Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

Logan Gdula was gracious enough to spend an early afternoon with us on a Skype interview during our quarantine.

Logan is a young player that's on the brink of MLS. He was drafted #13 overall by FC Cincinnati in their first year as an expansion club (last year). He was loaned to Phoenix Rising and sustained an injury. Came back to FC Cincinnati and made the 18 but never saw the field. But was then loaned to Hartford Athletic to play in the USL close to home. In the offseason, he signed with Charleston Battery to play Right Back.

The MLS is still very much in the picture for Logan. With a fresh start at Charleston and the expectation of seeing the field a lot, things are looking up whenever we get this thing going again.

Logan tells us all about his soccer journey up until his current position. Another great guy with a bright future!

On this episode of Rooster and the Devil, we interview Bruno Lapa of the USL Championship's Birmingham Legion FC. 

Bruno has a great soccer story. He grew up playing the game in Brazil, spent some time on trial in Portugal, and eventually ended up playing for Montegverde Academy in Florida.

From there, he took a path that is traditionally blazed by American soccer youth. He committed to Wake Forest and spent 4 years playing for the University (2016-2019). He was the #10 on the squad, a captain, and a First Team All-American during his time there.

After College, he ended up in the USL Championship and was set to begin his first season with Birmingham Legion FC. And then Coronavirus happened. So, like the rest of us, he sits and waits for soccer to come back. Great conversation with a great young man! Am I old now if I start saying great young man?

Hayden Partain is a midfielder that currently plays for San Antonio FC. 

After spending his college years playing at Wake Forest, Hayden moved to Des Moines, Iowa to pursue his dream of playing professional soccer. After establishing himself with the Des Moines Menance in USL League Two, the USL Championship came knocking at his door. An opportunity to play at Sacramento Republic FC became available and Hayden bought a one way ticket out there. He's been plying his trade in the USL Championship ever since.

After 3 seasons in Sacramento (which has one of the best atmospheres in American soccer), he signed a deal with San Antonio FC this offseason.

Hayden was gracious enough to spend a quarantined evening with Rooster and the Devil talking about his soccer journey. 

Alistair Johnston was drafted #11 overall in the MLS superdraft by Nashville SC. He was drafted to play Right Back after excelling in the position during his Senior Year at Wake Forest.

Alistair is gracious enough to talk us through his incredible soccer journey. From youth club soccer in Aurora, Canada, to playing at St. John's in New York City, to his transfer and position change at Wake Forest, and finally to his current place in Nashville. 

Great conversation with a young player that has a bright future. Thanks Alistair!

After a month of being off due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the birth of a new child, the boys are back to save the world from boredom. Or maybe add to it?

We talk about the season that might never be finished. How the teams looked leading up to the shutdown. Predictions for how things will end up. Financial problems for clubs. Lower leagues. And more meandering from three tipsy old men. We hope it's a nice distraction. It was for us.

After his transfer from the Columbus Crew to Manchester City, and the subsequent loan to German side Fortuna Düsseldorf this summer, Zack Steffen (24) has quickly established himself as one of the top keepers in the Bundesliga. In fact, after 17 games in the Bundesliga, the Manchester City loanee has the fourth-most saves per game out of any keeper in the league, despite missing the last few matches due to a lingering knee injury. 

The boys over at OneGoal.us caught up with the USMNT keeper last week. They talk about his contact with Manchester City while on loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf, World Cup Qualifying, the upcoming friendlies in March, Nations League, Gregg Berhalter's style compared to other coaches he's worked with, long term potential of USMNT, the possibility of wearing the captain's armband, differences between MLS and the Bundesliga, favorite stadiums to play in so far, his time at Fortuna Düsseldorf, and pathway to Europe from US.

We are honored to support the young guys over at OneGoal.us. Go and follow them to keep tabs on all things USMNT.

Long time friend and former roommate of both roosters, Tommy Heyboer, comes on the podcast to be sorted into his Premier League club. 

As with all of the sorting hat episodes, we talk about his soccer history and current interest, run through some of the American teams and sports he follows, and ask him what he already knows about Premier League (trigger warning for Brad: "Harry Kane is a twat" - Tommy Heyboer).

We also lament Tommy's recently torn ACL. An injury that footballers can often relate to.

I recently began listening to a podcast series called "25 Stories that made MLS".

Tutal and his brother Neetol Rahman provide a narrative of important events that  have led to what we now know as an established league, Major League Soccer. We're talking wild stories too. Like diving into why the 1984 Olympics was the true beginning of MLS, billionaires betting to double down on the league in a spot where success was no guarantee, the rise of soccer specific stadiums, what soccer development was like in the 90s and early 2000s, Concacaf Champions League, and more. I can not recommend this podcast enough for soccer fans. 

Tutal Rahman was gracious enough to give us a teaser on this episode of Rooster and the Devil. We hear his breakdown of MLS 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Then take an interesting turn down some US Soccer Development wormholes (in true Rooster and the Devil fashion). Overall, this is a great guy and an enjoyable conversation about soccer.