00:00Let's talk about the World Cup and how it was presented by America
00:04and how well it's done and how well it's been received around the world,
00:08and especially hearing your takeaways on how it was presented.
00:12Thank you for having me, first and foremost, my friends.
00:15It has been a crazy month of football, and I think it's a mixed bag.
00:19I think the verdict is still out.
00:21I think there were very important highlights.
00:23One of them, there was that moment of communion between the U.S. casual fans
00:28and the U.S. national team.
00:29There was a moment, there was a fairytale moment for the U.S. national team.
00:33Unfortunately, it faded away very quickly, unfortunately,
00:36for the development of football culture here.
00:38But I think that the proof is in the pudding that the culture in the United States
00:44is ready for these events.
00:45There's an audience.
00:47There's culture to talk about around the game.
00:49And most importantly, the hard questions are being asked.
00:52And what I mean is we are talking about the access to the game.
00:56I think one of the biggest talking points for the United States is the fact
01:00that we are now talking about the pay-to-play model that has been hindering
01:04the growth of the U.S. national team.
01:06I think that this is very important.
01:08But also, globally, what I see is that the level of all the teams around the world
01:14has increased so much more.
01:15Of course, there's big teams.
01:17We have the two first places in the FIFA ranking in the final for a reason,
01:21and the third and fourth in the consolation match for a reason.
01:26So the powers of football are clear, and they are winning.
01:30But also, if you think about this, a team that comes to the World Cup
01:33for the very first time, like Cape Verde, and ties,
01:37and makes it very difficult for the two finalists in their respective games.
01:42I think these are the stories that the World Cup brings,
01:45and why we're so, so, so happy to have experienced that.
01:48And the growth of Norway as a world power,
01:53the growth of Morocco as a world power,
01:54and the reality that there's still a lot of work to be done in the Americas
01:58to catch up with the Europeans.
02:00It's clear that they have a leg up on the continent.
02:03And let's see.
02:04Maybe Argentina raises the hand and continues the old saying
02:08that America is for the Americans.
02:10But we'll see.
02:11It has been a great World Cup, nonetheless.
02:14Marcellino, so are you on the side, then, of Donovan McNabb?
02:18Or, excuse me, of Landon Donovan?
02:20And you're not on the side of Alexi Lalas here when you say that?
02:24Because Landon has also told me this as well.
02:27Landon said that, you know, when you have to pay for play,
02:30you know, you're talking about really rich kids.
02:33You're talking about not opening up to everybody, inner city kids.
02:36And this is really one of the differences in the process
02:39of finding the right players and finding the right 25.
02:42So you're on that side with Landon Donovan.
02:45Without a doubt, I support what Landon Donovan was putting out there
02:49throughout the World Cup.
02:50I think Alexi Lalas is a professional provocateur.
02:54He has his agenda not only to bring his take, but to rile people up.
03:00And in this case, I think that he landed flat.
03:02I think that it is clear, I understand where he's coming from,
03:05that this has been the model that we know.
03:07And there's so many interests behind it.
03:09There's a lot of club owners that do not want this to disappear.
03:12But the reality is that the pressure is on, my friend.
03:15This is something that will happen eventually.
03:18And I think that there's also big movements around this summer in New York,
03:23come to the final for the World Cup.
03:25The mayor has let the lights be on for the 24 hour of the day.
03:30From 10 at night to 7 in the morning, there's lighting on the fields of New York,
03:34providing access for free on the fields.
03:36I think these are the things that we need to do.
03:38We need to create.
03:40There's so many abandoned parking lots and basketball courts
03:43that could be repurposed for street soccer.
03:46Street soccer, I think, is one of the critical points for this history to change in the U.S.
03:52Because, like you said, provides access to inner city kids,
03:55creates players that are bold, and they're happy to take the one-on-one.
03:59That, if we notice, certain teams were lacking that player that had a spark,
04:05that changed a game.
04:06We saw it with Argentina.
04:07I think the big difference between Mexico versus England and Argentina versus England
04:11is that Argentina dared to put a player that was going to make that a special play.
04:16You know, Enzo Fernandez with that massive goal.
04:18I think that we need to try to find those players and create them.
04:23And if you just reduce your pool to those who can pay between $3,000 and $7,000 a year
04:29just to be part of a club, on top of that, travel fees, equipment, special trainings, privates.
04:36So if you start adding, there's a big, big pool of talent in the U.S.
04:41that is not being allowed to compete at the same level.
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