Bigthink - User Ideas Feed

Predictions for the 2008 Euro Cup

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:51:44 +0100

Spain? Portugal? Holland?

Transcript:

Predictions. Yeah well we could definitely watch Portugal have probably the most talent on the field, they are not doing anything with it, Spain probably falls in to that camp as well, I think the Italians, they got to be the favorites and coming of the world cup, they have good core intact, they are also bringing up some younger players that I think will have an impact. I don’t know who is going to win, I wish England was in just so they could we could see him lose and then they could cry about it for the next big competition, that always fun for me I get a lot a big kick out of that. I am really excited about this competition I wish that I mean we have the gold cup here in the United States and we do that every couple of years, some times back to back years, but it is just a what we expect of a couple of America last, so we have some stuff, we have world cup qualifying starting this year, but in terms of I am just really excited of watching this game, it always creates great match ups and for me personally it is just fun to watch good players play soccer.

There is crazy Russian teams the ones that I can’t pronounce, those are always I can’t pronounce them. Petty sketchy, in terms of you don’t really know, in terms of you don’t really know where they are going to go what they are going to do, lot of the big time teams are unfamiliar with a lot of there players and so that becomes part of there advantage, terms of a dark horse, no I would like to say that maybe Holland will surprise some people and actually do something this year but there are another one of the teams that are so many star players, they have too many chiefs not enough Indians and so I think Spain and I think Spain will be my dark horse this year because people expect them not to win anymore and I think they are going to do it, I think they have some good players. [inaudible] he is just a guy who understands his role and I think that what they have kind of been lacking, they have a few of those guys that are find the balance between their creativity and their work rate and making sure that, they are still doing that, they have the discipline to know what they need to do when they need to do it I suppose of pointing there fingers or throwing up there hands or whatever so, I am going to say Spain, that is a nice round about prediction.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: Why has the women's U.S. national team done so well abroad?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:51:40 +0100

America has taken women's soccer seriously for quite some time, Conrad says.

Transcript:

I think our women’s program got started a lot sooner and with lot more seriousness than the rest of the world, I think most of the rest of the world doesn’t respect women’s soccer, whereas here well like that is great, that is awesome and so we are going to put the money and resources into it to make them the best team that they can be and I think we have got a good jump on the rest of the world in that fashion because the rest of the world was like women's soccer, I mean who is, it is all about men’s soccer everywhere and that is all everybody cares about so even now even now they have women’s national teams in place, they are still not that respect that we give our women’s national team here, which is you know disappointing on a lot of levels for the rest of the world, but for here we give our women’s national team the same kind of coverage we give the men’s, we give them the same respect, they have some great players and it is clear now to the countries that have started taking it little more serious in the women’s game are certain be it on our women team so there seems to be like 5 or 6 top teams that US included that are kind of just the time is being switched back and forth now. And we don’t US doesn’t dominate as much now it is like some asians in the US soccer camp that, we made a lots of foot hold in the women soccer spectrum so that is good, it is good only good of our program, I am glad they have some fear because they will run on the show for a number of years.

Yeah absolutely, I think just a touch up about the competition angle I think once the other teams we will say Germany, Germany is got a very good women’s national team, once they have kind of decided you know what we want our German team to win, we don’t want USA to win everything, then they start to be like, then with the competition comes in and the pride comes in and so now they have got a great women’s national team and competes with our team and Brazil as well, just another country that it does some of the same so, I hope that would generate more respect for win at the women’s game, I don’t see why it wouldn’t but you know that being said it could just be a pride thing, I don’t want to loose at the United States and then I mean ultimately it is a good thing all the way around, it just means more exposure for the women’s game, I have a 10th month old daughter at home Julia and so I have a much different appreciation for women’s sports and probably would have otherwise because I want her to at least have that as an option, if that is something she wanted to do.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Winning at All Costs

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:50:48 +0100

How do steroids feed into the American drive to win?

Transcript:

Yeah, I think, yeah I don’t think the steroids thing is good at all, I think it is clear that those guys that did it are not very good role models and are ultimately very selfish in their decision making, I don’t even know if it was about winning for them as a most or I think it was more about either breaking records or just staying in the lime light and being a good guy or it just means somebody that people idolize, I think it is very sad to feel like you need that feeling of everybody looking up to you all the time, I actually came wait for that the past. I don’t even know if people look up to me, I shouldn’t even go there before that, but I am the oldest of the seven so I already have a built in, they have to look up to me because I am the oldest, but in terms of winning, I just think it is an American mentality that we have to win at all cost, I think you can see it in the American politics today, foreign policy that is just how we are built, I think that is what how the system has been set up, how have we claimed independence you know that we are going to win at all cost and just kind of just stuck with us the whole time and when we get immigrants in they get into it too, I just, they are not a free of that as well, I mean it is I appreciate all cultures but they give they buy into the American mentality as well and I just think of the youth level for kids, it would just be nice for them to allow them to kind of spread their wings to see if they really like the games, do they really enjoy it without feeling those constant pressure to have to win all the time and I would like to develop a program that gets away from that kind of thinking, that kind of mentality and focus more on, seeing what the kids what they bring to the table, as opposed to force feeding them, what we want them to bring, so that is for me, I guess get back to a new question for how I would fit in to kind of bridging the gap and my role within youth, and where I want to go what I think it where should be.Not well, yeah there is a line, I think yeah, I mean yeah that gives them that edge, yeah they should have, they should turn it down I think there should just be a standard whatever I mean I guess the argument is if everybody is on steroids and there is no edge, so I don’t think there should be an edge, I have a lot more respect for like Hank Allan who is, who clearly set the record, I mean if you look at his body type, it means like did it on raw natural ability, I mean may be he pops some ibuprofen or some aspirant to keep him going, but everybody does, whether you are playing sports or not, so you know I don’t know, I don’t think any position should be able to garner an edge if you get hurt, then just take the time to heal and get back, we all get hurt, we all have ups and downs in our career and you know rushing back to be a hero is good in some fashion I suppose and that is another thing that fits into the American psyche is that and I fight that, I try to be a hero and try to play through stuff that like looking back on my what was I doing and so it is clear that the guys are taking steroids, well some of them have that regret, some of them clearly don’t and like to be you know talked about still, but I don’t know, no I don’t think I say I will say no, my short answer is no, I don’t think anybody should garner an edge I think, I have a lot more respect for the guys that play it straight and just if they beat you, then they were just better than you on that day.

Yeah, you know in terms of cleats, I think it is huge spheres, I don’t think it really matters, I think like probably goes for swimmers too, I am sure Michael Phelps could tell you that, it is really not going to alter his thing, he is just going to swim as hard as he can and right now he is the best swimmer in the world, so I don’t think equipment makes that much of a difference, I think if anything is just psyching and I can speak a to support that with, there is just some shoes I am sponsored by Adidas and there is some shoes that they have, that they have made in the past, that I just love and I feel like Zidane when I put them on and then in some shoes they have made that I don’t I feel like I should never play soccer again and so it is just, it is more of a mentality, it is more if the product you are wearing has given you confidence to feel like you can be better than you can be, so ultimately that is a mind thing.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Rising Young Soccer Stars

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:50:45 +0100

Conrad on young American virtuosos at home and abroad.

Transcript:

Yeah there is a couple of guys, we have got this young forward from New York Nanchosee Altadoor he plays on the Olympic team, plays for our full national team, he is a big guy gone up against him a few times and he is young in his decision making but you can see all the tools are there he is very humble, he is very willing to take advice, he wants to learn and so I think he is definitely a kid to watch, most people on soccer circles do know who he is, so for all those people that may be on the fringes, this is definitely a kid to watch, Freddy Adu is been a guy who has been well documented, he left the league last year to join one of the top clubs in Portugal and I think it is been a great move for him, he hasn’t being a playing a lot, but it is I couldn’t think of anything better, because now he has got to earn it, he is in an environment where they don’t care if he is Freddy or not they see Freddy all the time probably a 20,Freddy Adu's on the team, where they have been stars and now he has going to have to make the adjustment where he is not the number one guy and is not everybody telling him he is the best day in and day out, so he doesn’t have to work, so now I am excited for him I think during the stages of the Olympic qualifying tournament where our boys qualified for the Olympics and I thought he played very- very well, there is another two kids, one’s name Morrisa Due who plays up in Toronto with the Maryland’s who is rookie of the year last year, he is very good, he has got a lot of the tools, I think the guys are dear, we could be running whatever distance and I don’t like the sweats, I will only think that is fair really, but he is a specimen he has got a very good soccer brain, he is another guy who is very humble, he gets it and you know I think very important part of our national team for a long time and then we have a another kid name is Sache Clistone he plays for Chivas and grew up in California, he has got a lot of personality, but that comes out on the field and I think that kind of blend of being technical but also having a little bit of that flair, lends itself through a program very well, because I think there having those kind of kids are few and far between.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: How did you feel when David Beckham was signed for so much money?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:50:40 +0100

Perhaps his royal treatment will trickle down to MLS players, Conrad says.

Transcript:

Yeah, the mammoth salary is interesting. I think he makes more brushing his teeth in the morning than I do for the whole year so that is quite funny actually but I respect that he is coming over and taking a chance, he is lending his name and his reputation to an upstart league, and I have a lot of respect for him in that course, it is not to hard to respect how much money he is earning for that jump, so I don’t know how much risk it is but I think that it is just going to be a positive ripple effect obviously, now we have become a water cooler topic, just having him in the league is got people talking about our league coming out to see what it is all about, you still are going to have your haters and that goes, that comes with the territory but ultimately I think it is a good thing, it is going to benefit not only the owners, the media coverage but I think the players, I think you are going to have more kids excited about wanting to play having the chance to play in the league, that Beckham did play for the team that Beckham did, just perception wise, it is going to be very-very positive and ultimately I think from a player’s perspective you know it should enhance our salaries when our collective and bargaining agreement comes up, it gives us a little bit more power and club to kind of start asking for what he is asking for, when he comes in because in because the players in Los Angeles they get to see what he gets and he gets the red carpet treatment and when he comes to Kansas city they treat him with red carpet treatment, that means it is like what is all this, you just can’t believe that they can do that and they are willing to do it but then when it comes us they don’t, and so that is going to be an interesting perspective that something we can carry with us as players as we try to, right now we are still on the shoulders of the class for us and so, we want to be a little bit taller and little bit broader, so we put the things in place so that the next generation of players can really benefit from his influence in the way where you know we took advantage of everything that was being offered to him and making sure we got treated the same way. Well I think there is only one Beckham, I think he is so global that, and I think there is only a sort of Ronaldhino,and may be Massei and Christiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, I mean I sort of those three or four guys, I don’t know if anybody could have the impact that David Beckham's had, however there are a lot of guys like Louis Figo and couple of other guys that are have been linked to Ronaldo being another one that have been linked to coming over here and as excited is that be and we are just Claudio Lopez to Kansas city just recently and he has played in two world cups and have lot of experience in and I think he is going to be great for our team, I think really though when our league takes off we will start signing these guys at a younger age as opposed to getting them when they have only got maybe two or three years left in the tank, we may be got them when you know 7, 8 years left and can really contribute at a higher level, now these guys that we have got in are good and they are going to be very good for our league, I think Juan Pablo Helen from New York has been a revelation in just in terms of his professionalism and everything he is brought for the game so, that is how we made a lot of good signings last year bringing in, not only those big name guys Beckham, Blonco, Onhow but also bringing in some guys that you probably haven’t heard of Vontohan and Garrio Recarde and Allis and just good young guys that have come in and respected the league I think, we have made signings in the past with the big names but they don’t, they all come over here and they are like on vacation and so, the leagues changing it is changing for the better and for me personally it is very exciting to be part of it from where it was in to where it is now and where it is going.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: How can we better farm soccer talent?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:49:47 +0100

Conrad proposes a European-style farming system.

Transcript:

Yeah so in terms of the farming system we have got a roster that when I came in to the league that was, you could only have 18 people in your team and now we can have 28 and so they have created more job opportunities for American players, so now the kids, the college kids have come out who didn’t get drafted or might just fall by the way side in some regard didn’t get seen can still have a chance to be with the team for a year, what they call developmental players and they fit into a raw search something different but they get basically get a year to try out and I think that is great in turn for the American players have more opportunity, with that being said those guys seem to be paid more they are noy paid very well and so there needs to be a little bit more incentive for them to give up a year their life, most of these kids are well educated have degrees and so they could probably get down with doing something else but they are trying to do something they love and potentially could be very good at and help our, not only MLS, but our US national team as well. And so it is important that we I think invest more resources in that, but I don’t even think it starts at that level, I think what is in place is good, obviously outside of the salary, but it is getting those kids earlier and developing youth academies for each club, so right now that is in the process. But how fast can we get that going where if you are in a good under 10 player then we will bring you and for my team Kansas city and you are with us the whole time, so what we are teaching you is the same thing that the full teams the professionals are learning, so by the time you are seventeen or eighteen you are ready to go and join in the pro team, that is how it happens everywhere else in the world, it is just the way our system works in the way our leaders from the front office side see the game as very Americanized and so our models are based on NFL and NBA and major league baseball which doesn’t really work with how the rest of the world works and what is been proven to be successful, so there is obviously a lot of tinkering that needs to be done I think we have the people in place that understand that, I think just think they want a, they are offering us just to be patient and I am one of those guys that is trying to have it both ways where there is still some urgency to their patience, you know that we are still trying to get there as soon as we can, once it is in place then now we can say okay now it is going to take five, ten years, to really before we start seeing you know the seeds of our labor so, that is kind of are the fruits of our labor, that is where I want to get involved I think when I am done playing, I really want to make sure that, happens.

There is one team Chivas, USA in Los Angeles has a youth academy I think I want to say DC united has a youth academy as well and the hard part is, thereis so much politics in youth soccer, I think most people would be disgusted with how much there is and how much parent involvement, and I think that happens across the board on most youth sports, but now it is going to be like if we did take lets say 10 under 10 players from one club, what is that club left with now, you know they are feeling left out are, what if we just said you know, we are just going to put our youth, there is a lot of clubs out there, like this is are really one big club in Kansas city what if we just said okay we are just going to put you guys, you guys are now our youth academy, you know how is that fair to the other kids, how do we get to see the other kids, do we play against them and then steal them from it is just going to be interesting how that works and how we massage that situation because there is going to be a lot of upset people and I mean there is going to be no matter what but, how do we despite all that animosity and politics and basically money, that we could be taking from other people by taking their best players and how do we kind of bridge that gap and make sure that it is always in the best interest of the kid and for the sport in general and that we have identified talent and we are trying to give him the best opportunities to not only get a college scholarship, but maybe potentially make money, with something that he is good at.

I don’t know, I mean I obviously have a lot of ideas in my head, I don’t know where I would get started is what I was going to say, I think ultimately, I would have to sit down, I think what is unknown to a lot of people was that, US soccer who runs National team and our youth, lot of our youth stuff and our referee program is a whole different entity than MLS and there is a lot of, there is a lot of communication that has to happen between both for competitions and you know just the relationship between the national team in our league, but in terms of the youth, I don’t know if they are on the same page with where they are trying to go and what they are trying to do and so and then you have NCAAs as well because the college season is only four months long, so we go from asking the kid who has been in college for four years, he has only played a four month season, becoming and being a pro and playing for ten or eleven months and basically what happens is you have these freshmen or rookies are come in and they are great for four months and then they go all like this for the rest of the year and they might rebound a little bit most of them don’t and so how can we lengthen the season, I don’t know if you know if you can lengthen the NCAA season but how can we get them more opportunities to play on teams, they are still getting meaningful games to lengthen their season and learn how to be professionals andat least give them that opportunity to that option to do that, so I would try to be the guy that would bridge all that communication, I like the talk as you can tell and so it would just be trying to find a nice balance where people can win on both sides, I think I would like to come in and try to set up some sort of program or business plan to make sure that, it is what is best not for them, I mean ultimately, work out for them in the long run, but what is best for our program moving forward, it is about making this game better and making our own kids better, as opposed to relying on foreign talent for our league and so as much as I think it is important that we get some foreign talent here, you know it is nice to know that we have some young American stars that are making a difference as well, because obviously our league would be much better or much more well received if we had somebody of David Beckham’s caliber both on and off the field obviously he is a great player but he is like an A list celebrity and he is global and so you know before our league to really mature and start competing not only with the leagues here but also with soccer leagues around the world.

Now that mean, just some form of a people I respecting our process, you know I think there is just a lack of respect around the world for how we do things and how we run things and how our programs coming around and how we teach our kids and I know that I have read some articles from foreign coaches who think that we place too much emphasis on winning at a young age, as supposed to development and that is the problem and so that now we have kids who are burnt out by 13 or 14 because they are not enjoying the game anymore because it is always about winning and that comes, that is just like the American ideal, that has nothing to do with soccer and so that needs to change, it is specifically, probably in all supports, specifically in ours, because we need to really foster creativity and really make sure the kids are enjoying what they are doing and as that goes along then you can start teaching them the finer points of the game.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: Why isn't soccer more popular in the U.S.?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:49:43 +0100

It's more popular than you think, Conrad says.

Transcript:

I think it is popular in the US, I think the problem is, I mean you can just look at World Cup anytime there is a world cup going on people stop and watch no matter if it is 4 in the morning or at 10 at night whatever people find a way to make time to make that happen, so it is just kind of plugging into that kind of passion I think we have a lot of Euro snobs here in this country that don’t want to give our league a chance, they just think while the other leagues in the world are better and you know in some fashions they are but and we are coming along here in this league, I am very excited to be a part of it, I think the future is very bright and we, it is just converting the soccer fans that already exist here, I think we try to convert, I think initially our soccer, our fan base was more like soccer moms and their kids and I think when you watch a game overseas you don’t see soccer moms and kids in the stands, you see you know 18 to 49 year old males in there, “enjoying themselves” and cheering and having a good time, I mean passionate about their team and it is just going to take time to build that and I think what is unfair is that we can get compared to the other professional leagues in this country, that have been around for 50 or 60 years, much greater head start in terms of you know working out there kings and trying to figure out where they are going to fit in the national landscape and you can go back to the NBA in the ‘70s, I mean they didn’t start blowing up until Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came around and so and then once rivalry started and you have this history and I mean our league is, this will be our 13th year and it is just going to take time to build a fan base, but also to develop a rivalries and history you know I mean if you watch sports center, they have stats from like 80 years ago, they don’t matter but they have them, so and people are interested in them and it is just like that use our not so useful information, they get stuck in your head and you know we are just going to take time to kind of get to that point and that goes hand in hand with our development as a league as our players as a next generation of kids grow up and grow up and say I watch Lan and Donawin play, I watch Cobi Jones play and these are real things, because when I was a kid there wasn’t any of that and so it is very important for kids to not any different than major league soccer and once those kids grow up and say, you know what this is what I want to do, this is what I want to be, I want to play for that team, it is going to fit in nicely in our national landscape.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: What kind of play do you think is beyond the pale?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:49:40 +0100

It's all part of the game's human element, Conrad says, even Zidane's head-butt.

Transcript:

No, I actually appreciate the human element part of the game, I am glad we are not computerized and glad we don’t have instant replay, I am glad our referees don’t have to go look at the computer to decide if that was in or out, I think the human element provides drama and it provides conversation, so if you are a fan, the referee had a terrible game or he missed a call or that is just part of it, that is this is the talking points that we need, I mean that is where it gets people to the game and get them all fired up and get some invested personally into what is happening on the field, then I think, I think as much as I have been on the wrong end of some calls and if you like I have been wronged in so many ways, you know that is just part of it and I am glad it is that way, I am glad there is some human air involved I think, that is I mean to give a kind of a analogy to another sport, I think that is why I appreciate college basketball more than NBA, because the kids in college I mean they make more mistakes, and so you can almost relate to them more, and so when there is I don’t know, the pros they never miss baskets, you know the NBA guys and it is like they are doing things that most average people can I feel like with soccer, like I touched upon earlier like anybody of any shape or size can play, so they feel like they can do what we can do and they probably could, if they practice and got fit and, well I don’t want to say it is that easy but because that would make me look like I am that special and I am, I am special, so that is, I don’t know, so that is it I am leaving with that.

Yeah that was just a bad decision on his part, I feel bad for him because it tarnishes such a great career, it is just has a little dent on a nice shiny career and it is disappointing obviously, you don’t want that to happen, in terms of like kind of the cheap shots, I have been on lot of ends of that too, I have broken my jaw twice and so I have been on the innocent stuff but, it is part of it, they could probably cut out that, but I don’t know how they can police that without having more referees on the field and nobody wants more referees on the field, so you know that is always going to exist. The strongest are going to survive, the people who can deal with that, they'll find success.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: Which country has the best style of soccer?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:48:47 +0100

It all comes down to how the players learned to play the game.

Transcript:

You know I am not that is a good question, I think there is an argument that continues today about this kind of a kicking around, I think the English premier league is probably the one where they just to give it at the field and dangerous spots as fast as possible, they don’t worry about how pretty it looks or any of that stuff, so there is that argument that is the most effective and that is the true and probably is the most effective and they have four quality teams over there that can play a variety of styles so that included and they make the game look very-very nice and beautiful and so that is what a lot of people get to see but the most majority of that league, it is pretty ugly soccer and it is just getting in to the box, kicking the ball up by pass in the midfield and not really allowing the play makers to play, they actually don’t really have all that many play makers outside of the top four teams so, in that regard you know if we took out those top four teams and just said that straight English style it just mainly we get into the box and get in dangerous spots as fast as we possibly can. I like I find pleasure in watching and playing in terms of the build up and pulling guys out of space, making defenders make decisions, as suppose that make in at a physical battle for every ball, I think the Italians do that very well, the Spanish their leagues are very good, we have had some pre-seasons trips to Argentina the last few years, I have a lot more respect for them because I have gone to some games live and just to see how they play and move as a unit, makes me excited that those teams even at the club level, play very smart and intelligent way to play and that is not a knock on the English league, because they have teams and players and they can do that, but on the whole, they are just as fast as possible, lets get in the box and so that happens at our youth level as well, there is still a conflict there because some times, lets say a under10 game, you have and under10 team that is amazing, they just touch the ball, they make passes and they make the game look really nice, they have got a couple of chances, but then they are trying to get some team that probably doesn’t have very good soccer players, but they are very good athletes and they will just knock in it up and trying to make happen and that team wins one nothing and then you like well, we have got the result, but who were the better soccer players and so it is still, something we could argue in, I mean if you look at the English national team right now, I mean they are, they are not doing very well, they didn’t qualify for some of the important tournaments so, I don’t know, I mean we could, I can talk about this forever but you know the where I find great deal of pleasure in watching this, is usually the teams that play a smart style, that pull people out of space trying to connect passes and try to score beautiful goals. I could have said the Brazilians as well, I don’t know how I forgot them, but yeah I think they bring like a kind of street ball creativity to the worlds game I think the US could benefit from having some kids that play like that, I think there is a great game, the great aspect of soccer is that you can be any shape or size and still be successful and I think, and have like three or four different styles on the field and still find success, so I think in terms of just the US Ideal will be nice to have a player or two that had some of that flair and I think we have a couple of guys I think Clint Dempsey is a guy who has find the English premier league now, who takes risk, so I think that is mainly it and I think the Brazilians are free from many kind of structure, as they are growing up in learning the game and developing ideas about how to play and I think some of our kids here are may be too structured and don’t ever feel like they get the freedom to be themselves and create and have some flair without thinking that they are going to get yelled out or feel like it is a bad thing for them to try to take risks and so that is something I am very passionate about and something that I think I will probably do when I have done playing. Yeah I do absolutely, but that been said I think you know lets say Ronaldinho is an example, I mean he is an amazing player, one of the top players in the world and I am sure, I know I have seen clips of him playing organized soccer when he was a kid, they just, they are coaching is just to let the kids be free, I mean there idea of how to raise, you know good soccer players is through, just creativity and letting the kids develop and then once they get to like 15 or 16, they can start teaching them a little more about tactics and structure and movement shape and, but lot of those guys have that already, they understand the game, they have that instinct and so you know they are just kind of bringing those guys along and not interfering and I think that is where and I think that is where you know our system still needs to change a little bit and I think we interfere may be too much and get these kids stuck on ideas that they just don’t need to be thinking about this yet, you know I don’t think our 9 year olds need to be really that invested in a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 or any kind of formation I think there is you kind of explain it to him but I don’t think that needs to be the number one, I think number one they just need to work on their ball skills and because if you can’t control a ball, then you are not going to be playing at a very high level from where you know ever so that is kind of one of those things where, there needs to be I think kind of a switch in how we raise our kids become soccer players.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

The Soccer Greats

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:48:44 +0100

Franz Beckenbauer heads the list.

Transcript:

The one that jumps out of me is Franz Beckenbauer who played for Germany in the ‘70s, he played then for the cosmos, I think he played for the cosmos, you know I don’t know, I should know my history better than that, but he is just an amazing player, he is very graceful, his decision making was always very clever and you know in the way he lead was I can’t say behind the scenes, but just in terms upon the field, he is always projected a cool and calmness in this composure, that I thought permeated through the rest of the team, and I think that is something that I try to emulate in some regard, you know when things are getting tough and things are hard, let me try to just try to find that balance of trying to bring it back the other way and if guys I don’t think are doing enough then you know, I can be that guide too and I think that has been the hardest thing for me because that goes against my grain, it is been this sort of guy, I have in me but I never really bring out that much because I just, that is not really the guy I choose to be.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: What is it like being a team captain?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:48:40 +0100

Conrad is still learning the fine points of managing a team on the field.

Transcript:

Yeah. No that’s some thing, I have been captain my third year and I think this year or at the end of the last year, I have really started to kind of understand what that meant. My first year, I was just of an honored where, I don’t really fully appreciate the responsibility that comes with that and you really do have to be the extension of the coach, you do have to be the coach on the field, you can’t have, you can’t show any like, sign of disbelief or not a dis-belief. You can’t waiver and what the coach is trying to say. So if you show any like dissatisfaction with how the coach is coaching if once the other guy see that the captain is not buying in, they are not going to buy it either and so there is a lot of that where I can’t say stuff off the cuff anymore, even if I am just frustrated for a day or I am not agreeing with what the coach is saying I can’t show any sign of that and that took me a long time to fully appreciate that because when you are coming from being just a player, or you can’t just say or what ever and you can be around the guys and just act like the guys. It takes a while to make that transition and understand the role and so that is still work in progress, I think genuinely a nice guy and when I was the younger player we had some older guys that weren’t very nice and they didn’t feel like I did a very good job of building up confidence.

And so taking that and how I went through that process, I tried to be a little bit more positive with their younger guys, but I have learned now especially in the last year that you know there it still needs to be some accountability and discipline that I need to ask them for as well and that has been tough for me because that kind of goes against my grain, but I understand now that if I want to have success as a team then that is what has to happen so I have learned that kind of turn up the jerk factor, and just demand things from people that I wouldn’t normally do if I was just a player.

I think for me lot of it comes down to knowing your personalities, knowing who is going to respond to what you say and how you say it, you know some guys can handle you know an air full of not very nice stuff and some guys can’t and so it is finding that balance between you know being a jerk but also may be coming back around and saying you know, I am doing this because I think you are a good player, I am doing this because I see potential, I am doing this because I care about you in our team .

Yeah, you now every time we start up game you know everybody most teams in every sport going like a team hurdle and they talk about whatever, and sometimes are varied up you know, you try to get the mood of the team and so sometimes all try to, if I feel like things are tight, I will just try to keep it loose make sure that the guys enjoy it, if I feel guys aren’t really into it, then I too don’t kind of land them say lets get to going, more often than not, I demand that people have good habits and that they demand the same from not only themselves but the people around them, that way it is less responsibility on me to ask for all the time, but you know that is one of my goals too, because I think if even if you practice with good habits, it is going to translate too when the games matter, so that is something I bark out a lot and sometimes I bark louder than other times and when I seem to bark loud, we don’t play very well and it is one kind of I do a little more subtle about how I say it in the way I say it or the timing that I want to say, sometimes I feel like if I say right before the whistle blows, new guys, I get guys in the mental state that may be I could have gone in a direction and may be kept guys loosen in that regard, whereas if I said it 15 minutes earlier in the locker room, when guys are in that mode, then I think it might have been little more beneficial for them to have time to process what I am saying and say okay, you know today I could be better, my one or two touch of holding the ball up and actually visualize a couple of those players before they go out on the field, I suppose the saying at 30 seconds before the game actually starts, so there is a lot of that psychology that I am really starting to appreciate timing and just ultimately it is going to make me a coach in the future, but as a captain and being able to have an impact on the game because once the game starts coach can only do so much, it is very interesting and something that take a lot of pride in.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: How do you know you've played a good game?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:47:45 +0100

Outsmarting Zidane.

Transcript:

Ultimatley not making any mistakes and I think if you want to be considered one of the best, you have to demand that kind of perfection and for me a lot of it goes down to just making goods subtle decisions, a lot of decisions that you can’t see on TV’s it is hard to see on TV, but if even came live as the fan you just basically going to watch the ball a lots, watch in the little things, but lot of it from me defensively is positioning and so this been a right position to make my game is easy for me as possible, if you stay on the right position and have an understand of your angles, were the ball might pop out and you just make nice easy pass and than how you perfect for me, so as long as that I don't make any mistakes on that touch, we can getting goals score on us and my be if I score that would be the probably the perfect game but ultimately, it’s about the team winning and us putting together a good performance.

There is play I talk about with some guys, this going to like a soccer dork, we have the opportunity, MLS sent an all star team to play against Real Madrid in Spain and play in there Hallowed stadium, the Burnabov [phonetic] and so unfortunately for us, they kind of cobbled together a team about 48 hours, before the game. So we had to fly over there, get the time changes playing with guys, you have never played with before and goal begins one of the best club teams in the world. At the time the heads are down and everybody yes so, for me there was a play where the ball came down the left side, that was on, I was in the middle of the fields and you have got in this Zidane and Zidane was wide open, because this is kind of the broken play and they are counter attacking the other way and Raul, who is now captain of the Real Madrid and obviously he has the great career, he was next to me, I was just will actually I was marking. So basically I had to defend Zidane and Raul of the same time and ultimately what I did was using the off side strap which we take as another hour to explain to the lay person, I just kind of held, I waited for Zidane, I kind of sat on his first touch if you want to play Raul first time and I had that covered and then when he took that first touch, once you realize I had covered that I then step to him because Raul him made the run behind me, so I held him off sides. And so I basically out smarted Zidane for one play and so for me that was that I got a lot of appreciation and satisfaction from making one of the best players ever play. Do some thing he didn’t want to do and so in the small scuttle way, I was the victory in itself, even though he kept the ball and I think they ended up getting this shot, but for what I could do at that moment, I did the best possible thing and that some thing that people, probably wouldn’t even think twice about, when watching the game live.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: Were you always a defender?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:47:42 +0100

Chicks dig the goal scorers, but Conrad is the one who stops them.

Transcript:

Yeah, when I got to the higher competitions when you got to a certain age you should have to kind of decide, what position you wanted to be and so I started playing D in college and just try to be the best I could at it and when I was younger, I used to play like in the mid field I pulled the strings and do that good stuff and I would score goals, but in a now scoring goals is quite it doesn’t happen very often, so when I do scores, it’s pretty exciting.

I am coming from a obviously chicks dig the goal scores, that was disappointed we moved in the back, but there is some thing that excites me about the game, I think every body has their own thing about why they play or what they do, doesn’t have to be soccer or what excites me about the game is frustrating other people. I have find again great enjoyment from that and the best position for me to and make that happen is the defense and so once I tapped in to that enjoyment, I really did enjoy, frustrating the other teams best players and I still find the enjoyment in that. Yeah, well being the guy that kind of orchestrates have the offence works. I think in mid field you get the touch the ball more, you have more of an impact on the game going both ways. I like to move in the mid field some times, much of this agreed in to my coach and probably fellow team mates but, some times if this space is available I will take it and pretty much to live my dream of being a mid fielder that I always wanted to be and but also I was just having the opportunity to kind of change the game in one play. I think the mid field you can do that, in defense that the interesting thing about defense is, you can be great for 89 minutes of a 90 minute game, in that one minute, you not on top of it and they score and you are the goat of the game. Whereas it’s the opposite for forwards. You can be crappy for 89 minutes and be amazing for one minute, score the game one and you are the hero. So I don’t always know why I chose defense, but I guess there is some thing about that level of pressure and expectation that I enjoy as well.

It definitely gets me down. It some times I feel like there is a lot of weight on my shoulders to make the right decision every time, my coaches probably would want me to think in those terms, that is always make or break in that regard, but I don’t know. I feel like I have handled the pressure and expectation, quite well, I have achieved the lot more than I have really set out to do and but as I said, I think I get a sense of enjoyment from proving people wrong in some regard and also making sure that the best players have their worst day like possibly have.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Re: How did you get into soccer?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:47:40 +0100

Conrad had a Danish grandfather who showed him the ropes.

Transcript:

When I was about four, my grandpa would just kick the ball in the back yard with me. He grew up in Denmark and so there is definitely some European influence in that regard and so that was kind of how is started and then I just started joining youth teams and I haven’t stopped playing since then.

Well, that’s a good question, because when I was growing up there, was no professional league in the United States at the time. So my exposure to live soccer consisted of going to watch local college teams play, the time UCLA was the team to go watch and then we can look back on the team that I used to go watch just been my six or seven guys, have gone on that have great careers played in the world cups and all that stuffs. That was the big dream of mine to play UCLA. I didn’t initially get accepted there, so I have to go to San Diego state for two years and I ended up transferring to UCLA and I walked on with the team and my senior year we won the national championship and so and I am still playing, so they are all worked out.

Recorded On: 3/24/08

Retiring from Professional Sports

Bigthink — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:40:15 +0100

: Conrad's position in soccer allows him a longer than normal professional career.