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00:00What can we expect, Nick, of US in 2025?
00:07I have very high hopes.
00:08I want to start off by saying that for a few reasons.
00:11Mauricio Pochettino coming in, OK, he's never coached a national team before, but he's a
00:17household name, I would say, in the coaching world, particularly in Europe, big clubs like
00:21Chelsea.
00:22And bringing that kind of energy to our team, I think, is something that's very much welcomed.
00:27And I think he could do a lot of good things for the club, for the team, considering we
00:32have so many players who are playing abroad in Europe, particularly playing for these
00:35top tier clubs, which we talked about, could present a logistical challenge coming into
00:39this for preparations.
00:40The coach has got to know what players are in form, who need more form.
00:45But at the end of the day, they're going to work around it.
00:47We can't sit around and complain and make excuses before anything starts.
00:50You're a host.
00:51You've got a brand new team, the head of your team, brand new coach, you've got a lot of
00:55great players in your squad.
00:56Is there a reason why the U.S. can't do well?
00:58And I would say the same for Mexico, both as co-hosts of the tournament.
01:01You know, the U.S. has right now the biggest number of players in European leagues in history.
01:08I think that the momentum that the U.S. has, unlike Mexico, that we are at our lowest point,
01:13the least amount of players in the, you know, and I'd like to make this comparison because
01:17both the U.S. and Mexico represent growth in the soccer world.
01:24Mexico has always been a staple name, has always been a team that creates respect from
01:29the biggest teams in Europe when it comes to the World Cup, has been a pain for Brazil,
01:35has been a pain for France, for Italy, you know, like it's a team that has a lot of respect
01:41around.
01:42But the U.S., now we're seeing that on paper and on the field, is growing at a pace that
01:48is hard to catch up.
01:50So Chiba, what is the biggest challenge for the Mexican team to stay relevant, not only
01:55in CONCACAF, but in the world conversation?
01:58The whole thing is a big challenge.
02:00But the fact that we have Javier Aguirre back and, you know, aside from Rafa Marquez, I
02:04think he's going to make a huge difference in what the Latribas do before and what they're
02:09doing now.
02:10I know everybody says Javier Aguirre for a third time, again, yeah, Javier Aguirre has
02:14come back with a lot of experience.
02:15He's a coach that has been proven with the national team that he can do the job.
02:20And I mean, they have the World Cup on their hands.
02:22It's going to be in our house too.
02:24So he better build a strong team.
02:27I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult.
02:29But then again, back in the day, we have no players in Europe and we had really, really
02:33good national teams.
02:36Now only Santi Jimenez is in the Champions League, it's the beginning.
02:39And we don't have many players in Europe, but I do have a lot of talent in the local
02:43Liga MX.
02:45And I have faith that Javier Aguirre and Rafa Marquez are going to put together a team
02:49that is going to surprise the world.
02:50To what extent do you guys think that having a certain amount of players playing in those
02:54top leagues in Europe is really going to be a determining factor for the team's success
02:59in a major tournament like the World Cup?
03:00How important is that?
03:01I believe that nowadays it's super important.
03:0420 years ago, it wouldn't be that important.
03:06Today, just the difference in systems, the fitness, the training, the principles around
03:13the mentality, everything off field.
03:16It's a performance level that is quite different in the European League than it is in Latin
03:20America.
03:21In Mexico, you might have a handful of teams with really top-of-the-line methodology in
03:29all of their training, physio, medical strategy.
03:34But one of the other things that I also think that is very important is your constant contact
03:41with players that are hoping to perform at the highest level in the highest tournament.
03:46When you week in and week out our training with players that are fighting for a spot
03:51in some of the top national teams, when you are training to go to Champions League and
03:57dispute a spot on the starting 11 of Champions League, it's a very different type of pressure.
04:02Now, I believe that Mexico, like you said, Chiva, integrating Liga MX players like they
04:09bring the base of Cruz Azul, which unfortunately Cruz Azulion no la hizo after being in first
04:16place for most of the tournament.
04:17I think that's important.
04:18I think it's the first time that I see a coach look to Liga MX as a solution and not just
04:24kind of like a patch.
04:25And not just that, just to add a little bit, the fact that the U.S. national team may come
04:29into problems if it's not a FIFA, Pochettino is not going to come with those players.
04:34On the other hand, with Javier Aguirre, he can have the Liga MX, just like they did with
04:40La Puente, have the team for three months, forget about Liga MX and go play around the
04:45world and that could build a strong team.