FiredUp Network
Saturday, July 6: MLS Kickin It With Carmine Isacco
There you go. Hey, everybody. This is Joseph Hasey. Welcome to the Firenub Network. Welcome to MLS kicking it with the coach Karmana Sacco. We're going to get to it. Carmen will not make a comment about this, but I'm starting to think, I'm starting to think that TFC may have hired the wrong coach. They should have gone to York University and talked to some guy with a white beard and everything like that, maybe hire him or whatever, but you don't need to make a comment about that. But the comment you're going to make, are you concerned now that we're in playoff position? Now, they still are in the play, they're still in the play. Okay, play and play off. Same thing. Okay. But the way they're playing, they better not me in the play in or play offs or whatever, because they're not going to make it like, are you, they're losing home matches to teams that they're ahead of. Yeah, the Orlando one was a tough swallow, you know, even going up 1-0 on a great goal, great action, it's, you know, it's, we always, we always knew that there would be a problem in the back. We always knew that maybe the athleticism of a back three and a young three when they do get athletic, like Gomez is a 21, 21, 22-year-old who's athletic, who's probably going to be a very good player in that back three or in every, another situation, you know, you look at that situation, but then you have a proper long and, you know, and who's been fantastic. I think been fantastic, but is he, you know, playing out, is he, is he supported properly? All these little things are coming to kind of hunt them. And it's been, it's been a process, a mixture of unlucky, unlucky, unluckiness and also, you know, maybe after, I think it's the fish of the loss at home, you know, and it's the, what is it? They've won one in the last, maybe 11, it's something like that, one as well. Okay, so yeah, I think that it's time to maybe look at the system, look at, look at how we can maybe get, is it efficient enough to have Brenner Dasky, you know, going up and down that wing channel? But he's been amazing as well, well-deserved MLS All-Star. Is it, is it efficient enough to have Encine yet, you know, maybe coming in and playing an attacking mid and a wide rule, do we have winners that can get up and down? All this stuff is, is, is, is the big questions right now, but, you know, I think that at a certain point, you can, you can blame roster and you can blame this and that, but you also have to look internally and say, what can we do differently right now? What can we change as far as on the field stuff? Because the sample size has been big, like we said, 12 games. So right now, you have to look internally, you have to take the, the, the stubborn hat off and look, look at the humble hat and, you know, look to your staff and say, hey, what can we do differently here? What, what do we need? Is it a 433? Do we need to look, do we need to go back and see moments where when we had, you know, even look back to Bob Bradley system and see where it was successful. You know, is, is, are our back three good enough, you know, it's chain and with long and with, um, uh, um, uh, go meets are they the athletic ones or, or are they problems? Is it, is it, is it a problem when we, when we ask for a desk key to come back in a five? Is it a problem, uh, when we ask that, that to play in a three? All these things are, are things that they're going through their mind. And I've been there. It's a hope, there's a bit of a hopeless situation at times. And I feel for John, um, but you have to be adaptable. You have to be adaptable to situations. I still believe that the Italians are bought in. I still believe that, uh, there's, there's a, a, a level of, uh, of respect for how John goes about his business. Um, but I think that there needs to be a something change, a change, a change where, where they, they kind of see that light at the end of the tunnel. But light at the end of the tunnel, we still talk about that, but hey, in the first, what was it? 10 games? Are you only lost one game or something crazy like that? So they're still in a playoff position. The reality is is they're still, they're still in a, in a, in a, in a decent spot. Uh, they're futures still in their hands as far as playoffs concerned. Um, but you're losing, you're losing the fans like, like, like the reporters have been saying that they're losing the, the relevance in our community, um, because of everything around it. Uh, but, and, but, you know, and there, there needs to be a plan B and plan B needs to start now. All right. Well, plan B starts actually on Saturday in Columbus and not an easy match to play, to start a plan, either. Uh, and they usually don't have any luck playing in Columbus. All right. So what do you expect there because, you know, we look at, okay, if you're going to look at the schedule, you would have think, okay, we're going to beat our mind. Okay. Especially you should score five minutes into the match and then they lose. So now you play and let's face it, it's holiday weekend and the independence day and everything like that. So we have it to Columbus and some, some players, and I'm going to say this as let's say a fan or media personnel, you could tell when people don't want to be there, they're just riding out the string. It's, I want to be with, with my family, we got a barbecue, we got whatever, right? What do you expect on Saturday in Columbus? I expect professional performance from professional players. I expect them to put the work in as far as the individual players are concerned. You know, I expect them to be prepared and I mean, nothing, not nothing against, you look at even from last night's game with Sean Johnson, probably he looked like one of the best keepers, if not the best keepers in MLS, but he came from a US national camp where he wasn't playing, you know, and that affects you. Not only technically, but, but mentally. So all this stuff rolled up into one kind of, kind of, kind of hurts the whole, right? I'm not making excuses, but I am making excuses. Everything that's gone, it could've gone wrong, it has gone wrong, but you need to be prepared for that. So I expect tactical adjustment. I expect a fresher approach and I expect the same hard work. It's not like, it's not like they're not working hard still. It's still, it's not like they're not working, you know, but it's, you're the coach, right? And why, after every match and let's say we sit together and all that, is there like five, ten minute lapses? They're playing well, they're playing well, and then there's a lapse, you're down one nil or two nil, and you're probably frustrated as hell as a coach. But every match, there's a lapse of give or take 10, 15 minutes. Why can't they just do a 90 minute performance? I'm going to say connectedness, connectedness and humility to understand that, hey, even at home, you're not going to dominate situations. So yes, you have to recover. Yes, we have to have 10 players behind the ball, 20 yards from goal, 30 yards from goal if you want to be successful. All those things have to happen. Yes, it's not going to be outwardly or perceptually, it's not going to, it's going to look sometimes it's going to look defeatist, right? Which that's not what John Herman wants to show, or wants to show that we're not the dominating one. We're not the alpha. But yeah, that's part of the football game. Doing what you need to do to win games and get results is low block defending, is getting 10 guys behind the ball. If it's good enough for the French national team doing it winning World Cups, and if it's good enough for all kinds of other teams in their humility to do that, Toronto have seen must do that, must have support. At times, it's been pressing in ones and twos, at times it's been defending, leaving a back breed on their own, at times it's been all those situations and sometimes they don't have the tactical adjustment has to make up for their physical limitations. That's the reality. So all that stuff has to happen. And sometimes you have to start and say, hey, all right, we're going to create opportunities because we have been seeing it, because we have prints, because we have Bernadesti, we're going to create situations, but let's create it off of good defense. Let's get our block low. Let's be humble. Let's work hard. And that's what I exactly expect to see in Columbus. And I think we're going to make it that if you do those things, you're going to make it difficult for them to break us down. And you're going to create opportunities also good defending, which is okay. It's okay. You know, it's not going to be, it's not going to go from, you know, a picture of a lion to a cub, but it's, and all those, those little things, but it's, it's, it's about being efficient and finding the best situation for your players. And if it's dropping off and dropping 30 yards from goal and creating chances in transition, which we have players that can do that, we've seen it done by Bernadesti, then so be it, but we have to be humble. All right. So we talked about Independence Day, but Saturday, July 6, we got Vancouver, Montreal, Battle of Canada here. Let's look at that game. And then we got to talk about, even though he's not going to play, Cincinnati, Miami, two good teams in the East, they're glad. Wow. Great Maya. Look what Miami's been doing without Messi and without Suarez, just efficient, just great football, you know, credit to, to, to Martino, who's been putting this group together. It's, it's not only on, it's exactly what we said. It's not, they, they've had games where they haven't had the ball as much. And they've created opportunity, they've had games where they've been the lesser team, but they, through defending well, they create opportunities and goals. So that's part of the, part of the buy-in, part of the commitment. Montreal yesterday against New York, it's just a matter of talent. Right now, you could see New York City was at a different level in New York, a tough place to play, you know, you're basically playing on a, on a postage stamp, you're playing on a small field with all those technical players. It's tough for any team, you know, but Joseph Martinez, still Joseph Martinez kind of getting back to his old form. So yeah, I think that Montreal would happen yesterday in New York was what happened. Vancouver pounds, pounds on a, on a suffering Minnesota team that's, that's looking really bad. And Vancouver, you know, the, the result was, I think a three one result, but it looked like more, more of a dominating performance. And Sartini is another one, he has them flowing, he has them moving. Are they going to win every game? Are they going to win every battle? Are they going to win every duel? No. Are they the best, most talented team? No, arguably they are one of the most talented players in the league. And I hope Canada does, does their due diligence to, to, to get assist, to get gold, to get gold, his citizenship, because he would be an amazing, amazing, amazing fix to our group as well, exactly where we need him to. So let's, let's knock on wood and cross fingers because he's a, he is an consummate pro. And he's put that team on his back, him and whites, and, you know, and, and everything that filled in around it, you know, the, the continuing solid players, like the role players like even the proposal, role players of, of that, it all kept in fantastic. So for me, Vancouver is going about their business, giving them chance, sells a chance to win, and, and, you know, having those special moments with, with golden and, and white. So y'all, it's going to be interesting to see, I don't think Montreal is at the same level as Vancouver right now, and it could be one of those performances that we saw, remember, Vancouver, Toronto, where, where we did the game, and Vancouver just was all over them. Yeah. All right. So as we always close out soccer show MLS with, um, CPL and your teams for the weekend. So let's talk about CPL York United and forage and all these other teams. What do you think of this week's play? I'm going to highlight Halifax and York United to, to re re re emerging teams. Halifax is finding his feet getting a great win against Calgary at home, their first win at home, you know, beating Vancouver, four nil in Vancouver, like in the football was fantastic. So I think this game, this game with newfound confidence for Halifax and York United who they're a new coach who seems to be an, you know, an excellent, excellent coach, getting them organized properly, getting a buy-in from their players, although they had a hiccup in valor, it's going to be interesting to see how they react. For me, this is, this is a game where, where, you know, Halifax is, should hopefully re-emerges and get to playoff position, but this is a massive, massive game for both teams. How York United reacts to, reacts to some adversity, and how York, sorry, how Halifax can build on their four or five game winning, not winning streak, unbeaten streak, which is important. So big, big games. I think this one, if you're anywhere Saturday, four o'clock, I know it's a big, it's a soccer day, but if you can get to York Line Stadium and watch that, I think it's going to be a very, very entertaining, just like playoff game, it'd be a really big-time game, and I think it's a one-on-highlight game for CTO this week. Okay, and now how about your teams? Yeah, we, we had a, a derby last night against Woodbridge, you know, great fans, but they must have been at least almost a thousand plus people, even for a Wednesday night game. We found a way to Clawback, again, Woodbridge, under Peter Penisotto, great, great manager who's managed, you know, with Montreal managed with Toronto Lynx back in the day, managed my, myself with Toronto Italian back in the day, you know, probably outcoached me, and yeah, found a way, dropped off, did their best with their two chances, and we're up to nil, and we found a way to Clawback and tie to two, and probably we're unlucky to win it at the best, but just a great game, a great display of, of what our community's about, and what our soccer community's about, and what the semi-pro lead you give. So lots of games going on this weekend, make sure you get out there and support. We have a team that's on Nemesis, North Toronto, Sunday, and that's going to be a tough, tough game. So if you're, anyone's around Sunday night, seven o'clock at North Maple Regional Park home, let's just do a great talent on, on, on, on display, and it'll be a very, very, very intense tactical game as well. All right, that's Carmen Osacco with MLS Kickin' It and sort of CPL and all, all his teams. Carm, what did you do for Canada Day, anything for Canada Day? I didn't get my invitation for the barbecue, I didn't get my, my soccer jersey, I didn't get anything. What, what's going on with you? Well, it's, it's, it's a busy time for, for me, and, uh, but we hung out with the family, we just hung out, had, uh, had a nice time, went to a park to watch fireworks. And it was, it was just a relaxing day and time to, uh, a little bit of time to reflect and take a breath, which was, uh, which is important in everyone's life and, and be, be grateful for what this country gives us and be grateful for what we have. And, uh, you know, and always hold our country and our politicians to high standards, but be grateful for this, this great country for the opportunities they provided for, you know, our families, new Joe, and for, uh, what, what, what opportunities to provide in for the next, next people. And you know, the opportunity July 1st provided over a billion dollar spent in hockey. Do you wish sometimes you were a hockey player instead of a soccer player? Well, if you knew what I made, made playing professionally, that question is absolutely absurd. But, uh, yeah, yeah, and more money to be spent. That's right. At least it looks like the Leafs got a solid keeper, goalkeeper. Yeah. Well, you're surprised there because John Carlos telling me, ask Carmen if they're going to sign Phil Kessel, so, uh, you know, maybe they signed up to the Roger Center for Tuesday hot dog days or something like that. But have a great weekend, everybody enjoy the soccer and enjoy the football. And for that matter, just enjoy life, uh, be out there at summer time. It's 30 degrees, 40 degrees because it come October, November, uh, Carmen's going to, it's freezing out there. It's minus 20 and snow and cold and, and I need my park on all this stuff. So enjoy because in two weeks, three weeks, it's gone, right? So like, look, but, uh, thanks a lot. Enjoy the euros of joy, hope, uh, go out, support York United and support, Carmen's team and watch soccer on a Sunday night. What else? Go Canada. Let's go Canada. And the women are prepping right now for the Olympics. They have, they have a deep squad, a lot of controversial distinction. If you get my Canada shirt, I'll send you to Paris. You know what? Canada shirt, Olivia Smith and just signed the biggest deal transfer to Liverpool, uh, you know, on the WSL, but didn't get selected for the national team. A lot for Canada, a lot of controversial decisions, but you know, women's soccer, again, as well this week, fantastic match ups, uh, and let's follow our, our national teams. Let's get behind our national teams. Let's, let's be positive, uh, rather than just, uh, just haters. Let's go Canada against Venezuela. Incredible opportunity to get to the 70 files of Cop America, incredible to, to get another medal at the Olympics in Paris. Uh, so let's go Canada. Let's, let's be good supporters and let's, let's, let's make sure that we, we follow and support. And the amazing, for IELCA, those sentiments, what Carmen said and a car, if we beat Venezuela, you're coming on next week to sing the Canadian national anthem. Why is he, why do you actually want me to sing some? Well, because, because according to somebody at your house, there's no steam. There's no steam. What do you mean no singing? They, they, they see you seeing the shower and everything like, like, come on. All right.