Urban Pitch Podcast - The Beautiful Game of Life

New year, new drama. As if we hadn't been talking about the United States men's national team enough, it found itself back in headlines once again last week. The Urban Pitch Podcast crew reconvenes for the first time in 2023 to discuss the USMNT drama between Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family (01:21), the futures of Berhalter and Gio Reyna (18:22), options for the next USMNT coach( 22:45), the 2023 World Cup (30:11), diversity on the USWNT (41:08), and LAFC's new signing (47:41).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

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We made it to the end of the year! In a special episode of the Urban Pitch Podcast, the Urban Pitch Podcast crew recounts some of their favorite memories from 2022, in addition to looking ahead to 2023 and beyond.

Ramsey, Julio, and Brigitte sit down to discuss the wild 2022 World Cup final (02:18), overall takeaways from Qatar 2022 (14:50), highlights from the year (26:47), and New Year's resolutions (32:49).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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A regular face in the Jamaican national team back line, Javain Brown has emerged as a promising young player since fully turning pro in 2021. Now heading into his third professional season, Brown is looking to learn from the ups and downs in his career so far with both club and country.

He's seen significant time on the field in his two MLS seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and now that he has proper footing in the league, Brown can now establish himself as a force. He joins the Urban Pitch Podcast to discuss what he has been up to in the offseason (01:01), thoughts on the World Cup and how difficult it is to watch after not qualifying with Jamaica (06:18), what it's like to play for the Jamaica national team (10:03), how the Jamaican soccer federation can take the country to the next level (21:02), getting used to Canada and playing with the Whitecaps (26:27), and the grind of MLS and where Javain sees himself in five years (37:50), before taking on Julio's rapid fire round (41:18).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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When it comes to the beautiful game "culture" has a few different meanings. If you're talking about things on the pitch, the definition is pretty straightforward — the values a certain team or manager has instilled within its players. And while that's all great, off the pitch is where things get really interesting.

Here, culture has a multitude of connotations ranging from how we watch the game to how we become fans in the first place. It covers things adjacent to the sport — from art, to fashion, to music — in addition to customs, superstitions, and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. Needless to say, we love the culture here at Urban Pitch, and if you couldn't tell by their name, so do the good folks at the For the Culture Podcast, aka FTCUTD.

Originally started by a group of Atlanta United fans, the movement has spread across the country and the collective has become part of the 2Cents FC umbrella. Covering everything the beautiful game has to offer — most notably Black Culture's impact on it and vice versa, we have been fans of theirs for quite some time.

Which is why we were very excited to have two of their members, TK Edmondson and Devin Pugh, join the Urban Pitch Podcast. We sat down with the duo to discuss Devin and TK's involvement with FTCUTD and how they got started with the podcast (01:40), Atlanta United's involvement with rappers from the city and TK's extensive background in music (05:04), thoughts on the USMNT performance at the World Cup (08:25), how the 2022 World Cup has played out overall (31:50), and the expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams (44:48), before they take on Julio's rapid fire round (48:27).

Check out the FTCUTD podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and visit their official site for more info.

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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Plying her trade with Toluca, Destinney Duron has made a name for herself as one of the top goal scorers in Liga MX Femenil. A longtime friend of the podcast, we finally got her on to discuss the jump from college ranks to the pros (05:22), overcoming ACL tears in both of her knees (13:22), Good times at The Base LA and her first tryout with Club America (18:35), making the transition from Club America to Toluca (24:19), the treatment of the men's teams vs. the women's teams in Mexico (35:14), and what it's like living in Mexico (44:06), before taking on Julio's Rapid fire round (49:00).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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In the early 2010s, the LA Galaxy were far and away the premier franchise in MLS. Three MLS Cup titles in four years is a run of success that hasn't been replicated since, and playing significant roles in that winning stretch was Sean Franklin and AJ DeLaGarza. Fan favorites amongst the Galaxy diehards, the defensive pair were lauded for their tenacity, versatility, and reliability — features any manager would want on their back line.

DeLaGarza recently signed a one-day contract with the Galaxy to announce his retirement, which gave him the opportunity for a proper farewell to the fans, one that he wasn't able to give upon being traded to Houston in 2017. He joins Franklin in the MLS alumni, who retired in 2018.

Franklin spent six seasons with the Galaxy, winning two titles in addition to rookie of the year in 2008. His goal against Real Salt Lake in the 2013 playoffs is still remembered amongst fans of the Galaxy and otherwise.

The duo join the Urban Pitch Podcast to discuss AJ's recent retirement and signing a one-day contract with the LA Galaxy (01:15), Julio and Brigitte's statuses as LAFC fans and the El Trafico rivalry dynamic (03:19), Sean winning rookie of the year with the LA Galaxy and coming up in MLS together (08:11), the locker room dynamic with the LA Galaxy teams in the late 2000s-early 2010s (13:56), their current relationship with the LA Galaxy and their thoughts on the current team (17:00), how MLS has grown since they came into the league (21:46), Julio's status as "The First to One" guy and the intensity of LA Galaxy fans (24:30), their favorite moments with the Galaxy (29:10), thoughts on Angel City FC (32:50), Sean's retirement advice for AJ (35:20), AJ's memorable NYC experience (41:11), Favorite boots they've ever worn (43:45), and another memorable night out for AJ (45:04).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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It might feel a little weird, but the World Cup is finally here. In what may very well be the most contentious one of all time, the Urban Pitch Podcast crew discusses all things around the tournament, including why this World Cup isn't hitting the same (04:08), favorite World Cup memories (14:57), thoughts on the USMNT's and Mexico's chances this year (22:47), our picks to make it through to the knockout rounds (37:23), and the recent Cristiano Ronaldo interview and our picks to win the World Cup (47:29).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Although Angel City FC narrowly missed out on the playoffs, there's no way you could objectively say that the club's debut season wasn't a success. From leading the league in attendance to generating a reported $43 million in sponsorship revenue, there was plenty to cheer for in La La Land for women's soccer fans.

One of those also included Madison Hammond, a defender who joined Angel City just before the Challenge Cup preseason tournament commenced in March. Hammond played in nine matches for ACFC in 2022 and was part of a back line that was the strong suit of the club. Now in the offseason, Hammond is back in the lab six days a week, honing her skills and preparing for what she and the rest of the squad hope to be a more successful 2023 season both on and off the pitch.

She joins the Urban Pitch Podcast to discuss what she's been up to in the offseason and her overall thoughts on Angel City FC's debut season (01:40), the stadium atmosphere at Angel City home games and the dynamic within the team (11:07), living in Los Angeles and marketing herself as a professional athlete (22:04), the MLS Cup Final at the Banc of California Stadium (26:50), being the first Native American player in the NWSL (30:39), the Angel City FC-San Diego Wave rivalry (35:30), and the importance of pregame fits at Angel City (43:40), before taking on Julio's rapid fire round (46:02).

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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Why is it so hard to quantify soccer? Advanced stat gurus have been able to do so with other sports, but still have issues in analyzing the beautiful game from a metrics perspective. In his new book "Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game's Analytics Revolution," ESPN staff writer Ryan O'Hanlon explores how some of the world's biggest clubs have begun to use cutting edge analytics and statistics to play more efficiently and effectively, ultimately in search of "the right way to play."

He joins the Urban Pitch Podcast to discuss how playing the game at a high level made him a better writer (02:45), shere he finds himself amongst the "nerds vs. jocks" debate in advanced stats (11:37), why he decided to write a book and the work that went behind it (16:00), and working at Grantland and The Ringer under Bill Simmons and transitioning to ESPN (35:20), before taking on Julio's rapid fire round (48:14).

Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game's Analytics Revolution is available for purchase here. 

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

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When you read "Amor Prohibido" (forbidden love), your first thoughts may go to the iconic first track of Selena's "Dreaming of You" album. But for Bryan Escareño, it goes way deeper than that.

The namesake of his brand goes back to his origins in fashion. When the LA native decided to get into the game, he received pushback from his family, who didn't see fashion as a viable career path. The machismo present in many Mexican families often discourages its children from entering the arts, but Escareño is looking to change that with his creative designs that evoke images from his childhood, but with his own twist.

He's been able to work with the likes of adidas, creating a customized version of the widely acclaimed 2022 Mexico kit, in addition to big names like Tecate, Nike, and Union. But it doesn't matter who he works with, anything that Escareño puts his name behind will have his signature essence — that is, it'll be undeniably rooted in LA.

We spoke to the rising designer and creative mind about growing up playing soccer with Julio (00:01:00), how he got into the fashion world (00:23:21), coming up with the name "Amor Prohibido" (00:27:48), getting to work with big brands, including a recent adidas collaboration (00:36:35), and tips on getting started in the fashion industry (00:49:23), before he takes on Julio's rapid fire round (01:07:00).

This podcast was supported by Bet Online.

Cast

Hosts: Ramsey Abushahla, Julio Monterroza, & Brigitte Flores

Producer: Roy Cho

Subscribe to our newsletter for more interviews and latest news on street football, freestyle, and urban culture, read more about soccer culture on our website, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.