Taty Castellanos and New York City begin the defense of their MLS Cup title on Sunday at the LA Galaxy (Photo by Ira L. Black - Corbis/Getty Images)
Another busy weekend of soccer lies ahead with the 14-game Matchday 1 of the MLS season, the English League Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea and much more, so I’m looking to open the Mailbag. Feel free below to ask any probing, thoughtful and/or amusing questions about any soccer topic, and I’ll answer the best ones as part of the Friday Newsletter. Thank you!
Let's talk about Gazprom. They are a global sponsor of UEFA's continental competitions, as well as the kit sponsors for several prominent clubs (Red Star Belgrade, Schalke04, Zenit St. Petersburg) and the actual owner of Zenit. Gazprom is also majority-owned by the Russian state. My question is, how does Gazprom's deep financial entanglement into UEFA's sponsorships and ownership groups complicate UEFA's ability to respond to the conflict in Ukraine? How much does this financial relationship influence footballing matters? And how does Ukraine and Russia even continue with WCQ if there is an active hot war underway between them, making it difficult or impossible for nationals of both countries to cross borders?
Would be very curious to know who you think is up next at keeper for USMNT. After the Steffen/Turner combo...seems like one area of this "golden age" where succession is not as evident, after a long line of Friedel-Keller-Guzan-Howard.
You took my question last mailbag, about which leagues outside Europe are among the best. But you didn't answer it fully. So I'll pose it more directly: which European leagues are not as good as the Brazilian league? The Argentine league? (The UEFA league ranking is England Spain Italy Germany France Portugal.)
Not really a specific question but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the various ways (obvious and less obvious) that the Russian invasion impacts global football.
Seen a few articles about analytics pros gaining prominence in European leagues, and I know you've done interviews with Tyler Heaps and Daniel Altman in the past, but I'm curious which teams in MLS are known for their cutting edge analytics and data.
Can the USMNT finally win at estadio azteca? The time is now but the weston mckennie injury puts a damper on things. Costa rica (2001) and Honduras (2013) were able to do so. Do not come out and settle for a draw.
This might be the best chance to finally win there.
Really enjoy the podcast with Chris and Landon... can you do a special edition for the WC draw?Also, any rumblings on likely venues for the USMNT's home friendlies in the June window?
Any chance that, with the abrupt removal of the Champions League final from St. Petersburg, this would be the optimal moment to have this game played in NYC or Los Angeles in May?
What are the chances of getting a result in either Mexico or CR? What injuries are Mexico/CR dealing with and could we see any related changes to their standard lineups? The games will be formidable challenges obviously, but both teams strike me as vulnerable.
Loved your recent discussion about TV soccer announcers. I'd love a deeper dive on this topic. For one, I was left wondering what, specifically, makes for good announcing and commentary, in your opinion? Or put another way, what is an announcer's core function? Also, the topic of nationality/accent bias is fascinating. I've even heard non-Spanish speakers change channels to the Spanish feed in order to avoid "unlistenable" American commentators. What's really going on there? What exactly is their... GOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL?!
Do you think a national team manager should be flexible with their system so that the best players are on the field or is it better to have a more rigid system and play the players that fit it best regardless if they are the most talented?
Grant, would love to see a feature (or a feature series even better!) about the diverse fan bases in the U.S. We hear a lot about support for the USMNT/USWNT and immigrants' support for their home national teams, but what about the club level? Who is the fan in MLS? USL? Or, is it more that people are just fans of the game and engage it across many leagues in the U.S. and elsewhere (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Liga MX, all the others)? It seems like there is a wide array of home-grown fans newer to the support, old-timers that have always been fans that now don't have to hunt to find televised games, and immigrants that might have entrenched loyalties elsewhere but might have room to root for a local team also.
Impact of Gio ( can’t believe he will be fit) and Weston injuries on next round of qualifiers ; as well as Injury updates for Steffan and Tyler ( who so far isn’t playing today either)
In the men's game, we see the path clearly being to go from MLS to Europe. But in the women's game, it isn't like this. With more spending from European clubs on women's soccer, is the tide starting to slowly turn to parallel the men's game? Or is playing in the NWSL the top destination for most of the world's stars? For example: Is the end goal for Trinity Rodman to play in Europe or is it for Catarina Macario to play in NWSL?
I'm of the opinion that the first games of new teams and of new stadiums should be on national TV. MLS and its broadcast partners do not share that opinion -- Audi Field's opening a few years back was not on national TV, and Charlotte's debut this weekend is not either. ESPN+ means I can at least watch it. But what's with the league not celebrating these landmarks on its national broadcasts?
Can you go through and match some USMNT players with EPL clubs, for fun? Reyna, Weah, McKennie, Adams, Aaronson, anyone else you want. Some of us American Blues were suggesting McKennie to Everton before he moved to Juve and...well, that would have been nice, but Tyler Adams might be a better fit/bigger need today.
You mentioned it earlier in the week during your podcast with Witty/Claudio Reyna, but what do you expect the summer/fall to look like for the USMNT if they are able to qualify for the World Cup during the final window? How many camps/friendlies will they have in the lead-up to Qatar?
Let's talk about Gazprom. They are a global sponsor of UEFA's continental competitions, as well as the kit sponsors for several prominent clubs (Red Star Belgrade, Schalke04, Zenit St. Petersburg) and the actual owner of Zenit. Gazprom is also majority-owned by the Russian state. My question is, how does Gazprom's deep financial entanglement into UEFA's sponsorships and ownership groups complicate UEFA's ability to respond to the conflict in Ukraine? How much does this financial relationship influence footballing matters? And how does Ukraine and Russia even continue with WCQ if there is an active hot war underway between them, making it difficult or impossible for nationals of both countries to cross borders?
Would be very curious to know who you think is up next at keeper for USMNT. After the Steffen/Turner combo...seems like one area of this "golden age" where succession is not as evident, after a long line of Friedel-Keller-Guzan-Howard.
You took my question last mailbag, about which leagues outside Europe are among the best. But you didn't answer it fully. So I'll pose it more directly: which European leagues are not as good as the Brazilian league? The Argentine league? (The UEFA league ranking is England Spain Italy Germany France Portugal.)
Not really a specific question but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the various ways (obvious and less obvious) that the Russian invasion impacts global football.
Seen a few articles about analytics pros gaining prominence in European leagues, and I know you've done interviews with Tyler Heaps and Daniel Altman in the past, but I'm curious which teams in MLS are known for their cutting edge analytics and data.
Just a thank you for making me aware of "The Crack" podcast. How did I not about it? Anyway, I've been binge listening and thoroughly enjoying it!
Can the USMNT finally win at estadio azteca? The time is now but the weston mckennie injury puts a damper on things. Costa rica (2001) and Honduras (2013) were able to do so. Do not come out and settle for a draw.
This might be the best chance to finally win there.
Really enjoy the podcast with Chris and Landon... can you do a special edition for the WC draw?Also, any rumblings on likely venues for the USMNT's home friendlies in the June window?
Any chance that, with the abrupt removal of the Champions League final from St. Petersburg, this would be the optimal moment to have this game played in NYC or Los Angeles in May?
What are the chances of getting a result in either Mexico or CR? What injuries are Mexico/CR dealing with and could we see any related changes to their standard lineups? The games will be formidable challenges obviously, but both teams strike me as vulnerable.
Loved your recent discussion about TV soccer announcers. I'd love a deeper dive on this topic. For one, I was left wondering what, specifically, makes for good announcing and commentary, in your opinion? Or put another way, what is an announcer's core function? Also, the topic of nationality/accent bias is fascinating. I've even heard non-Spanish speakers change channels to the Spanish feed in order to avoid "unlistenable" American commentators. What's really going on there? What exactly is their... GOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL?!
Do you think a national team manager should be flexible with their system so that the best players are on the field or is it better to have a more rigid system and play the players that fit it best regardless if they are the most talented?
Grant, would love to see a feature (or a feature series even better!) about the diverse fan bases in the U.S. We hear a lot about support for the USMNT/USWNT and immigrants' support for their home national teams, but what about the club level? Who is the fan in MLS? USL? Or, is it more that people are just fans of the game and engage it across many leagues in the U.S. and elsewhere (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Liga MX, all the others)? It seems like there is a wide array of home-grown fans newer to the support, old-timers that have always been fans that now don't have to hunt to find televised games, and immigrants that might have entrenched loyalties elsewhere but might have room to root for a local team also.
Impact of Gio ( can’t believe he will be fit) and Weston injuries on next round of qualifiers ; as well as Injury updates for Steffan and Tyler ( who so far isn’t playing today either)
In the men's game, we see the path clearly being to go from MLS to Europe. But in the women's game, it isn't like this. With more spending from European clubs on women's soccer, is the tide starting to slowly turn to parallel the men's game? Or is playing in the NWSL the top destination for most of the world's stars? For example: Is the end goal for Trinity Rodman to play in Europe or is it for Catarina Macario to play in NWSL?
Will the USWNT be the favorite for the '23 World Cup down under?
What to watch for/things to know for this upcoming MLS season
I'm of the opinion that the first games of new teams and of new stadiums should be on national TV. MLS and its broadcast partners do not share that opinion -- Audi Field's opening a few years back was not on national TV, and Charlotte's debut this weekend is not either. ESPN+ means I can at least watch it. But what's with the league not celebrating these landmarks on its national broadcasts?
Where is Taty Castellanos likely to go, seeing how Leeds might end up relegated, and what does that do to NYCFC when he does leave?
Can you go through and match some USMNT players with EPL clubs, for fun? Reyna, Weah, McKennie, Adams, Aaronson, anyone else you want. Some of us American Blues were suggesting McKennie to Everton before he moved to Juve and...well, that would have been nice, but Tyler Adams might be a better fit/bigger need today.
You mentioned it earlier in the week during your podcast with Witty/Claudio Reyna, but what do you expect the summer/fall to look like for the USMNT if they are able to qualify for the World Cup during the final window? How many camps/friendlies will they have in the lead-up to Qatar?
Would you consider the CFC multi-club model validated given the success of Man City domestically and NYCFC recently?