Ricardo Pepi on missing out in 2022, the US striker battle, and his connection with Pulisic, presented by Michelob ULTRA: Men in Blazers 06/06/26

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2:01Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides. You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network Suboptimal Radio. Mauricio Pochettino video. Yeah, yeah, yeah. it's a video of him just saying like if you're watching this you know you're you're picked for the world cup and i want you to respond so it just like pops up that you literally in a whatsapp group are you are you clicking into the members to make sure christian politics in it

2:33you know i was just happy to be able to be in that group to be honest that was my initial reaction

2:42My guest today is one of the most tenacious footballers in the American game. A gent who catapulted onto our radars aged 18, scoring crucial goals that propelled the United States into the 2022 World Cup. Only to be shockingly denied a place in the promised land of the tournament himself. He persevered, soared again, and on the cusp of his first World Cup, I read my third first Michelobolcher of the day to this remarkable man, a human inspiration. It's Mr. Riccardo Pepe. Hello, Raj. How are we doing? I'm more interested in how you're doing. How are you feeling? We are almost there. Yeah, I'm almost there.

3:22I'm very excited, of course. I'm very happy. I'm proud of myself, proud of everyone that's been around me. So, you know, just buzzing, man, to be honest. All buzzing and we're just going to be watching you. This series is made possible by our great friends at Michelob Ultra. So let's dive in. Before we dig into the football, Ricardo, Christian Pulisic came on this show a couple of days ago, which was a huge mistake for him. But he talked about how you all went to see the movie Obsession last week. And even on this reaction, how many stars out of five do you give the movie Obsession? Yo, I actually missed out on that movie, to be honest.

3:58I had treatment, so some of the guys went and some of the guys had treatment, so I didn't really go watch it. I don't know what would be more painful, treatment or watching Obsession. Are you a horror movie guy in real life, Riccardo? Yeah, usually I am. Usually I am. I would enjoy myself watching that movie for sure, so I'm going to make it out one day. So we will move on, regrettably, from our movie hour into the football, and I'm speaking to you at a joyous time. Just three weeks ago, the club season wrapped up. You came to international camp, you finished the season. As a champion of the Netherlands, again with PSV, the league's third highest scorer, including a run of six in your last five matches, total 16 goals.

4:41It's the best scoring season of your career. Can you describe what it's like when you get into the groove, Ricardo? Does it feel like the ball's tiny, the goal's enormous, the goalkeeper's arms are tiny, tiny, tiny? Yeah, man, to be honest, you know, just looking back at the season, great. You know, there's, I think there was a lot of injuries, a lot of ups and downs, of course. But if I just look at, you know, my stats and, you know, while playing, I think at the end of the season, I was able to get in the groove again and then, you know, make it a perfect moment coming into the World Cup, of course.

5:14You know, but yeah, like I said, it was a difficult one. And I feel like if I were to be able to play more minutes, more games, then it could have been an even crazier one. Really? Not a bad one, not a bad one. What does it feel like? Third highest goal scorer, it's pretty bloody good. Does it feel like you're in the zone flow, you just can't miss? Yeah, it definitely felt like I was playing well. Like you said, when everything's working out, then everything just falls on your feet. You just have to tap in the ball or you're at the right spot. Everything just finds you. So it felt very good, to be honest.

5:46It does feel like everything finds you. It's not what's going on in your head. I once asked Harry Kane how he always gets to be in the right place at the right time, make it look as if the ball's coming to him. And he thought for a second, he goes, I don't know. I don't know, really. I don't know how to do that. Yeah, it's actually kind of crazy because, you know, it's just about instincts, you know, just knowing where you got to be, where the ball's going to find you. And, you know, to be honest, it's just something you can't really teach. So you come into international camp on that high. You're ready for your final tune-up before the World Cup.

6:17First up, oh, that friendly. against AFCON winners or AFCON finalists, depending on who you ask. It's Senegal. Riccardo, you're currently in, from the outside, it looks like a QB1 battle for starting striker. There's you, Flo Balogun, that's had you right. It's finally poised. When do you learn you'll start the Senegal game? What's your mindset? What do you tell yourself in the tunnel before the game? Yeah, to be honest, we found out a couple of hours before the game, you know, that morning of the game. So, you know, we didn't really know what was going to happen, but I was prepared either way.

6:49The coach had told us the night before that he didn't really know who he was going to start with but then once I found out, I was already ready so then I was ready to go. I was ready to go. How do they tell you that you're starting? We just usually have a tactical meeting where he tells us the lineups, he tells us how the other team plays and then he just gives us the lineup right there. Takes into the process a bit. The game kicks off. How do you go about feeling out the defenders in the opening minutes of a game, working out where you're going to pro. What are you looking for? How do you know when you found it?

7:22Yeah, I think to be honest, you know, the first couple of duels, the first couple of touches matter a lot. You know, you always want to start a game with, you know, having good touches, you know, winning your individual battles. So, you know, just looking back at the game, you know, I remember I won the first two, three duels and then, you know, just my first three touches were good. So then all of a sudden you're like, okay, I'm feeling good. So let's do it. Genuinely, it's a feeling about how you feel rather than what you see in terms of reading the back line. Exactly, exactly. So it's just about, you know, obviously positioning yourself in the right spot, you know, but the most important thing is for your confidence to be able to be at the highest.

7:58So then you have to keep the ball, you know, you have to be able to take those clean first touches and then everything just flows, man. So let's talk about everything really flowing. Six minutes in, I don't know how to describe it other than just wizard filth magic, the opening goal. Drifting from the left channel, two defenders are dragged with you. You received that ball from Anthony Robinson, I think. Right. And somehow the ball suddenly whipped to Christian Pulisic. Riccardo, you made that look so easy, but I'd love to know, what did you see? What did you sense? Yes. You know, when Anthony played that ball, I was obviously ready to keep the ball and see what was going to happen.

8:40I knew Christian was on the inside, but I didn't know if he was going to make that run. but as soon as I took my first touch I saw both defenders coming towards the ball and I saw Christian running so then I just slipped the ball to him. What behind the scenes work goes into it then? How did you know where and when Christian would be once you had the ball? Yeah, I think it's just going out throughout the game just learning how your teammates move a little bit but of course just being in the game and just knowing what's happening and what's going on I think that's probably the best way to explain it once I took that touch I saw that he was going to run and I saw that free space, and, you know, we linked up pretty well.

9:17You're very modest about it. It was, like, genuinely, it was like a Vulcan mind meld. Yeah. How does that feel when you do it, by the way? In the moment, you're laughing at it now. Do you feel electric in that moment? Yeah, of course. You know, like I said, it makes you feel good, man. It makes you feel good because then, you know, out of this play, we eventually got a goal, so then that's obviously, that was an important play. but you know just being in the game and just being able to pull out things like this you know like pull these things off and it just makes you feel good and then it just helps you for the rest of the game how many times did you watch that pass after the game honestly uh to be honest i watched like one or once or twice you know then then i just went on to my assist and then you know i didn't really look back and i'm just focused on the next game just focused on the next game i've watched it i fully watched it i would guess about 120 times it's an electric it's an electric moment.

10:11It's what, you know, it's genuinely the fans have been aching for, you know, that kind of a moment, that kind of a moment of essentially street ball. But just under 15 minutes later, you went again. Second goal. Alex Freeman gave you the ball to chase. Eight in four touches. You and Christian just tore apart the Senegalese backline. You know, Christian told us it was pure instinct on his part. But from your perspective, you know, the assister, you get the ball. Tell me what you're thinking or or trying to process as you make your decision whether to run in yourself or to make magic happen? No, so first of all, you know, just looking at the defender kind of take that step, you know, because I thought, you know, he thought Alex was going to play me to feet, but then eventually I just made the run in behind.

10:55And, you know, I was by myself on the wing and then I see, I look up and I see Christian running across the box and I'm like, you know, I'm just going to play it. He's in a better position, obviously. And, you know, had to be a good pass and I felt like it was a good pass and he had a good finish. To be honest, do you like playmaking as much as scoring, Riccardo? It's a tough one. It's a tough one. You know, anything to help the team at the end of the day, but I don't think there's any better feeling than scoring goals for sure. But, you know, if I can help out the team, you know, if I can, you know, create assists or create goals, then I'm happy as well.

11:27That was the most diplomatic no. I much prefer goals I've ever heard. For the team, that's for the team. Yeah, for the team, man. I mean, we do judge strikers on goals, Riccardo. 100%. Is that fair? I feel like that's fair. I feel like that's fair. But at the end of the day, being a striker is not only about the goals. You also want to be able to be involved in the game. You also want to be able to help the team with whatever it needs. So I would say I was pretty satisfied after that game. But then you always have that little feeling of like, ah, I wanted to go as well. I don't know if you're a data-driven guy.

12:00Are there any metrics or data points you do look at post-game to judge if you've had a good game or a great one? No, to be honest, I'm not really into those type of things. I just go based on how I felt. Kind of just like, was I able to contribute to the team? Or was I able to keep the ball? Or was I able to score? Just things like that, just based on how I felt during the game. I mean, it must have felt amazing. I will say, watching you and Christian combining in this game, I don't like to be hyperbolic. It was like watching Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. every attacking player develops a different understanding of every other attacking teammate what they want where they want the ball what they like can you point to words what your understanding is of what kind of ball what kind of support Christian Pulisic needs from you because you really did get the best out of it playing with Christian for a couple years now you know you know he's the type of player who's going to make a couple runs in behind you know he's all he sometimes also wants the ball to his feet and you know we know how dangerous he is whenever he has the ball.

13:01So, you know, anytime that he has the ball, it's either, you know, something's going to happen. Either he's going to score or, you know, we're going to create a dangerous play. So, you know, just knowing him and the abilities that he has. If he has the ball, then I'm always looking to see if I can find the space in the box. Or, you know, if I have the ball, I know that he's giving him the ball. He's going to create something. So, you know, he's just that type of player who has so many weapons. When we talk about so many weapons, The big difference in this game was watching Anthony Robinson and a teammate of yours at the club level, Serginio Dest, play together on the flanks for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino, which is hard to believe, but it is true.

13:41They added such a different dimension. You know Serginio Dest really, really, really well. What's he like from the inside? And what does he do in terms of the added dimension he adds for every team that you're on? Serge is funny. Serge is a funny guy. Just because he's so random, he's a funny guy. He's so random. Some of the things he says sometimes are just like, I don't know, or something like, okay. He's a meme in the human form. He's a great guy, man, to be honest. He's one of the guys that I hang out with the most. You know, I talk to him quite a lot, you know, here at camp and back at national, back at a club, sorry.

14:16I don't really need to tell you guys what he does on the pitch. I feel like he's that type of guy who he likes to take on defenders. you know he likes to make them fall on their fall on their butts you know it's just things like that that he does he's a man of the people for sure you know a lot of people whenever they're watching him you know people are people know something's gonna happen so you know he's a he's a great player man and i feel like he brings a lot to the team as well so genio dest is a man of the people and he gives the people what they want which is so genio dest mixtape highlight reels you know you know he's gonna put on a show you know he's gonna put on a show so yeah man great player great player why just beat someone when you can nutmeg and truly steal their salt.

14:54He's just that type of player who's going to look for stepovers and he's going to look to cut it back. But at the end of the day, he's also a very important player for us. He can create a lot of problems. He can create a lot of problems for the opposing team. So he's fantastic, man. Have you ever been nutmegged by Seginho in training? Have I? Let me think about this one. I'm not sure he's gotten me yet. I'm not sure he's gotten me yet. I don't think I'd like to be there either. there's another player on the team. We talked about him earlier. Flo Balogun came on second half. Honestly, it was like watching Hulk smash form, just swung his foot at everything that moved.

15:33He got his goal. And I know it feels good for the team, but the two of you and Hadji Roy, you're in the dance off, essentially, for playing time. It's like watching Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in Zoolander. I always wonder what a striker battle feels like, you know, watching from the bench when your teammate, but also your competitor scores a goal. How do you guys all experience each other in this moment? Yeah, I mean, I think, to be honest, we're all here for the same reason. And, you know, that's for the team, of course. But, you know, obviously we are all strikers and we all want to play as much as possible.

16:04But, you know, at the end of the day, we have this beautiful opportunity to play for our country. And, you know, we're all here for the team. So at the end of the day, we're just trying to support each other. We're just trying to make each other better. And I feel like that's the best way, just probing ourselves. You know, he proves himself, I prove myself. Haji proves himself. so it's just the best thing for the team. In your own words, how do you describe what you bring that's unique, your strengths to this team? What do you offer that no other American striker can record it? Yeah, you know, obviously as a player I feel like, you know, I can play in between lines a little bit, of course.

16:39You know, I feel like my finishing is very efficient. You know, I'm a very efficient player overall so, you know, just any time that I'm in and around the box and, you know, that's where my qualities show up. Do you think about the starting spot? Is it a goal? Is it something that drives you? Yeah, you know, of course, it's always a goal. I feel like for every player on the squad, you know, everyone wants to play as much as possible. Everyone wants to start. So, you know, it's obviously something that's within, you know, some competitiveness. Of course, I always think about the starting spot. But at the end of the day, you know, it's about I'm here to help the team with whatever I can and, you know, just do my best for the team for whenever I'm on the pitch.

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17:52As I said in the introduction, I do admire you so much. You came in so young, you soared so quickly. And then you met your challenge and have overcome it by just going again back to back Dutch titles as we speak. But I do want to flash back to lead up to the 2022 World Cup. You'd put yourself on the national radar, the coach's radar. You're a lanky 18-year-old putting in just superb performances in your first two senior starts for the U.S. team. It's Honduras and Jamaica. But then the 2022 roster was announced. You were by then 19 struggling in a relegation battle at Augsburg. And shockingly, I think for everybody, we're left off the final 2022 roster.

18:39We've talked about it before, but also there's a human truth that we forget that football is a human. when you got that news and I don't know how it's done that you're not going to the World Cup whether it's by phone or in person or by email how does it go down and can you just describe how devastating it is yeah obviously it was I'd say one of the hardest moments as a footballer of course and just as a human being because you know it's obviously that it's something that you dream of you know as a kid or you know as soon as you know what you want to do with football you start dreaming of a Champions League final or playing in the Champions League or going to a World Cup.

19:18So it was obviously devastating, you know, as one of those things that kind of makes you question yourself a little bit. But then at the end, at the end of the day, it was just, you know, I was, I just put in my head that I'm going to use this as fuel, you know, as fuel, and I'm going to continue to work and continue to become a better player. And eventually, you know, four years later, I'm here. So something you have to use, man. How long did the devastation last, Ricardo? Were you able to watch those US games at the last World Cup as a fan, or was it just too painful? No, I was able to watch because I have a very good relationship with some of the guys here, so I was just wishing them the best from afar, of course.

19:58What was that like, Ricardo, to watch them and not be part of them? Yeah, it was painful. I would say it was painful for sure. Watching some of the boys compete, just watching their smile on their faces, you know playing at their best it was just obviously I was part of the group at some point but then I got dropped out for the World Cup so it was painful to watch for sure. Were you in Texas with your family? I was I was. A lot of footballers could not bear to watch. Tyler Adams talks about how painful he finds it when he's not able to play. Was there any advice that you received in the aftermath that helped you rebuild to get ready for all the work to come?

20:33Who gave it to you? What was it? Yeah you know kind of just talking to you know my parents of course and you know my aging a little bit they were just telling me that you know everything happens for a reason and that you know everything's going to be fine we just got to work harder we just got to put our foot on the pedal and you know keep going forward we talked about deciding to knuckle down fuel using these things as motivation but you also did analyze your game right you decided you're going to work harder at your touch in tight spaces and and the mental side of your game can you talk about what insight and what mental practice that you've developed how you approach the process of self-improvement that brought us to the here and now just going through these obstacles in life i think it just makes you uh you know it makes you obviously it makes you grow as a person you know it makes you become a stronger person so i feel like that mentality aspect of building was fantastic man i feel like it made me a stronger person it made me a little bit more mature and you know it kind of just gave me a clear idea of you know what i want to do next and you know where I want to go.

21:37And eventually, you know, I made my move to PSV and, you know, from there, I grew a lot as a player and, you know, just working in those types of places, you know, we play a lot of football there, you know, we don't like to kick the ball long. So then it's just, it just improves your game a lot. What period of your career do you feel like you've developed the most? What has been the most contributing to the Riccardo Pepe of today moments? Whenever I moved to PSV I think that was a very important step for me. You know, just playing in a good club in the Netherlands and, you know, playing high level, playing Champions League and stuff like that.

22:13And obviously training day in, day out with good players, you know, technically good players, it just makes you a better player. Take us into the experience then of getting the official call-up from Mauricio Pochettino. How does that happen? Where were you? The way it happened this time, we just got kind of put in like a kind of like a group chat um obviously it's it's nerve-breaking you know leading up to to the point where you don't really know if you're going or not but eventually i was just in the car running some with some errands with my father and then just got a group chat and got a video from from the from the trainer and it was just a video saying that yeah if you're watching this you're watching this video you've been selected to the world cup and i don't really know how to react at first and then i just maricho pochettino video yeah yeah yeah it's a video of him just saying like if you're watching this you know you're you're picked for the world cup and i want you to respond yeah you're in the car with your dad i'm in the car with my father just running some errands and then you know like i said we're going home just got the message uh so it just like pops up that you like you're literally in a whatsapp group are you are you clicking into the members to make sure christian politics in it you know i was just happy to be able to be in that group to be honest that was my initial reaction how did it feel i felt great felt great honestly it's something that i can't really explain i can't really tell you how it's how it feels you know there were so many emotions going through my body um relief yeah big big relief for sure did you doubt this time ricord did he have any doubt i didn't really have any doubt in myself but you know just going through what I've already been through you know I know that anything's possible because you know last World Cup I thought that I also had good opportunities and good chances to be able to make it to the roster but you know you just never know of course you just never know You were with your father I mean I would have just started sobbing recording I hadn't really opened the message from Poc yet and then I just showed my dad my phone and then all of a sudden he starts having his emotions and then And then we just get so happy, man.

24:20I remember we had a dinner that night with the family and no one really wanted to eat. You know, we had a dinner planned because it was my mom's birthday and we get our food and we're like, oh, no one's hungry, no one's hungry. So then we just take all the food to go and we just eat it at home. What did you, I mean, I'm trying to think as a parent what that must feel like to have had a kid achieve so much, get burned in such a dramatic way, rebuild, go again and have this moment. What did your dad say to you in that moment? He didn't really have any words to say to me in that moment. He just started, you know, I felt like he started crying a little bit.

24:58And then, you know, he just kept congratulating me, kept hugging me. And so he couldn't really express his feelings at that moment either. Happiest of birthday to you, man. I appreciate that. I'd love to hear from you about Mauricio Pochettino. Right. He's a coach who molded one of your striking role models, Harry Kay. What's your experience been working with Potch? How would you describe the way he approaches coaching you as an individual aside from the team and the systems? What have you learned most from him? Yeah, man, I feel like, you know, he's kind of given us that belief that we can compete versus any team in the world.

25:32You know, he's kind of, whenever we talk about, you know, just playing the best teams in the world, the first thing he talks about is intensity and just, you know, go and have fun. and you know as a player that's kind of something that you want to hear like he always tells us i'm not going to tell you how to how to play in the final third you know that's where your creativity shows but then he just gives us that belief of like you know with intensity we can be anyone so you know he's a fantastic guy man great coach to be honest you're about to become ricardo pepe a world cup footballer how does that feel when i say that uh you know i haven't really sat down and thought about it myself but then now that you say it's yeah incredible man incredible like I said dream come true so I'm just very excited very have to be here and I'm ready to get to work what was the first world cup you watched I'd have to say first cup that I watched that I remember of uh probably the Brazil one 2014 yeah what which memory do you remember like which footballing memory from that do you remember first memory watching the United States I remember you know I actually saw it a couple of days ago on Instagram, that goal that Clint Dempsey scored 30 seconds into the match.

26:44That's fantastic, man. I remember watching that one. What would that be like, man, for you? That would be fantastic. That would be fantastic. You know, he's a great guy, obviously a great striker that, you know, I look up to. So, it's my guy. Texas forever. Yes, sir. Obviously, I remember watching, that was the World Cup, but it was Brazil and Germany, right? 7-1. Yeah, the 7-1. Remember that? And obviously the song for the World Cup was a big thing. So, yeah, that was the first one that I remember, to be honest. James Rodriguez goal. As well. As well. Crazy goal. Crazy goal. I mean, this is what you can now do.