Speaker 1: It's three pm on Sunday, October twentieth, twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: in Forum, Denmark. The floodlights glare down over Right to
Speaker 1: Dream Park, illuminating the flurries of sleet swirling around the
Speaker 1: ten thousand seat stadium. We're at the home of FC
Speaker 1: Norchlan FCN for short, the pinnacle of Right to Dreams
Speaker 1: football period, the place where it all comes together. Famed
Speaker 1: for fielding the youngest men's team in Europe tonight. Like
Speaker 1: most Knights, the squad is full of graduates from their academies.
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty three, they finished first in the regular
Speaker 1: season of the Danish Superlega and competed in Europe, all
Speaker 1: while fielding a team with an average age of just
Speaker 1: twenty two. As the players walk out onto the pitch,
Speaker 1: Mikey Barras and Tyler Heaps look on from the stands,
Speaker 1: smiling with anticipation. They're about to see the Right to
Speaker 1: Dream method in action. Twenty five years of perfecting a
Speaker 1: style of play while developing incredible young town the likes
Speaker 1: of twenty year old Ghanaian midfield maestro Mario Georgenis and
Speaker 1: the pair of eighteen year old Scandinavians Norwegian left winger
Speaker 1: Sindre Ballet Egele and Danish center back Lucas Folksboy. However,
Speaker 1: it's actually two of the Super League up veterans that
Speaker 1: Mikey is watching closest, twenty eight year old striker and
Speaker 1: local hero Marcus Inkbaksen and thirty one year old defensive
Speaker 1: midfielder jet benz Berskov, two players who will be wearing
Speaker 1: the kromenas Sulam San Diego in twenty twenty five. As
Speaker 1: the team's line up for kickoff, FCN set up in
Speaker 1: their typical four three three formation. Within minutes, players are
Speaker 1: swapping positions at will, fluid stretching their opponents to create
Speaker 1: space and expose weaknesses. The ball zips around short, sharp
Speaker 1: intric capacities as FCNS advanced menacingly up the field, their
Speaker 1: opponent's silkboard back off, dropping deeper and deeper. But then
Speaker 1: FCN lose possession silk orf counteread snee Nigga got. Ten
Speaker 1: seconds later norseland are picking the ball out of their
Speaker 1: own neck one nil down. This style of plaything might
Speaker 1: be harder than it looks. In February twenty twenty five,
Speaker 1: San Diego FC became the thirtieth team to enter Major
Speaker 1: League Soccer, now the largest professional league on the planet.
Speaker 1: But this is more than just another football club. At
Speaker 1: least that's the hope of the club's co owners. Under
Speaker 1: the leadership of Sir Mohammed Mansour, Right to Dream is
Speaker 1: an organization promising to rock American soccer to its foundations
Speaker 1: with a revolutionary approach to coaching and youth development. Anchoring
Speaker 1: the project in the local community is the Sequan Band
Speaker 1: of the Kumiya Nation, the first ever Native American owners
Speaker 1: in men's professional sports, and as the only MLS club
Speaker 1: officially sanctioned to recruit out of Mexico. I mean, this
Speaker 1: thing could really fly. That is, if everything goes to plan.
Speaker 1: San Diego FC is a Right to Dream club. From
Speaker 1: the players they signed to the football they'll play, SDFC
Speaker 1: will be created in the organization's image. In this episode,
Speaker 1: head coach Mikey Vadas and sporting director Tyler Heaps start
Speaker 1: to figure out, now how that's going to work here
Speaker 1: in southern California. Captured in the final months before the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five season kicks off, this series follows sdfc's
Speaker 1: race to field, their first ever team. I'm Adrian, gotta say,
Speaker 1: I'm Markis and this is behind the Flow, the origin
Speaker 1: story of San Diego FC. In September twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: just weeks into the job, Mikey Bodas and Tyler Heaps
Speaker 1: are already working long days. Last night, they had planned
Speaker 1: to reward themselves by popping over the border to catch
Speaker 1: a Sholos game in Tijuana, but in the end they
Speaker 1: had to settle for watching it in the office. No,
Speaker 1: we didn't end up going.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we watched dot TV, but we weren't able to
Speaker 2: actually go. We got caught doing more and more meetings
Speaker 2: and it was I So Tyler and I ended up
Speaker 2: going having a beer at the end of a very
Speaker 2: long day, and.
Speaker 1: It was good. The two men are in the trenches together,
Speaker 1: between hiring sports staff, technical staff, medical staff, managing the
Speaker 1: construction of their training base at Singing Hills, attending fan events,
Speaker 1: and doing media duties. They're beginning to feel the string.
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm still I still have plenty of strength, so
Speaker 3: I'm still staying afloat at the moment. But let's talk
Speaker 3: to me again in a few weeks and then I'll
Speaker 3: tell you what I am.
Speaker 1: Then at the very top of their to do list
Speaker 1: is the small issue of recruiting on entire squad in
Speaker 1: less than four months. Work is already well under way
Speaker 1: identifying the type of players they're gonna need.
Speaker 3: It's age first and foremost. We need veteran players and
Speaker 3: we need young players. Like you're building a team from scratch,
Speaker 3: and so the succession plan of long term success needs
Speaker 3: to be defined. So we're definitely looking for a balance
Speaker 3: from an age standpoint. We're looking from a balance in
Speaker 3: terms of the player types that we get, the ones
Speaker 3: that players that can play both ways, that fit the culture,
Speaker 3: that have the same values as us and all that.
Speaker 1: And then there's the other thing, the football. When players
Speaker 1: finally report in January twenty twenty five, Mikey will have
Speaker 1: a matter of weeks to mold twenty five strangers into
Speaker 1: a cohesive unit and implement the famous right to Dream
Speaker 1: style of play. I know what you're thinking, what exactly
Speaker 1: is the right to Dream style of play? I mean,
Speaker 1: how complex can it really be? Well, it turns out
Speaker 1: it's all about simplicity, reducing the game to core fundamentals
Speaker 1: and speed up decision making on the ball. According to
Speaker 1: Fleming Patterson, the group technical director. It's not so much
Speaker 1: a set of instructions as a way.
Speaker 4: Of thinking the right to team philosophy or right to
Speaker 4: team methodology. There's a lot there in how to simplify things,
Speaker 4: foul players so they are getting even better, and Quika
Speaker 4: to take the right decisions. So the game in itself,
Speaker 4: if you just go out and play eleven eleven, it's
Speaker 4: it's very complex and there are so many possibilities, so
Speaker 4: you can easily get lost in the game.
Speaker 1: The playbook, as Fleming calls it, is the result of
Speaker 1: years analyzing. You wait for Champions League games, the highest
Speaker 1: level in the sport. They crunched the data and came
Speaker 1: up with the most efficient possible game model, a system
Speaker 1: that not only increases the chances of winning, but specifically
Speaker 1: helps young players to develop.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say a real right to dream player
Speaker 4: is a player that are pretty cognitive strong. It's a
Speaker 4: player that are a very good game reader, can anticipate
Speaker 4: game situations because he simply has been taught this through
Speaker 4: his upbringing in one of our academies. And then also
Speaker 4: what we always emphasize is that you need to express
Speaker 4: yourself on the pitch. So for e sac amble in
Speaker 4: the stats of football right now is showing that the
Speaker 4: last two three years the success rate in dribbling is
Speaker 4: less and less, and of course we are not following
Speaker 4: and we don't want to follow this trend. We will
Speaker 4: obviously develop players that can break this trend, and that's
Speaker 4: why also our players can be more valuable than other players.
Speaker 1: The result of all this research is a digital handbook
Speaker 1: breaking the game down into eight phases of play for
Speaker 1: attacking and for defensive. The level of detail is something else.
Speaker 1: For example, there are twenty two different build up patterns
Speaker 1: to use depending on the opposition. In terms of specific
Speaker 1: formations or tactics, it's not one size of its all.
Speaker 1: But if you were to ask Much Davidson, the group
Speaker 1: head of Football, to summarize it, he'd say they like
Speaker 1: to take the initiative and general.
Speaker 5: We like initiative, which means on the ball we want
Speaker 5: to attack and score as much as possible. And we
Speaker 5: want an initiative of the ball, which means we press
Speaker 5: high as often as possible and we want to win
Speaker 5: the ball back as quickly as possible. And then we
Speaker 5: like our constructive game is what we call it, which
Speaker 5: means we don't like duels. We try to avoid getting
Speaker 5: into duals. That's not a benefit of a young player,
Speaker 5: so we want to avoid that. We're playing fast moving,
Speaker 5: fast pressing high up is something where the young body
Speaker 5: can probably replicate more than an older body, So we
Speaker 5: kind of design it in the way that we want
Speaker 5: to give advantagies to young players. But we have a
Speaker 5: very goal seeking approach, which means if we want zero up,
Speaker 5: we want to score for two zero. That's the aim.
Speaker 5: We don't change our mindset because we have a lead.
Speaker 5: We keep attacking.
Speaker 1: It just so happens. This exciting brand of football is
Speaker 1: particularly well suited to MLA. Yes, perhaps even better than
Speaker 1: in Denmark, where it's been working wonders for FC norther
Speaker 1: Inland since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 5: Where the Danish Super League is quite tactical league, which
Speaker 5: means teams are often locking each other a little bit.
Speaker 5: The game can become very tactical and sometimes slow because
Speaker 5: nobody's really taking a risk. You're just kind of waiting
Speaker 5: for each other making for one goal to make the difference.
Speaker 5: Where the MS has more this is thats define more
Speaker 5: intensity and more vertical runs and vertical play, which means
Speaker 5: it's a more open it's a more open league. We
Speaker 5: actually believe that our style of play, which is a
Speaker 5: right Dream style of play, and also how we develop
Speaker 5: players on our academies to play in that start of
Speaker 5: play that can be successful in the meliss.
Speaker 1: Since his appointment, Mikey has been reading and rereading the
Speaker 1: Right to Dream playbook. After all, it's his job to
Speaker 1: roll it out in San Diego once he actually has
Speaker 1: a team.
Speaker 2: I'm already starting to think about what are those positional
Speaker 2: structures going to look like in the first phase of
Speaker 2: the build up, to make sure that we set our
Speaker 2: team up for success based on what our player profiles
Speaker 2: are going to look like and how much training we
Speaker 2: have until our first competitive game. But this is a
Speaker 2: huge work in progress because I don't have a technical
Speaker 2: staff with me, so right now it's my brain going
Speaker 2: crazy pretty much.
Speaker 1: It's a lot to take in, but the top brass
Speaker 1: are confident they've got the right guys in Tyler and
Speaker 1: Mikey to make the model work here in the US.
Speaker 1: Here's sdfc CEO Tom Penn.
Speaker 6: The big challenge in our leadership for football operations both
Speaker 6: head coach and sporting director is We need people that
Speaker 6: are I'll say it, right to dreamy in their approach.
Speaker 6: It would be a shame if we were to get leadership.
Speaker 6: It'd be stupid that wasn't aligned with the Right to
Speaker 6: Dream way, because so much of our strategy is to
Speaker 6: take advantage of the youth pipeline that's coming up from Ghana,
Speaker 6: from Denmark, from Egypt, and then here and have all
Speaker 6: those kids trained to play the same way trained you know,
Speaker 6: we know who they are, and then when you mix
Speaker 6: the best of the best, you get a synergy effect. Well,
Speaker 6: we need decision makers.
Speaker 1: That value that, which is why, despite having so much
Speaker 1: to do here in California, Mikey and Tydler are making
Speaker 1: time to physically immerse themselves in the Right to Dream system.
Speaker 2: The most important thing is to put your feet on
Speaker 2: the ground wherever that place is. Because you can read
Speaker 2: the slide deck so you can get on zoom calls.
Speaker 2: But when you put your feet on the ground in Ghana,
Speaker 2: on the ground in Egypt, on the ground in Denmark,
Speaker 2: you feel the culture right now. You're hugging people, you're
Speaker 2: high fiving people, you're having dialogue four feet away. It's
Speaker 2: a totally different sensation. The next thing is is, yeah,
Speaker 2: you go with an open mind. I go there with
Speaker 2: a clear and open mind to learn as much as
Speaker 2: possible about each academy, each ProTeam. What are they doing?
Speaker 2: What makes it so clearly you know, uniquely right to Dream?
Speaker 1: So before they do anything else, Mike, Tyler and their
Speaker 1: staff are off on a whirlwind world tour of the
Speaker 1: Right to Dream Network. First stup is West Africa and
Speaker 1: the visit to Right to Dreams Original Academy, which, as
Speaker 1: it happens, is about to celebrate its twenty fifth anniversary.
Speaker 1: After landing in the Capitol about Crowd, they drive two
Speaker 1: hours northeast to the small rural village of Old Crotic.
Speaker 1: As twilight falls, they crossed the River Bolta by Faery,
Speaker 1: Mikey and Tyler take in the sweeping tropical force surrounding
Speaker 1: farmlands and the distant misclad mountains. By the time they
Speaker 1: approach the whitewashed buildings of the academy, the last rays
Speaker 1: of sunlight are seeping from the sky. But even at
Speaker 1: this hour in semi darkness, they hear the unmistakable sound
Speaker 1: of a football game, along with children laughing. For Tyler,
Speaker 1: it's a reminder of why he was first drawn to
Speaker 1: the project and what it is they're building.
Speaker 3: Like everybody that you meet has a massive smile on
Speaker 3: their face. They're all passionate about football. And I think
Speaker 3: that's the most tremendous thing about this Project's why I
Speaker 3: join in the first place. It's about the people that
Speaker 3: you work with, and you want to go all in
Speaker 3: on a project, and the only way to do that
Speaker 3: is to obviously be invested in what they stand for
Speaker 3: and and we talk about the values and the beliefs
Speaker 3: and what they do for these kids. And then you
Speaker 3: come here and you see it on the ground and
Speaker 3: you see their smiles and you see how much they
Speaker 3: truly believe in it, and all the staff and the
Speaker 3: sacrifices that they make. We need to now uphold that
Speaker 3: in San Diego.
Speaker 1: Mikey and Tyler have arrived in time to celebrate a
Speaker 1: quarter century of Right to Dreams. Incredible success.
Speaker 3: It's crazy that that's what tomorrow the twenty fifth anniversary,
Speaker 3: and the fact that we get to be here during that.
Speaker 3: But you also see how this place has been established.
Speaker 3: I mean, it truly is a remarkable place in the world.
Speaker 3: And you've seen the players express themselves far beyond it.
Speaker 3: But to come here and see the current group and
Speaker 3: see the staff members that put so much sacrifice into
Speaker 3: this place, it's remarkable.
Speaker 1: Here's a quick history lesson for you. It all started
Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety nine when ex Manchester United scout Tom
Speaker 1: Vernon and his wife took in a small group of
Speaker 1: kids to give them the opportunity their talents deserve. Three
Speaker 1: ended up playing for the Ghana national team, five became
Speaker 1: pro players in Europe, and six graduated from Division one
Speaker 1: colleges in America. Not bad, right, Well. From those modest beginnings,
Speaker 1: Right to Dream grew and grew. Over the past two decades.
Speaker 1: They have produced over one hundred and fifty male and
Speaker 1: female professional players, and with the addition of the academies
Speaker 1: in Denmark and Egypt, that talent pipeline is only getting bigger.
Speaker 1: In that time, their commitment to the educational side has
Speaker 1: never wavered. Over the next few days of their visit,
Speaker 1: Mikey and Tyler toured the campus. They see classrooms full
Speaker 1: of engaged kids studying everything from math in languages to
Speaker 1: social media and robotics. But, as anyone at Right to
Speaker 1: Dream will tell you, the most important lesson they try
Speaker 1: to teach his humility and character. Here's Matt Davits again.
Speaker 5: It's a big thing in our let's say, character built
Speaker 5: of the person, of the of the of the child
Speaker 5: to also learn to help others and give back. And therefore,
Speaker 5: of course, if you have a community or a village
Speaker 5: in for example, and our academy and Ghana, of course
Speaker 5: our hope and what we try to work with the
Speaker 5: players about is that how can I then make that
Speaker 5: area proud and how can I give something back that
Speaker 5: there's a saying in West Africa it takes a village
Speaker 5: to raise a child and obviously that speaks into that
Speaker 5: when you then have a grown up and you have
Speaker 5: done well and you have more than others, then you
Speaker 5: also give back to that village that help raise you.
Speaker 1: As Mikey attends team training, the connection between academic studies,
Speaker 1: character development and the football is obvious to see. Right
Speaker 1: to Dream are creating confident, in intelligent footballers who can
Speaker 1: communicate and problem solve out on the pitch. For those
Speaker 1: who don't turn pro, they will earn scholarships to top schools,
Speaker 1: setting them up for life. Everyone's a winner attending these sessions.
Speaker 1: It doesn't escape Mikey's attention that the technical drills, the
Speaker 1: intensity of their work, the emphasis on passing and possession,
Speaker 1: it's all straight from the style of playbook. As the
Speaker 1: SDFC delegation wraps things up, there's plenty to think about.
Speaker 1: The trip has been a timely reminder of what it
Speaker 1: is they're creating and why.
Speaker 2: There's a certain positivity energy. And then you walk through
Speaker 2: the village and I think you can't help but feel
Speaker 2: humbled and feel like this is something really special, you know.
Speaker 2: And then you get all the way to the fields
Speaker 2: and you can hear the sound of the ball even
Speaker 2: when there's not training. We came in in the night
Speaker 2: and the boys were just playing two five A side
Speaker 2: games right side by side, and the talent is tremendous,
Speaker 2: you know. But more than anything, you can see that
Speaker 2: there's a love and passion for the game that's absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 2: And I think, if anything, if we can bring this
Speaker 2: kind of humbleness, positive outlook on life and also passion
Speaker 2: for the game, I think we'll do ourselves really well
Speaker 2: if we can bring those things from here.
Speaker 1: A week later, they are back in the SDFC offices
Speaker 1: in Little Italy after Ghana, mike and Tyler headed out
Speaker 1: to Egypt for a few days to get a tour
Speaker 1: of the group's newest academy following it's opening in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. It's already fully staffed, fully equipped, and fielding
Speaker 1: teams of girls and boys playing in the recognizable Right
Speaker 1: to Dream style. In fact, on the women's side, FC Mazar,
Speaker 1: their pro team in Cairo, has already won two Cups
Speaker 1: the Egyptian Premier League and finished third in the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four Women's Champions League. How's that for a fast start.
Speaker 1: Back in San Diego, it's mid October twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: and Mikey and Tyler now turn their attention to the
Speaker 1: next leg of their world tour, an intensive week long
Speaker 1: stay at FC Northerland in Denmark. This is where they'll
Speaker 1: see exactly how the Right to Dream model comes together
Speaker 1: at competitive men's first team level. The blueprint for San Diego.
Speaker 2: We've gone to Ghana, We've gone to Egypt, and now
Speaker 2: we're going to Denmark and making sure that we're integrating
Speaker 2: across all of the academies and teams to make sure
Speaker 2: that the style of play that that Right to Dream
Speaker 2: spirit is clearly honored in the implementation of rolling out
Speaker 2: the club.
Speaker 1: Mikey is keen to learn as much as possible while
Speaker 1: he's there. He'll see their matchday preparations, analysis sessions and
Speaker 1: training methods, as well as taking the chance to sit
Speaker 1: down with Motts and Fleming and fine tune their plans
Speaker 1: for MLS.
Speaker 2: I know I'm going to be really close with the
Speaker 2: first team, being able to integrate with the staff, be
Speaker 2: in their meetings, be on the field during their trainings,
Speaker 2: and then yes, strategizing, also bringing to the table, you know,
Speaker 2: my unique perspective, my unique ideas that are already clearly
Speaker 2: aligned with Right to Dream, but maybe have a slightly
Speaker 2: different twist or flavor to them, and then seeing, you know,
Speaker 2: what are the non negotiables and what are the areas
Speaker 2: where my unique perspective can bring added value.
Speaker 1: Crossing the Atlantic once again, Tyler Heaps and Mikey Bodis
Speaker 1: are arriving Copenhagen, Denmark, before driving the twelve miles north
Speaker 1: to Farham. As they roll past an array of Middle
Speaker 1: Eastern supermarkets, Turkish restaurants and Polish delis, they can't help
Speaker 1: but noticing that this small town has an especially international field.
Speaker 1: It's a place that has welcomed migrants from overseas for
Speaker 1: generations and the perfect place to headquarter an international football group.
Speaker 1: When they arrive at FC Norseland's home ground, they walk
Speaker 1: straight out onto the pitch at ten thousand seat Right
Speaker 1: to Dream Park. Mikey looks up at the message emblazoned
Speaker 1: in large letters across the main stand everyone has the
Speaker 1: right to dream. He feels a rush of pride.
Speaker 2: Amazing. I mean, like, first of all the sign you're here,
Speaker 2: And first of all, I think that this stadium is,
Speaker 2: for lack of a better term, is like a very
Speaker 2: romantic stadium because it's like quintessential European rights. It's small,
Speaker 2: it's compact, but you can feel the history here. Then
Speaker 2: when you stare across the field and you see this
Speaker 2: everyone has the right to dream. I think for anybody
Speaker 2: who's involved in the project or understands the purpose behind
Speaker 2: the project, you get goosebumps.
Speaker 1: A few hours later, fcn kickoff against Silksbord. Mikey is
Speaker 1: about to witness the model in action, a twenty five
Speaker 1: year dream coming to fruition. He marvels at the intricate
Speaker 1: quick passing and the purposeful, coordinated movements of the players.
Speaker 1: Then just three minutes in FCN lose the ball and
Speaker 1: silk Port spring their track. Two passes later and their
Speaker 1: winger is released and bearing down on goal. Northland are
Speaker 1: down one nothing at homes against the team more than
Speaker 1: happy to sit back and shut up. Shot. This is
Speaker 1: not going to be easy. For the next seventy plus minutes,
Speaker 1: it's one way traffic. FCN dominate possession and create a
Speaker 1: host of chances, but with time running out they still
Speaker 1: trail one nothing. Then the gods of football faith step in.
Speaker 1: FCN wins the corner. The ball is cleared by a
Speaker 1: silkeboard defender, but it rebounds off a teammate and flashes
Speaker 1: past the helpless keeper own goal. One to one. In
Speaker 1: the dying minutes, FCN do their best to get the win,
Speaker 1: but it's just not their day. The match ends all square.
Speaker 1: Despite the results. Afterwards, Mikey is buzzy.
Speaker 2: What I noticed was that FCN was very courageous and
Speaker 2: how they want to play, very courageous to play in
Speaker 2: even when there's not a lot of space and time.
Speaker 2: I think that there were moments where we were so
Speaker 2: close to making the breakthrough and getting in and it
Speaker 2: didn't quite happen, and at the same time still generated
Speaker 2: some clear chances that could have turned the game and
Speaker 2: the other way. Overall, I really enjoyed the bravery to play,
Speaker 2: to have the ball, to try to go after the game,
Speaker 2: to dominate with that intention, and sometimes it works better
Speaker 2: and then some days, some days you win that game
Speaker 2: three zero, three to one, and some days you tie
Speaker 2: that game one to one. But overall it was really impressive.
Speaker 1: Already imagining his first training sessions in San Diego, Mikey
Speaker 1: saw a lot to emulate, but he also identified an
Speaker 1: aspect in the defensive phase of the playbook that's been
Speaker 1: puzzling him. It's just one of the many things he
Speaker 1: hopes to clarify on this trip.
Speaker 2: On the ball recovery side, I can see some really
Speaker 2: clear principles in terms of compactness, in terms of having
Speaker 2: clear triggers to press. The press I think was really
Speaker 2: really intense multiple actions from every single player, a lot
Speaker 2: of commitments. I think that was really key. And then
Speaker 2: I noticed clearly this concept of in our own half
Speaker 2: forcing to the closest teammate, you know, which I think
Speaker 2: is like so one of the most unique things about
Speaker 2: FCN and Right to Dreams style of play, but this
Speaker 2: concept of in your own half forcing to the nearest teammate,
Speaker 2: this is something that I've had my eyes on really
Speaker 2: in close detail because i want to make sure that
Speaker 2: I respect that and honor that. When we start the
Speaker 2: project in San Diego.
Speaker 1: It's the morning after the night before and Tyler and
Speaker 1: Mikey are sitting in on the postmatch video analysis meeting.
Speaker 1: This is another pillar of the Right to Dream method.
Speaker 1: Data and video analysis comes in abundance and always involves
Speaker 1: the players as soon as possible after a match has
Speaker 1: been played. Money post match sif.
Speaker 7: We think it was a game where were we didn't
Speaker 7: reach our file from the last two games, but we
Speaker 7: kept them on a minimum, and we we feel that
Speaker 7: we created the chances and the optunity to make big
Speaker 7: chances that we can't expect in a against the City Bowl.
Speaker 1: The coaching staff quickly dive into the detail, highlighting precise
Speaker 1: points on style of play, just waiting.
Speaker 8: For the first us within the orow front, noticing the
Speaker 8: inside passes working on different lines, quite contpet structure, yet
Speaker 8: going on the first one. Good that we release, good
Speaker 8: that we slide opposite lines in there line side pressure
Speaker 8: nine to cover the.
Speaker 1: Six, and then rather than focus on the goal, they conceded.
Speaker 1: The group concludes that it was their failure to score
Speaker 1: that cost them the result a simple but fundamental principle
Speaker 1: that they train towards every day.
Speaker 9: But here in this situation, in this sequence, we left
Speaker 9: the rings several times, and then we'll be like this
Speaker 9: slow play touch and touch and then just the past
Speaker 9: from the side. It's really crucial moments these and then
Speaker 9: we recognize this, this is what we train and we
Speaker 9: should almost this blind blindly. These penance soulable and it's
Speaker 9: what makes us good.
Speaker 1: With the time for self reflection. Drawing to a close,
Speaker 1: thoughts turned towards the future.
Speaker 8: Chasing Algrave go to the final post, will go to
Speaker 8: the gross press tomorrow and then again on Sunday. Joan
Speaker 8: playing Anna's awake on Sunday, be collected.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's go. Leaving the team meeting, Mikey is impressed
Speaker 1: with how central these conversations are to the club's strategy.
Speaker 2: It's clear that the alignment and the conviction for the
Speaker 2: style of play is clear across all the departments. Like
Speaker 2: it's so clear because it's impossible to have that collaboration
Speaker 2: if not everybody understands it. The second thing is is
Speaker 2: that the hiring of the analysts is clearly with a
Speaker 2: priority placed on having football expertise and coaching knowledge. So
Speaker 2: I think that that's like that explains a lot, just
Speaker 2: one making sure that everybody's bought in with the style
Speaker 2: of play, and then two hiring people who understand the
Speaker 2: game to be in the analysis department. And then ultimately
Speaker 2: what I would say, what I saw there was a
Speaker 2: learning environment. It was not just about going over what
Speaker 2: the game was, but it's like, how can now we
Speaker 2: take this information and improve as a group in the
Speaker 2: long run.
Speaker 1: Also, Tyler's an analytics gang. He knows the value of
Speaker 1: these sessions. In San Diego, utilizing video review will be
Speaker 1: key to getting the new players up to speed as
Speaker 1: fast as possible.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the whole concept of analysis is extremely
Speaker 3: important in modern day football because when you talk about development,
Speaker 3: you cannot train for ten hours a day, so you
Speaker 3: have to find different ways that you can try to
Speaker 3: educate your players, try to challenge your players, and I
Speaker 3: think this analysis meetings are quite a good way to
Speaker 3: do that. I think that's really important is to try
Speaker 3: to find different ways to educate players, because what we
Speaker 3: know is that not every player understands and takes an
Speaker 3: information in the same way.
Speaker 1: Over the next few days they attend more meetings, but
Speaker 1: it's on the training pitch where things really sharpen their focus.
Speaker 1: Out here with the players, Mikey is in his element,
Speaker 1: and he's not just standing on the sidelines taking notes.
Speaker 1: He's out on the field with the coaches, dressed in
Speaker 1: his e FCY and training gear and cleats. Mikey's all in.
Speaker 2: From a methodology perspective, first, I think the intensity of
Speaker 2: the trainings is in a different level. It's amazing the
Speaker 2: detail of past so and from not just the players
Speaker 2: but also the coaches, of demanding really really strong passes,
Speaker 2: and that speed of play is going to be really important.
Speaker 2: You see other methodologies where maybe it's a slower training,
Speaker 2: it's more just pure tactics moving around, moving players around
Speaker 2: the field, and here it's like that part is done
Speaker 2: in the video session, the warm up is done inside,
Speaker 2: then they come here boom, and everything goes up in
Speaker 2: terms of speed. And then that's why I think you
Speaker 2: see them in the game able to find solutions in
Speaker 2: such tight spaces under so much stress because they're doing
Speaker 2: that in the training is as hard or harder sometimes.
Speaker 2: So definitely going to incorporate that. And I think when
Speaker 2: anybody from FCN comes to San Diego, they're going to
Speaker 2: see that and they're going to say, oh, man, okay,
Speaker 2: it's the same, you know what I mean. So that's
Speaker 2: going to be identical. That's not negotiating for me.
Speaker 1: Aside from the technical level of the training, what stands
Speaker 1: out is how engaged the players themselves are. The level
Speaker 1: of understanding and ease of communication between so many young
Speaker 1: kids from different backgrounds is incredible. Well, it turns out
Speaker 1: that this is the real secret sauce to the Right
Speaker 1: to Dream system. Before arriving here at FCN, many of
Speaker 1: these players have spent two years living, working, and traveling
Speaker 1: together at Right to Dreams Elite Football finishing School the
Speaker 1: International Academy, preparing them to hit the ground running once
Speaker 1: they turn pro.
Speaker 5: The real integration is what we call the International Academy,
Speaker 5: or IA as we call it day to day, which
Speaker 5: is an academy that we call it our fifth Academy.
Speaker 5: We believe that by placing the players, the best players together,
Speaker 5: you have a much higher training environment.
Speaker 1: The IA not only provides a bridge between academies and
Speaker 1: the professional level, but it also gives the players crucial
Speaker 1: time to develop a deep understanding of one another. Technical
Speaker 1: director Fleming Patterson thinks it's the biggest advantage they have.
Speaker 4: Our international academy are quite unique. I'm not sure that
Speaker 4: any other academies in the world that they have this
Speaker 4: kind of academy where they bring together players from different
Speaker 4: part of the world. It's very important, primarily because of
Speaker 4: the integrational part that if a player from Ghana will
Speaker 4: succeed in Europe, it's very difficult to come as an
Speaker 4: eighteen year old for the first time. So here we
Speaker 4: have two or minimum two years of preparation for a
Speaker 4: West African player, like getting used to a much small,
Speaker 4: small structured way of playing football, getting used to whether getting.
Speaker 1: Used to food, and just learning a new culture. Speaking
Speaker 1: of learning a new culture, before Mikey heads home, he
Speaker 1: makes a point to schedule some FaceTime with his own
Speaker 1: players who are here training with FCN. He catches an
Speaker 1: under nineteen session where the Remfree and alex Might are
Speaker 1: both learning the ropes.
Speaker 2: They're in the perfect environment to then make the transition
Speaker 2: because so many things are going to be so aligned,
Speaker 2: you know. But Duran, for example, the quality of training
Speaker 2: that he's getting here every day is incredible, you know,
Speaker 2: and then he's getting games on top of it. His
Speaker 2: progression is great. You have Alex who he's not getting
Speaker 2: playing time right now, but he's learning how to train
Speaker 2: in this methodology. He's learning about how to handle that
Speaker 2: cognitive load with the video and with the inputs from
Speaker 2: the coach, and so like he's gonna come in the
Speaker 2: preseason so much more prepared to then you know, hit
Speaker 2: the ground running there. And then of course Yea and Marcus,
Speaker 2: like they're important players in the first team. You can
Speaker 2: see it clearly.
Speaker 1: Mikey knows that the pair of Danes and Marcus will
Speaker 1: be important pillars in his side from day one, both
Speaker 1: in terms of playing ability but also leading by example
Speaker 1: as right to dream veterans.
Speaker 2: First of all, I think they're top professionals. You can
Speaker 2: see how they take care of themselves, how they are
Speaker 2: around their teammates, how they train, how they play. Yepe
Speaker 2: is like incredible playmaker. I know he's six, but he's
Speaker 2: also eight and ten in the same in the same breath.
Speaker 2: You know what I mean and finding the right spaces
Speaker 2: on the field so smart, almost always making the exact
Speaker 2: right decision that is needed for every single situation, which
Speaker 2: I think is like one of the most impressive attributes
Speaker 2: that a player can have when you just say, like man,
Speaker 2: they just always are making the right decision.
Speaker 1: Waiting to let John the yet at Verskov's creativity will
Speaker 1: be marcus Ingbertson, a Colt hero here at FCN and
Speaker 1: a proven goliadoro.
Speaker 2: And then I think his special attributes is he's always
Speaker 2: arriving in good spaces in the box. It's number nine
Speaker 2: who has goal scoring in stinct, and when you watch him,
Speaker 2: he's always arriving in a space where maybe the ball
Speaker 2: can go and the goal will come. And when you
Speaker 2: have a nine that has that instinct and that confidence
Speaker 2: in themselves, you know that. Okay, now our job is
Speaker 2: just to see how many times we can get the
Speaker 2: ball to them in those spaces, because the goals will come.
Speaker 2: When that happened.
Speaker 1: After an intense few days, the final stop is a
Speaker 1: meeting with Mods and Fleming to review how the trip
Speaker 1: has gone.
Speaker 2: How do you want to start good week?
Speaker 8: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Amazing?
Speaker 2: I think so. The way that I explain. It is
Speaker 2: like my confidence in the project is going up and
Speaker 2: up every trip that I'm making, because naturally when you
Speaker 2: meet the people, it's different. Right, you're in an interview process,
Speaker 2: you're on a zoom, you're reading documents, you're researching. But
Speaker 2: then when you start meeting people, or the time I'm
Speaker 2: spending with both of you, also even spending time with Tyler,
Speaker 2: we're speaking with players together, it's like, now the confidence
Speaker 2: is going up because the perceived alignment that you felt
Speaker 2: in the interview process is like it's coming to fruition
Speaker 2: and it's like happening.
Speaker 1: Mikey has learned plenty, but perhaps the biggest is an
Speaker 1: unexpected one, a renewed sense of self belief.
Speaker 2: So like the trip has increased my confidence not only
Speaker 2: in the group and in the project, but also in myself,
Speaker 2: like tremendously. So I think that that's like number one value.
Speaker 2: The value from it.
Speaker 4: Has that something to do with what you have seen
Speaker 4: or is small that you can feel the trust from everyone.
Speaker 2: So I think it's kind of both. You know, seeing
Speaker 2: the training, seeing the video analysis, how we interact with players,
Speaker 2: right the game plan, how the game plan is discussed
Speaker 2: that's been huge for me, but also to ask the
Speaker 2: questions of the things that I go, okay, why this,
Speaker 2: and then like so much comfort here To be able
Speaker 2: to have those conversations. It has been huge.
Speaker 1: As he found out there were some concepts within the
Speaker 1: Right to Dream playbook Mikey needed to see for himself
Speaker 1: before he could plan on implementing them at SDFC.
Speaker 2: I think to see the style of play more clearly
Speaker 2: in action and like a higher level right because in
Speaker 2: Ghana's the academy in Egypt is the academy, but then
Speaker 2: you say okay translation to first team, because that's the
Speaker 2: project that we're going to be on. That has been really,
Speaker 2: really really important speaking with people about the details. With
Speaker 2: Fleming about the details, I think like my for me,
Speaker 2: like the forcing inside like it's like it became so
Speaker 2: much more clear with the concept of forcing the closest
Speaker 2: to your closest teammate. It's like like bulb boom okay.
Speaker 1: As they prepare for the long flight home, Tyler pauses
Speaker 1: to reflect on the huge opportunity lying at his and
Speaker 1: Mikey's feet. They are building a club from scratch with
Speaker 1: Right to Dream DNA and distilling over two decades of
Speaker 1: expert insight into the game.
Speaker 3: It's probably the greatest part about being in this industry
Speaker 3: is that there is no blueprint of how to have
Speaker 3: a successful team, because there are different ways that you
Speaker 3: can play football. There's different ways that you can structure
Speaker 3: a staff, there's different head coaches you can hire. And
Speaker 3: I do think that this opportunity, it's so attractive because
Speaker 3: you have the ability to do it from scratch. But
Speaker 3: we're also not guessing. We have people that have come
Speaker 3: from unique backgrounds, we have the right to dream football function.
Speaker 3: We have our ownership group that has obviously done in
Speaker 3: a number of different ways, and so we have kind
Speaker 3: of our backbone, and now it's about how we continue
Speaker 3: to build off of it. So it's not easy, that's
Speaker 3: for sure, especially an expansion side, it's almost unheard of
Speaker 3: now in modern day. But it also would make this
Speaker 3: project so attractive with the support of the owners and
Speaker 3: with the clubs like.
Speaker 1: FCN back in their downtown San Diego office, Mikey is
Speaker 1: itching to get going. The trip to Denmark proved everything
Speaker 1: he hoped for and more, and.
Speaker 2: The trip gave me tremendous confidence. Just spending a lot
Speaker 2: of time with Mads and Fleming talking football, speaking football,
Speaker 2: going over my ideas for the first team, and them
Speaker 2: just really doing two things. One providing me tremendous support
Speaker 2: when they were like, yes, that's perfect, go with that,
Speaker 2: but then also challenging me in terms of, you know,
Speaker 2: we really want this aspect of the playbook put in,
Speaker 2: so for example, you know how we defend and how
Speaker 2: we're going to defend in our own half. But I
Speaker 2: would say the integration process has been actually really confidence
Speaker 2: building for me. I came back from Denmark until Tyler,
Speaker 2: I'm ready, Like now, I'm one hundred percent ready to go.
Speaker 2: I don't have any reservations about how I'm going to
Speaker 2: take my first steps.
Speaker 1: Mikey is now getting to work. I'm finessing the s
Speaker 1: DFC version of the Right to Dream Playbook. The only
Speaker 1: slight problem is with only four players on the books,
Speaker 1: it's all entirely theoretical. Everything will hinge on who they
Speaker 1: are actually able to sign. You're up, Tyler. Next time
Speaker 1: on Behind the Flow, It's time to build a team.
Speaker 1: With just over a month ago to the expansion Draft,
Speaker 1: Tyler and his analytics crew have a lot of work
Speaker 1: to do to recruit a squad capable of competing in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. Behind the Flow is a message heard production.
Speaker 1: I'm your host. Adrian garciamarkis the series producer is McAllister Beckson.
Speaker 1: Mark Kendrick is the assistant producer, and Rebecca Ware is
Speaker 1: the field producer. Jake Warren and Sandra Ferrari are the
Speaker 1: executive producers. James Cox and Deck are the production coordinators.
Speaker 1: The sound editor is Lizzie Andrews and music composition is
Speaker 1: by Tom Biddle.