Real Salty: What The USMNT Game Model Looks Like After A Soccer Mom Attacks It + Why Europe May Have Been Important For 15 Real Salt Lake Players

PLEASE NOTE: An error was made in uploading this episode; it has since been corrected. - Brian [7:23 p.m. MST, 1/5/2023]

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Real Salty: What The USMNT Game Model Looks LIke After A Soccer Mom Attacks

RSL superfan Sheena McFarland breaks down the carnage. But first, we talk about CR7 turning down our rival Sporting KC and Sheena gets settled in her new digs—then we tackle the week’s big soccer news in our new podcast, Real Salty.

US Soccer appears to be in a heap of trouble:

• Mens national team coach Gregg Berhalter reportedly kicked then-girlfriend/now-wife Rosalind Santana-Berhalter under a table in early 1990s

• Rosalind’s BFF [Claudio Reyna’s soon-to-be wife] Danielle Egan saw this go down in early 90s

• Gregg didn’t play Claudio n Danielle’s son Gio in Qatar—you know how the rest goes if you’ve coached at any level of soccer here in the US of A

The USMNT head coach didn’t help himself AT ALL by comparing his marriage to a game model in his address to the Harvard Business Review, on Thursday, Jan. 5:

Charles Boehm @cboehm

GB: "this formula I like to use is: happiness equals expectations over reality. So if you talk to people about what their role is, and that's what their role is, they're going to be happy. It's when that proportion or that ratio is out of whack where you get unhappiness"

The gist, according to McFarland, was that in her mind there are two sides to this equation. One, that it would’ve been nice for the USMNT head coach to have said something before the allegations had surfaced. Secondly, that the real-world repercussions are such that federal offenses may have been committed by the coach, and so now an investigation must ensue to determine the next best steps. Either way, it’s a mess and nobody wins here.

In the second segment [24:00-end], I break down why RSL may have sent 6 of its attacking players to several David-Blitzer owned European clubs for more matriculation, six others [5 defenders and 1 defensive mid] to a Blitzer-owned club in Belgium [SK Beveren] and two goalkeepers and RSL’s GK coach to Crystal Palace in England.

First off, is RSL conducting some kind of mad social experiment or is there some sort of plan being concocted by the club? I offer my best assessment as to why this took place, ask special guest Tray Fitsgarbled why Axel Kei wasn’t one of those 15, and talk about my latest piece on Sebastian Velasquez, former RSL star midflelder, here:

Sebastian Velasquez: Is Who Real Salt Lake Fans Want To See, But Do The Powers That Be Care?

Finally: I talk more about what this game model could look like for Real Salt Lake fans in year two under Pablo Mastroeni, and touch more on why it was so vital for those 15 players to have spent time in Europe over the offseason break.

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