Jesse Marsch on drone scandal, USA-Canada rivalry, Pochettino, more! | Call It What You Want

Intro hey what's up everybody and welcome into your favorite average to good podcast call it what you want we are very excited it's Jimmy Conrad alongside Charlie Davies and Tony mol because we have a very special guest joining us today it's gonna be Jesse Marsh our former co-host who's now the manager of Canada and he made history this past summer getting Canada into the semi-finals of Copa America Chuck as uh our former Coast like what what are you excited to talk to Jesse about in this this episode well of course the adjustment from call it what you want to being on the sideline for the Canadian Men's National Team the MLS Canadian Men's National Team um yeah there's a lot of lot either way just to see the the progression and then all of a sudden him hitting the ground running I mean what an introduction losing four- Z to the Netherlands and then next thing getting to the semi-final of cope America right so um an incredible job done by him so I want to hear about it I know I want to hear about it as well the journey and and uh how excited he for the future as well so tones this is clearly this show call it what you want clearly a stepping stone to getting a coaching job in the future that's what they say yeah yeah so so where you where are you looking right now I was thinking you know when our anchel is gonna leave soon right I'd love to go to Milan when fonc is gone but um for now I'm gonna sit here with you guys and just putts around for a little bit how about that okay we'll take it we'll take it how about that all right everybody hit like And subscribe because it's time to get after it hi hello and welcome to your favorite average good podcast call it what you want I'm Jimmy Conrad alongside Tony Miola and oh sorry we have to actually throw up a slate first so we're gonna do that so hit like And subscribe we got to go up to a slate don't go anywhere [Music] Jesse Marsch returns! hi hello and welcome to your favorite average to good podcast call it what you want I'm Jimmy Conrad alongside Charlie Davies and Tony Miola and guys we have a very special guest joining us today all the way from Kansas City now the manager of the Canadian Men's National Team after being a co-host on this very show call it what you want it's [Applause] Jesse Mar [Applause] what an intro wow great to see you first and foremost how are things right now things are good things are good look happier yeah youed relaxed I have a job you I have a job again as opposed to what I was doing before whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa EAS what you what are you trying to say here picking up between lines here exactly okay so Jesse I I'm I'm thrilled that you're on the show because I'm on on the hunt for a good drone and I heard in Spygate drone fallout Canada they they they they specialize in drones soon so I wanted I didn't know if you had one that I should be looking at or what are your thoughts on drones overall yeah it's really sad it is it's really sad it's been tough uh the the women's team and everything that went on that was tough so um you know but I I've never used drones for training right so this is the first time that that I've ever used the Drone for training it's a it's a good way to to film training and look at things you know things the the investigation will come out soon the report will come out soon and then I think things will be clear for everybody on on what's been going on so but here we're focused on getting ready for matches and and you know certainly this window will be um be be good for us uh we got to talk about these matches for sure but the first time you you're sitting there you're somewhere you're having dinner with your family and you get this phone call right and it's like uh Women's National Team Men's National Team getting hit up for drones like what's your first reaction to like are you like holy [ __ ] what's going on here man yeah I mean again I didn't know I didn't know a lot about what was going on and how it was going and all these different things and so I was kind of getting information the same way that you guys were because when all of it was happening it was we were we had finished Copa and I had been in Canada for different things and I got back to Italy so you know I was getting information sort of at the same way so you know Bev I know Bev she's she's a really good person I think she's a good coach we were starting to like create a team together her and I and getting to know each other and so you know we'll again we'll see I think an investigation will be coming out soon um and I think everything will be clear then Jesse uh obviously when we talked before you took this job you mentioned all the the talent that Canada had but it's another thing on the sideline having to manage against uh Messi uh you know you're looking at some of the players that you had to go up against what are you most proud of once cop America finishes you're in you you compete all the way to the semifinals in the third and fourth place game what are you most proud of after that kind of first introduction into International Football yeah I think look I challenged this team and these players to to think about the game a little differently to think more about playing with speed and playing with power and being more aggressive and and even when I watched them with their Club teams I I told a lot of them like we need to develop a a clearer understanding of of what the higher levels of football are like and how to set a standard for what we want our team to be like and to be fair the players have responded from day one in an incredible fashion and it's been a lot of fun to work with them they're they're players that love to play with each other they love to play for the national team um and you know it's it's it's kind of it's reenergized me in so many ways it's made me kind of find my passion in the game again so I'm really thankful to be here um you know and even when when I went back and got back home and and then went over all the matches again and re-evaluated things and one thing for sure is we got better as we went along you know we've been together for eight matches and to see the progression of the team um their their understanding of how we want to play the game there you know it it became a team that you could played with power and athleticism and speed and at our best moments man we were a handful for everybody so you know we're just getting started but I think now they have a real hunger and a taste for what this can be like and and you know I challenge them as well that that to to employ some of the things that I've been teaching them with their Club teams and and to make sure that when we got back together in September that we weren't actually picking up where we left off but actually a step ahead because when they went to their Club teams they were Contin to employ these these these principles in the way that they're playing with their clubs and training this week's been awesome really good and I think we have picked up uh even a step ahead from where we left off and I'm really excited for these matches now Jesse how important was getting to that third place game obviously you made Copa America experience history with Canada but in terms of buyin right you have a philosophy and methodology of what you want to do and I feel like it got cemented when you made the semi-final sure Argentina was always going to be a difficult opponent you go into the semi-final you go to the third place game and to your point about getting better as a tournament went along I absolutely loved your performance against Uruguay in that third place game in particular you guys went straight at them and never took your foot off the gas and Uruguay though they looked a little bit tired just didn't have any answers and and you guys just took away everything that they like to do and so now you come into this and and now you can you feel like all right we have taken that step forward how do you build off of that is it just to continue to cement the ideas that you had and be wrer in those areas are you going to try to add another layer of what you think this team team is capable of yeah there's a lot of answers to what you just talked about you know the first thing was that we that we were together for so long and that we continued in the tournament also gave us more training time together more time together to continue to establish the things that we wanted to be about and and then you know I mean and and again now the clarity you know is is at a higher level but still we're you know it's about pushing the principles it's about adding and tweaking things carefully so that you know that that's what I've kind of learned is is people talk a lot about club team national team and frankly it's all a bunch of BS like if you coach you coach right and if you're good at it then your Precision of of understanding what messages are valuable at what times and how to create a process so that a team can get better and by the way you can develop players at the national team lb you have to develop them like if you're a coach then you understand how to get the best out of your players in every training session no matter what the level is what the age group is what the gender is whatever that you understand how to coach a team and so that's what I've tried to do is I've tried to take the talents that these guys have and the the desire and the commitment and the passion they have for for playing for the national team and I've tried to then guide it in a way that where they understand what their roles are and that benefits them with the qualities that they have as players and and it's been a fun process and you're right I mean look when we play Uruguay certainly I because I know beela so well from coaching his teams and following him over the years I have a little bit of an idea but the key was that the players were not afraid right they had they had developed within this and and by the way it's not just me like the Canadian national team has developed over the last five years and and a big part of the success in Copa wasn't just me in the style of play that I brought and the things that I brought but they were ready for some bigger challenges they they had known each other better they had played in big games together and and along with everything that I was trying to build with them was this Foundation of who they've become and so now we're now that we're together it's kind of like you know it's two Pathways I think that are converging in a really strong way and we're we're g to find a way to keep pushing this thing to get better and better so Jesse what does it look like sort of from Copa America till you get into camp now in September because things have changed right when we all were part of national teams it was like you're in for you know six days and you play two games and then we'll see you in you know a month and a half but video and and communication has changed and and then there's that balance where I have an idea but maybe the club that they're playing for doesn't have the same idea but I gotta make all of this work together so what's Happ been like since Copa till now for you look there's there's the stuff that's away from the team okay so I've been spending a lot of time traveling around Canada getting to know coaches getting to talk to people that are in administrative roles trying to figure out what we need to do in the sport to help it grow to create to continue a good foundation but to also help evolve this thing to get better and better to make sure that we use 2026 as a as a real launching pad for the sport to really take off in the country and and there's a lot of people that have done a lot of good work and there's a great Foundation as exemplified by the types of players that we have in the national team that have already been developed there's the Dual National part so there's all these other things that are about the game and then reinforcing and fortifying what we're doing with the national team but specifically with the relationships I have with the players they all got development plans right and and I told them the development plans aren't about the things that you're doing well and the things that you're good at they're about how we can push everybody in the team all the players to understand how they can continue to grow how they can commit themselves to their career to their teams to their clubs and to the national team and what it should look like every day in terms of their OB obession with Improvement and development and again what it means for themselves and for us and for the club team and how to make sure that every time we come back together that they look like more mature more developed stronger a better understanding of what high level football is a better understanding of the mentality of what it takes to be successful and so that's what this has been about it's about the communication of that it's about watching their games giving them little notes having the kinds of relationships with them so that there's a lot of sort of understanding and give and take and and communication about how to get better and they love it I got to tell you they're they're all into it they they are obsessed with improving themselves they are uh their desire to be their best and certainly to represent their nation in the in the world cup is is at the highest level I've seen in in terms of what it's like to be a national team so you know it gives me real excitement optimism and and continued passion to do this job to the best of my ability all I have to say is we me mened the center back the defense for Canada time after time being weak and I swear to God I couldn't have been more impressed with bombito and cor Cornelius their partnership obviously that was something that you wanted to focus on but are there one or two players that really impressed you since you've taken over maybe that you didn't know that they had a certain level or are you impressed with someone who grew in the time that you stepped stepped on the field from day one to the last match look I mean I upon evaluating them first of all we did talk about the center back situation on this show and and right away I when I watched specifically bombo and Cornelius I was like all right they have potential to to to be good and to also fit the way that I want to play um you know but even like look as good as Alfonso Davies is right and is and playing for Bayern Munich and at times he's looked like the best left back in the world what I've said to him is there's still a lot of room for him for improvement right and he's 23 and I think that you know we we can he can be more Dynamic he can be a bigger presence in the game he can find ways of you know the the thing I've said to him is and I said in front of the team 50 Sprints I said you you can deliver 50 Sprints a game right and and I we put the team through crazy Fitness and Alonso was like a machine in the fitness as well as ishmail K and I mean so the level of athlete we have the level of speed that we have in the team the fitness levels the the the the the over athleticism is insane right and we we need to play like this we need to be a team that can overpower teams that can not just show how good we are uh with our football but also just play at a pace and a speed that is difficult for the opponent to manage and again in cop America at our best I think we showed that but I I think there's a couple more gears that we need to develop in the next couple years to get that to be even higher and then we can talk about how good of a team we can become all right Jesse so let's put on your US Men's National Team fan hat on because we know that you're a fan of the team despite your current job with Canada and there's rumors going out there I don't know if you've seen them that apparently Mauricio poino might be coaching the squad moving Pochettino's style forward wait you said they were never gonna move on from Greg that's right you said that in Dallas at the never happen never move on from Greg never G to move on from Greg maybe they get they might still be bringing him back I wouldn't let's true nothing's been said on just yet don't hold your breath boys don't hold your breath man but but I do want to set the scene a little bit because you actually coached against Mauricio pochettino twice with RV leig when he was with PSG in the Champions League in the group stage you outshot PSG in both of those games even though you didn't get a result it was a two- two draw scored first in that one in Germany and then it ended up being 2-2 and then it was 3-2 in in Paris but you were up two one and theness Messi does it's messy things what are you gonna do and then it's 3-2 they go on to win so so I guess I have a couple layers to this question my first kind of relatively funny question is are you are you glad that poino isn't already in charge so we wouldn't get that new manager bounced and and then secondly uh uh how do you think that the us is going to do with with poino in charge assuming he ends up getting the job yeah we I mean is this is this happening is it gonna happen I we hope it's like 21 reports from reputable people I don't know what the hell are you doing do your homework or not what the heck you guys just sit put I'll put in a call um look for sure the fan base I'm sure is happy about this right they've been begging for a European pedigree coach for a long time they had Clansman and that there was some good things and some bad things with that um yeah I mean I would think that this is if if they can get this done that this is a positive development for the game um and for the team so you know I I think pontino is a good coach one of his best things is he's really pretty malleable right like he really is pragmatic and tries to get the best out of his teams he's not married necessarily to one system You could argue in my Like You could argue that's good and bad but but I think that um his Focus will be how to get the best out of his best players which you know he had to do at PSG he had to do at Tottenham had to do he had to do at Chelsea and and typically that's been one of the things he's done well is he's gotten gotten really good performances out of his best players and that's helped his team win win matches so um yeah I mean look it's it's yet to be known exactly how it'll all turn out but I I I would H I would be optimistic that that he will be able to have a positive impact on the team and on the sport in the country what's your expectation for Saturday obviously M sounds like Mikey varus is going to be the guy there we don't know I know Mikey Mikey's a good guy yeah just sort of expectations of what you're get it's a little mixed roster clearly some guys not not included for various reasons but just what you think you'll get on Saturday in Kansas City yeah I mean look the the you we play in this window we play the US and Mexico and if you this is like the these are the perfect opponents for us for where we are right now in our process because we had a good Copa America to go to playing you know some some lower conaf oppon right now I don't think would be as motivating for us and I think this is a chance for us to continue to prove to ourselves that that we're emerging as as one of the powerhouses in this region so we have a lot of respect for for both I think with the US I think you know the question is a little bit is is Mikey just coaching the team on his own and Mike a lot of Mikey's philosophies I think Mir what what Greg berhalter does whether it was with the u20s or with his time I think he's probably learned a lot from Greg so you would expect a lot of the same kinds of things or is pontino in the background giving a little bit of information it makes it a little bit hard for us because both us and Mexico have new coaches and the preparation process won't be so easy but it means that we can also focus on ourselves a bit but you know I would I would expect to see a lot of the same guys I think you know they'll be motivated by this is you know knowing that that Canada had a um uh that we had a good cop America and that they still want to show that they're the best team in the region and um so I think it sets up for a good match but a little bit of a tricky one in terms of preparation for us we absolutely love you having you back on the show uh Jesse we're gonna have you come back though right after this first break sorry to interrupt you Chuck call what you want first break when we come back more Jessie Marsh don't go anywhere [Music] welcome back to your favorite average to good podcast call what you want with average to good is sticking huh I like Hurdles for Poch I'm Conrad alongside Chuck wag and big tones and marshmallow also known as Jesse Marsh our favorite average a good co coach as it were now now Chuck I I rudely interrupted youmy it's okay now Chuck I really interrupted you before our break uh you're up for a question with the very illustrious just I I mean it's going to be pretty simple it's if you knowing your process and coming into the Canada national team with no first team uh experience coaching internationally you see pettino about to do the same thing what do you think his biggest hurdle will be in the beginning what do you think his process will look like if if you could kind of compare yours well I tell you one of the things that benefited me was when I went into leads right when I went into leads I had to have a a clear plan as to how to create Clarity for the players as to how we were going to evolve into the team I wanted us to be and I had to have a step-by-step process and I and and and then results and matches were coming at you fast right so um in that process I think that we were pretty precise with our messaging with our training with our methodology uh with our tactical preparation um and we we wanted to be you know more stable defensively first and then build from that and and that was a little bit of what we were doing here as well is to make sure that the structure and the discipline to kind of Be good a hard team to break down a hard team to play against this was kind of the foundation of how we started things and then and then we evolved and and and I think tried to become more and more into the philosophy and into the aggressiveness and more and more into the attacking part of the game and Into The Possession part of the game and then you know things continued to evolve as we went along and so we're still in the in that process and really look as as important as every match is when you're with the national team my I'm laser focused on 2026 and trying to make sure that we don't skip steps that even in terms of like what we think success is and where we think we are and you know we're gonna the the development process is never like this it's always kind of up and down you know but the key is that you find ways and messaging and and you reinforce things the right way so that in the end you are making progress and and I'm sure I'm sure of it with what what it's like with these players and their mentality to improve and play for the national team I have no doubt that we're going to continue to push every day to be the best we can so Jesse when you took over with Canada I'm sure there was maybe a bit of a Mala around the program right who's going to take charge what's the direction can we get this going in the right direction ahead of 2026 all the stuff that you're talking about now that you are in charge I guess I'm hearing some some chatter we heard some chatter during the summer from us players Christian alluded to Tim ree came out and said it straight up Walker Zimmerman just said it after the Olympics just that we need to take more pride in wearing the shirt and we need to make sure that nothing is taken for granted ultimately I'm paraphrasing these guys and and in some ways we need to really crack at it and and get back into gear how important a little bit tougher yeah a little tougher right we need somebody who's gonna kind of lay into and hold everybody accountable and all that how much of that did you have to do and and from a Canada perspective and then putting your US Men's National Team hat back on as a fan how much do you think poatina is GNA have to do if he takes over uh uh when he comes in because it's clear that that our player pool is clamoring for it so I'm kind of curious if if Canada was feeling the same way for you look different teams are different different things right so sometimes when you come into a team there's a lot that can be gained from the overall team spirit and mentality of the togetherness and how they work every day and how they commit themselves to playing for each other on Match day but I could tell from getting to know them that this was a really healthy strong group and when John Herdman was here he focused a lot he talked about the Brotherhood he talked about their commitment to each other he created a higher level of professionalism and the players fed off of that and and when I came in right away I could sense their togetherness I could sense their their pride of what it meant to play with each other and play for the national team so I kind of knew that there wasn't that much to gain from that and and then I focused more on like the level what I know about the highest levels of the game right and trying to instill that and demand and create higher standards for them in terms of what training was what tactical uh understanding was the and again the the physicality that we needed to to insert into the game that I had that I demanded out of training every day and so for me that's that's where I felt like I could help them gain you know uh room to grow and room to improve and and that's what we focused on and that's what we've pushed every day I mean even the last two training sessions we've played that the training has been intense and and they understand now what real training needs to look like and the new players that come in are like what the hell and that's what it should feel that's what the higher levels need to look like speed of play speed of of of committing to the game aggression like a ability to see things fast play Fast execute technique understand tactics do things together be strong in transition moments be aggressive and and to make it difficult on the opponent and so that's my version of football but I don't care if you're talking about man City Arsenal Real Madrid that's the same version of football that those teams play right and everybody talks about how they're elegant and of course they have great players and they can be elegant in in possession phases but the most intensive teams in the world are also the best teams in the world okay so Jesse I asked you a really long question I'll make it shorter do you think our player pool for the US needs to get tougher I don't know long but here's the funny thing is the a lot of the players that were clamoring to get Greg back were also the ones that are now saying that that it's time to move on like I Do players need "tougher" coach? don't know I you can't for me like this Sport and this world that you play in has to be about constantly being challenged to be your best period right I don't care like who the coach is and and there shouldn't be a comfortability there should always be a drive to be better and yeah it's fun to be on teams right you want the process of growth and Improvement to be an enjoyable one but it has to be about demands right and and this this life should never be about complacency right if you want to be a a good professional coach a good professional player a good professional team you this has to be about the drive and the obsession to be your best and the only way to do that is to constantly be challenged and be to be put over your head to be asked more to be have higher standards higher demands right so I don't care if it's the US team or it's any team that's that's that's what Prof professional football is so that's interesting you you talk about that the demands right and where do you put as a manager uh a player has to be playing at his club and and maybe a player has to be playing at his club and has to be playing well at his Club well look it depends on what your player pool is right so if you're France if you're Spain you know if then then there's a different standard for what's uh necessary than if you're Canada right so obviously I want all of our players playing at the highest level 90 minutes every week a lot of our players have just made big moves to Big clubs right and and we've got now in Canada more players playing at at bigger clubs in Europe than probably in the history of the program um but there's also a danger with that like if some of those players aren't playing then that kind of move might not be beneficial for them and then ultimately for us so you know the only thing I've said is when guys aren't getting the minutes that we would like them to is just that they stay on their Fitness that they stay on their all the little things to make sure that they're as sharp and fit as that they can be so that when they come back in with us they can be ready to perform but you know these were all discussions we were having before and when you the the US player pool is obviously a lot bigger than what we're dealing with but I like our player pool you know and I think our player pool has a lot of potential I don't look down upon players that are playing in MLS if they're performing well and they're on good teams and they're trying to to uh implement the things that I think are important into their game and that they're they're continuing to push and when they come in by us they commit to the team fully and they understand what their roles are and they're ready to perform then you know against Uruguay you said we had a good game against uguay I totally agree we played started with eight MLS guys two former MLS guys and an 18-year-old so you know this this Euros snob mentality that the US has sometimes I think and how it looks down on MLS is not fair to MLS it's not fair to the players that are developing in the in that League it's not fair fair to the players that have developed in that league and whether they're in Europe or wherever they are like players are players and if you're good you're good and if you're ready to perform and you fit into a national team then you should be given a chance and then we'll see how the cards uh play out and and and who earns spots to play well you talked about the level you know Real Madrid's of the world you've coached incredibly talented people obviously earling Holland and Kuku Shas from salsburg to to Arby liip what's it like coaching Alonso Davies and what's that relationship like how much can you push you know and and how Fonzie Davies & leadership how much is he receptive to to that critique and is he left back for you long term or do you see him moving up the pitch or you think hey club and Country wants you to play left back because that that's your future I have found that highlevel performers want to be challenged right they want to be invested in they want to be challenged they want they want to be given Clues as to how they can continue to improve um you know this is not about Talent this is about high performance Specialists and that's what I consider the best footballers in the world and so the the more that I've worked with these guys and the more that I've challenged them and the more that I've asked more of them and the more that I've said that they can give more that there's more to be done that like in every way I find that that's what that's what they thrive on right they don't want to be complacent they don't want to Coast through life they want to find a way to be the best that they possibly can and Alonso in that sense has been fantastic and I've told him that I'm going to challenge him and I've told him that that I'm gonna hold him to a high standard because if I do that with him then everybody else has to follow and he's been magnificent and he's responded and and I think he's grown in the process and then there's also the part of his leadership like you have to understand like here in with the national team and look I mean he is he's in the category of one of the best left backs in the world right so when he walks in a room he carries gravity you know and and people look at him and and he's pretty unassuming he's a humble guy um but he's learning how to use that power I think to affect leadership and affect people around him and and you know I had even a leadership council meeting last night and and we talked about how the Leadership Council team is doing and how the how um f he's doing as a captain and and I couldn't be happier with all these guys because they they they love each other they love what we're building they love they love the national team I mean I I ask things of them that are outside the boundaries of the white lines like to be role models to be ambassadors to to help the sport in the game and they're all in they want they want to be everything they possibly can for the sport in the country they want to be role models and they know how important this is come 2026 that that we create a movement in the country that inspires people that creates so much energy in the stadium that Mak makes us more unbeatable and that'll ultimately be our goal is how good can we be when the lights come on how much can we Inspire what kind of football can we play how do we really change the game how do we show people what what the Canadian mentality is about how do we do that for ourselves how do we do that for our country how do we do show the world like Canada's here and we're here to stay that that's that's a big part of what's what we're trying to build here yeah these guys are going to run through a brick wall for you on Saturday maybe you can just tone it down just a smidge you give us a chance you know holy crap all right let's talk about the US Canada rivalry and this game upcoming on Saturday I guess my first question is US-Canada rivalry will you be singing both national anthems and and my second question is do you know who your strongest starting 11 is like right now do you know the team that you're gonna roll out and and feel good about it no I I well I mean first first no I'm probably gonna sing just the Canadian right I mean that's what I he's poking the bear he's poking they've given you a passport already haven't they wow poking the bear are you Canadian now I'll be I'll be proud of the American team and the American national anthem but I I I work for Canada this is my job and I'm proud to be here right Americans in the blood I got you respons the americ to this country let's just make Wisconsin part of Canada now then yeah just with the pitch it's an easier uh national anthem to sing as well so and then um you know to be truthful um you know I think there's a lot of players that have established themselves as um you know regular like you know kind of First Choice guys in the team but the key for us to develop I think is we need you know we need to move Beyond like 11 15 you know we need to expand our player pool so that we really have some options that that we can call on at on any given moment so but right now I would say there's a lot of guys who are performing well with their national team and and are performing well in training guys like Matthew shanier uh tny oi um look I can go Ali Ahmed uh Liam Miller you know there's a lot of guys kind of like underneath what have been our quote unquote starters that that I think are continued to emerge and and be a big part of this so yeah it's exciting um but I'm not totally sure what team will start but but I'm sure that they'll be ready and they'll perform well he almost lost me with the national team with the national anthem thing I just I lost my mind for a second but anyway when you take it's like the Italian national anthem for you brother yeah but I'm I'm half Italian there's a big difference I didn't know you were half Canadian I had no idea they told me Wisconsin is the 15th Province so I'm all good you I'm that that it so when you take still a little bit flustered by that when when you take this um job when you take any job right everyone knows there's something you've got to improve on and you have a general idea of what you're getting into how surprised when you first get into the job and and see it firsthand and was there anything that was you mentioned the the athleticism with your center backs that was one thing maybe you didn't know prior to taking the job or before you studied the team was there anything else well look I mean there's a lot of surprises um you know one of the things is we need to really um Elevate the status of the the Canadian Soccer Association right it's it's kind of been ripped down to to its be and and I'll tell you as much as the player pool is a big part of why I took the job it it was also Kevin blue and getting to know him the Secretary General and I've I've allowed him as the smartest Sports business professional I've ever worked with anywhere and you know his ideas his intelligence his professionalism his intellectual capacity to get things done um his creativity in terms of understanding how to get things done and and how to push the right buttons is different than anything I've ever seen and and frankly it's inspiring to be a part of and it lets me know that we are going to do some real fun fundamental change we are going to make some fundamental change into what this this sport will be in this country and certainly what the Canadian Soccer Association will be and you know in all ways where I where I was in my life six months ago was about finding inspiration right as a coach as a soccer person but also as in what project could I be a part of that would that would bring me joy that would that would make me feel inspired again and and and I'm here man I'm here so yeah I mean the part about the players I had I had already I invested a bunch and yeah I knew that they could uh they they I said from the beginning that're they're smarter than I than I had hoped they they adapted quickly to the things that I wanted them to adapt to so so all of that led us to gave us a chance to to compete in Copa America um we certainly grew from match to match which again showed their commitment adap adaptability and also intelligence and so you know and that and I'm I'm going to continue to lean on that and continue to push them to be even more and more all right Jesse we appreciate your time we've asked you to where your Canadian Men's National Team hat bunch of stupid question oh no they're they're the best and then we ask you to put on your US Men's National Team fan hat we're gonna allow you to this last question to put on your call it what you want hat and this is a preview for the US Canada game what's your prediction what's the score gonna be in this game US versus Canada Jesse Marsh take it away all what you want we're gonna win what's the score what's the score going to be I'll say 2-1 oh here we go 2-1 Merchant Jesse Marsh everybody great to see you old friend you've been fantastic guys thanks yeah thanks for having me on yeah I think this is now the last time for sure I he said that before he has said that before but he's come back on Jesse good luck well maybe not good luck on Saturday but good luck in the rest of your gam yeah let's have a good match's have a good yeah of course let's have a great match and we appreciate you and we'll be back on the show very very soon Jesse Marsh everybody we're GNA take our next break when we come back more call what you want don't go [Music] anywhere all right welcome back in to call what you want Jimmy Conrad alongside Charlie Davies and Tony mola we just had Jesse Marsh on the show Chuck you got kind of of squeeze didn't get that last question and was there anything yeah we that you wish we would have asked him before he was a good interview's he's got the podcasting chops you know of course he's he's media Savvy uh of course we we helped trade him call it what you want we help train him we train him for this credit for that full credit the only thing I wanted to ask him um and I apologize for anybody who's writing comments because we can't see them um but what I what I USA vs. Canada preview wanted to ask was about the schedule you know because we we always talked about oh easy friendlies and they played Netherlands they played France but now it's back to us Mexico Panama so what's his plan getting ready for 2026 what what do those matches look like is does he have to get creative and and how do they get creative because you know in order to keep pushing the boundaries then you have to keep challenging yourselves and no disrespect to cocka CAF opponents of course no of course of course but it seems like based on what he said tones that he's just using each game as a as another opportunity to strengthen his own ideas and and their and their style of play so so in some ways in a lot of the games that he played in the cop America in the leadup I felt like they were doing a lot of sitting back absorbing and being thoughtful about when they were going to go forward at times they would go for it the Uruguay game in the third place game was excellent I actually really loved their approach to that but now you're playing against opponents maybe not us but others where you might have to dictate the game in a different way and that's another skill set that this team could learn and I know the US falls into that category too but yeah any thoughts on Jesse Yeah yeah the the one thing that stuck out and he I I was about to ask him and he touched on it the fact that they had this this Camp basically basically during cop America look if poino takes over yesterday right he's got like six days to be with the group and Jesse talked about the fact as they went on in cop America this Camp kept getting extended and extended so it's more training time more video time more more time to learn your players where often times managers don't don't have that so he has the two games prior that we talked about so he goes back and makes adjustments now he has a real idea of who his players are who his teams are what the quality of all these guys are and now you can start to formulate things and and he said he talked about how important that was and if you start to think about the schedule moving forward and I think that's probably from a fan standpoint one of the big concerns for us fans is that a manager may not have enough time right to um to implement everything that he wants to implement in the group but he he had a big advantage and and credit to them they continued to go and they they continued as he said to get better and better likely because they had a better understanding of the ideas that Jesse was kind of throwing at them and now you have another video and another thing you throw in your bank we all know right sorry we all know we've been there before um how how that helps your group now so taking that what you're saying and just thinking about what I heard from Jesse he didn't answer the question directly and I understand why he didn't but his starting 11 and Chuck I actually think if we had to project the Canadian starting 11 it's going to look very similar to what he rolled out against Argentina in the semi-finals you haveo and goal you had Alfonso Davies on the left uh Cornelius bombito the center backs Alistair Johnson on the right then you have the Canadian Messi Jacob schafberg on the left aako and con in the middle Lara on the right and then Jonathan David and Kyle aaren up top are you in agreement that we're gonna see something similar there yeah it's a 442 and sometimes you you see it like a four 51 where Jonathan David drops in as like a 10 and and to me that I also want to talk Jesse like that blows my mind because that's not his strength his strength is being closer to goal not he's not a creative playmaker um but ultimately yeah that's that's what we should see and schafberg I thought did extremely well in cop America because he just like Jesse wants just has that intensity to run run run and and make those countless Sprints and when he's in open space he's he's pretty he's pretty dangerous so I think um that's exactly what we're going to see High Press they're going to put the US under pressure and see how how does the US respond and you know does Mikey Varys make those tactical adjustments in game that's yet to be seen right so um I'm really looking forward to it and he you when he said we think we're gonna win 2-1 he really thinks they're gonna win 21 know I know so the competition's there no it's going to be there and I I think they're going to be up for it I mean we talked about where we Ed the word rivalry tones and I think when all three of us were kind of going through it yes Canada was competitive but it always felt like we were the ones that should win that game at least during when I played now I feel like Canada thinks they can not only run with us but take it to us maybe right now too while we're a little bit vulnerable and we don't have our coach qualifying Jimmy Canada took it to us in true that's true qualifying yeah yeah I mean they obviously have some evidence with this core of players so with that in mind tones what do you think he's going to do here with our starting 11 you think we're gonna see a little bit more of the same I guess for me big questions Matt Turner and goal are we gonna go with Tim ree as Center back or we gonna give those minutes to somebody else I feel like Mikey's gonna play it pretty safe in game one here against Canada yeah I I would agree with that I I do want to see some of these other guys if you're going to bring um you know a mark McKenzie in if you're going to bring a Marlon fosy in then I want to see these guys play to be honest I mean I I don't know too much about Marlin FY outside of what I've read and what I the few clips that I've seen like why bring these guys if you're not going to play I'm going to guess that Matt Turner is going to get a get a start because they think he's still the number one guy currently and they need to get him some minutes but Mike Evar said in his press conference on us soccer's website that they were gonna have training and the best guys were going to play and I I posed the question on my radio show earlier today so you're telling me that if the young Diego coaching kid uh the 18-year-old coming in from Barcelona if he's lights out in training and he's by far the best guy and the sharpest guy you're telling me he's going to play I just I don't see it I'm with you I think he's going to go very conservative um with with the most experienced guys you get maybe one or two changes here or there uh but they won't be really I don't think it's going to be a really risky lineup if you will well that's what the New Zealand game's for right Chuck I mean you have that second game against an opponent that isn't as strong no I I don't want to hear about oh we're doing against New Zealand with no do it against Canada if if this if we want to find out who can help you put him against Best But ultimately right this we know Mikey vers is most likely going to play like he did in the olyp uh world the under 20 World Cup he's under the Greg burh halter Tree in US soccer he's not GNA be I like do you think Christian pllk is gonna play number 10 in this camp or he's goingon to be back on on the left where he's been with the us forever like that's one wrinkle that he could change which you know then you know Marlon FY is the only right back in the camp so he's got to play but you know in terms of the center backs like Tony said Mark McKenzie he's taking a step let's forward going to going to to loose let's see what he looks like at the international level now this is a good time to to test him but I don't think they are going going to put in new players and it it will be telling what what the training looks like and do they really pick the players from training right or you know you have guys who aren't playing their Club minutes like who who no in the first game who who Who's Sharp you know who's yeah well yes I don't think we're gonna I don't think we see giena start that's he just not isn't plain enough but you have it's because you have other options though you could put Brendan arenson at the 10 pulik at the 10 uh malake Tillman at the 10 like we have other options so it's doesn't feel as drastic to not start goo you can bring him off the bench however it should just be said maybe it's the elephant in the room there's no way US soccer wants to lose to Jesse Marsh so if they're having any input on what's going to happen Matt Crocker is having any input like they're telling Mike yo we got to roll out our best team I don't give a [ __ ] who's playing well in training we are rolling out our best guys you don't want to lose this one I'll tell you that when Jess Mar is singing the Canadian national anthem in the US he's just quiet cannot have that I watching watch wait what by the way uh scall is in Camp I think he said Marlin F's the only right back I think SC yeah all right we got one more break we got one more break a call it what you wants when we come back we're going to finish up the show with our prod The Anthem he's not singing why he's not singing The Anthem all right don't go [Music] anywhere he's not singing The Anthem welcome back in call what you want I'm Jimmy Conrad alongside two legends of Predictions the US Men's National Team Tony Miola and Charlie Davis and we are at the stretch run the final run here for the show we're gonna get into score predictions and really the big question before we get there and tones I'm gonna come to you first will Christian pulk bump Brian MC brri McBride out of the top five US Men's National Team alltime scoring table they both tied on 30 right now the easy answer is yes MC brizzle no MC BRZ M dropping down no are you are you saying in the Canada game or in this camp this camp this Camp y the the answer is yes going yes yes I actually think that it's only a matter of time before pulk unseats Dempsey and Donovan at the top uh score predictions Charlie Davies what do you got us Canada what do you got I'm gonna go 21 us wins all right that's what I like to hear we got to counter that Jesse Marsh stuff big tones what do you got two2 that was that's what I was going to go with but I said that feels a little realistic but I'm I'm GNA go with my heart I'm going with you Chuck two one to the United States Men's National Team we want Jesse Marsh's tears we want his tears and then we want him to come back on the show and talk about it he probably won't but we'll definitely try thank you guys so much for hanging out with us today this is a great show thank you to Jesse for his time and and being so gracious with that knowing that he's got a big game against the US coming up make sure you join us again on Saturday right after after that game ends it kicks off at 1 p.m. Pacific 4m. Eastern we'll go live right after that so plan around 6 PM Eastern for the full recap of that game obviously this is an important one so we're g to be talking about and diving in and hopefully our boys perform well we'll obviously be simal casting Live on YouTube and the gaso network so do not miss it and come back and join us for that have a great rest of your week and let's go USA we'll see you soon later later [Music]