Stoppage Time Special: Unforgettable Goals and Coaching Dreams
Jul 18, 2024
USL Arkansas
On this Stoppage Time Special, Host Wes Harris sits down with special guest Irvin Camacho. The duo discuss how Northwest Arkansas is rapidly becoming a hotbed for the sport of Soccer, and this episode delves into the factors that are kicking things to the next level. From the influence of the 1994 World Cup to the anticipated frenzy of future global events, we discuss how the demographic diversity and local champions of the game are nurturing its success. Irvin shares insights into the local women’s teams’ achievements and how soccer is much more than a game—it’s a catalyst for connecting people and igniting passions.
But that's not all! Revisit some of the most unforgettable soccer moments, including Loris Karius' infamous blunder and Gareth Bale's jaw-dropping bicycle kick in the Champions League. We'll compare Bale's stunning goal to Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic strike against Juventus and debate which one truly takes the crown. Plus, get the latest buzz on the future of Liverpool's coaching staff, the rising star of Xabi Alonso, and the implications of the Super League concept on European soccer. Whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or simply love a good story, this episode promises a mix of personal tales, football nostalgia, and engaging speculations that you won't want to miss!
On this Stoppage Time Special, Host Wes Harris sits down with special guest Irvin Camacho. The duo discuss how Northwest Arkansas is rapidly becoming a hotbed for the sport of Soccer, and this episode delves into the factors that are kicking things to the next level. From the influence of the 1994 World Cup to the anticipated frenzy of future global events, we discuss how the demographic diversity and local champions of the game are nurturing its success. Irvin shares insights into the local women’s teams’ achievements and how soccer is much more than a game—it’s a catalyst for connecting people and igniting passions.
But that's not all! Revisit some of the most unforgettable soccer moments, including Loris Karius' infamous blunder and Gareth Bale's jaw-dropping bicycle kick in the Champions League. We'll compare Bale's stunning goal to Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic strike against Juventus and debate which one truly takes the crown. Plus, get the latest buzz on the future of Liverpool's coaching staff, the rising star of Xabi Alonso, and the implications of the Super League concept on European soccer. Whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or simply love a good story, this episode promises a mix of personal tales, football nostalgia, and engaging speculations that you won't want to miss!
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast. This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast. So I coach up at Sporting Arkansas, so this is just from where we live and proximity and also culture that they're driving there with scott and what he's done with the club, and just seemed like a good fit for us and so we've loved it. Um, and so my uh oldest is about to be eight, so he's on the 2016 boys. Oh wow.
Speaker 1:
And so we have four teams, uh, that I help coach and about 32 kids and it's awesome. So I was just there last night. And then my middle one is not quite ready yet for like an age group team playing other squads, so she's in their pre-academy program, so I help with that as well. And then my little little one she's at. It's actually a program I think they're based out of rogers or spring happy feet, I guess. Now it's called they. They've rebranded, I apologize feet first. Uh, so fc horizons. Uh, puts that on. Um, so the owners of tribe uh appear at rainbow uh, and off topic, but on top.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, did chris tell me that you're a liverpool fan?
Speaker 1:
I am so we've we've asked if we've had battles at the Champions League yeah, yeah, yeah. And mostly you guys get the better of us.
Speaker 2:
Do you ever have flashbacks of was it Karius, Uh-huh Of?
Speaker 1:
Loris Karius. Yes, that game, that game. I want to forget that game really, really hard. I have flashbacks of Karius' blunder in the first five minutes, and then I I have flashbacks of carius's blunder in the first five minutes, and then I also have flashbacks of bale's uh of like that was just incredible, by the way, uh, which I think you have to give credit where credit's due. What do you think? Well, that was just the nail in the freaking coffin and it was just like the way that he did it, in the fashion he did. It was just like so in your face.
Speaker 2:
Which one did you? Did you find more appealing the bicycle kick Of Gareth Bell vs Liverpool or Cristiano Ronaldo vs Juventus? Which one did you like more?
Speaker 1:
Even though I hated it at the time, I liked Bale's.
Speaker 2:
I think, even though Cristiano says that his was the best, I think Bale's was the best.
Speaker 1:
It was so pretty, so pretty and just the form Perfection, like just everything, the way it developed. I knew it. As soon as I saw the ball come in the air and I saw him twisting and he was getting ready to go into position, I was like oh no. And then it was just like this slam home into the corner. It was unreal just that.
Speaker 2:
That first goal though the gareth bell first goal like I don't get. I guess carius was just not in, wasn't it stay? This was not there, you know a mental slip. And did he? I think he got removed right, he wasn't the goalkeeper the next season. Yeah, no man after that it was Y'all won a Champions League.
Speaker 1:
We did, we did, we did. Yeah, not the next year, but I think the year after. Then maybe y'all might get Xabi Alonso as your new coach. We're getting there, we're getting there. I, uh, I would hate to be the guy that has to follow Jurgen Klopp, uh, but I do. You know, I think Javi Alonso's got one of the. He's one of the most impressive coaches not just young coaches, but impressive coaches in Europe and what he's doing at Liverpool, you're top of the league right now. Right, oh, my god, yeah, he is, and, and Liverpool is and, and Bayer Leverkusen is, and they, they just beat Bayer.
Speaker 2:
Munich. I'm glad someone's finally taking that trophy away from Bayer.
Speaker 1:
The competitiveness of the other five leagues is starting to improve, which is a good thing, so at least in my opinion. So I think it's boring to watch, yeah, the whole Super League concept. It's boring to watch the same teams and compete for the same things over and over and over and over. Well, I'm happy for your team, thank you. Yeah, it's. Uh, I'm still in my mourning process. I've not quite come to acceptance yet. So, uh, jürgen klopp is leaving at the end of the season. For people that don't know, he's probably one of my favorite coaches of all time for liverpool. So, uh, restored us to glory. But you know, that's what soccer means to you and me. Talk a little bit, because it's special and it's different. Talk a little bit about what soccer, or football, means to the Latinx community.
Speaker 2:
It means a lot. I mean, if you look at, for example, next Level Soccer Arena, you know what.
Speaker 2:
I'm saying right, I do, I play there, so we also have I'm also part of a pro wrestling company, okay, and we actually have our shows at the Next Level Arena, but like in a little back room oh, that's too funny. So we're there a lot and I used to do voter registration there as well, at the Next Level Arena, and you see people that come directly from work to go play. Like this is like their outlet, you know, and sometimes they come with their kids. Some of their kids are screaming. Sometimes it's like a family event.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes there's some fights that happen here and there, you know, because people get really passionate about it. People really, really care about the sport and they care about winning, yeah, and they care about their team. Yeah, you know, one of my friends used to run a local, like friends, uh, used to um, run, uh, local, like it was like fundraising, fundraiser tournaments, soccer tournaments, and there was this one time where, like, the ref didn't show up and I was forced to ref. Oh, wow, and it was. It was a team. It was a team, like, mainly comprised of mexicans versus a team mainly comprised of salvadorians. Oh, boy, and uh, any time that I would call a wrong play, like they'd come and yell in my face and like I felt like they wanted to, you know, be violent with me.
Speaker 2:
But I didn't take it that way because I'm like they're just really they're passionate about the game, is passionate. And if they're passionate, and then on social media I see how passionate they are about the teams that they support. You know, america, chivas, chivas like there's just such a big rivalry there and people you know buy their shirts, try to go to all the games that they can go to. So, seeing all those different things, through my experiences, I've realized what the sport means to people. Yeah, and even when, when this project was announced, uh, I saw the amount of shares that it got and the people that were like, oh, we finally got something for us. Yeah, you know, and uh, and what that? What that means to a community, I think, is what it means to this community is really special, and I bet you feel that You've seen it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Well, that's what we felt in some of those listening sessions, right, that we did with that community in particular, and God, it was the passion that was there, and you know people trying to get me on the hook saying that we're going to have players that are from their communities and my son wants to play for you and this and that, and that was tough, because you know it's disingenuous of me to just say that, yes, 100% that we're going to have. Will we create the pathway and the opportunities that those players don't currently have to be able to build a pathway to pro 100%. Do I think that the talent is here? Yeah, because there's been talent from here exported to professional organizations already. So, yes, it's here. I can't sit here and tell you, though, I'm not the coach, I'm not the GM or sporting director, but we're going to do something, and that's the intent is to provide that pathway that we don't currently have here. So keep the talent in NWA.
Speaker 2:
I recently learned that not talking about NWA, but Arkansas that the goalkeeper for the Japanese national team is from Little Rock.
Speaker 1:
It's wild, right, wild. Thank you for joining us for this Stoppage Time special of the Pitch to Pro podcast. If you've enjoyed the conversation, you can click watch the full episode here. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the Pitch to Pro podcast, the official podcast of USL Arkansas, available on YouTube, instagram and everywhere you get your podcasts.
