Mic'd Up: The former USMNT midfielder discussed Mauricio Pochettino's squad selection, and dives into what to make of Luis Suarez's Leagues Cup antics
Sacha Kljestan knows what MLS looks like, at this point. He played in the league for a decade, with a European stint in between. He experienced the U.S. college system, moved through the American ranks. Yes, there was the Anderlecht stint – which he is still fondly remembered for. But Kljestan is the model of what an American soccer vet looks like: 300-plus appearances in MLS, four different clubs, 50-plus showings for his national team.
And he has stayed around the game since. Apple TV's MLS Season Pass has offered a new route of exploring the league he loves, where Kljestan commentates on the biggest stories in American soccer. This season, he insists, the highlight isn't Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Rather, it's the league's newest club: San Diego FC.
"Nearly everybody predicted that they would finish in last place, mainly because we knew nothing about them. They had a 34 or 35-year-old sporting director with no experience on the job, a new head coach who had never been a head coach in first-team football before. I think our expectations were very low," Kljestan says to GOAL.
SDFC are top of the Western Conference, and with five points' worth of breathing room. But they aren't the only decent club on the Pacific coast, Kljestan insists. In fact, Seattle Sounders – winners of Leagues Cup – might just be the team to beat.
"They've got depth, they've got a good coach, they've got experienced players, they've got difference makers," he adds.
But of course, there's other stuff going on here, too. The USMNT are perennially part of the American soccer discourse. And right now, things are tense. Manager Mauricio Pochettino is yet to impress at the helm after almost a year in the job. There are plenty of questions about his squad selection. Kljestan claims it's time to stop messing around with the XI.
"For every camp going forward, I want to see no more experiments, or maybe one or two experiments per roster. The rest of the roster should be 15, 16 core guys that we know are part of this national team that play at the biggest clubs, that are going to be in the team at the World Cup," he says.
Kljestan talked all things MLS, Luis Suarez's suspension, and what Pochettino needs to do to change the U.S.'s fortunes in the latest edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportON THE MLS SEASON SO FAR
GOAL: I wanted to start with MLS. Who has been the surprise of the season so far?
Kljestan: Clearly, the No. 1 answer has to be San Diego FC, and what they've done…I think our expectations were very low. I knew Anders Dreyer coming from Anderlecht, I didn't think he would be as good as he has been. He's been the best player in the league, the most consistent player in the league thus far this season, and should be the frontrunner for the MVP. I don't think San Diego even expected him to be as good as he has been. Same with Chucky Lozano. I know they paid big money for Chucky, but I think he's exceeded the expectations that most of us had for him in Major League Soccer as well. So they've hit a home run, and they've been the best storyline.
GOAL: If you don't mind me asking, where did you predict them finishing?
Kljestan: Dead last. And I have no regrets about it. Like I said, we knew nothing about them. They trained together for six weeks before their first game. And let's be honest, when we looked at the roster from the get-go, we all had question marks around many positions on the field. You have to give them a lot of credit because they developed young players. They've taken young players from LAFC and San Jose Earthquakes who weren't going to play there, and brought them over and gave them experience, and have shown that they're going to be good, and then they're going to eventually probably buy those players from those clubs and continue to develop them and maybe sell them on. So I think they've done a really good job.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportON VANCOUVER
GOAL: On Vancouver, they've been a massive surprise. But is their success sustainable? Obviously they made a big signing in Thomas Muller, but is the juice going to run out? Does it seem like it may be analogous to almost like a St. Louis City situation, where they got hot, but it's not quite the right vibe to carry on?
Kljestan: I wouldn't compare them to St Louis. I do think they are a good team, and I do think that Jesper Sorensen is a good coach. I don't think they're great. I don't think they actually have a strong chance of winning MLS Cup. They were really in form at the beginning of the season, and everything was clicking for them. And I think losing Pedro Vite was a big loss in the summertime. Obviously, they had to sell him on to Pumas, and, you know, good luck to him down in Liga MX. I love the Muller sighting, not just because he's a great personality, but I still think he's an amazing player, and he always has been. He still has the ability to score goals and set up plays, and move through the game in really good ways. So I'm excited for that. I do think that center back has always been the weakest spot of that team. To win a championship, you need very good center backs, and that's kind of been proven year over year in Major League Soccer. And so I think if they really want to challenge for titles, they're going to continue to need to upgrade the back line.
Getty Images SportON SON HEUNG-MIN
GOAL: What have you made of the Son Heung-Min signing, both on and off the field?
Kljestan: Amazing. Nothing more to say than his impact is massive and will continue to be massive for Major League Soccer, not only in the States, but I think in Asia as well. I think when you look at the number of people who are paying attention to LAFC now. Just for example, after his first game, we were in the studio: myself, Kevin Egan, Bradley Wright-Phillips, we were looking at YouTube to see how many views every MLS game from the weekend highlights had, right? Most were hovering around 20,000. The LAFC and Inter Miami games were around a million views. I mean, the impact already in terms of who's watching, and most likely from Asia to see Son, a global superstar, has been amazing. And then the amount of fans that are showing up on the road to watch LAFC, mostly to watch Son, I think it's very cool to see.
GOAL: I saw an anecdote where he was surprised by the positive reception he got in Chicago. That seems quite cool, at least from a Eurocentric point of view…
Kljestan: Yeah, very cool. Listen, we've seen this across MLS over the years now. David Beckham was the first where every stadium he went to, fans were coming to see him play. Now, it's been Messi. And then I think Son is the next version of that, and he's just such a likable guy. I don't know how you could boo him, because he's got a smile on his face. He plays the game the right way. He's open and honest with the media. He gives great answers. He's always got a smile on his face.
Getty Images SportON INTER MIAMI'S POST LEAGUES CUP FINAL FIGHT
GOAL: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the Leagues Cup final. What did you make of the scenes after the game?
Kljestan: First and foremost, I would say it's a shame that that happened, because that's what goes viral. What doesn't go viral is how good of a game it was, how well the Sounders played, the spectacle of 69,000 fans at Lumen Field, and Christian Roldan with an unbelievable performance. All of that gets overshadowed by the end of the game and the ugliness. And I'll just say plain and simple, it was embarrassing for anybody involved with Inter Miami. I think every player, every coach, manager, president, owner, fan of that club should and would be embarrassed after that, to watch their experienced players start a fight like that, to see guys off the bench running on the field to throw punches. Overall, it was just embarrassing and a really disappointing end, because that's what goes viral, you know?
GOAL: What I don't get is why everyone was so surprised that Luis Suarez was doing that stuff…
Kljestan: We've watched him in MLS. It's been about a year and a half now, and he's been on his best behavior. We've almost forgotten of all of his past transgressions. But those all come roaring back in that moment where he started another fight. He's gone overboard this time, spitting on a staffer. But yeah, if you look back on his history, it is not a good one.