From Philly Union to Celtic: Auston Trusty's European Dream & USMNT Ambitions - VAMOS with Herc Gomez 08/01/25, Presented by Michelob Ultra.

0:00You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network, Suboptimal Radio.

0:05Herc Gomez:Tigres handle the initial ball. Artur. Not the best ball back. And here comes Correa to try and extend the lead. Angel. Angel! Vamos! That was our man Mark Rogandino from Apple TV with Angel Correa's second goal for Tigres against the Houston Dynamo last Tuesday in the first match day of the League's Cup. The full scoreline was 4-1 at Shell Energy Stadium. The Argentine, a 2022 World Cup champion, arrived from Mexico, from Atalega Madrid a few weeks ago, and scored his first two goals. This one was a beauty, putting Jonathan Bond on skates and then putting the ball in the back of the net like no other.

0:40Herc Gomez:This is Vamos, presented by Michelob Ultra, Superior Light Beer, and I'm your host, Tricky Lise Gomez. In this episode, we sat down with Austin Trustee, an American center back who is in Glasgow, ready to start the Scottish Premiership with Celtic, also part of the U.S. men's national team. Then I'll be shooting straight, talking World Cup, and we'll finish your drop the bag. Leagues Cup started, so don't miss it. League of Champions versus MLS. This week's action has started. So what are you waiting for? Vamos! This week, we're joined by a guest who is currently living in Glasgow, Scotland, for all you out there who don't know, and is taking the challenge of playing very well, by the way, in the beautiful Scottish Premier League.

1:16Herc Gomez:Austin Trustee from Media, Pennsylvania, U.S. Men's National Center back, and one of Celtics' rocks in their defense. Let's get into it. Austin, my man, first off first, how's Celtic treating you? City's great. Teams, world class as well. Overall, really, really good. For all of us who don't know Pennsylvania very well, quite honestly, the only thing I know from Pennsylvania is the Philly Union. Where is that? So it's about like 20 minutes outside the city, more closer to Chester towards the stadium. I kind of got lucky with the Philadelphia Union because going to training every day was literally 10 minutes away from where I grew up.

1:44Herc Gomez:That's the dream for anybody, any footballer. I'm going to get into some Philly Union stuff in a little bit, but I got to ask you what Celtic has been like. I have to imagine it's been a whirlwind because you go from the sparse crowds at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. And listen, I'm a former Colorado Rapid. We opened the stadium up. I know what those crowds can be when they get wild and when they get great. It's awesome. But majority of the time, well, not too many there. Two sellouts and just rabid fandom at Celtic. What's that been like for you? Well, to say Colorado, the year I was there, I forget what year we won the Western Conference or had the most points.

2:18We were selling that place out. So it was actually really, really good. and it was pretty popping there. It's been really cool to play at Celtic Park and to play for Celtic. When I was thinking about coming here and I met with the coach staff, they sent you a little pamphlet and it's about all the players that passed and Messi and all these guys saying that Celtic Park is the best place to play at in their entire careers. So it's lived up to it. It really is amazing. 60 ,000 plus fans every single game who are really, really passionate too. And traveling fans too, our away games are basically home games as well.

2:45So it's been really, really good.

2:47Herc Gomez:Now I'm glad you brought up the Colorado Rapids, the crowds when they do well. Listen, I opened up the stadium back in 2007. I don't know if you know this, but there's a big statue of me in front of the stadium of the first goal that was ever scored there. I scored that goal. Did you see the statue? No, they must have moved it. Maybe, maybe. No, I'm kidding. I always tell people there's a statue. No. Oh, what did I say? Is there a statue? I'm like, I don't know. I haven't seen that. No, but the crowds were amazing. But we've seen Colorado struggle with attendance. Why do you think that is? Why aren't there always those amazing crowds because your year when they were winning is it that simple it's just you got to put out a winner i think that comes with every sport you know i think winning teams create an environment where fans want to go see and see what's happening and be part of the winning culture it just takes time i think the year and a half or two years i was there we had a really good squad and it was kind of like a squad where the mls in a sense we always kind of had the mindset like the underdog where people kind of look past us and then they can play us i think we lost only a couple games that entire year i think colorado's there i think it's more just the outlook and the viewpoint towards Colorado and MLS is a little bit skewed for some reason, for some way.

3:49I don't know why. They're just a good team there. They're a really good organization, really good team there.

3:51Herc Gomez:Yeah. I had a lot of fun when I was in Colorado as well. It's a beautiful city. The people are amazing. It was a brand new facility. So I used to go to training and actually see like wild buffalo roaming around. I don't know if you ever got to see that in commerce. Across the street. Yeah. That's pretty crazy. All right. So you go from Colorado and the beautiful scenery in Colorado to the, I have to assume, hectic lifestyle now of being a Celtic player. It's got to be pretty crazy when you pick up the local paper or turn on the TV and your face is everywhere. They're talking about the team 24-7.

4:21Herc Gomez:I'm sure that didn't happen when you're in Colorado. Plenty of other things to get people to delve into, whether it was the Broncos or whether it was basketball, hockey, the Avalanche, whatever the case may be. You're the main attraction now. And when we talk about the main attraction, there's usually a big rival. It's one of the best rivalries in the world. We're talking old firm Celtic versus Rangers. You've experienced it. You've already said Messi has talked about playing in a Celtic park. What's this rivalry like been for you? How have you experienced it? Growing up in America, growing up in media, Pennsylvania, thinking it'd be part of this rivalry.

4:54Also, when I explain it back to my friends back home who aren't necessarily like soccer people or football people, they don't really understand the severity of what it is and what it represents. They find it really cool and really interesting that how i explained to them you want to play in games like that you want to be in environments like that that's what the sport is about that's what football is about and that's when you know when you're growing up juggling out back or playing in your yard or play with your friends like you you want to be in the situations so um i'm loving every bit of it austin i'm sure

5:17Herc Gomez:there must have been like a oh shit moment like this is real type of moment when you got to celtic and you experienced the rivalry with like a ranger fan or an opponent or maybe at the stadium What was your oh my god moment? My first game when I arrived at Celtic, the team was playing Rangers the next day. So I was on the bench. It was right from the bat, right from the start. I got to really experience it. And it was just crazy. From the fans out front to all the hype before the game to the game and how it is. And I think we won. We crushed them that game. Austin, you've gotten to experience some very cool things within Major League Soccer and making the jump abroad, especially in England and now to the Scottish Premier League.

5:55Herc Gomez:Playing Champions League, what's that jump in like for you? Because it's one thing to see it on TV. It's one thing to say, I want to be there. It's another thing to be in the midst of it. To look up and you're marking a player like Kerry Kane, Mike Olise, like that type of caliber of athlete. What was that jump for you? What was it like? I loved it. I loved every second of it. I think, I mean, I back myself against any player, really. Coming over here, playing the Premier League, not playing the Champions League, you have to have your ability. You have to have the ability to back yourself mentally as well.

6:22Any chance I get to play with against these guys, any chance I get to play against these historic teams. I always go back to me as a little kid growing up. and just like, this was not even a reality, really. Like this wasn't even like possible. For me to be here living my dream day in, day out and be where I am at, where I'm at mentally and also physically and skill set wise as a player. I'm just, I'm living my life. I'm living my dream, man.

6:43Herc Gomez:But what did you learn about yourself in that moment or in one of those moments? I'm sure you have confidence in yourself, but certainly you must've learned something about yourself after going through something like that. I don't think it starts there. I think it starts since I was a little kid, all the opportunities. and one day I'll tell my full story of my whole career and all that. But there's plenty of ups and downs. And I think through those moments, through those times, I've slowly layered by layer by layer backing myself and showing myself my ability. Yeah, listen, we do our homework here at Vamos.

7:10Herc Gomez:And somewhere along the lines, I must have read that you actually were told no by the filet union. Like they said, hey, not today, kid. Is that true? What happened there? When the academy was first started, I was a Boy Scout. And one of my fellow Boy Scouts said, hey, you know this thing? called Philly Union Juniors, but they trained kids every Tuesday for free, right? I'm like, really? Oh, wow, I'll try out. Try it out and made that team. I made that training squad and we trained for a bit and then the academy started. So when the academy started, they already kind of, they picked all their players and made that.

7:39So after that, I was probably just gonna play like high school soccer maybe and then chill. But the very last training session, I was kicking the ball with my friend and then I was walking on the door. You know, you locate a big old backpack and a big water jug. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And remember the coach, Peter Fuller, U18s coach of the academy tapped me on the shoulder and said, Mark, who did the tryout for the academy? I remember the feeling of just being so happy that like he actually like saw me and he wanted me to play and wanted me to try for the academy because I knew I was good enough for the academy.

8:06Just he never really gave me the opportunity. So I thought like after the Union Junior session, like I walk out those doors. I was two steps away from walking out those doors. If I walked out those doors, I probably wouldn't, I would never be where I am today. And he really gave me the opportunity and I took advantage of it. So I tried for the academy and then I actually made the team. but I was 15 for the U16 team and I played like zero games that next season. So I was so high, such on a high of going to the academy, wearing a Phillipa Uni kit. We got free Adidas boots. We got all this free stuff.

8:35I'm like, oh my, this is amazing. I've made it. And I played zero minutes and it literally crushed me to my soul. And I remember one training session, I said, okay, if I'm here the next year, I'm taking over this place. I'm going to be the best player here later that season they had a keep list and a cut list so the two guys named uh phil karn and ian monroe ian monroe was like a he actually played for rangers he's like a scottish legend and he was there like the ogs because they trained uh the junior kids the coaching staff were having a keeping cut list doing that and then ian monroe walked into the room again he's an og had no he was not part of the academy just happened to walk in and said oh what are you guys doing here he said oh who are you guys cutting and then he saw my name and apparently he went up and grabbed my name from the cut list and said you are not cutting him and put me in the keep list this is again i played zero minutes zero anything for some reason he backed me and if he did not do that i would have never played soccer again because i was down here because they crushed me like i played zero minutes and all this stuff so i've had different things along the way that have really really helped me and uh i think being a good person being being the best person i could possibly be on the pitch but also off the pitch to you know you create your own luck.

9:40If I was a player, if I was a person that gave him a reason to not do that.

9:44Herc Gomez:And you've never spoken to Ian Monroe. You've never met him. You've never spoken to him. I text him all the time. Me and him keep in touch. Okay. And you've never asked him why? I've never sat down and had a conversation. I'd be honest, he lives in Glasgow. He lives like 20 minutes away from me. We talk all the time. I'll ask him one of these days why he's here. But yeah, he's just honestly a solid dude. And thankfully, I've been able to back his decision, but he knew what he was talking about. What do you think he saw in that young Austin trustee that maybe those coaches in the academy didn't see?

10:11I think just experience. I think at that time I was 15 and I was growing in my body. I was like a little bandy. I was good. Obviously, it was really, really good for even being in the academy. But to advance to the levels they wanted me to advance on, I needed to grow into my body. I think my mechanics. I'm assuming my mechanics and everything. I was all over the place. But when you're 15, you don't see it. stuff but i'm sure there's many aspects to why he did it or or why i wasn't even in the situation but now i love that i love to ask him and see what he says that's awesome man who was in that group

10:42Herc Gomez:who was in maybe the academy days for you in the philly union that we would be accustomed to it we would recognize their name me derrick jones mark mckenzie brennan aronson a guy named matt real and montana i think my u16 team i know pulisic spent a bit of time but did you guys cross paths to there no so i played for a local club team called nether united it was like my local like club team like located in Chester, Pennsylvania. And Christian was more north. So I'd only play Christian when, because he played for PA Classics. So we'd play each other just through tournaments, stuff like that. But he wasn't, I think he was with the National Team at that point when the academy started.

11:14So he wasn't even there. And then he was in Dortmund.

11:15Herc Gomez:When I was growing up, the strongest places for football, for soccer in the States were California, North and South. You would have New Jersey, New York, more New Jersey area. It wasn't so much the tri-state, especially Philly area where do they get this wealth of players or was it the coaching or how did this young core come about to be honest right place right time so when the Philadelphia Union was starting there's a guy named Richie Graham and he was probably the first person to my knowledge the first person in the states to fully give it a go with investing in soccer investing in youth soccer so he fully funded the YC Academy which is the thing now and I'm a board member there He fully invested in the academy youth system and growing all the hotels.

11:58We were staying in the first team of hotels. So when the first team was playing, we'd stay in the same hotels as them. We're like 15 years old and never even like, this is totally out of our worlds. But right from the start, he made us professionals. He made us act like and really lived a professional life. So when those few who could transition to be professional, it was seamless. And luckily, I was one of those guys. But it really was Richie Graham. He was the first person to really, really give it a go. And he did a great job. And now look, it's really thriving. Yeah.

12:24Herc Gomez:Austin, you've got so much going on right now. You're a full professional playing a European team, Champions League player. You've got the US men's national team. Why would you want to be on the board? Why is that something you wanted to do? I think it starts when I was a little kid. I'm the youngest of six kids. So all my siblings are top, top athletes and they all went to college for athletes. So I've only known the certain mindset and taken things serious and being really an athlete, but I've never had a younger sibling. It's my way to have younger siblings. So I love mentoring. I love helping kids.

12:57I love being that person, being that mentor for young athletes and young minds. Don't be an athlete, too. It can be whatever you want to do, but I can really resonate with those who are young athletes. And also, I can resonate with the ones who are struggling, who are doing somewhat good, and also the ones who are excelling. So I've been on all the pathways. So every off-season, I go back. I make sure I go back and go visit the academy and visit my old like youth team as well, another United. They're in an environment where it is so intense and it's their entire lives and they've dedicated everything towards this.

13:26And I know what it's like to be on the bottom end of that. I know it's like to be on the top end of it. So I really try to be that person for these kids and make sure they know somebody who has been through that pathway and who knows exactly what they're going through and what they will go through, whether it's a college route or whether it's a professional route or maybe just chilling or maybe starting your business or doing whatever. You don't have to go to college. But yeah, I'm really, really passionate about it. So when I had the opportunity to join the board, I took advantage of it.

13:52Herc Gomez:Well, let me throw you an easy question. How do you fix youth soccer in America? Because you've gotten to see the UK in the pyramid. You've gotten to see top levels of the Premier League and how they do grassroots up. And now at Celtic, likewise, with whatever academy or reserve system they have there, what's missing in the States? How can the United States go to that next level? Is it coaching? Is it infrastructure? What is it? I think there's many things that are key aspects to it. You know, I think in the States, there's more than one sport. Over here, it's football. Football is everything.

14:24You can play rugby, but like football is everything. In the States, we have basketball. You can do whatever you want and you can really excel and you really can have the opportunity to make it big if you put the time and the work in. So I think in the States, there's just a lot of options and you can really make what you want out of it. Also, it's different here because in the States, you have college and college is a real big part of growing up and if you go through that pathway. But that's kind of the main pathway for a lot of people. And over here, you can go to college, but the kids here, they sign contracts very, very young and you can't leave.

14:55So it's just a different system over here. So it depends what you want. And a lot of times, and it is a scary thing where kids dedicate their entire life since eight years old, seven years old, and they're in the academy since until 16 and they get cut. And then they have an entire reality check and don't know what to do because they've only focused on football for X amount of years. So as much as the U.S. is lacking in sunspots, we're also advanced in many other ways. There's no real answer because the countries are very, very different. Europe is different than the States and how we go about things and how kind of the daily life and pathway is.

15:34Herc Gomez:Let's switch gears. Let's talk about the U.S. men's national team. First off, give me your thoughts of what you saw this summer. This is my thought. I was very surprised to see the roster that I saw. There were 15 Major League Soccer players in the roster for Gold Cup. And I understand that some of those players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKinney, Giovanni Reina, Timothy Weah, they weren't going to be part of the national team. But I was very surprised to see players like Joe Scali, Cameron Carter-Vickers, yourself, and others who are in Europe not get the call-up. What did you make of the roster, and what did you make of the summer for the U.S.

16:08Herc Gomez:men's national team? Obviously, I would love to go and represent the country. That's my entire dream. So any call-up I can get, I'll be eager to take full advantage. But no, I back coach. I back the team. Obviously, you had some bad results. No one wants those results. But the team is just learning. And again, some of those guys were key guys who have been in the team in the past, and they brought some new people. So it's just finding our way. But I think we do have time. I think on the outside, it seems like, oh, what's going on? But I think coach really has a good idea of what's going to happen.

16:38and he's slowly building the blocks. But I think we're in a good spot.

16:40Herc Gomez:Let's put your analyst hat on right here. How would you assess the current center back pool for the U.S. Men's National Team? There's a lot of options. I mean, I can't remember this many center back options for the U.S. Men's National Team probably forever. How would you assess the pool? The players they have at disposal are really good. And it's, again, I'm not a coach. I'm not anything. I'm just here to do my job. And the opportunity I can get to put on that badge and put on that shirt, I will fully take advantage of. Have you had talks with Mauricio Pochettino or anybody in the coaching staff?

17:10Herc Gomez:What's that been like since he took over? Can you share anything? He caught me in the first couple of camps. It was great. They were great. And I haven't had too much conversation, too much talk with them since then. But it's all in good standing. I'm not going to say about them. I think the coaching staff is really, really good. And obviously, they're highly, highly qualified and experienced, too. So I've seen some games where there's a lot of tactical nuance to Pochettino's system. We saw the very first camp, Anthony Robinson flying down the left-hand side, higher up the field. And we saw Yunus Moussa up the right, tucking in at times into the midfield, being another eight.

17:45Herc Gomez:We saw Joe Scali being a third center back at one time. How have you felt in the training sessions tactically? What's that like when you've got a coach who likes to change things? Coach is an extremely experienced coach, so he knows what he's talking about. So to be in those environments, to put yourself in that environment to maybe adapt or do certain things or do things maybe you're not used to doing, It only benefits yourself. So I've only looked at that in a really positive way. Obviously, you have a lot of CONCACAF influence at Celtic. Your teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers, a teammate with the U.S.

18:13Herc Gomez:Men's National Team, and Alistair Johnson, he's a very interesting individual. We've had the pleasure of bringing him here on Vamos. He's a guy who likes to talk and mess around and kind of rub it in. What's the CONCACAF rivalry been like with the Canadian star? It's funny. Cam's English, but also he's American too. So they kind of both just go at it. But no, it's good. Obviously, Alistair is a really good player and plays for Canada too. When they beat us in the past, it's just talking crap. When we beat them, it's talking crap too. It's funny. I'm curious if you view Canada the same way you do Mexico.