Chris Richards on Winning the FA Cup, Soccer Development In the US, Captaining the National Team, Presented by Bank of America: Men in Blazers 06/10/26

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2:21we are back with chris richards oh you're marauding center back adopted son of south london all around beautiful human being for part two of our conversation if you missed part one find it um it is humanly so enriching there is a lot of poetry not for me but from this man chris it's amazing to be back with you yeah thank you for having me back chris honestly um i want to pick up with your Crystal Palace team. Watching them soar in the Conference League this season. There was a moment in the semi-finals against Shakhtar. I want to ask you about, you had an incredible performance. And one of the features of the game was your just immense long throw ability.

3:03Led to the third goal of the game, I think for Kamada. I'm genuinely curious, how did you discover that talent? Does the coach line everyone up one day and be like, all right, lads, let's see you can do this. or do you cultivate the talent work on the talent train it make it yours you know i think i'm a product of a american sports system uh honestly you know growing up having tossed the football around having thrown the baseball having played wall ball at recess you know i think uh i probably have better hand-eye coordination than a lot of uh europeans do and i remember last year when matt turner was here we would throw the football around um after training which is so american of us but i remember the the coaching staff they're like oh you have an arm on you and i was like yeah they're like all right let's see how a long throwing looks and so i did one and they were like whoa but that was before this whole long throwing revolution that's going on now it was before that so um didn't really use it last year and then the turn of the year everybody uh every every club in europe was doing long throws so they were like all right chris get on it and uh yeah it's kind of uh it's kind of been one of those things where um i wake up and sometimes some days my shoulders are a bit sore compared to last year but uh you know if it can help the team with an extra two or three goals in the season then uh you know i deem it successful this is power moves presented by bank of america the official bank of u.s soccer in the fifa world cup 2026 bank of america always asks what would you like the power today i remember when deandre yedlin early on in his newcastle career did a throw in and the commentator in his english accent just goes deandre yedlin quarterback style just unleashed an incredible throw and I just love it oh America there's also some incredible footage of you in your 4-2 aggregate win in the quarterfinals travelling in Florence with the Palace fans and after the game fans and players just danced and sang in the streets of Florence it was just joy and abandoned like you're at the best bachelor party in Tuscany of all time but that melding of players and fans is so rare in football but it's also very, very palace.

5:06Do you have a memory of that night? Do you have any memories that have stayed of that night, to be honest? No, definitely. I think, like you said, it's something that's very palace, is I guess how much everybody who supports or plays for palace interacts with each other. I think even when it comes down to the ground, when you look at Selhurst, it's arguably one of the oldest stadiums in the UK, and you feel it. You feel the history. You feel the camaraderie throughout the stadium. And, again, I think that's what makes Palace Palace is this family, this family interactions that we have with one another.

5:40And I remember after the FA Cup win last year, you know, it was we were partying with staff. We were partying with fans, you know. And then, again, we had to run it back in Florence. So it was a really fun night, you know, seeing the red and blue in Florence and being able to share a win with our fans. You know, we do it for them. And so it was a really fun night. You mentioned the FA Cup. It's almost a year ago that you and the team's legacy was cemented with the Palace faithful. You brought Manchester City down to worse, really, at Wembley with a remarkable 1-0 victory. Eberichie Eze with a goal that will be, I think, told for generations in South London.

6:20Very quick one, because I want to talk about the experience of the game. But the US have lost eight straight games to European opponents. you know it's about mindset often taking the field believing that you're actually going to beat them when you took the field at Wembley against Manchester City who call Wembley um you know they call it Etihad South they're there all the bloody time did you really feel when you left the locker room we're going to beat these honestly yes um I've spoken about it before I don't remember who I was speaking with but I remember saying that that was probably one of the least nervous well excuse my English it's not proper English but one of the least nervous moments I guess of my of my career I think because we played them a few weeks prior and we were up 2-0 and lost 5-2 but I remember after the game it didn't feel like a 5-2 game you know of course it's City and they're you know they're very efficient what they do but I think they kind of came into that game with this sense of confidence that they just beaten us and that we were just going to roll over and And I remember going out there and now seeing the fireworks, seeing the TIFOs, seeing everything.

7:24And I remember looking at the people beside me and I was like, you know, this is nobody's backing down from this. You know, we're ready for it. And again, Glasner, he made a speech before the game and he said something that I'll never forget. And he was saying that this is for so much more than just this club. It's for the community of South London. You know, it's for the generations of people who have worked their ass off to live for days like this. You know, regardless of if we win or lose, this is a moment that's going to live in their memory forever. So let's make it a happy one. I remember, again, like once the whistle blew, just seeing every emotion from people who are newborns all the way up to 100-year-old men and women.

8:07And it was, again, it was that day still inspires me to this day. I want to be able to give people emotions like that every time I step on the field. So it was, again, it was a day that will forever live with me. And it was a moment that will hopefully inspire many more moments for Crystal Palace. You were a man possessed watching you in that game. 12 clearances, four shots blocked, four out of five aerial duels won, the clean sheet, your chaos inducing long throws. I love Eberichieze. He comes on this show a bunch and he talked once about what it was like to score the win. He talked quite beautiful about the moment where he first turned to Manchester City fans.

8:47He was facing them, just seeing their stunned expressions. But then he turned to Behold and he talks about it much more poetically than I can. The 30 ,000 Crystal Palace fans, just a mass display of ecstasy. You know, he said he realized in that moment he was looking at thousands of fans who were all making memories they would have forever because of the goal he scored. It is incredibly beautiful. Can you tell us what you remember about that moment? Because it is, I think, in a world that needs a beautiful moment of humanity. Definitely. I mean, I think especially when you look at the goal, it starts with a goal kick.

9:22I remember getting on my left foot and finding JP, who's a big guy. So he's easy to find. He had a lot of work to do. Mateta. Yeah, to Mateta. And lays it off to Daichi, through to Danny. Danny's in, crosses it to Ebs. And I must have been 10, 15 yards behind midfield when the goal was scored. And I remember running to the corner and it was me, Danny, JP, and Ebs. And we're like on our knees praying, you know. And that was the moment. I think we all understood that this was something that was more than just a goal. It was more than just a moment. It was more than just a successful period. It was the moment for Crystal Palace fans, you know, people who have seen so much heartache and agony and triumph and, you know, second places and whatever the case is.

10:14It was a moment of just pure emotions when that goal went in. And we still had 70 odd minutes to play. but I remember every throw in, you know, City fans are whistling, you know, I remember every, every time the play stopped, you know, City fans were, you know, asking the ref to add more time and things like that. And I think that's when we knew that, you know, we, we were going to do it because we saw how, I guess, how much they were complaining, the more and more the game went on. You draw strength from that. Exactly. Yeah, definitely. Because, you know, I think that's one of the reasons why I'm a defender is because, you know, I like to frustrate the other team.

10:50And I guess when you see them getting more and more frustrated to try to play more into it you know maybe you'll maybe you'll lay on the ground an extra second after getting fouled and no it's it's doing the head in but you know for me i was having a great time do you feel good when you do and i've always wondered the player about to do the throw just taking forever over the so drying that ball again bouncing it once you know just faking the throw crowd going mad seconds ticking off in your mindset in that moment is what just like i'm loving this exactly oh man i love it i mean i've heard so many hurry up sideshow bobs from doing throw-ins like way more than I'd like to admit.

11:26But I love it. I love it. You know, just being able to frustrate other people, you know, it's especially when you're in a winning position, you know, it's beautiful. It's so fun. Hurry up sideshow bob. There's thousands of people listening to this saying that was me. That was me, mate.

11:45A word from our friends at 1440. The 2022 World Cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers. It's 11 times this year's Super Bowl. To understand how football became the world's game and what drove it, listen to 1440 Explores with Financial Times journalist Simon Kuiper, who'll give you the inside scoop into the depths of the tournament. Listen to 1440 Explores wherever you get your podcasts. And as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, we're going coast to coast, host city to host city to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Match Day Live Tour. These are free college game day style live events taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans.

12:34It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube and let's celebrate this summer the way it's meant to be celebrated. Just head to the events tab on meninblazers.com for all the details. To the football, to more together. carriage. You carried the momentum into this season. You mentioned just the joyous, creative heart of the team, Chess Wizard Eberichie Eze. He made his move to Arsenal in August and then October, another twist, Oliver Glastner started about Mark Gahey leaving at the end of the season and then ahead of a trip to Sunderland in his pre-match press conference, he announced Gahey would not be in the squad because he was completing a move to Manchester City in the January window.

13:20This was a moment of profound transition. The manager himself would soon announce that he would be leaving at the end of this season. But I mentioned the Gehi moment. That was your colleague. You know, that was your partner. It was a moment of transition. But looking at you, how you've faced up to it, and I'm projecting here, it's almost like you took it as a moment of opportunity with Gehi leaving, an opportunity to step up and become a leader in this team. am i projecting how did you experience it is there anything in that no i mean i think definitely i think when you look at mark for people who don't know mark he's a quiet guy but he's definitely somebody who leads by example so you need that kind of vocal person on the field um i feel like i had always done it but then once mark left i had to amplify it even more um especially having come off a good summer with the national team like i spoke about gold cup previously but having come off a summer where I was seen more as a leader, I think once Mark made his move to city, I was ready to step into that role even more than previously.

14:23It was something that came naturally for me. I mean, it's not something where I felt like I needed to do extra. It was something that I was already doing, but maybe just adding 1 % more to what I was doing. So again, it was a tough time because like you said, there was a lot of transition going on with with Mark, you know, leaving and Glasner saying that he was going to leave in the summer. But then again, I think we were going through this tough period where we hadn't won in so many odd games. Yeah, it was a darkness, Chris. I mean, it won't be candid. Listeners, spoiler alert, it ends bloody well.

14:55But it was a period of time when people were like, oh, Palace are definitely falling into that relegation battle. You had your fun. You won your FA Cup. And laughing with you, you know, a lot of English fans, they love nothing else than other people's misery. And it was almost like a nice come up. and you put on your wax wings, you won the FA Cup too close to the sun. Look at you now falling apart. I mean, it was a period of turbulence. The results were tough. How do you handle that? You know, the creative heart gone, your defensive partner gone, the manager announcing he was going to go. Did you compartmentalize?

15:27Like I referenced earlier, you know, tomorrow's coming. So it's a long season. It's not something that very rarely do you see a team go down in December or January. where it's a long season and we still had the same core group of guys, minus Ebs and now minus Mark. But we knew that with the character of every person in that changing room that we wouldn't allow this club to see anything other than joy, especially after what we had just experienced together. So we strapped up our boots and we got to it. And regardless of who was with or against us, we knew that we wanted to continue on this journey that we'd been on, which was creating success for Crystal Palace.

16:13Now it's time to ask some questions from our great friends at Bank of America, US Soccer's Soccer Forward Foundation. A Bank of America partnered to launch soccer at schools. It's amazing to make soccer accessible to schools across the country. I'm here with a gentleman that as well as starring in the Premier League has been very involved, Chris Richards. It's great to see you. Thank you for having me, Rog. Chris, I'm not sure if growing up you had a definitive soccer program at your school, but how do you think Bank of America's soccer at schools can help positively develop the sport in the United States?

16:42I think it's amazing. I think it's something that I didn't have growing up in school. I wish I did. When you're a kid, you're not thinking about making this global impact. You're thinking about just being a kid. And then eventually you understand, especially, you know, in sports, that you have the chance to to be more than just Chris Richards. You have the chance to inspire. You have a chance to perform and to be able to show the world that there is so many different things to athletes than just their art. it's everything behind that. Maybe we can help develop this country from a young age to have world-class soccer players.

17:19So for me, being able to help the Bank of America with kind of pushing this narrative that we do need youth development from a young age, I think is something that is going to be really cool and really beneficial for this country. Soccer teaches us so much more than we think. Raise your hand to help bring soccer to schools at bofa.com slash soccer at schools. I mean, it's amazing, man. What is the secret? Team cultures, we're seeing this in a lot of clubs this season, they're very fragile. You know, they can implode. You know, Oliver Glasner lifted this club to its greatest heights. You know, he established a real identity for this side.

17:54Is it consistent style? Is it the system itself? How are you able to resist the loss of players who, you know, it was like ripping the heart out for other clubs? I think it's just this kind of family culture that we've created. every person regardless of if you're starting every game or if you're coming on for a minute you know you're ready for the next opportunity ready for the next step and now I remember my first season and a half two years here I didn't get many chances but no I wanted to make sure that when it was my chance I was ready but it was because the guys in front of me the Joel Wards the Mark Gahies they were making sure that I was ready and so I felt like it was you know our duty to, again, pick up young guys like J.D.

18:34Cambo now, who's, you know, balling, pick up guys like, you know, Daiichi Kamada, who at the beginning of his past career wasn't doing great. And again, I think it's something that this club's done really well, is that, you know, they've gotten great players, obviously, but also they've gotten great people. And even with Glasner saying that he was leaving, you know, I think we took a day to feel sorry for ourselves, but also we understand that he's a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and he wouldn't be as successful as he is now if he was anything other than that. So, you know, we understood that, you know, tempers flared and whatever happened, happened.

19:06But at the end of the day, he's here to the end of the season and we still have some trophies that we want to win. It is amazing. One of the things I love about football is it always teaches you how little you know about anything, how wrong we often are. I'd say watching Crystal Palace soar in Europe, it does teach us, you know, no one would have predicted Palace playing for silverware if you'd come to see them in December, January. team felt like they were in 3-4. Do you feel it while you're living it that football does teach you out of darkness can come a flight? Definitely. I mean, again, we lost to Macclesfield in the FA Cup.

19:42We were the reigning FA Cup holders. And I remember going into that game thinking, man, it's going to be a tough game, but it's no disrespect to any Macclesfield supporter or player. They completely did us on the day. But I think when you look at it on paper, you know, there was an obvious, you know, person or team that should have won. And I think it was just during that whole period in time where things weren't going right and that day didn't go right. It's just a lot of hard work, a lot of days in, a lot of meetings, a lot of traveling, a lot of everything in between, you know, a lot of sacrifices.

20:22Can you talk about how winning with Palace, winning with your club, changes your sense of self with the national team squad? Does it? Does it make your voice louder? Does it make you believe you have a right to lead with more assertion? You're Chris Richards' winner now. I remember going into last summer after having won the FA Cup. I was like, man, I'm the man. I'm one of the only Americans to ever have done this. You know, and it's not that I went in there with this sense of arrogance, but I came in with this sense of confidence, knowing that I helped my team, my club team do something that they haven't done in, what, 140 odd years.

20:59And so now with this country, the place I grew up in, a place that we're also looked at as underdogs, I also want to be able to do this with them. And so this whole year has been me, you know, step by step, stepping up with the national team, not just as a player, but as a leader and also just as a person off the field when it comes to being around this group of guys and trying to embed this new culture that maybe we lost along the way. You know, I think we were previously, I think we were so, I guess, so dominant in CONCACAF that we felt like, you know, everything just came easy. And when adversity hit, again, we hadn't been, I guess, battle-proofed for that.

21:40And I remember Copa America feeling like kind of the bottom of the barrel for us. And at the end of it, we all went our separate ways. But we all collectively felt like, you know, we had a really missed opportunity and that we didn't want to be embarrassed when it comes to World Cup time. And so, you know, having created this kind of new culture ever since then has been something that, you know, I've wanted to be a big part of, especially coming off of some successful club seasons. What did it mean? You've mentioned about leadership and the surgery. What did it mean for you to captain the U.S.

22:11men's national team against Portugal? It was beautiful. Again, I think that's probably been the, if you were to title this podcast, it'd be beautiful. Because I think when I think of so many of these moments with the national team and with the club, it's been beautiful. But capping your country is something that three-year-old Chris, when he first started out playing, couldn't have even imagined, especially coming from Alabama. and I've captained the national team maybe three games previous to that, but I think this one, being so close to Birmingham three days after my birthday, also being two days before I was opening up my field in Birmingham, it was just kind of like this moment in time where I felt more proud than ever.

22:57Regardless of the result, it was having my family in the stands. It was an amazing feeling. Chris the World Cup is loomy in front of us what does a successful World Cup look like for you inspiring the next generation I think when you one thing that my dad always said growing up was that no he wants me to be better than him and eventually I want no my kids to be better than me and I think it's not just myself but also I understand that my generation of footballers in America. We want the next generation to continue on this legacy that we have and hopefully get to this point where this nation sees 26 players lifting a World Cup trophy.

23:42That's the goal. That's exactly what we want to do and if we can't be the generation to lift that trophy then we want to be the generation that inspired that one. What makes you feel most optimistic about this American team? The guys that are next to me every day. Who are your closest with? I think Timothy Weah um mark mckenzie teller i've gotten really close within the last year and a half two years and um yeah i think it'd be hard to to mention anybody in this pool that i'm not good friends with um just because i think when you're fighting for this collective which is you know world or international glory when it comes to the sport and you're playing for your country i don't think you can get more of a collective group than that you know and um so i think every person that's coming through this this pool from 2020 when i made my debut until now um i would be confident and i would be you know willing to to share anything with them because again this is something that you know we all have the same dream which is you know to to help this country you know become successful in in footy.

24:51You mentioned pulling on that armband that, you know, nursery school, Chris Richards falling in love with the game would never have dreamt was possible. If you could go back in time and tell tiny Chris Richards about this journey and what he would need to make it in the way that you have such a joyous way, such an authentic to yourself way, such a winning way, what would you tell him? Just tell him that all of this is possible. It's something that you feel like you're so far growing up in Alabama, especially when it comes to footy. And, you know, you feel like nobody's ever watching you. You feel like the national team's out of reach.

25:27You feel like professional's out of reach. You feel like the world, unless you're an American football player growing up in Birmingham, you feel like just the world is out of reach to you. But Birmingham is a place that has completely raised me in every sense of the word. It's shown me work ethic. It's shown me hardships. It's shown me success stories. It's shown me everything. And I think if I grew up anywhere else in the world, I don't think I'd be the person I am today. But I think Birmingham, as much as maybe I cursed it growing up because I didn't have all the opportunities that I wanted, I think it is the perfect place.

26:02And I couldn't have chosen a better place to have grown up. And I remember multiple times asking my parents, why didn't I grow up in New York, Chicago, L.A.? But ultimately, they made the right decision. oh chris what can i say you're a beautiful human being is so amazing to hear you share your story your experiences to you uh to your family to your journey i'm so grateful thank you but of course no thank you for having me it was uh i had a great time roll tide roll tide