now.

1:02:18And own goal so bad that flags are being raised.

1:02:21Herc Gomez:It's just a very suspicious looking goal. Honestly, the only thing that could be worse than this is that he turns around and literally hits the ball straight into his goal. Yeah, or just throws it into him. But that's what he did. He gave him the old chest into his own goal. No, no, no. The classical shimmy into the goal as goalkeepers do. No, no, no. Never said no one ever. All right. Let's take it to run it back. Let's see some better goals that don't raise any red flags. Green flags only of what we saw this weekend. What's the investigation? Has the investigation started already? Yeah. Yeah.

1:02:58Seriously. All right. Let's run it back. We're going to start with the fuller and Baligan who had a goal in Monaco's. No, we are not. We are starting with what we saw with Ricardo Pepe in this 2-2 draw versus Ajax Herc.

1:03:13Herc Gomez:Look at Pepe just wrap around the back post. He doesn't know the ball is going to be there, but he feels it. He smells it, and he bags another goal. This is very well read. He just smelled it. It's a good goal. Yeah, followed that play perfectly. Now let's get to Fuller and Balogun in Monaco's 2-1 win versus Metz. He's hot, and he continues to stay hot. And if I were a fan of the United States, I'd be like, oh, bro. Honestly, save him. Save him. Save him. Because you know as strikers, you get hot. The next thing is you get cold. Oh, no. All right. Hey! Let's do the next one. Hey, indeed. So, Gino Dest is making his first appearance since March 7th here in the 2-2 draw versus Ajax.

1:03:58Herc Gomez:Yeah, good to see him back. Gino Dest needed to get some. He's there. What do you mean? Oh, where is he at? He's in that beautiful blue kit. It's a nice jersey. Now he is. Now go at him. Oh, oh, oh. He's got to shake off the rust. He's got to shake off the rust. Oh. All right, how about this from Julian Quiñones, a goal and assist with Alcaccia, Alcaccia, never know how to pronounce it, versus Al-Nassar Ale. Al-Nassar, that's Cristiano's team. Every week we show Julian Quiñones throwing holes. Yep. It's not a repeat. It's not a replay. I mean, every single week he's scoring goals. He's hot. League leader.

1:04:39This is hot here for Gianluca. Busio as well. Played all 90 minutes on Friday. A historic game, too, because Venezia drew 2-2 to Spezia. That was enough for the promotion, Herc, to Serie A.

1:04:52Herc Gomez:That's Busio's second promotion with Venezia. A bit of a specialist there in Serie A. He started 36. He's no longer in the picture either, by the way. No, he's not. Alright, Ale, so you know how you left Canada out? I wasn't worried because Canada is back in here with Are You Cool With It? So, Thomas Skublak here scored for Intertoronto FC, right? And he took advantage of the cameras being real close to him. He said, wait, wait, wait, everybody out of my way. I need to promote my real estate business. Give me a call. Hey, listen, it's a platform that he took advantage of it. Ale, are you cool with it?

1:05:28Not only am I cool with it, this man is a genius. Yes, yes, I agree. Look, for those of us that were part of MLS 1.0 and know the full struggles of what it was to make absolutely no money whatsoever, we had to get resourceful. And some of us, we would go to training in the morning and we would coach a team in the afternoon, a kids team, because sadly we're getting paid more money to coach that team than we were to play the game. But that's neither here nor there. I've turned the page. Obviously, I'm not bitter whatsoever. Being resourceful when you need to be. This is exactly what this man is doing, and I appreciate it.

1:06:13I'm all in for it. And if I were in the market for a house in Canada, I would be reaching out to Thomas.

1:06:19Herc Gomez:I like resourceful. Absolute genius is right. I mean, the team's tweet, the highlight has been amplified millions of times across the world. Two million views I saw on Twitter, by the way. You've seen it everywhere. His real estate business, I'm sure, will take off, and he'll probably get a lot more than he does playing in the Canadian Premier League. I believe the minimum there is 30 to Ali, his point. When we were playing, the minimum was not 30. It was a lot lower than that. Listen, Ali and I were teammates. I was 19 years old. He was like, what, 22 at the time. You had to do whatever you could because the league wasn't where it is today.

1:07:02Herc Gomez:Because professional soccer in this country wasn't where it is today. You had to literally have a second job, it felt like, to play professional sports. And through the wayside, a lot of very talented individuals left the game to pursue their actual careers that they went to school for, to pursue trades, to pursue whatever they needed to actually get their life started. Most weren't as lucky as we were. So you value when somebody wants to chase that dream and the willingness to chase that dream. And if it meant having a second job, like we see here, you respect that. I think it's part of the grind, part of the hustle.

1:07:39Herc Gomez:I see plenty of kids today who are handed everything, who are handed opportunity and resources. And this isn't an old man yelling at the cloud. This is you see what they have at their disposal and the little attention they get and where that takes them. You hope they would have some of this some of these values that we see with with this player understanding that I love soccer, but I also have to eat and this helps me. So I think it's resourceful and I am 100 percent cool with it. Yeah, I'm very I'm very cool with it. You have to take advantage of the platform that you have as well. Like we said, 2 million views last I checked.

1:08:17Last time we prepped a guy, guys, two hours ago is when I checked it. Yeah, 2 million views. So he's going to be eating good. I'm all in. I'm just hoping that Thomas is a good guy because I don't want to be all in with a guy that is resourceful but, you know, shady on the business side. I'm all in, Thomas. I hope you're not shady on the business side. Don't disappoint us, Thomas. I hope you're just resourceful and creative in a good way.

1:08:41Herc Gomez:How soggy do you think that card with Elo? Hey, that's all right. Oh, true. He gave me some thought. He executed. And he had to score the goal. More importantly, he did so. He showed you some skills, and he's going to show you a house. Yes. Only the best on the market. Next time, Thomas, maybe throw a little QR code in there. That'll be a little bit better. Yeah. See you on Thursday.

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