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00:00All righty, here we go.
00:02Last session of the day.
00:03We've got to give him a good one, right, Matt?
00:04Last for the best, I think.
00:06Yes, exactly.
00:06Save the best for the last, for sure.
00:08So, Matt, this summer, the US and all of North America
00:12was captured by the World Cup.
00:15Have you ever seen the country so engaged in soccer before?
00:18I don't think I've ever seen the country so engaged in, really,
00:21a single sport before.
00:22I mean, it was incredible.
00:24It's just so much unity and energy around one sport
00:29for an entire month.
00:31It was incredible.
00:32Was it beyond anything you could have imagined it for?
00:35Yeah, I think it's, you know, often you say it's a dream come
00:39true, and I think that when you really get there,
00:42you realize it's so much more than a dream come true
00:44because it's no longer about yourself.
00:48You know, you dream about doing things for yourself,
00:52and then you get there, and you realize very quickly
00:54that it's more about representing all the people
00:57that are cheering for you and representing
01:00an amazing country.
01:01Is that what it felt like?
01:03I mean, like, take us to that first day,
01:04that first match in LA, you know, in front of the home crowd.
01:09Was it the loudest match you've ever been a part of?
01:12It was the loudest match specifically
01:15because there were so many goals.
01:16It was a bunch of times where it was really loud.
01:18But no, I think the loudest was probably Seattle
01:23against Australia.
01:24I don't know if you've heard, but the Seattle stadium
01:27is known for being incredibly loud.
01:29Yeah.
01:30And it did not disappoint.
01:33So this was the first World Cup that you played in,
01:37but it was also a home World Cup.
01:39Did, you know, when you talk to the other guys,
01:41did they tell you, listen, like, really pinch yourself,
01:43really take it in, and, you know, appreciate how special this moment really is?
01:48Especially being a home World Cup.
01:50Yeah, I think everyone that had been at a World Cup previously,
01:57you know, it was new for them, too, because it was a home World Cup.
02:02Not many people, not many athletes get to experience a World Cup.
02:06Even fewer, almost none, get to experience a home World Cup.
02:10And it was, you know, obviously it was incredible to see the energy
02:15around the sport in America, but it made that, you know,
02:20that opportunity even greater for us as a team.
02:22Did you talk to any of the guys who played on the 1994 team
02:25and try and get some of the feels that they had back in the day?
02:29No.
02:29It was very different.
02:30It was different, but, you know, it's still, you know,
02:34it's still the same sport and still the same country.
02:36And so, you know, I know that they were at one of our pre-World Cup friendlies.
02:42You know, they got honored in that way, but, no,
02:43I didn't get a chance to catch up with any of them.
02:47It's a very different time, you know, for you guys and for them,
02:50especially in the soccer landscape in the U.S.
02:53How would you describe the soccer landscape in the U.S. right now,
02:57especially coming out of that world?
02:58I would say I would describe it as pivotal.
03:01You know, we're really on the, you know, this is the moment.
03:06This is the moment to bring it to the next level
03:09from an engagement perspective, from a market share perspective.
03:12But also, I think, you know, I would say pivotal,
03:16but also, you know, it has clearly grown so much.
03:22You know, the MLS, obviously, national team, but just also just engagement
03:27and an understanding of the game is no longer, you know,
03:32a niche sport within the country.
03:34And I think that was what the summer really unlocked,
03:37was it enabled us to get into the more, you know,
03:42mainstream media side of things.
03:44Yeah.
03:45Do you feel like the excitement that there was around the World Cup,
03:50but you've seen it come into the MLS in your first few games
03:54and, you know, the first few weeks you've had back into the league?
03:57Yeah, definitely.
03:58I mean, I don't know how much you know about the specific, you know,
04:02signings that have happened, but, you know,
04:03there's a bunch of great new players that have come to the league
04:07since the World Cup.
04:08But I don't think it's just about this summer.
04:10I think it's about the previous two years.
04:13Obviously, bringing Messi over, you know, always helps, you know,
04:16having the best soccer player of all time in our league makes a massive difference.
04:22But there's a lot of guys that are, you know, really in that next tier
04:26and are, you know, in their own rights, the best at points,
04:32best in the world who now play in this league.
04:34And so it's, you know, these previous two years this summer
04:38and then the next two to three years of capitalizing on that, you know, excitement.
04:44What do you think, like, are there any metrics that you think you would look at as a player
04:47or you think that the teams will look at and say,
04:50we had this amount of fan growth, we had this amount of engagement,
04:53more people came to the games that you'll be able to see over the next few years
04:57that you'll be able to say that happened because of the 2026 World Cup?
05:01Yeah, I think it's, it's a little bit,
05:04it's a little bit difficult to isolate it to because of the World Cup.
05:08I guess the easiest way from, you know, looking at marketing spend perspective
05:13is just to look at, you know, who's a new customer,
05:18whether it's on broadcast, Apple TV, or in person,
05:22or who is now visiting the MLS store to buy a jersey for the first time.
05:28And I guarantee that's already gone up quite a lot,
05:31but I imagine and hope that it will continue over the next two to three years.
05:36When the U.S., you know, is the hub of soccer that it was during the World Cup,
05:41and then you bring it back to the MLS and you have all the other leagues starting up at,
05:46like right now with Premier League and La Liga,
05:48do you think that people understand the, you know, where the MLS falls within the global soccer landscape?
05:55Do you think that, you know, the international eyes that there were on the World Cup
05:59have also trickled down into the MLS, even not just fans here, but from people who came overseas?
06:06I would say two separate parts to the question. The first is, you know,
06:10does the American public really know where we are?
06:13Mm-hmm.
06:13I think that, I think the American public is not,
06:20is not aware of how highly the MLS is regarded from an, on an international stage.
06:26You know, it's not, it's not the Premier League, it's not the Bundesliga, but it is,
06:30it is certainly high, high, certainly higher than it was five to 10 years ago. But essentially every
06:37single metric from this last World Cup, even excluding American players, points to the fact that the MLS is,
06:45you know, had the, had the sixth most minutes played by anyone at the World Cup.
06:51And that's kind of an example that, you know, really outside of the top five
06:55leagues, which is, you know, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and England, obviously,
07:00you know, MLS is in that next tier, if not at the top of it.
07:04Do you think that there's like a misconception that the MLS has to already be there and like,
07:09or do you think that people don't understand? I mean, the MLS has only been around for
07:1130 years and these other leagues have been around for, you know, over a hundred. So,
07:16do you think that people maybe need to, to give the MLS a little bit of time to grow or
07:20that it
07:21doesn't even need to be those leagues like you are yourself? Well, I don't think it's a bad thing
07:27that fans are eager to have it be the best league in the world. And I also don't think that,
07:33I do think that it shows that we know that it has the potential to be. There's no reason that
07:40America cannot be one of the epicenters of soccer in the world, where the epicenter of pretty
07:46much every, every other sport in the world. And, and it's because of the, you know, the,
07:52the buzz around sports in this country, but also the, you know, the, the quantity of people we have
07:56in this country, the dollars spent on teams and, you know, academy programs and, and youth sports
08:03within this country. Speaking of that, and speaking of the youth sports system and the academy system,
08:09do you think that's something that needs to be built out? I think that, that happened a lot during
08:13the world cup where people were talking about, you know, the systems that there are, you know,
08:18in, in soccer and why the U S isn't further along as some of the other countries in the world
08:23because
08:24of the academy system. Do you think like, how do you think that needs to change or how grow in
08:29a way to
08:30continue, you know, you guys getting better on the national stage? Yeah, I don't think,
08:35you know, I don't have the answer. Um, I'm still a player. Um, you know, I, I do know that,
08:41um, I was incredibly fortunate to be able to, um, you know, when I was 17, 18 years old, um,
08:49go into
08:49that, go into that system and academy system and, you know, pretty much turn pro right away. Um,
08:56but, um, you know, the, I guess the, the TLDR that is that, I don't know the answer to that.
09:01Um,
09:01you know, I'm still in my playing days and, you know, in 10 to 15 years when I'm, you know,
09:05on the next phase of it, um, and, and on that side of everything, I'll, you know, I'll think about
09:10that.
09:10Is that something that you're interested in? Because I know that you are interested in,
09:13you know, how, you know, in the business side of, of soccer and, you know, um, all that. So
09:21is it something that you're interested in when you're done playing that you would look at
09:24ownership one day or being a general manager of a team, or would you be more of like a coaching
09:29side?
09:30Yeah, definitely not a coach. I don't think I'm going to want to be on the, on the field when
09:34I'm,
09:34uh, when I'm, when I'm 40, I'm going to be done with being on the field every day.
09:38Uh, but yeah, certainly I'm going to, I'm planning on staying in the sport, whether that's on
09:42the investing side, whether it's on, um, you know, the front office side or the business side of
09:47everything. Um, you know, I think it's going to be exciting to, to connect the, um, business acumen
09:56that I have in addition to the soccer acumen I have, uh, and, and hopefully, um, you know,
10:01kind of create that, that exciting next chapter in my life. But there's a lot, a lot of soccer to
10:07be played until that happens. A lot more soccer left for sure. So as we're speaking about the MLS
10:11and we're speaking about investment, you know, into soccer, the NYCFC has made a massive investment
10:18into a new stadium that will open next year in Etihad Park. Tell me what you think having a brand
10:25new stadium, have a soccer specific stadium is going to do for New York fans specifically, but
10:30also just show what investment can do when you put it into soccer in the U S. Yeah, I think
10:37it's,
10:37I think it's going to be, uh, you really can't even put into words how big it's going to be
10:42just
10:43because, you know, New York is such a center of everything in America. Um, and there's so many
10:51people that love the sport here in New York and, um, the, the, the reality of it is right now
10:56we
10:56play our games in a baseball stadium. Um, you know, that's not optically the best thing to watch.
11:01It's not, it's not the best thing to play on either from, you know, looking at the grass perspective,
11:06but, um, from, from a, from a fans in seats perspective, it's going to be so amazing for the
11:13fans to be able to have a home, um, to have a routine. They're not going to three different stadiums
11:18every other week. Um, you know, the, the, the quality of the on field product that we're putting
11:23out there will be better, uh, because, you know, when a field is properly sized and, you know, has
11:29great grass, the game of soccer looks way better. Um, and so, and, and I also think it is the
11:35final step,
11:35um, to, to making New York City FC a, uh, a super team. Um, you know, that one, one of
11:44the Miamis of
11:44the league and I think, um, you know, I, I think New York having a super team will be really
11:52big for
11:52the sport in this country. Um, and, and I think it's one of the things that we're missing. Um, you
11:58know, one of the, one of the largest and most populated cities in our country, um, will now be
12:05one of the soccer centers of our country. Yeah. Do you imagine with the stadium and then the flip of
12:11the schedule that's going to happen for the MLS, one of the ways to get to being a super team
12:15and
12:16getting more international stars or other U.S. stars like yourself to come play at New York is
12:22having that same, do you think that's going to have a big impact on who you can?
12:25Uh, a hundred percent, a hundred percent from personal experience. I know that a new stadium and
12:31new energy around a team really can, uh, from a recruiting standpoint, makes it so much easier to
12:38recruit players from a, um, you know, standpoint of keeping players and, and, and, you know, player
12:44retention, uh, on the free agent side much easier when they have a beautiful home, a fan base that
12:50they, that they know who's going to be there. They know, uh, you know, a specific part of the crowd
12:55is going to be extra rowdy. Um, you know, traditions like that really, you know, cement the, the team and
13:02fan relationship, uh, and, and it's going to do, I think, you know, wonders for recruitment, player
13:08retention, um, and, and hopefully, you know, as a result on field product. Were you looking at the
13:14Knicks this summer and saying, all right, when we get our stadium, that's what it's going to look like?
13:18I think we're, I think, I do think we're a few years away from, from, from reaching that level, but
13:23hopefully the, uh, the championship, uh, the championship winning is what carries over to us.
13:29Yeah, absolutely. All right. So this is the part of the conversation I've personally been waiting for,
13:34you know, uh, really excited to talk to you about being a goalkeeper specifically because I was a
13:38goalkeeper and it's always fun to get to talk to other goalkeepers because I feel like we're an
13:44underappreciated position on the field, you know? Yeah. I want to know when you fell in love with being
13:49a goalkeeper. Um, I fell in love with being a goalkeeper in the second grade. I was living in South
13:55Carolina and my neighbor who was the senior in high school was just like the really cool guy
14:01that, you know, he was, he was in the high school of my, of my school and like everyone thought
14:05he
14:05was cool. He was, he was awesome. Uh, and, uh, and we were, you know, he was friendly. He would,
14:11you know, come over and our, our, our families were friends and he was the goalkeeper on the high
14:16school team, won them the state championship in penalties, showed me the video of it. And I was like,
14:21yeah, that's pretty cool. I want to do that. So it was PKs. PKs. It was, it was, it was.
14:26It's the
14:26best feeling in the world saving a PK, isn't it? It is. Yeah. I, I, I would agree with that.
14:32Um, what is your approach when, when I think of like how I said, um, goalkeepers are kind of an
14:38unappreciated, underappreciated value sometimes, you know, when it comes to marketability and certain
14:43things. So when you're looking at yourself as a brand, what's your approach to branding yourself,
14:47working with partners and how have you found success in that? Yeah, I think just trying to
14:52be as authentic as I can. Um, you know, I, I, I think it's one of the easiest ways to,
15:00to lose, uh, an audience is, is to not be yourself. Um, and so, you know, when searching for, um,
15:07sponsorships or endorsements or something like that, um, my agent's here, so he can definitely
15:12attest to this. Um, I'm, I'm very particular about, you know, working with people that,
15:16uh, I believe in their mission or I believe in their product. Um, and then, you know, presenting
15:22myself, uh, on the field, there's a lot of different personalities that you can have as an athlete.
15:27I'm someone who, who is really composed, um, or, you know, I hope to be and try to be.
15:34What an interesting thing, because most people, when you tell them a goalkeeper, they're like,
15:37oh, so you're a little crazy. Oh, I'm, I'm definitely crazy, but I pick,
15:40I pick my crazy moments and I pick my composed moments, but off the field, I, you know,
15:45I try to present myself as that as well. Um, because I think that is, you know,
15:50mainly my personality, except for the crazy moments, except for the crazy moments.
15:53So we all have to have a little bit of craziness, but we're a little bit normal,
15:56more normal than I think some people think. Um, all right.
16:00We, I'm sorry. We have to disagree on that. Goalkeepers are so weird.
16:05So you're calling me weird. No.
16:08Um, so as we wrap up here, we only have a few minutes left. I wanted to
16:12end the day with some rapid fire goalkeeper questions. I think other people find this
16:17interesting, but maybe it's just for me, but let's see. So penalty kicks you've already said,
16:22but love them or hate them? Love them. Taking a kick or just saving a PK? Oh, saving for sure.
16:31But would you ever take a kick? Yeah. I would love it. What's the, what's the pressure?
16:37If you miss. If you miss, yeah, that's not my job. Okay.
16:41Corner kicks, worst nightmare or not that scary? Uh, not that scary, especially when you have a
16:47good defense. Finger saves or no. And for context here, finger saves are the things that stop you
16:54from breaking your fingers. Finger saves are these little, you know, metal, uh, rods, would you say?
16:59There's something that they put in the glove to stop you from breaking your fingers.
17:03You can't break your fingers. I don't, I don't do them. You lose a little bit,
17:06you lose some dexterity and it's worth just breaking some fingers.
17:09So break your fingers. How many fingers have you broken?
17:13Uh, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
17:17You had to count your fingers there. Drop kick or punt?
17:21Uh, punt. Throw. Throw. Okay.
17:24I'll throw it often out there. Come out early on a breakaway or hold your line a little longer?
17:28Um, come out. Long sleeve or short sleeve jersey?
17:33Long sleeve. I've never worn short sleeves. Thank you. I don't understand.
17:36The skin can't handle it. I get, I get scratches if I do that.
17:39What other sport do you think you would be good at with your skills as a keeper?
17:45Football. American football. Oh, interesting. Okay. What other athlete,
17:49non-soccer player do you think would be a great goalkeeper?
17:51What other athlete, non-soccer player? Non-soccer player.
17:57That's too easy. That's too easy. I don't know about that.
18:02Um, uh, let's say Steph Curry. I think he has the right combo of speed and he's obviously
18:10still tall. I don't know how Wemby would be, you know. I don't know about that either.
18:14Right? It's a, it's a lot of movement. It's too much actually. Yeah. I'm gonna let him do what he's
18:19very, very, very good at. Yeah. And then lastly, who's the greatest goalkeeper of all time?
18:24Greatest goalkeeper of all time? Uh, Manuel Neuer. Oh, okay. I heard Tim Howard was a big.
18:32Tim Howard is for sure up there. Yeah. All right.
18:34He's a big, big, big role model for me. Matt, thanks so much for joining us at
18:39Blueberry Power Players. Thank you. We really appreciate it. Thank you.
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