Onside: Major League Soccer (2025) s01e02 Episode Script

…here in Columbus.
They hosted MLS Cup last December,
and it has been a party ever since.
Cincinnati's accomplished
so much over the past two years.
Who would have thought the state of Ohio
would produce two of the most
exciting teams in this league?
Two rivals separated
by 110 miles of interstate.
You've got two cities
that don't like each other,
two teams that don't like each other.
You feel that tension
between the two teams,
the tension between the two fanbases.
Hell is Real.
That is the name of this derby
named after a billboard
in between Cincinnati and Columbus.
You have FC Cincinnati on one side
and the Columbus Crew
on the opposite side.
Hell is Real derby is
the best derby in Major League Soccer now.
For these two teams,
the margin of error, it's so fine.
One mistake in a game,
what was a fairy tale being written,
it now concludes with a nightmare ending.
Back post, Ramírez has done it!
Welcome to Hell is Real.
Whether you're religious or not,
if you're a soccer fan in Ohio this week,
hell is real.
As FC Cincinnati gears up
to face the Crew in Columbus
in what will almost certainly
be another top-class matchup
in the next chapter of this great rivalry.
The energy going
into this game is at a high
not just because of the previous results,
but we're playing Columbus.
My message to these guys always
in the lead-up to games like this is…
"Understand what this means to the fans."
Move up!
We need to go into this game showing
the fans that we share their feelings.
Careful. Move up the field together!
And we share their emotions…
Most important thing
is getting pressure to the ball.
…about how important it is
to have success in a game like this.
Got the rhythm.
Now we can move it quick, yes?
With the talent on the field,
the intensity on the field…
For FC Cincinnati,
they'll defend as good
as anyone in this league.
…we're hungry to win.
Pat Noonan has been
a great fit for Cincinnati.
You couldn't find a more authentic,
real head coach.
I don't have to sprint right at it.
I can wait. I can delay.
We were very fortunate
to recruit Pat Noonan.
Slide over, Yuya!
Drive, Kevin!
FC Cincinnati gave me
my first head coaching opportunity,
and I love coming into work every day.
It might not always look that way.
If this is you,
and then this is how you fucking answer…
I think he has a chip on his shoulder
to want to prove himself,
and, last year, he did.
Cincinnati, though,
they are now top of the tables.
Coach of the Year,
Supporters' Shield winner.
…led the league with 69 points this year,
winning their first trophy,
the Supporters' Shield.
…first time
in franchise history are headed
to the Conference Final!
Cincinnati up two-nil at halftime.
Columbus has come back
with two in the last 15.
Guys gave everything
but they just wore us down.
Pat Noonan said, "Can you finish?"
He shrugged them off and said yes.
There was things that I could have
done better to manage that situation.
Luciano Acosta can't move.
You can tell from Noonan and Kenny Arena,
they're frustrated
on that bench right now.
Nothing Cincinnati can do now.
Out of substitutions.
The ideas and the confidence
to play, I think, was lost.
Molino, back post! Cucho, and in!
Ramírez has done it!
They were up 2-nil at home.
In front of all their fans,
who this game had so much importance to,
and they let it slip out of their hands.
We were close, and that's why it hurts.
It hurts because of… with losing at home.
It hurts
because of the scoreline mid game.
It hurts because of who beat us tonight.
The dream season
just evaporated for FC Cincinnati.
Yeah, I'll look back at it and probably,
you know, blame none of those players.
Again, they gave everything, and,
you know, I'll take a look
at myself first and see
how I learn from this
and how we get this right in the future.
If you're sitting there
and you're pointing fingers
and blaming your players,
you lose that trust.
You lose their respect.
It's just the way I approach it.
Be honest, acknowledge it, own it,
and try to get better from it.
We got about 10 minutes to putt.
Does it count if I hit a hole in one
in the putting?
- No. It sure doesn't.
- All right.
I always feel like I have to
prove something.
I grew up in a household of seven.
You know, we had very supportive parents
there's no question about that.
But nothing was handed to us.
That's a good one.
- Nice shot, Dad.
- Thank you.
Good start.
I didn't hustle,
didn't have the right intensity,
wasn't a good teammate.
- Let's go hit hole in ones.
- Problem is you have no muscles.
That's what he cared about, you know.
The respect for the game,
and the listening to your coach.
- Good shot.
- That was terrible.
I feel like I certainly am trying
to prove myself as a head coach.
What club do you have?
- Sand wedge.
- Sand wedge?
No!
Now you get to use it in the sand.
Trophies are the best indicator
of "Are you able to lead a team?"
I'll meet you up there.
Some of us are on the green.
And I don't think
enough people trust that I can.
These are gimme's for me.
You know, now in '24,
I'm still looking for answers.
No dinner if you miss it.
What?
That's pressure.
Dinner.
- I get ice cream now.
- I didn't say ice cream. I said dinner.
Once you get
to a certain level of football
and you reach a certain status,
there is always gonna be pressure.
That's just how it is.
So you've gotta be able to deal with it
because if you can't,
it leaves a bitter taste.
The Hell is Real derby, we're obviously
treating it as another game in our journey
because we want to get to a certain level
at the end of the year,
but we're looking forward to it.
Matt Miazga, central defender,
FC Cincinnati.
Miazga, right-footed shot.
It finds the back of the net!
Matt Miazga!
I think my mom put it in.
It's definitely something
to do with our Catholic faith.
Every time I get a car
wherever I'm at, you know,
she… whenever she visits me, she's…
There's two things.
She puts something in my car,
and the other thing is she always finds
a Catholic church for me to go to.
Luckily, here in Cincinnati,
there's quite a few,
and there's one
down my street where I live.
My parents came from Poland as immigrants,
and I'm just from a blue-collared,
hardworking family,
realizing that, to get to where you want
to be is… was just hard work and focus.
My dad was really hard on me
when I was younger
so I think that kind of, you know,
got me going.
I just remember, you know,
my dad was working construction.
Every summer, my dad would take me
onto the construction site
and make me work
for free.
So that made me realize I don't want
to do this for a living,
that's for sure.
Those summers were
definitely very difficult.
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old, and
I think that kinda made me realize, like,
you gotta work, you know.
This is life, you know.
You gotta work. You gotta work hard.
We have a meeting today actually, yeah.
It's our review at Orlando.
A dramatic game in Orlando,
but Cincinnati have won it
thanks to a first-minute goal
from Lucho Acosta.
I mean, we obviously won the
game, but it wasn't our best performance.
We could have scored three,
four more goals.
You know, we're striving for perfection.
We can always improve.
The reality is, we tasted success last
year, so we wanna replicate that success.
You know,
we don't wanna drop our standards.
Playing under Pat,
we gotta be ready for the criticism
because praise is great,
but you gotta be ready
to accept the bad side of it.
We see this every morning essentially,
and right now we're second place,
so, hopefully,
we'll be here very soon,
so that's the goal.
- You got everybody here?
- I don't know.
We have an announcement to make.
We have a nice jersey for you.
Congratulations on one hundred games.
Okay.
Okay.
Gotta give a little speech?
- Thank you. No, I don't.
- Nice.
Thank you.
You can't be mean during the game review.
Bad timing on this one.
Bad timing. I'll set this here.
That sucks because we're gonna…
we're gonna talk about Orlando,
which wasn't our best performance.
Hopefully 101 is better, so we move on.
If I had a little bit more time
to think about it,
what I would say is I appreciate
the fact that
the hundredth was with this club
with a lot of players
who had been there from the beginning.
Any of those things would have been
a better message than
"you guys stunk against Orlando.
Uh, but thanks." You know.
Life's about emotions.
How you deal with your emotions
in a chaotic situation.
And for me, joy is a big part
of one of my values.
That's why, when we played
against Cincinnati,
we were able to come back.
Desire to compete and also to have joy.
Desire to believe in the way we do things,
desire to achieve something together,
desire to be limitless
and desire to become champions.
What a ball! Yeboah!
It's over!
The Columbus Crew. MLS Cup Champions.
When Wilfried Nancy took over
as head coach last season,
I'm not sure anyone was screaming,
"This team is gonna be
your MLS Cup Champion."
But in his first season as head coach,
he delivered an MLS Cup
to the Columbus Crew.
To me,
that's incredibly impressive to see,
and it just speaks to the manager
that Wilfried Nancy is.
Forty-seven years old.
I am to go to the White House.
It's a big day. This is…
This is nice to wake up and to have,
not a normal day, I would say.
When I was a kid, I didn't think
about this kind of thing because,
I don't like expectation.
Expectation is sometimes
looking for something
and if you don't have it,
you can be disappointed.
For me, my life has been unbelievable.
Okay.
Okay.
Let's go.
Congratulations to the 2023 Major League
Soccer Champions, the Columbus Crew.
Welcome to the White House.
We are celebrating our 2023 MLS Cup today.
We are always focused on continuing
to write our story.
In France, I knew I wanted
to be a coach one day.
I learned early in my career,
I was too slow as a player also.
So, I needed to stay on the task
and stay on the present moment
to get better as a coach.
And to understand myself…
We could be limitless.
…and the belief we have in one another.
Because of this, we are able to compete,
but also to have joy,
and that joy shows in the way
that we play on the pitch.
This is our story.
Last year's championship is one chapter,
and we look forward
to writing the next one.
Meeting the president.
I'd have never, like…
Never think I would meet the president,
you know, just…
That's your boy now. First name basis.
The thing about soccer,
especially having guys
from these different parts of the world,
and obviously, the White House can mean
something different to them.
What can I say?
I saw the White House only in movies.
- Yeah.
- You know, it's…
For me, being able to go
to the White House,
it represents the season that we had.
I don't think my mom ever thought
I'd get a chance to meet the president,
accomplish the things
that I've accomplished.
Bro, I was like, "Man, this is crazy."
I think the thing for me is just
realizing my mom's journey,
everything she's been through.
Moving here, wanting to provide her kids
with a better life.
I was born in Liberia
during the civil war.
My mom was pregnant with me
when war broke out.
The rebels causing havoc, but they had
helped her and took her to see a midwife,
and then she had me there,
and then from there on, fled Liberia,
and I moved to Ohio
when I was ten years old.
Second one, babe?
They're in that bottom drawer.
- Here where we keep them.
- You had four though.
- You only have three.
- I thought you had four.
Then also last year, I won
in the championship with Columbus
with my hometown team, home state team.
Representing my full circle journey
as well was definitely special.
This is the first one I got
that we won in Portland, 2015.
We played against the Crew,
which is pretty ironic.
I left Portland in 2018.
- Yeah. 2018, yeah.
- Yeah.
So, the first year in Atlanta,
and then we played Portland
in the finals which is crazy.
My team I just left.
And then this one,
the first one I got with the Crew.
Special year, though,
just 2020 and moving back home.
So this is the most recent one.
You know, maybe my favorite one
just for so many reasons.
That was Wilfried's first year.
The thing with Wilfried,
what I love and enjoy about him is
he just tries to make sure to remind us
why we started playing.
I just try to enjoy it
as much as possible,
you know, whether that's
through my performance
or through the team having success
or lifting trophies.
…in Cincy. This time we'll be at home,
so that'll be nice. That'll be special.
I obviously will remember what it was like
last time we played them,
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
They might wanna get revenge,
but we'll see Saturday.
Right now, Columbus,
they're coming off an MLS Cup,
and they're as strong,
if not the strongest, team in the league.
And they're not that big either.
They got Camacho.
Hernández is obviously good,
but this is
one of the few teams size-wise,
if we were to put out that lineup,
where it wouldn't be a total mismatch
in terms of the actual size.
The challenge that's in front of us.
Can we go to Columbus on Saturday
and make it really hard on the opposition
to play the game and to play with comfort?
So, here in this case,
the left center-back
is out of the picture.
That's a lot of space for a center-back
to have to release off the line,
so if you're gonna say that you don't win
the ball, what are you giving up?
It's a game of cat and mouse.
Playing an opponent and a coach
that are so dynamic, so efficient,
we have to respect the fact
that if we don't get these moments right,
they're going to make us pay.
I have a ton of respect for Wilfried
and the job that he's done.
He's an outstanding coach
and philosophical.
But when we go down the road
of philosophy and culture and…
I get a little bit…
It's a little bit cringe at times for me.
Our first wasn't good enough.
Lead this guy.
I think it's just because you hear
and see coaches
that just wanna sound really smart.
Fucking telling everybody else what to do.
Fucking score your goals, motherfucker.
The way people talk
about cultures and philosophies
and game models and all these things…
Drop, Kevin!
…and then you're just like, "Wait,
I gotta rewind that. What did he say?
What does that mean?
When did that term come about?"
Most important thing
is getting pressure to the ball.
Or maybe it's
'cause I don't have the vocabulary
where you're using all these crazy words
or made-up words to sound really smart.
Hey!
Yeah!
High, and hold.
Okay.
Easy. If the field's good,
it's easy. Look at him.
My name is Luciano Acosta.
We Argentinians are
very passionate about soccer.
We love soccer.
It's everything for us.
Marching into the box
for a very early chance
in which they take their lead
through Acosta.
Flying, it goes in!
It's in!
Lucho Acosta with the finish!
I love what I do.
I do everything with enthusiasm.
…beats one man one-on-one and another.
This is still Lucho Acosta.
With Lucho, he plays with so much passion…
Oh, my goodness!
…on an individual level,
but also for the team.
It is my pleasure to present
the 2023 MLS Landon Donovan
Most Valuable Player, Lucho Acosta.
Thank you for being a great leader,
a great mentor. You are a amazing coach.
You are amazing.
I don't wanna take away that passion
because it's what makes him
MVP of the league.
Matt, Defender of the Year.
They are passionate. They're winners.
They want desperately for success.
We are fortunate enough
to be in the presence
of the MLS Defender of the Year.
Matt Miazga.
Speech! Speech!
It's just an award, but we want
the MLS Cup, so…
let's go get that, yeah?
Yeah!
I have a lot of respect for Matt.
He loves to compete.
He goes about it in a different way than,
you know, I would say than most.
Every time I step on the field,
I feel like I have to give it my all.
Knowing that this is what it takes to get
three points and do my job.
Yellow card. It's Miazga.
And now Miazga's being shown yellow.
You know, someone has to push it.
You gotta be a bit of an asshole
sometimes or be that mean guy.
Someone has to make sure that everybody's
on their toes and fighting.
Matt Miazga's a nutjob.
He really is.
But that's what makes him
a great MLS defender.
You want that itch,
but can you reel it in?
Can you not lose yourself in the moment?
Uh-oh.
Miazga, shown a yellow
card here in penalties from the referee.
I feel like I was unjustly done
by a referee.
In my head, I'm thinking, all right,
let me go try to find the referee
and tell him I feel like he gave me
an unjust yellow card.
You should've…
So, I'm in the locker room thinking,
"All right, if I explain myself here,
we can get it reversed."
But for some reason,
the referee didn't take it that way.
There are certain places…
certain lines you don't cross,
and going in to argue with the referees is
certainly crossing that line,
and I think everyone knew it right away,
that big consequences were going
to come down for Matt Miazga.
We'll see how that news comes out
in the coming days, and,
you know, Matt knows better.
Some breaking news earlier
this week with Major League Soccer,
Matt Miazga will miss
the remainder of the playoffs.
Cincinnati playing today
without Matt Miazga,
serving the first of a three-match
suspension because of misconduct.
Molino, back post. Cucho, and in!
Ramírez has done it!
Columbus will celebrate
in enemy territory tonight.
Biggest game of the season, I'm not there.
That's the bitter pill I need to swallow
because, you know, that was our year.
I said to Matt, "This is why you need
to control your emotions.
This is why we need you
to play with passion
but not overstep those boundaries
because we need you on the field."
I'm saying, like, all that happens
with, like, communication,
and then it's… exactly.
Pat was saying like,
"Look, you're my defender of the year.
We just need you to just, you know,
be focused on the football aspect
when it comes to those types of things,
so just focus on playing, you know,
the rest will take care of itself."
Hey, let's go
with a bit more intensity now.
We need to be at our best
to go and win this game,
and Matt is an important piece.
Yeah, go. Go, Obi! Go, Obi! Yes!
No turn. No turn.
You know, I have another opportunity now
to right the ship and help my team out
because it's a big game
that we wanna win this year.
It's definitely, like, a game
that I feel extra motivated for.
One, it's a rival.
Two, last year,
I feel like I let down a lot of people.
It was obviously, like,
the redemption game for me.
- No turn!
- Gotta be us. Good.
…and education.
And, essentially, the questions
are more along the lines of,
like, what inspires you?
Who do you like to learn from?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
This is a good topic.
Wilfried is someone
who sees the game at a very high level.
He really gets down
to exploring our players
and understanding what makes them tick,
how they can improve.
Hey, guys. Morning.
He's sort of a soccer shaman.
- Hi, Coach.
- Hi.
You've had a bit of a break,
and now that you do have a big
rivalry match coming up,
this big "Hell Is Real" match,
what have you felt that's different
from the feud matches
against Cincinnati than the other matches?
I don't know where I'm going to
be in the future, but…
…when you play a rivalry game,
this is not a normal game.
We know that, so…
…this is a good moment.
This is a good moment because we
are back home, and…
…it's going to be a good game.
Today, you're going to have a warm-up.
After that, I'm going to go back
to the concept a bit.
As you know, the way Cincinnati plays,
they like to stay
with players on the pitch.
So we're gonna work a bit
on the rest defense.
Let's go.
That's you, guys.
My job is gonna be to manage
the emotions under extreme pressure.
When the brain is overwhelmed,
what are the tools they need
to express their quality?
Front three, yes, win!
So that's why I try
to challenge them all the time.
To compete, and also to have joy.
- You're looking where?
- Yeah, I look both sides.
Yeah, but never forward.
Me also, I can scan.
I can dance like this.
No problem.
When you watch the best teams play
in the world,
there's this calmness and this composure.
When you look at Wilfried
and you hear him coach,
to be able to find the balance of,
you know, people laughing and smiling,
and we all joke around with each other.
It keeps the mood light.
I mean, today was
two days out from a big game,
and we're playing soccer
like we're just teenagers again.
And that's what he wants to see.
- Come on!
- You can spread out a bit if you want.
Heads up. Heads up now.
Yeah, I work with different personalities.
Darlington Nagbe,
one of the best player in the league.
Composure!
And we have Cucho.
Also is one of the best players
of the league.
They don't have
the same personality at all.
I'm not here to change people.
I'm here to take the way they are,
to bring that for the team.
Yes, well done, Cucho!
Can we finish it? Yes, go, quick!
Forward!
Yes! Cucho!
Yes, win!
I think Cucho's passionate.
He's got a fire that
lights inside of him for every game.
Front three, yes, win!
Wilfried does a great job of managing that
to make sure he stays with us.
What do you joke, guys?
Why don't you finish on that?
Can you go mid-high, please?
- Yes, sir.
- As always, man.
I'm enjoying a lot playing with Wilfried.
It's special to play for him.
He's the best coach in this league,
and he's helping me with my "problem."
I'm from Colombia.
I'm a passionate guy.
I'm like this.
I was born like this.
I think the passion
that I carry with me
helped me achieve many things so far.
I express my sadness, my happiness…
and my rage too.
A little bit of a game of leapfrog.
Again, aggressive.
Look who's at the heart of it.
And Cucho has seen red.
I get crazy, I get mad
for many things, for the game…
for the referee.
Another big blow for him.
Straight red. Will miss the next game.
I'm a difficult guy, I know.
And sometimes, I don't think too much.
And a red card
sending off Cucho Hernández.
I spoke with Coach
in the beginning of the season on this
because we need to be better.
For Cucho, this is not a job.
This is a passion.
I want to control that.
They want a rematch.
- That's what they're looking for.
- It's only a rematch for them.
But hey, that's in the past.
Tomorrow's another day.
Yes.
Cincinnati wants to have revenge.
Of course, this moment I'm just thinking
we want to keep showing the people
we are the best team right now.
Ah, you guys got me late coming in.
Holy shit.
Over here?
I have to do the "walk of shame."
Thanks.
You're late, bro! You're late!
You're late!
It'll be on the right side.
The "Hell is Real"?
It'll be on this side.
The rivalry's name, Hell is Real,
was created by fans of both teams in 2017
prior to their first competitive meeting
in the US Open Cup.
It is derived from a religious sign
that reads, "Hell is Real,"
located on the Interstate 71,
the highway that connects
Columbus and Cincinnati,
a total distance of around 100 miles.
The Hell is Real derby,
this is a big moment. It's a big game.
You could feel it within the crowd,
within the players and, you know,
I'm not that guy to, you know,
say some bad stuff right now.
I'm just ready to go.
Hey. Hell is Real.
Hell is Real.
Okay, we set the tone early.
First 50-50, run through your man, huh?
Let 'em know,
it's a hard fucking 95 minutes today, huh?
Give fucking everything.
It's about how bad do we want it.
How bad do we want it?
There's no regrets after we fuck them
through the pitch tonight, huh?
- Here we go, boys!
- Let's go!
Here we go. Lead 'em. Just lead 'em.
Lead 'em. Here we go.
If tonight is anything like
the last time these two teams met,
we are in for a treat.
The Nordecke at full voice.
Hell is Real does not get any better
than this tonight.
Pat Noonan told us revenge is
not something that he thinks about
as a head coach.
His players might, however.
Here we go, boys!
Pause!
Yes!
Go!
Hey! Well done!
Luciano Acosta…
in towards Kubo. Great ball!
Russell-Rowe trying to hold off Miazga,
does well to do so…
No!
That will be a yellow card to Matt Miazga.
The first of this match.
You've got a lot of space behind you.
I gotta foul.
And it's scoreless heading into the break.
We're gonna adjust a bit
because they are really aggressive.
So we tried to go too quick.
When you feel that this is not
a good moment to attack, can't win, stop.
You get it, guys? Okay?
You were the better team in that half.
Go be the better team again
in the second 45 minutes.
Don't fucking stop.
Your pressure's been excellent.
Let's go!
We're back in Columbus, Ohio.
Scoreless, entering the second half.
Matan, isolated.
Back to Cucho.
Moreira.
Rossi heading it!
We need a forward sub.
It's either Kevin or it's Malik. Kevin.
You gotta explain to him,
he's gonna have to track
outside center back--
No, he's not. We're not doing that.
It's Kevin Kelsy.
19-year-old, already so experienced.
Great job today, man.
Acosta…
to Kelsy.
Kelsy clipping it towards Bucha.
Wait, wait!
Up! Move up! Up!
Acosta.
Kelsy!
And when you're patient
and you have the reigning MLS MVP,
he can pull something out of nothing.
Well done.
We got one moment.
Kelsy goes wide to Valenzuela.
Fall back.
Bucha, in to Acosta.
Acosta!
Lead doubled for Cincinnati.
Over 60% of the goals since 2023
have been number 10, Luciano Acosta.
The legend for Cincinnati.
And they're up 2-nil here in Columbus.
It was this scoreline last December.
Camacho into the book. Yellow card.
Hey, is he okay?
- Need assistance?
- Give him a little time.
- You need assistance or not?
- Come on. It's a head injury.
And it's a yellow,
he doesn't have to come off.
- He doesn't need assistance.
- He's holding his head.
You just said it's a yellow!
He doesn't come off.
- It's a head injury.
- But you just said it's a yellow!
It's a head injury! Stop!
Matt Miazga has gotta be careful here.
The last thing you wanna do
is get a second yellow.
Matt!
Matt! No!
- You just said--
- Stop!
Hey, that's what you said.
What the fuck! What is he doing?
Listen to me.
If there's a yellow card or a head injury,
they don't have to wait the two minutes.
- He has to step off, but he can come on.
- Okay.
What do we think?
I think we stay in the 5-3-2
no matter what.
I know, I'm saying for Lucho.
I think the fresh legs
will be good right now.
Let's get Malik over here.
Send Malik over here.
Lucho!
Here we go. You're going to the three.
- You know what to do. Let's do it.
- Yeah.
Complete game
from the reigning MVP tonight.
Great game. Good job.
He did his job. A goal and an assist.
There's still time for a Columbus team
that is never out of it.
Diego! Yeah, come.
Call the fucking foul.
Back towards Rossi.
Makes its way to Zawadzki!
It's Arfsten!
Game on in Columbus!
Can the Crew do it again?
Minimum six minutes of stoppage time.
Keep the ball.
Amundsen to Ramírez.
In to Cucho!
Cucho makes plays, man. This guy megs 'em.
And he's brought down by Miazga.
Yellow card not shown.
Floated into the box!
Cucho knocks it down.
Side to side.
Yeboah, floating it--
Celentano will catch.
Final minute of stoppage time.
Ice it out!
Is that enough for Cincinnati?
It is! It's over!
Fucking A, boys.
Fucking A, yeah!
FC Cincinnati
has exorcised their Hell is Real demon.
- Good job.
- Good luck in the final. Okay?
Yeah. Thanks.
For the first time, they win in Columbus!
2-1, the final.
Fucking A, right, baby. Let's go.
I like this early-season challenge for us.
You know, 2-nil up,
we concede late in the game.
It was set up to maybe have
similar feelings, but they didn't break.
Matt!
We won an important game,
and we're gonna celebrate it to an extent,
but we need to position ourselves
to be playing in the playoffs.
Hey, let's get over here. Come on.
If that has us matched up
against Columbus again,
moments like this are gonna be
the ones that these guys can remember
and say, "We're good enough,
and we're hungry for more."
FCC! FCC! FCC! FCC!
The Philadelphia Union have
signed 14-year-old phenom Cavan Sullivan
to a four-year deal through 2028
for the largest homegrown contract
in Major League Soccer history.
He's the best 14-year-old in the world,
a generational-type talent.
As a young kid with the spotlight on him…
And in a lot of ways,
it's unfair and it feels too young.
I don't really have many friends,
outside of soccer.
I know there's concerns,
it's too much too fast,
but I think he's on a meteoric rise.
I was ten and my dad said,
"If you wanna be great,
you gotta be different."
That quote has always stuck with me.
I wanna be the best ever.
So I'll do whatever it takes.