Speaker 1: Still Amander takes a left footage shot.
Speaker 2: That's seek.
Speaker 1: He's been the best on the pitch off season and
Speaker 1: the next clamation point on the regular season for the
Speaker 1: Brazilian All right, let's talk MLS Cup playoffs. Buckle up,
Speaker 1: it'll be hell is Real in a best of three series.
Speaker 1: Two seed FC Cincinnati will take on seven seed Columbus.
Speaker 1: The Orange and Blue will have home field advantage, hosting
Speaker 1: game one next Monday, kickoff schedule for six forty five
Speaker 1: from TQL Stadium. For more on that, let's go straight
Speaker 1: to the source, the general manager of the Orange and Blue.
Speaker 1: That would be Chris Albright. Chris Lance McAllister, how are you.
Speaker 3: I'm doing great, Lass, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1: It is great hearing your voice. Congratulations you guys finish
Speaker 1: off the regular season with a three goal victory on Saturday,
Speaker 1: a five game unbeaten streak. How do you feel this
Speaker 1: club is positioned heading into the playoffs?
Speaker 2: Position well, I think we have positive momentum, really strong
Speaker 2: season to finish only a point out of the Supporter Shield,
Speaker 2: you know, one of the major trophies in our sport.
Speaker 2: Really proud of the job the players and the coaches
Speaker 2: did to position us to you know, potentially only have
Speaker 2: to go to Philadelphia if we have to leave TQL
Speaker 2: Stadium on the road time LS Cup. So great opportunity,
Speaker 2: ahead of the ahead of the club, and I think
Speaker 2: everybody understands that.
Speaker 1: Fourth straight playoff appearance, twenty wins for the second time
Speaker 1: in three years. Man the journey included injuries, in additions
Speaker 1: and international call ups and more injuries. This club navigated
Speaker 1: a lot. How big was the depth you built up
Speaker 1: along the way.
Speaker 2: I got a great team behind me when we talk
Speaker 2: about player identification, scouting, recruiting. This is the deepest group
Speaker 2: I think we've had since I've been here in Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: one of the deeper groups that I've you know, my
Speaker 2: probably over twenty five years in the league have been around.
Speaker 2: So I think we were ready to be able to
Speaker 2: sustain some of that. Guys really stepped up, young guys,
Speaker 2: star players, So you know, I think we're well positioned
Speaker 2: with with a lot of contributors having contributed during the
Speaker 2: season to be ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Now, Chris to back all of that, what does it
Speaker 1: mean to have an ownership group that's been all in
Speaker 1: in pursuit of an MLS Cup?
Speaker 3: Oh, it's it's unique, is what I will tell you.
Speaker 2: It doesn't exist in a lot of places in MLS.
Speaker 2: You know, Carl Lindner and the group of owners have
Speaker 2: given us incredible support resources to be able to go
Speaker 2: out and and build a perennial winner. You know, obviously
Speaker 2: we have one trophy under our belt, but are looking
Speaker 2: to capture MLS Cup and again the local support from
Speaker 2: from this ownership group is unlike any other in MLS.
Speaker 1: We saw Brenner's brilliance on display again Saturday. I think
Speaker 1: his fourth goal in six games, six matches on loan
Speaker 1: back here, is it safe to say he's fit in
Speaker 1: quite nicely in his return.
Speaker 3: He's fitting great.
Speaker 2: You know, look at he's He's matured a lot in
Speaker 2: his time away. I think he's got better as a player.
Speaker 2: He clearly under the system and the things that the
Speaker 2: coaching staff had asked of him in the past. So
Speaker 2: I think that was a really nice transition for him
Speaker 2: to kind of tactically be clued.
Speaker 3: In right away and know how we want to play.
Speaker 2: And he's a special player, and he's scored some important
Speaker 2: goals to put us in at the two seed, and
Speaker 2: we'll expect more of that in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Speaking of a special player, Evander sets a club record
Speaker 1: with his twenty second goal across all competition on Saturday. Man,
Speaker 1: old man, what a season he turned in for you guys.
Speaker 2: He's he's been incredible. You know, his to be able
Speaker 2: to acclimate that quickly to a group obviously replace you know,
Speaker 2: a big player in Lucho Acosta. He has this ability
Speaker 2: to make the game slow down when everything around him
Speaker 2: is going a million miles an hour.
Speaker 3: He looks like he's playing a different sport. His ability to.
Speaker 2: To strike a ball and score goals set up other players.
Speaker 3: It's really remarkable.
Speaker 2: If you haven't if you're a neutral and you haven't
Speaker 2: been tql to come see a special player.
Speaker 3: He certainly wanted to come see boy.
Speaker 1: And what a Moment's Saturday Night for the Cincinnati kid.
Speaker 1: Nick Haglan, who suffered a really scary injury early in
Speaker 1: the season in May, hospitalized ten days in Atlanta. I
Speaker 1: talked with him during that process on the show. Was amazing.
Speaker 1: It was so scary to hear what he went through,
Speaker 1: made it back, played, scored Saturday Night. What a moment
Speaker 1: for him in this club.
Speaker 3: That's great.
Speaker 2: Nick is so deserving of all the success accolades, the
Speaker 2: way that people talk about him. He's an integral part
Speaker 2: to the culture, the kind of heartbeat of the club,
Speaker 2: A player that when I first talked to when I
Speaker 2: arrived about four years ago, I knew he was going
Speaker 2: to be a part of our plans. And he really
Speaker 2: is an extension of myself, the coaches down there in
Speaker 2: the locker room, you know, helps helps get across exactly
Speaker 2: what we're trying to achieve. And really happy to see
Speaker 2: him score the other night in front of his family
Speaker 2: and his hometown.
Speaker 1: Chris, I don't want to leave out for someone who
Speaker 1: has had his finger on the pulse of everything this
Speaker 1: club has been through. I don't want to leave out
Speaker 1: Pat Noon and tell me about the job Pat has
Speaker 1: done in navigating all that's come his way this season.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, he's a former Coach of the Year for
Speaker 3: a reason.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's not you know, many coaches that are
Speaker 2: in you know, in Pat's you know, at Pat's level
Speaker 2: as far as to be able to lead men and
Speaker 2: tactically do the right things on the field.
Speaker 3: And he's going to continue to be.
Speaker 2: Challenged with with a really big matchup against against Columbus
Speaker 2: over the next hopefully too, but perhaps three games.
Speaker 3: But yeah, of course, can't.
Speaker 2: Say enough about the job that Pat and staff have
Speaker 2: done to position us with a real big opportunity.
Speaker 1: Your goalkeeper, Roman Cellentito made his return from a leg
Speaker 1: injury suffered in early September, and US national team camp
Speaker 1: produced a clean sheet Saturday night. You've got depth again
Speaker 1: at that spot. How do you proceed at that spot
Speaker 1: versus Columbus.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, Romans, Evan did an incredible job while Roman
Speaker 2: was out. Roman was, like you said, picked up a
Speaker 2: knock in national team camp.
Speaker 3: It was an honor for him to get called up.
Speaker 3: Unfortunate he got the injury. Uh. Roman's been our number
Speaker 3: one for a long time.
Speaker 2: But but we're certainly confident in the job that Evan
Speaker 2: can do.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: We have a young goalkeeper named Paul Walters, a who's
Speaker 2: a Cincinnati kid. So I think we have an abundance
Speaker 2: of talent and depth at that position, and anybody that's
Speaker 2: asked to do the job, I think we'll be ready.
Speaker 1: Let's look ahead to Monday. Here we go again, FC
Speaker 1: Cincinnati and Columbus Crew. When I say FC Cincinnati and
Speaker 1: Columbus crew, what do you think of.
Speaker 3: A lot of anxiety for myself sitting up in the
Speaker 3: booth now it's uh. Look, I think it's great for
Speaker 3: our league.
Speaker 2: The rivalry that you know pre dated myself arriving, but
Speaker 2: that has only grown with the success of both clubs.
Speaker 2: I think it's a wonderful product for MLS. And if
Speaker 2: you are a you know, just a sports fan and
Speaker 2: haven't been out to TQL Monday night, that our stadium
Speaker 2: experience in in game is as good as there is
Speaker 2: in any sport. I'm a fan of all of them.
Speaker 2: Come out. You'll be home in plenty of time to
Speaker 2: see the second half of some Monday night football game,
Speaker 2: which I don't know will be very competitive as Jaden
Speaker 2: Dangles has his hammy injury against the Chiefs on the road,
Speaker 2: so not sure that that. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we
Speaker 2: can beat that product. So you know, please come out
Speaker 2: and support us.
Speaker 3: We certainly are going to.
Speaker 2: Need it, and you should really come be a part
Speaker 2: of something special, no doubt.
Speaker 3: No doubt.
Speaker 1: Very well said Game one Monday TQ tickets available now
Speaker 1: Fccincinnati dot com slash tickets. Hey, I know you're incredibly
Speaker 1: busy getting ready for this. I really appreciate you making time.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed the conversation and best.
Speaker 3: Of luck, Lance. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2: I would just say one more thing six thirty tomorrow
Speaker 2: night at Madtree Parks and Rec and Blue Ash. We're
Speaker 2: gonna be getting fans together, players myself, giveaways, prizes a
Speaker 2: little like Playoff launch party. So encourage everyone six thirty
Speaker 2: tomorrow night, Mada Tree Parks and Rec.
Speaker 3: To kind of fit. This week started on the right foot.
Speaker 1: Love it, love it not bad at all. Hey, thanks
Speaker 1: again Chris, and best of luck.
Speaker 3: Thanks last all right, take care there you go.
Speaker 1: Chris Albright, general manager of the architect behind It and
Speaker 1: the journey. I mean you talk about a thirty for
Speaker 1: thirty and what they've been through from injuries to the
Speaker 1: additions and then the international call ups, mass number of
Speaker 1: call ups and then more injuries and navigating through all
Speaker 1: of it to the number two seed and hosting the
Speaker 1: Columbus Crew after clinching a fourth consecutive playoff appearance and
Speaker 1: twenty wins for the second time in three years. I
Speaker 1: loved what he said about ownership and the ownership group's
Speaker 1: commitment going all in in the pursuit of MLS Cup
Speaker 1: and as He said, it's rare in that leg, and
Speaker 1: it's awfully nice.