00:00Mr. Matt Turner, who plays, of course, for the New England Revolution.
00:03He is their goalie, and a big congrats to him.
00:06Just got a big extension.
00:07It was announced on Monday.
00:09It looks like he's going to be in New England long term.
00:12Hey, Matt, thanks for joining us, man.
00:13I appreciate it.
00:15Yeah, thanks for having me on.
00:16Yeah, quite the intro there.
00:18But, yeah, happy to be here long term and, you know, settle down
00:24and then, you know, ultimately compete for what the people of New England expect,
00:28which is trophies.
00:31So, Matt, first of all, you know, you being on the U.S. men's national team,
00:34I mean, this was a great ride, you know, despite the way that it ended.
00:38You know, that was, it was obvious, you can tell by the ratings, you know,
00:41everyone in America, it was a huge story.
00:44How does it feel to, like, every four years to be on a stage
00:48where over a billion people are watching each one of your games?
00:52We talked about that Argentina game, 2.6 billion people, like, worldwide watched it.
00:58How does it feel to be part of something that huge?
01:01Yeah, you feel it.
01:03You know, you feel it.
01:04It's soccer's the most global sport.
01:06It really is.
01:07And, you know, when the World Cup's going on, the whole world stops to watch your game.
01:12There's no overlap.
01:13There's just one game on TV to watch.
01:16And everyone's tuned in.
01:17And the stakes are never higher than they are, you know, at the World Cup.
01:21And this one has been so spectacular.
01:23The venues have been great.
01:25The play has been fantastic.
01:28It's been competitive.
01:29There's been upsets.
01:30There's been, and most importantly, there's been the superstars being, you know, the superstars.
01:35And I think that's what a lot of people want to see when the tournaments are happening.
01:40Matt, I was wondering if you could take us kind of, you know, into the locker room,
01:43behind the scenes, if you will, when, you know, Balagan's red card was reversed, right?
01:48And he was determined that he could play in your match against Belgium.
01:51I'm just curious, that news that he was going to be able to play,
01:55how was that received in the locker room?
01:58What were guys thinking about that fortune that went your way?
02:03How was that kind of processed in the locker room when it was determined he could play against Belgium?
02:08Yeah, I don't think, I mean, from the outside, I think there was a lot more noise than from the
02:13inside.
02:13I think for us, we did a great job of just, you know, adapting to whatever was thrown our way.
02:19Whether it was in the Bosnia game, you know, defending with 10 men or just anything in the past.
02:24I think for us, it was just another decision that was outside of our control.
02:28And then from there, it's like, you know, the guy that's scoring some goals is available to play.
02:32So I think, you know, we were happy for him because obviously the red card was a bit unjust.
02:38But we knew that no matter what the final say was, whoever was going to play,
02:43the coach was going to select to play, was going to be ready to compete at the highest level.
02:47How much of a shock was it?
02:49Like, were you guys shocked or did you think that there was indeed a chance that Baligan would be back?
02:54I mean, for us, it was obviously an unprecedented decision.
02:58So I don't think anybody was expecting.
03:00None of us even knew there was a possibility, I think, for that to take place or to happen.
03:06So when we got the news, I think we were all pretty shocked.
03:11And I think there was, you know, the locker room talk, a little bit of teasing of,
03:14we didn't know that Balow had the poll like he had.
03:18You mean the presidential poll?
03:20Yeah, yeah.
03:20Oh, listen, I don't know who called who, but I hold my hands up.
03:27I don't know who called who, but I do know that whatever happened was unprecedented.
03:33And we were able to have an extremely important player on the pitch.
03:37And, of course, we wanted the best chance to win.
03:40This question's been asked for 20 years, Matt, but now it kind of feels like there actually is an advancement
03:45in soccer in America and with the U.S. team.
03:48Did you feel that just, you know, travel around from city to city and playing in these matches?
03:53Do you feel like it's got to the next level?
03:56Oh, certainly, certainly.
03:58It's been overwhelming at times, really.
04:01You know, you kind of, I remember when I first saw my games, you know, with the single Matt back
04:06in the day.
04:07And, you know, you're going into Boston and you're on a game and you're walking in and you're waiting in
04:13line like everybody else.
04:14You're paying the cover charge and people are asking you what you do for a living.
04:18And you don't even tell them you play soccer because sometimes they ask, like, hey, can you do that full
04:23time for a living?
04:27It's changed a lot in the last 12 years, you know.
04:30But, no, just seriously, outside of the jokes, it is insane how much it's changed.
04:37I mean, it's been the most popular youth sport in America for years and years and years.
04:41And now, you know, for it to be here, so tangible for fans to see the players that they love,
04:47whether it be the U.S., other countries.
04:53Hey, Matt, Matt, we're going to put you on hold for just a second, if you don't mind.
04:57And we're going to have you just move to a different spot so you can get the phone worked on.
05:01Yeah, I want to hear his answer.
05:01Yeah, I want to hear his answer.
05:03We're going to put him on hold for just a second.
05:04By the way, the Revolution's doing something very smart, is now that everyone's got soccer fever.
05:10You know, even I've been like, eh, maybe I want to go to a match.
05:13Have you seen those ads they've had for have a game on us?
05:15No.
05:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:16It's kind of cool.
05:17I guess they're doing this thing.
05:18It's like next match on us.
05:20So they say that basically if you've never been to a Revs match, they're going to give you two free
05:23tickets to Saturday's match, which is smart, which is good.
05:26All right, Matt, turn his back with us.
05:27Hey, Matt, sorry about that.
05:28Your phone was just going on for a second.
05:30Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's on me.
05:31That's on me.
05:32But, yeah, it's been immense.
05:34And you feel it when you go from place to place.
05:36And then, most importantly, you know, the tangibility of theirs for the kids and the next generation is huge.
05:42So, Matt, okay, let me take you into a conversation that I heard at a bar when we were watching
05:47a game the other night.
05:48And it's something that I've heard before.
05:49And there's even part of me that has thought it.
05:52And that is that, you know, when you have these shootouts at the end of games, first of all, there
05:55aren't many more exciting things in sports than a World Cup shootout for all the marbles.
06:01And it does seem like I heard some people saying, well, man, it's like a 50-50 shot.
06:06You know, the goalie's just going to jump one way or he's going to jump the other way.
06:09And I could do that.
06:11I could score on a World Cup goalie.
06:14And as a matter of fact, there was a poll that came out that 28% of all people watching
06:18the World Cup think that they could score on a World Cup goalie.
06:23Now, I have had something like this happen before with Brian Scalabrini, who played for the Celtics, where people were
06:29saying, I could beat that guy.
06:30He's the last one on the bench.
06:31And Brian Scalabrini schooled those guys.
06:34Can you kind of put in perspective and say something to the people that think they could score on a
06:40World Cup goalie in one of those shootout situations?
06:43The only thing I'll say, in a World Cup situation, there's just absolutely no chance.
06:49But the thing is, in soccer, you can get lucky with, like, a random toe poke or you're trying to
06:55kick it one way and it somehow comes off your foot the other way.
06:57So when people don't know how to kick, it can be random.
07:00But now, in general, I back a World Cup-level goalkeeper to save it from an average show, you know,
07:06nine and a half times out of ten.
07:08Have you ever taken on an average show before?
07:11I did a TikTok recently with some guy, his name's Frank Michael Smith, and he was supposed to be the
07:18average Joe.
07:19And he said he practiced for, you know, a couple weeks, and then he took a penalty and I dove
07:25and basically caught it.
07:28All right, so if I had a hundred kicks on you, how many do you think I would make in?
07:33And I never played soccer at any level.
07:36I think one or two, because I think you'll kind of get the hang of it.
07:41But I think after about ten, your leg might fall off.
07:44Sure, you might be right.
07:45Right, it's like, oh, this is way more physical than I thought it was.
07:47Real quick, Matt, yesterday's match, did you think England screwed up strategy-wise?
07:52I can't begin to, like, X's and O's know what was going on, but were they not aggressive enough at
07:57the end of the match?
07:58It's hard to say.
08:00I mean, of course, hindsight, it's easy to say, yeah, of course, they weren't aggressive enough.
08:06But I think they definitely invited the pressure that presented itself on them.
08:11And then after they conceded one goal because of the changes that were made, it was always going to be
08:16difficult for them to regroup themselves tactically.
08:19I think there was more time for them to really go for the game.
08:23But, you know, you look back at their game in Mexico with ten men, you know, they defended the box
08:30brilliantly.
08:30And I just think they thought they would be able to do that again.
08:33So I see it from both sides.
08:34But obviously, hindsight, it looks like maybe a tough decision from the manager.
08:38But, dude, those are the big money calls, you know.
08:43That's why we get paid to do what we do.
08:44And it didn't pay off this time.
08:46All right, Matt Turner, you are obviously a New England guy.
08:49So I have to ask you, whose career is more impressive, Lionel Messi or Tom Brady?
08:57I think if Messi wins this World Cup, I will have to go with Messi.
09:03Wow.
09:04Okay.
09:04So he is because when you talk Tom Brady, you think that there's almost no way anyone can reach his
09:09level.
09:10Like it would be really almost insane to get even closer to that.
09:13Is that kind of where Messi is in soccer?
09:16Yeah.
09:17I mean, you have to think.
09:18Messi has won so many different things.
09:20You know, two Copa Americas, which happens once every four years.
09:23Potentially two World Cups, which only happens once every four years.
09:27So many league titles.
09:28So many Champions League trophies.
09:29He's been voted the best player however many times.
09:32I mean, just doing things unprecedented, you know, in the world of soccer.
09:38So I know Tom Brady has done the same.
09:40Like you said, I'm a New England guy.
09:42I love Tom.
09:43I think he is basically new, like synonymous, his face with New England.
09:49But I think if Messi wins this World Cup, I'll have to go with him.
09:52All right.
09:52So, Matt, who's winning on Sunday?
09:54Who is winning the final?
09:56It's hard to root against Argentina.
09:58It really is because they've been, you know, knocked down and counted out in many games and they just fight
10:06and claw and they don't give up and they really believe in themselves.
10:09But the Spanish team has looked like the most complete team this entire tournament.
10:13They haven't really been, no one's really laid a glove on them all tournament.
10:17So, you know, if Argentina are able to do that, you're not really sure how they're going to react.
10:23But the way they've been playing, I like to say Spain, but so hard to root against the best player
10:28in the world.
10:29Well, Matt Turner, it's, I bet you're excited to get back to things here at, now you can call it
10:35Gillette Stadium and not Boston Stadium anymore.
10:37It's back.
10:38It's back.
10:38That's right.
10:39You got two home games.
10:41The cover's been shaved off.
10:42That's right.
10:42Those gigantic, it's funny.
10:44I saw somebody took a picture of every seat at Gillette Stadium has a little Gillette logo on it.
10:49And somebody had to go with a little blue piece of tape on every seat and put it over that
10:54for the World Cup games.
10:57And then go take it off, by the way.
10:58Take it off and then put that artificial turf back in.
11:01Oh, man.
11:02I know.
11:02I know, guys.
11:03Come on.
11:04Don't get me started on that.
11:04Listen, we won eight out of nine games at home on the grass.
11:07What else can we do?
11:08There you go.
11:09There you go.
11:09All right, Matt Turner, thanks for coming on with us, man.
11:11We appreciate it.
11:12We got two home games, July 22nd and July 25th for New England Revolution.
11:16Appreciate it, Matt.
11:17Thanks for coming on.
11:18Thank you, Matt.
11:18Yeah, thank you.
