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Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States.
Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know.
Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of youth sports parenting in today’s competitive environment.
For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.
Okay, good morning.
Weird, huh?
Intro
Good morning.
We usually do this at night.
So I don't know what we sound like in the morning, but you'll be the judge of that.
Well, this interview you're about to hear is with Morten Grahn.
He's the former NYCFC Youth Academy director.
But we recorded this conversation last summer before the
podcast was really kicking in and this was one of our early ones,
which I think gave us the confidence to move forward
But as Morten was preparing to
leave New York, he was returning to Denmark with his family.
And it took us a while to publish this episode, not
because of importance, but because in the narrative, we were waiting for
the right moment in the life of the podcast.
So as we kind of progressed in the last few episodes, we started hearing voices that
Over the past few episodes, we heard voices covering costs, culture, development, and pathways.
And as the conversations came together, it felt like this was the right time
to introduce a different perspective of the outsider looking in.
So before we jump in, Matt, let me just ask you this.
If I came to you or year ago and I said,
we're going to be sitting, you and me are going to be sitting in a basement,
interviewing what is the former academy of NYCFC.
What would your reaction be?
Well, if it meant hanging out with you in a basement, then
I would have been it would have certainly been a very positive reaction, but I
probably would have questioned your sanity and optimism, but that's something that I do on a regular basis.
But here we are.
Morten brings that perspective.
He's worked inside European academies.
He's coached across continents and he's spent four years inside youth
development at the highest level in this country.
He's come to understand the U.S. system
but he also sees it with fresh eyes, which we value tremendously.
Yeah, and what we got wasn't just an interview.
It was really a perspective.
And at this point in the life of the podcast
this feels exactly right.
This is a little bit of a technical conversation.
It's about system, environments, everything you love, long-term developments.
And Matt said, I use the word systems too much.
And why progress in youth soccer is rarely linear.
So it's the kind of episode that lands best when you've already
lived with us and with the same with the questions we've been asking
lived with us and with the same with the questions we've been asking
for the last few weeks.
Here's our conversation with Morten.
I really appreacitet this,
because I think everything
that we can do to support, to help, to
educate, to improve the youth development
from all angles I'm happy to contribute.
Liron: I love soccer.
I used to, I try to be a goalie multiple
times in Israel to horrible results.
the, when Lavie got kind of started and,
and he said, he always said to me, you
know, what, what position should I play?
I go, you can play anything,
you know, you're amazing.
Just don't be a goalie.
And of course that was, I literally,
But he would have, you know, he'd
have like, uh, the, the Schmeichel
posters and so for him, Denmark.
Yeah.
So yeah, Because Leicester just
won the championship in the Premier
League when the boys were just kind of
kicking into what soccer was all about.
So I was going crazy
Watching And then, and so,
so yeah, Casper Junior.
Casper Junior,
Morten: That was, an
accomplishment for sure.
that, that was a crazy year for sure.
Liron: yeah.
So for him to grow up like to
understand soccer for the
first time, seeing that,
that was an amazing moment.
Morten: Um, Obviously he plays on
the national team in Denmark and
the new national team head coach.
We we worked together um, 14 years
ago, is it
must, 13, 14 years ago.
So that was the first time
when I came to Copenhagen.
I was hired to be individual coach
for the transitional national
team players in Copenhagen.
So I was a young.
Young, 30-year-old, uh,
lived one year in Africa.
Uh, so I came back from Africa
after being in an academy down
there and, and went to Copenhagen
The assistant coach for that U 19 team
was Jacob Neestrup and he is now the
head coach of Copenhagen's first team.
Matt: Oh
my gosh.
Morten: So team, it was us
three you know, young, just
working, trying to do our best.
And we actually ended up winning the
championship that year in Copenhagen.
Matt: So Morten, How did
you get into coaching?
When did you realize you wanted to
be a coach and what specifically
drew you to youth development?
Morten: Alright I, I've practiced this to,
to try to do it quickly, to go through it.
But, uh, first of all, I,
it's just been a privilege.
I've, I've been in soccer my entire life.
I started playing when I was four and
now I am 43, 44, uh, around the corner.
And I've done it and I'm still doing it.
And I. I love the game.
I, I'm passionate about the game.
So it's just been such a privilege to be
on this journey, and I'm still learning,
and I'm still growing and developing.
This is the amazing thing
about this sport, right?
That we, we keep learning and we keep,
and it keeps developing and growing.
But I, I played Youth Elite
Academy up until I was 18.
I didn't make it to the professionals.
I started coaching already at 18.
I was an assistant.
I started as an assistant U 12
coach under the head coach of the
U 12 team was, uh, Johan Lange.
And is now currently the
sporting director in Tottenham.
So I think we, we Had a passion
for the game and, and tried to
teach and help help kids, right?
So I took the journey as
a coach, took my licenses.
Coach from U 12 to U 19 in the youth
space over a, a decade, uh, or so so the
environment that I came in, it started to
have full-time roles and I was 28 like,
oh, this, I want to do that because I was,
I took, I was a, an elementary teacher.
I was working as an elementary
teacher during the day.
You know, bike on your shoulder, running
down, cycling to training, I could do this
full time, that would be a game changer.
So I was fortunate to get that in 2009 in
link B. So that's when I started actually
to become a professional coach in 2009.
And that took me to Ghana one
year where I, and near I'm sorry,
but I worked for Red Bulls.
They had an academy
in Ghana.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I can never be president.
No.
So I was one year in Africa,
which was fantastic, right?
I was 29 years old and that's when I
changed and came back to Copenhagen.
So I was there Copenhagen for 10 years.
Ended up coaching the U
nineteens in the youth league.
And then I transitioned into
sports management, head of
coaching, player development.
And then that's when I. He ended
up coming to New York as an
academy director four years ago.
Now full circle back to
Copenhagen with my family
Liron: I'm not gonna bulk Scandinavia
altogether, but Sweden I know had a very
advanced youth program for many years.
That and the league, the professional
league there has, is was one of
there a lot of English coaches
there during the seventies.
I'm surprised A, to hear that
But it sounds to me like from your
story that your breakthrough moment was
really as a coach, not as a player.
So did you realize that
Morten: Oh, definitely.
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
And I think we talked a little bit
earlier about you and your son and
being a goalie and making it as goalie.
My dad was a coach.
So I grew up, I was on the field.
He coached low tier
sixth, seventh division.
You know, spare time, earning some more
money for our family so we could travel.
We had three, I grew up with three
kids, so that was a way that we could
get more money and make a living.
And he did that.
And I was always with him.
So he actually made the journey to the
best, the highest league in Denmark and
coach one year in the highest league.
And that's when I was 18, 19.
So I think it, it was destined for
me to dive into this and do it.
And I loved it.
I loved every
Matt: It's amazing that over a 15 year
period when you went from all of a
sudden having this realization that
you could have a profess, you could
be a professional and really focus on
it, and you went from Copenhagen to
Ghana to New York and going back, I'll
bet you couldn't even have dreamed.
That
this is what the journey could look
like, and you'd have the impact you've
had, you know, on a global basis
to a degree, which is incredible.
Morten: no, thank you.
Yeah, no, for sure.
I might be slightly different in
that sense because I've never been
a person that said, I wanna be, you
know, Moreno, I wanna be the best.
I wanted to be the best at the job that I
had.
And then at one point you start
to feel, oh, I might need a
new challenge or something that
can challenge me a little bit.
But I, I always I pretty
much stayed long term in.
In some of my coaching roles.
It was never, I just enjoyed
it and tried to do my best as
possible and that got recogni nice.
And then I moved on.
And then I think I made some good
choices in my career where I was
lucky to get into good environments
that helped me progress and develop.
And I actually think that it's the
environment and we'll talk about it
because it's the environment in my opinion
that shapes and develops and educate
and grow coaches have the development
of the players and also the people.
So it, the environment is key for
Liron: You brought up
something, and this is.
something in, in our previous
interviews we've heard quite a
bit about this idea of culture.
So the, would you consider Denmark
as having a soccer culture when you
were growing up?
It is the
most popular sport there.
Right?
Morten: This the most popular sport.
It's what you most kids.
Go to stadiums stadium.
Everyone has stadiums, even the
local clubs to the big clubs.
I just mentioned the first club
that I played in and started
coaching was the small club.
And in 92, as the Copenhagen came in
and they took the national arena and
we were actually at the small club
playing in the small stadium, looking
over at the national arena, and its
the Copenhagen as the big brother.
And we were like, we will get them.
We had that, that, that fight that
we were fighting internally that we
believe we were good, but they were
just so good, so much better than us.
But you know, we it was fun to actually
go to that stadium and then look
behind us was the massive FC Copenhagen
Stadium and then at the, at one point
ended up being there and seeing players
that you develop, play in that arena.
Yeah.
It can still give me goosebumps.
I think that's the biggest one.
If it gives you goosebumps
to see players talent.
Or even staff members that you work
with, colleagues you work with, make
it, and it gives you goosebumps.
You know, you're in the
right realm, of development.
It, that's what gives you the thrill.
And it really does.
Matt: We're gonna talk a lot
about environment and culture.
I'm curious what, what drew you to
come to the US given the soccer culture
here and what you either knew of it
or thought you knew of it, and then
how has that been different as you've
integrated over the last four years?
Morten: what happened
was, it was right around
COVID Some things changed in
Copenhagen in terms of my role.
I felt that I've surpassed it.
I wanted a new challenge.
It wasn't really possible because
the academy director who was
in Coppenhagen has been there.
And by the time for 10, 11 years,
he was the one that's built it.
Right?
And, and, and he was not going anywhere.
So that's kind of where it started.
And then the first opportunity was
actually New York, so that's when I
started to really dive into MLS New
York, the development of the league
New York City, then city football
group, then all of these things.
So I started to dive into that and this
opportunity to come and the feeling
of how fast MLS is growing, how fast
the soccer is growing, being able to
actually come in an impact and, and, you
know, try to make a, impact on things.
It.
Not necessarily here to marginal
gains, but really impact and
drive it and, and see if we can
make some positive progressions.
That was really attractive to me.
Right.
And I think in Europe we might have
a slight misunderstanding or lack of
understanding, probably better lack of
understanding of what the American system,
ecosystem soccer, youth development is.
And I think I was very positive, surprised
So to expand a little bit on the MLS
next, I think and maybe also for your
listeners that the league is constantly
looking and engaging the MLS academies
and the Elite Academy in how can we
improve our structure, our rules, our
events, our competition to essentially
increase the player development.
That's always the center of the
conversation that we have with the league
and across the MLS and I think you, if you
wanna drive player development and if you
wanna drive leagues, it's a, it needs to
be a collaboration and a, and an alignment
in this is what we're trying to do.
We're trying to develop players and
let, for example, we had the U 15
seventeens and nineteens as a lead
structure in four months, six months
time,
Matt: switched it.
Morten: conversations happened.
MLS the league, the board, the
owners, the rep, and they flipped
it from 15 to 16 to 18th.
And in my opinion, best thing to
do because now you are aligned
with schools and the clubs has
now a complete pathway for players
where they can stay in the club.
Even through their high school, and
if they either make it to college
or they make it to pro, they have a
continuous pathway in the ecosystem
or the club that they're in.
Where in, in the first year we had
to essentially, we didn't have any
other program in their junior year,
so they had to go now find another
club the last year before they
would potentially go to college.
So we would select the ones that
made it and the rest was set
up for a challenging year at a
very crucial time.
If you look holistically on the
person and the players and the
families and the people, I think
that was really strong change.
And they just did it because it
was the right thing to do for play
Liron: You know, it's amazing that
you say that because, and I'm
sure again, Lewis Robles would
be so happy to hear that.
Out.
I was, one of the comments I had for him
was that I come from the parent point of
view, I'm on the outside, but things are
not always transparent to the parents.
They don't understand the
process.
This is why this podcast exists.
But the
parents on the outside
don't understand.
We have conceptions of what soccer
is, very primitive idea of what it is.
And when we see changes
happening by yearly, ah, it
could be age, size of the field.
Now it's nine, nine now,
it's things that are
Matt: quality play, better use of
Liron: of
play.
All of a sudden it
actually
that
instability reads is chaos.
Or it reads as you go, wait a minute
I've just learned how to this, and all
of a sudden where you go, look in Europe.
they have the same system
running for you know,
40 years, and look how
much, far further they are.
How do you,
what is the team's responsibility to,
to try to educate.
the parents on the outside,
especially at the young ages?
Morten: We ha we have to do a better
job for sure, because as you said,
lack of communication or transparency
or clarity, create uncertainty, and
essentially that's the last thing we want.
We want people to feel comfortable, safe.
We have you, right?
We have you here, follow us.
We take your hand and we'll
guide you through what we think
is the best for development.
And I think that was the strength and the
weakness that I said in the before, right?
Because if the changes happen too
quickly, you don't really get to settle or
see the impact of what's going on, right?
It just changes again.
And now we have to communicate to
the parents, why are we doing this?
And now we're doing that.
Sometimes you have to speed up, you
know, you can't really know how the
path will get you there, but you know,
you're getting closer and closer, right?
And I think those deviations you probably
need to in a, to a certain degree, right?
Matt: I ask you a question?
When you mentioned that you're getting
closer and you're getting there, are
you measuring that based upon homegrown
players making first team appearances?
Are you basing that on kids from the US
going to Europe at 16, 17, 18, whenever
they can get passports essentially,
and their quality is good enough?
What does that look like for you?
Morten: Yeah, that, that is essentially
what you have to look at, right?
What quality of players are we then
producing and how can we essentially
measure what tier that our talent
development are placing our talents in?
You can also measure it on sales, I
should say, right?
You can measure it on minutes of minutes,
played at the highest tier in your
club, so how many players do you get to
your first team that produces minutes?
That's how we measure it,
and I think that's, that's a
pretty global, global standard.
How much.
Contributed the talent and the
homegrowns or the academy to the
playing minutes in the first team
while still achieving the targets that
your current club would like to have.
We want in New York to be
competitive to, to play the
playoffs, compete for trophies.
Other clubs might be just
okay with the season.
That's, that's not playoffs,
maybe not playoffs.
It doesn't really impact them too much.
So the goal for us is to get our players
into our first team, contribute with
minutes while still achieving the
strategy and the goal of the club,
which is playoffs for, uh, competing for
trophies, winning trophies, et cetera.
If we can do that, then we can
consider us quite successful.
That is internal.
The external is the, is
the financial side, right?
The return on investment is
your business with the business.
So you have to measure and figure out how.
How, how is your
sustainability in the academy?
What value do you bring to
the first team, but also what
revenue do you bring in that?
That's my job, my role, as an
academy writer, to make sure
that we have that talent flow
and the talents are good enough.
So when you say that, when you ask me,
is the league doing good enough job?
I do think when you look now, I ha I don't
have that statistics, but if you look at
minutes played by, let's say U 21 players
in the acade, in the league that came from
academy players now and from four years
when I came back, if you take took that
would be an interesting statistic, right?
To see how many mid is
actually played by you.
21 players we can say, because
then it's players that came through
the academy from four years ago.
Do they contribute more or less
Matt: Number increasing
or staying flat or, yeah.
And it's
Morten: Because then essentially
the academies are more healthy
and they produce players that
are good enough to play in MLS.
And I think that's where we, we did,
we did do some statistics in, in, in
the, in, in the past when I came in.
So where MLS and academies in MLS
has an advantage compared to the top
tier academies, uh, around the world,
is to transition to senior, we can
transition players to senior quicker
than in other leagues, maybe due
to level, but also the, the lack of
relegation and, and, and promotion.
I'm not necessarily thinking that
is a healthy thing for a competitive
environment and to drive and progress,
but I do think that it allows clubs
to play players earlier and all
statistics shows that if you want
to produce talents that can sustain
a career at a higher tier than MLS.
Sickening.
The, it's very obvious that
they have to debut younger.
They have to debut around seven
18 and be good enough to play, to
end up in a career that's higher.
If you debut at 21, 22,
you probably stay at Level
D
Matt: Wow.
Morten: or I, sorry, I said Level
D. That's an intern, but at mls,
Matt: Yeah.
Liron: So you know, it's
interesting that you
bring this up because I remember the
orientations we had at N-Y-C-F-C.
You do a presentation, then we
have a couple coaches, then I
think it's the head of Yeah.
Sporting director.
And when you do that kind of path,
there's a couple of slides that show path.
You know, you bring up the examples that
there is Phil Foden, and then there was
maybe one example that was internal,
but in a way for, but
For the parents themselves
it almost was a, it wasn't
transparent because
what you just explained is so
beautiful about this idea that the.
This idea of the club having
the development is to try
to push these young kids
into the
next levels, but when you show
examples like Phil Foden or these
things are so external, they don't
mean anything because Phil Foden is
Manchester City, and it's not N-Y-C-F-C.
So
the the message you just try
to relate how does how can you
relate that better to parents to
really understand what the path is
Morten: yeah, for sure.
And obviously it's a challenge when
you make a very specific, if you take
a very specific example, I think that
the, what we try to say is that there.
There are several levels of
professional level where you end up.
And the, what I spoke is from a club
perspective and try to build and create
players in a sustainable environment.
Financially, you need to have those
players or try to develop those
players, but let's call them rockets.
It's the same to say that Messi is the
only path you can do, or Messi is the only
level that you can play the
Liron: Ex. Exactly.
Morten: And or Christiano,
Ronaldo is everyone.
Ah, but Christiano, Ronaldo
was 16 or he played it.
Yeah.
But and when I say this, these are
the rockets that can help me generate
some revenue from a transfer.
But then there are the, all the
other ones, and I think that was
our point is I can talk about
the rockets and the ones, but.
Most of our players, they follow a normal
trajectory and end up at the highest
level In the, in, in your domestic
league or that that's what we see.
And a lot of them, that
debut actually drop off also.
So it's also sustaining your career
once you break through, you also have
to be able to sustain it and be there.
But and our point is that there
are several ways in those pathway.
Don't be discouraged if
you are not on a rocket.
Don't be discouraged.
If you're not messy.
There is still an opportunity and a
way for you to become a professional.
We made a statistic in Denmark
and I will challenge them.
I think it's the same when I look, but
when we looked at the U 17 national team
selection, and then we looked at the U
20 ones, 50% were away and 50% were in.
And it's because it's, it is very
difficult in those age groups and
on that path to choose, right?
And to also see who are the
potential that can perform now.
But you also want the performers,
because you're competing as
a national team to get there.
But the point would be you have
just as big a chance as those
who are in, if you are out at U
17 to potentially make it at 21.
Liron: Wow.
Morten: That's an
encouraging thought, right?
That okay.
I have just a big a chance as the guys
that's already there because it and I
set that in our, in, in our conversation.
You know, when I show
you our geometry, right?
The stack, it's not where you are in the
stack, it's how good you are at climbing.
And people tend to look at where I am
rather than how good I am at climbing.
And the worst thing that happens is the
guy, the people that think they are at a
certain stage on this staircase to where
they want to go and they stop working
or they think they're entitled to, or
they think they should have, or I should
be, or I am, or if that's, then it can
start to really impact your development.
Liron: when you say that, do you
Amazing analogy, and I've seen it.
But do you think, when you say people
are you referring to, especially
at the younger age, the combination
of the player and the parent?
Or is it just, you're just
focusing what you think?
Just the player itself.
Morten: I do think that in, in youth
development parents is a key factor
in the kids' development, right?
If you as a parent think you
are not, you are, and that.
That's where it gets a
little tricky, right?
Because we, you grow as a parent, you
grow up with your kid and you have a
big impact when they're very young.
You take them to, to the practice.
You talk to them.
You might even be on the
field to help because of the
program you're in or whatever.
You take them to the park, you have
that really strong relationship where
you're actually helping and supporting
and slightly coaching probably, right?
But then at one point, when they
come into the elite environment and
they progress and get older, you have
to separate yourself from being a
coach to being a parent and trust the
environments and trust the process of
what's going on and support as a parent.
And I think that's where we can,
that's where we can help parents,
because for most parents, this is
the first time that they do it.
But for the clubs, this is 10, 15, 20.
However, what our experience is.
How we develop and how we help and
support the players and that's where
that separation is difficult for
a lot of parents because they say,
but then I don't have an impact.
Yeah, you have a huge impact.
You have to support them with all the
life skills, with all the support,
with all, when they're sad when they're
happy, that's when you
are a parent, right?
And you make sure that they eat well.
You make sure that they get their sleep.
You make sure when it's a rough
day and they don't really wanna
go, that you're still there to
take them, to keep the engage.
You know, if you are on that elite
track, that is where the parent has
to support and that's where they
should be because that will also
build your relationship with your kid.
Matt: Yeah,
Morten: If you try to be a coach and
it breaks you, then you have to be a
parent because now this is not, no longer
there, the identity is no longer there.
Matt: can.
Morten: what happened then?
Matt: Yeah.
Such great points.
Can you talk a little bit about the
difference from what you've seen with
American parents versus parents in
Copenhagen at the Elite Academy level?
Morten: I so it it's, oh
Liron: Mor Morten, don't worry,
you're leaving the country.
You can say whatever you want.
Now,
Morten: I have a parent on the
Liron: oh, don't worry, man.
Matt: Don't, and by the way, we're
not looking for names, just gen
generalizations.
We're
Liron: gonna broadcast
this in New York, don't I?
I got you.
Morten: I, I, first of all, I think
you, as a parent, this is your kid.
You have to, in a certain degree, have
the relationship with your kid, right?
And, and, and, and make sure
that you keep that relationship.
And some, some kids like engaged parents.
Some kids might not like engaged parents.
I do think that parents should be allowed
to watch their kid and to be allowed to be
around the environment, but I also think
that parents should understand that they
are not the coaches when they're there.
And that is the biggest challenge, right?
That they are so engaged from
and it's always from a positive,
no, no parent would, would do
something to hurt that child.
When they do it.
They do it from a good heart to
how can I support and help my kid?
So they feel that they can do
something, push them, whatever it
is, shout at them on the field.
I've, so just to take it back from my
experience in them, we went through that
journey of changing that culture of how
parents behave on a training or on a
game day while still having them close.
Instead of separating them and
saying, no we, we don't want
to, we don't wanna talk to you.
You just leave your kid by
the gate and then stay away.
I don't believe in that.
I don't believe in it
from a humanistic side.
And I don't even think that it's the right
thing for the kids because it's, every
kid likes would like their parents and
they have a relationship and they grew up.
So we have to find the right way
to, to be together in this journey.
But also understanding the different
roles that we have as a parent,
as a coach, as an environment
to sustain a positive culture.
And once it gets sour and negative,
and I hear parents and I see kids
turning around talking to their
Liron: Huh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Morten: That is over the
line, way over the line.
'cause now you're not
helping your kid at all.
Now it's now you're discussing
with your kid or you're fighting
with your kid on the field and they
can't do what they're there to do.
And then it's not helpful.
So that we need to support and help
and educate our parents to understand
that is not your job and your
Liron: How do you handle that?
Because we
Morten: and it actually,
Liron: I, we see it in our, in
teams here where kids interact
with the parents back.
How do you, when you
see it from the side,
how do you handle that?
Morten: my approach is
to talk to the parent.
If I, if when I see it or experience
and I see that it is too much, I will
engage with the parent or I'll, I'll
let them know my observation and give
them a recommendation on how this
should be to a very extreme degree
where you actually think that this
is not, this is a used word hurting.
That's not what I mean, but
it's counterproductive to the
development of, for the player.
You could essentially tell this
parent, you cannot come to training.
You have to stay away from training,
ground them for a week or a month
or whatever and maybe it needs to
come to that at a certain point.
Matt: We
Morten: But I do like the communication
and the openness of talking and
explaining it rather than just,
you can't come here and you're out.
Liron: Yeah.
Morten: of X, Y, and Z, then you're
uncertain and you start questioning.
And then that starts to, to give
all this, conversation and thoughts
and complaints or whatnot, right?
So that, that has been my approach.
Instead of keeping parents away and,
you know, out of your reach, bring
them in, explain to them, talk to them.
We try to do parents meeting.
We, there was no parents meeting when I
came, so we did it once a year, right?
We tried to also use orientation
to provide some information
and some ground rules.
Creating a code of conduct
to what we believe is the
way that we should do things.
Trying this, but essentially
comes down to the conversation.
We also invited parents into
the IEP chats and the midyear
and the end interview review.
Even at your 16 and U 18, right?
If you wanna join in this conversation,
come in and listen to what we are
actually talking to your kid about.
We can't do it on a day to day,
right?
Because that's when
they're in our environment.
And that's when we need to also have.
Have that space to do our job.
I don't think, I don't think a teacher on
an elementary school would allow a parent
to sit with the kid in the classroom.
It, you know, that doesn't make any sense.
But we do try, and I do wanna stand
for a culture where we try to have
the parents close and educate rather
than away and keeping information
away and only through the kids.
I don't think that, I think it
creates more problem for us.
Liron: I it's like when in a sense
we're, I know we're jumping all
over, but, which is really good.
But,
Matt: the idea of, let's say winning.
Liron: or losing again, I'm talking
about from a parent point of
view, I go, okay, I have my son at
academy in New York on paper.
This academy should win every game.
I'm just, you know, especially
playing against non academy teams or
whatever.
Obviously it's never like that.
The team professes that.
It's not about winning or losing.
A parent sometimes doesn't.
understand that process because
they, if you said the analogy in
Morten: I, can, I can,
Sorry I'm jumping in
because it is also, by winning and
Liron: Okay.
Let's go.
Morten: the nature of the sport is to
win
Liron: So help us out here.
Morten: and we have to, yeah.
And no, but we have to accept that it, it
is also about winning and losing, and when
the player step on the field, they should
be competitive and try to win the game.
If you go on the street with your friends
you're not gonna say, I'm just gonna use
my left foot because I wanna practice.
No you wanna go and the one we
want is to do it in all sport.
It is about the competition and
competing, and that is the driver,
and that is the excitement.
That's the feeling that's,
you know, the nature of it.
What we do have to do as an elite academy
and in development is to not let that
impact the decisions that we are doing.
From a development standpoint, if we
make the results in winning the driver
of the decision that we are making,
then it's, we're making a mistake.
So we, we have to make our decision
according to how we wanna develop, how
we wanna, I play a development model.
We could talk hours for that.
You know, how do we wanna play,
how do we wanna train how do we
challenge players to move them up?
Players that are late
developed to move them down.
Managing player talent.
That is the decision that is
driving from a talent development.
And then we go on the field and then
we have to teach our players and our
environment, you know, to try to compete
and win, not do a good performance, right?
Maybe we win, maybe we lose, but
we are competing when we are there.
Matt: Okay.
Morten: I think that is the difference.
It
has to be a natural thing that we.
We do it.
If we take that away it
it loses the essence did.
Liron: No I think
It's something that, that we've
Discussed with about before
and it's a great distinction
that you just made.
And it's.
part of what we're saying.
here, I, I wish maybe this interview,
when we edit it, we should play it
before every orientation because this is
Exactly.
the kind of Incredible.
information that, that I love to, to hear.
Go ahead, Matt.
I'm
Matt: No, that's okay.
I was just gonna ask a question as it
relates to this to a certain degree,
which is there are safe to say, whether
it's at N-Y-C-F-C or Red Bull or
any of the MLS academies, there are
players on those teams at the U 13,
U 14 level that could fairly easily
be replaced by other kids who are at
Elite Academies, not MLS academies,
who may be bigger, faster, stronger
score, more goals, could maybe even more
technical, more like whatever it may be.
How much are you projecting out when
you invest in a U 13 or U 14 player
who you say he may not be there now,
but at U 16
or U 18, we think this player
can be exceptional and has a
path to become a professional.
Morten: I think every club, if
that's an elite academy or an MLS
Academy has those challenges, right?
'cause when we, when we distinguish
between current performance and
future potential, we're trying to
use our experience, what is potential?
Try to define what is potential, what are
we actually looking for when we are trying
to say what potential is, according to how
the game will look in 5, 6, 7 years ahead.
When you do that thing, you have to
keep the players that you believe has
the highest trajectory towards that.
But it is a crystal
ball.
Nobody has that answer, which is also
why it, it becomes very difficult to
separate performance and potential.
'cause we have a tendency to say
performance is also linked to potential.
Liron: Huh?
Yeah.
Morten: And where it becomes tricky
is, especially in those age group that
you mentioned, 13, 14, 15 sixteens.
'cause the physical difference
between the players are so massive
that the impact and the, and what
we would say the impact in the game
towards winning is very different.
Matt: Yep.
Morten: So the club needs to understand
the distinction between the two,
try to as good as we can to predict
and then essentially manage what
opportunities we give to the players.
And that's how we, so we
have a nice little geometry
Matt: I
Liron: you I listen.
I warned
Matt: everybody.
we knew we were
getting into triangles and diamonds here.
Morten: of some circles, but essentially
if you look at three circles and
you have performance, potential
and opportunity, and then you have
the assessment of the players.
So what we do is three times
a year we assess our players.
We ask everyone to assess their
players on current performance and
future potential to map, to have an
idea of what we're talking about.
When you have that triangle of
opportunity, et cetera, what happens
is that we need to manage talent.
And this is back to the decision
that I was talking about.
The decision that we make is
not driven by winning the game.
It's driven by player development.
If you have a player that is performing
highly who might not have the abilities,
the skill sets, the athletic, maybe
the athleticism even, because you
can see that it's powerful now, but
it might not translate into when
the other ones picks up on speed.
You might not have the technical skills
the mentality to climb the staircase.
So he is high on the staircase, but
he is not a really good climber.
So we can see the other ones are better
at, and maybe they, the trajectory
is higher, but if we give all the
opportunity to that kid and very
little to the other kid, we're not
setting ourself up to be successful.
It will happen that the get
with the potential will drop off
and not play or not be there.
And the other one will keep going
until the other ones picks up
and then they might fall apart.
And we essentially lost an opportunity.
And talent, this is very difficult because
we're trying to predict the future.
You never know what the future is, and
this guy might end up being fantastic
and the other one might not have it.
That is, that's just the difficulty of it.
But it's also the interesting part of.
Being on that journey.
And look, and it's fascinating, right?
We try to be better at how do we then
assess and what skill set is actually
transferring into the modern game
when it's getting faster, quicker
decision making is higher maybe more
chaotic because we see a tendency that
it's swinging into more man men and
pressing and you have less time, right?
It's less, less organized
in a sense, right?
What skill sets is the potential to to
transfer into how the modern game is
going to give you an example, right?
So we need to manage and give
the opportunity also to the guys
that are not performing well and
believe that process will help us.
Matt: Yeah
Morten: Is very
Liron: so, what you're saying obviously
I'm not, I'm just trying to, 'cause when,
again, as a parent looking at
things from the side, we're very,
parents are simple for us as
this player is better.
than this player.
He is
very simple, binary.
But
if I understand at least what
the attempt is that every
Player on this team.
this top academy level has the same
somewhat potential within their path to
grow into you, something you believe in.
Whether
we on the sideline think,
oh, this kid is much better
than that kid, but that's
not how you see it.
Morten: And that's and essentially
it's not how you, this is exactly how
you should think to put it like that.
You should think that everyone that's
in your environment, you try to grow
to, to what the maximum could be.
So essentially what is the hard part is
the filter, which players are, can we not
see that they're going on that trajectory?
And that is the conversation
after the season where we have
to talk to players that we need
to release you because we have.
Our environment cannot give
you the opportunity enough
for you to keep developing.
So you need to find an environment
where you have more opportunity to
maximize your potential and your talent,
because we can only accommodate so much.
And the older they get, the more
specialized they be on position.
Maybe there's two or
three in front of you.
You don't, we can't give
enough opportunity to everyone.
It's better to give a lot of
opportunities to then a selected few
rather than expand too much, right?
So that's when we start to say, we don't
think that we're in the right environment
to do that, or we don't think that you
potentially can be pro in our environment.
Liron: Martin
Is, this, are these
philosophies and ideas, things you
brought with you from Scandinavia
and how youth development is there?
Or this is something that you've came
into a running system because there's
a reason why you were brought in and
Matt and I were curious about that too.
Morten: I do think that it's.
In Scandinavia.
I think one thing that, that
we are in Scandinavia, in
Denmark, you mentioned Sweden.
Liron: Iceland now and Norway,
Morten: we're very organized, right?
We're very structured, very
organized, sometimes very rigid.
I've spent my life try to be
more pragmatic and not being
too rigid in that system.
But we do like the system and
we even called it at one point,
oh, what did you call it?
Coordinated technical development or
something the way that Danes are trying
to organize and structure things So this
is a very systematical way of thinking
of an organism, essentially, right?
try to put 'em
in boxes and.
Stigmatize a little bit, right?
And I'm not saying it's perfect,
but I do think that it gives us a
reference point when we are talking
about players and talents and the
decision that we have to make on a day
to day, week to week basic will help
guide us, hopefully make more informed
decisions on these very subjective,
difficult decisions that we have to do
right?
Liron: Is this a legacy?
you are
leaving behind?
Is this a system that you've implemented
Morten: Yeah it is.
And I think also because we're part
of City Football Group, some of these
things are also transferring from city
football group that comes from Manchester,
which is also probably a European way
of thinking and organizing an academy.
So I think that collaboration
and hopefully that over time
will be a competitive edge for
New York City ffc, who I wish.
Obviously only the
best for and I see a massive
potential still, right?
We, there's so many things we
can improve and will improve.
And I see that New York City can be that.
But the structure in the organization
it's developed over four years.
Some for me, some from the
culture, some from the environment.
Some of it was already in place, so
it, the organism develops organically
this is the structure and the framework
that we've been using Since I came in.
Matt: Can I ask a question about.
Can I ask a question about New York
City, but I think New York City, not
the football club, New York City, the
geography, which also applies to any
other large metropolitan area, whether
that's Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami.
I do think New York is
slightly unique just because of
proximity of the amount of talent.
But I think it's also a microcosm
of the United States, like is the
amount of kids playing soccer at an
elite level or a fairly elite level?
Is it a blessing or is it a curse because
of the pure number the volume and the
ability to identify, find the right
kids to a certain degree, find the right
families because as you said earlier, I
mean that that is incredibly important
when you think of the level of commitment.
And ultimately grooming and
developing the best players.
But it's like, it's just like,
are there too many kids playing?
Morten: I think there's several things
in that kind question and where we're,
so the first thing I'll say, and you
talked about the volume, the density,
the diversity here in New York and
the sports culture that you have.
This is, for me, this was the,
this was probably the biggest
driver for me to come here.
Besides that I got the
opportunity to actually get the
job, but when I was, when I was
looking at the potential that New York
has and if they can afford that, I
don't see why that could not be a top
three soccer capital in the world.
I don't see, I do see a lot of
limitations, but I also see the
potential, and when you think about
the athletic system, the sports culture
the volume, the, I do think that.
There needs to be a massive improvement
of what happens in soccer world from U six
Liron: Ah,
Morten: to U 12.
But from, this is a very harsh
statement from my point of view.
Most of this is driven by
companies and revenue and numbers.
It's not driven from player
development.
Liron: pay
Morten: doesn't really matter if it's A,
B, C, D, E, or F that comes in the door.
As long as my business is running and
as long as my bottom line is green,
we're golden And there needs to be
a more systematic approach and also
potentially look at play to play model.
'cause you're essentially taking a lot
of families and kids away from the game.
Maybe.
I don't think you can go completely
away from play to play model, because
even in Denmark you pay a tuition in,
in, in, in any sports, uh, you go to.
But it's just 20 percentile of what
the cost is here in this market, right.
And it just keep going.
And, and even at 15, you still have to
pay thousands of dollars to play the game.
And, and, and I do think that is,
that is holding the development back.
And I think that needs, we need to
look at what we do in that space to
improve the, the fundamentals and the
basic of, of those talents to really
maximize the potential of players.
Or, you know, do something.
I I, I, I don't, I don't believe in
early specialization, but at least better
Liron: No
It's.
ama 'cause we talk about this a
lot here on this program, but the
idea is removing barriers, right?
So more kids
have access to the sport
at an earlier age.
Yeah.
I know teams here in in New York
pay-to-play teams that have for
certain age group four or five
full rosters of teams where
they'll travel with 24, 25 kids.
And you have parents who pay
three, $4,000 a year and their
kid plays eight minutes a game.
You're
absolutely right.
Morten: Yeah.
So that, that's a business model, right?
And it's not driven by player development
or so, so I think that, that's a big
one to look at, to unfold the potential.
I'll go back to my prediction.
I still think that US is on a
very positive track when you
look across, especially the
elite levels that I'm looking at.
So the potential is
here, the volume is here.
The sports culture is here.
The diversity is here all around.
The talent is here.
It's the environment that needs
to grow, develop, and improve.
And I think you probably can
answer this better than I do.
I can, but if you think 10 years
back, 15 years back on environments or
where, what opportunity you had as a
player back then to what opportunity
you have now as a player, let's just
take a random 13, 14-year-old at
the highest level you would play.
What, what is being done to this?
Your 14-year-old to what was being done
to a 14-year-old, 12, 15 years ago?
If you look at that path, I think
you'll see how far you've come.
Matt: Yeah, it's.
Morten: And this is not a, this is
not for me a linear, uh, progression.
It's actually an exponential.
If you think about it, right?
'cause one challenge, one challenge,
one challenge, residency, uh, academy
structure, uh, competitive leagues,
more leagues, battle leagues.
It, it, it, it takes off.
And that's why I think that
within five years you'll see
top challenge come through.
You have a materials output now, right?
From La Galaxy that went to Dortmund and
he's playing the World Cup as a oh nine.
Matt: Yeah, it's amazing.
Morten: It's amazing, right?
It's it's amazing.
And, and he was the youngest,
uh, consistently playing player
in the youth league, right?
It was oh, sixes, oh,
sevens, maybe a few oh eight.
And, and he played as, as an
oh nine at the highest he lead
level in, in, in, in Europe.
Right.
So you, that's what I mean.
The talent is here.
The talent that the potential is here.
It's, it's systemized.
It's organizing it's environment
and building the environment
stronger and stronger.
And that takes time.
It's, it just took time.
But it, it's come a very long
way, I believe, from where it was.
Um, all the way back to Linman, he was the
one that said, oh, the, you know, the club
needs to take ownership on the development
of the players and create academies
rather than schools and, and, and whatnot.
How it
Liron: Do you, do you think the coaches,
this is cleans, men, bringing up, cleans,
men, thinking about you and what you've
contributed, do you think the American
coaches are growing as on the youth
level are, are growing as quickly as
the game is, or is there a gap here as.
Well.
Morten: oh, I probably nowhere in the
world can we keep up with the speed of,
of that development, but we, we, we, I
think we're always chasing after, right?
It, it's, it's a few that's
actually impacting and, and,
and making those changes.
But, uh, I, I, I, what I have seen is
the investment that US soccer and MLS has
done in education and continuous education
and improving the coach education.
I think that is the right path.
Um.
We can always be better and we
can always be more experienced.
And I think now with environments
getting better and the, and the
standard and the, and what has to be
delivered in those environments, that
is, that's where the education comes.
It goes back to me.
It, I, I, I, I did not become a good
coach because of my a license and my P
license on my B license or mobile license.
Right.
I didn't get to drive my car
just to get a driver's license.
It was getting on the road and driving
and driving and driving and driving and
driving and driving and driving and done.
That's when I learned to drive.
It's the same with coaching.
You have to get into the environment.
It's not, the license is an access,
but it's the environment that we need
to build and create and the standard
and what we deliver that is developing
the coaches and then it's a, it,
it's, it's a, it's a triangle of the
environment and the person and, and,
and the task that we're given, right.
That, that will improve.
And I think that has improved.
From what I've seen, I also seen a change
in, in approach in how we play the game.
I've seen a change in how we
manage talent, especially if we
go to MLS next pro level, which
is just above the UA teams, right?
The, the step between academy and
first team, when that initially got
brought, it was kind of launched like
you wanted to win it and it was a
trophy and it, it, that was the game.
So a lot of academies and clubs
invested players to win the trophy,
but now it's academy players, right?
The, the age is dropped significantly
on average from playing minutes in
MLS Next Pro 'cause the, the academies
learned that it doesn't make any sense
to win the trophy at MLS Next Pro.
It makes a lot of sense to get the
talent in to play so they can play
in our first team and then we can
start to compete and win for a trophy.
That trophy doesn't, doesn't, it's
competitive in it's, but it's again.
Winning is part of it, and
we have to do what we can.
But the decisions that we
make cannot be driven by it.
Matt: Yeah, it's a great.
Morten: first team, yes, clear first,
team winning, first priority, and then
we start, and then we have to also
develop and do that, but we try to win
Everything else is decision to make that
first team as strong as possible with
your talent, with your whatever it is.
Matt: Can, can, Can you touch on a
little bit the relationship between
professional academies and elite
academies as far as player development,
but ultimately the alignment or
in some cases, lack of alignment?
I guess as a parent, I would sit
here and say the goal if my son was
playing in MLS in that next academy
would be to get to a high enough level
of quality that he is good enough
to play at N-Y-C-F-C or at Red Bull.
And the club should be
doing everything they can.
In order to make that happen Also, not
just for my son, for everyone who's
playing like that should be a victory.
One would think is that false?
Morten: I,
no, I, no, I agree.
I, and I agree and it's not.
It's not to take anything away from the
work that's been done in the Elite Academy
because we essentially need everyone.
We need everyone to be successful
as a city
to produce top end talent, be proud of the
city producing players and having teams
that can compete to win the trophy as New
Matt: Yep
Morten: and in New York.
And in that sense, there
needs to be a common goal that
is happening because you essentially need
to understand where you are in, in, in
the food chain, in the soccer food chain.
Because we're, as New York City ffc, we're
just in the middle of everything, right?
There's a lot of teams and clubs above
us where we essentially can get it.
We need to solve the food chain is,
if I can use that word, to also make
sure that if players are getting
through, how can we then also help
and accommodate the elite Academy?
So it's not just we take and then they
don't get, or there's no qui, pro quo
We need to, that ecosystem
needs to be stronger.
I think we're in a good path
with MLS made the grant.
I think Academy is trying to do, how
can we collaborate with the club?
So there's also something from our end if
that's education, if that's methodology,
if that's coach, education, whatever we
can do to help that ecosystem.
So it's not just us taking and everything
just come to us and we're the best.
So give it to us.
It, that cannot happen.
Matt: I is there
Morten: I do think that the Elite
Academy should have, hopefully
is the same proud and pride if.
New Yorkers come through.
And essentially that would
mean that your best player or
two best players should play
there.
And you should be proud that they
play in New York City FC and they're
on that track to get to the pro
level because it's that's how it
is.
Matt: Yeah, I, no I agree with you.
Do you think there isn't that general
alignment as strongly as it could
be because of the financial lack of
incentives for that to happen?
Or is that ultimately
Morten: I think finances financial
is one part, but there's also
your product as a club, and you
being competitive and playing.
And I do think that one thing
that I'll say about the US
Bank, it is a lot on winning.
You get measured a lot on results.
And I think that's, that is, maybe I'm
talking out of turn, but speaking out
of turn, but it is an American culture.
Matt: Yes, for
Morten: high school to this coach is
15 and oh, or this is he, his tenure is
you want 255 games and lost only five.
And you don't really hear about if
he actually developed any players.
But it's this promoting and providing and
celebrating the winners and the stars.
I think that's a more of a cultural
thing.
I think at an elite academy level, I do
recognize and understand that there
is a competition between them to have
a good program, to have the players
in that program, to, when the players
decide between a LB, you would like
to be the one that they choose.
So you are the second tier, right?
So you have that fight down there,
and I think that, that is, that I can
understand will hold some clubs back
to essentially protect some of their
best players to keep their program.
Competitive and you see it,
they celebrate on free access if
they qualify for players or not.
And it, it makes a lot of noise and it,
oh man, we should go to this club because
they have a better program than this club.
But, it's not necessarily the truth.
Matt: Yeah.
Morten: And I think if we could find,
essentially, if you could find a common
ground or alignment on that, then
New York can be really successful.
Liron: The financial part is interesting,
Matt, that you brought up because
if, let's say mid oval or Cedar star
lose a player at a U 13, U 14, even
15 to NY not lose, but the player
graduates to N-Y-C-F-C, besides the
fact that the club now at mid oval at
that point not just lost a tuition of
the player, they've lost their star
player, which might weaken the resolve,
but they really have nothing in return.
So their thought process is just, let's
just get the next tuition and make sure
that player looks good at some tournament.
'cause that's really all they have.
So that development kind of ends.
The second a pro club picks up that player
right there is no chain that connects that
player anymore to, to their youth club.
If they continue into the
first
Morten: Essentially the business model
can still work 'cause it's tuition based.
Liron: Right.
Morten: But as anyone who, who puts
in a lot of sweat and effort in
developing a player and then you
see them go and you don't really,
Liron: You don't reap the rewards.
Morten: you don't read the rewards
of it besides the goosebumps when
you see the person making it through,
which is obviously a reward, but from,
we would have the same, we
developed this player from U 12
to U 15 and then he goes for free.
We would also be, no, we,
this was an asset for us.
This was something that, that.
Potentially gives them, so every
club, of course, will have that
feeling and, and rightfully so.
So that is what we need to figure
out how that could look like.
And I don't, I don't have the, the
solution to it, but I do, I do acknowledge
it and I also do see that it's, it's
something if we could fix it in a
better way, better way, that could
incentivize probably a better transition
in that flow and that food chain.
Then the second part becomes, as
you said Leon earlier, you, everyone
can watch the game and see this
kid is now better than this kid or
impacting the game more than this kid.
So what is the selection, what is
the talent ID that we're looking for?
Is it just a high performance that
come through to the environment or
is it, are you actually sending the
one with the high potential or how do
we do if we could, if we could, I do
think that it's a long way, uh, come
a long way and, and my understanding
is we have a good relationship
with a lot of the elite academies.
Are communications to understand
the pathways, et cetera.
But, but, but yeah, if everyone, and I
think that's what you see in Barcelona,
for example, all the, they can produce a
player that goes to Barcelona's Academy.
Oh man, that, that's worth
so much more on their plat.
Matt: I agree.
Morten: Then it actually is that
they get money because we develop
a player that's good enough to
go to them.
Wow, look at
our program.
Liron: Yeah.
Matt: And
Morten: And they work towards
that.
Matt: And I think it's, we often
take our eye off of the ball, which
is losing sight of what's most
important, which is the player.
And these are, and the,
and these are kids, right?
And I think everybody's guilty
of it, whether it's parents and
their involvement or elite clubs.
Or professional clubs like it,
it's easy to take your eye off it,
because, how many kids are in the
New York C in the N-Y-C-F-C Academy?
You must have to, yeah, but I'm saying,
but it's whole, you still have like, what
is it, 200 kids or something across all
age groups that you had that you're, yeah.
104. But you're responsible
for those kids, right?
To a certain degree and that
they have experience in the development.
And that's one club.
If you take some of these other clubs,
there's 2000 kids, there's 3000 kids.
So you end up thinking about, I think,
the club as opposed to a kid, which is
easy to do, but it's so important that
in some capacity there's a check to make
sure that it doesn't happen, you know,
as frequently as it seemingly does.
Morten: Yeah, no, I
understand what you said.
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
And, and, and, and I, I do see all
the, and that's why, I mean the
environments are increasing because
everyone is increasing their environment.
We've seen that across, right.
That it's not, hopefully we developed
and people say that we've grown in, in,
in the years that I've been in here.
Um, but the Elite Academy
is the same, right?
And, and especially here in
New York and the Northeast,
it's very competitive league.
There's a lot of, there's a lot
of competitive talents and, and,
and players that can compete.
So I think it's a, it's a very strong
competitive market that we are in
compared to other markets in the US where
they struggle more with that, right?
Um, so everyone is trying their best,
but I do think you are right if you
put the player in the center, and
if you see if, if there is a player
that is good enough to potentially
go that, and then they should, they
should go on that journey, right?
We should allow them to go on that
journey, which is also happening, right?
Just clear that, that
Liron: So.
Morten: Do also have players that come
Liron: So I wanna wrap up, I
don't want to wrap up, but I
know
there's the 11
o'clock coming and first of all,
Morten Wow.
What, what an experience, uh, Morden.
We usually, uh, wrap up interviews
with, uh, what, what we call
like, rapid fire questions.
Matt, you want to kick that off?
Matt: yeah, you're.
Morten: already there you
triggered my competition,
Liron: there we go.
I wanna see if you're here to win.
if you're here to win or not, let's go.
It is not
about yeah let's
perform.
Matt: You're
Morten: let's perform,
Matt: Morten, you your favorite
Danish football player of all time.
Morten: Michael Gro.
Matt: Was that a tough one?
Liron: What?
A you know what a
softie What a question.
Softball
that, was a softball.
Oh.
Morten: Yeah.
But for me, because I
grew up in the eighties.
This, listen, this is me getting
pulled out of bed at 10 o'clock at
night after I slept two hours by
my father watch 20 minutes because
that's all we could see about Spanish
League back then on television.
So we, he pulled me out
of bed to watch the game.
In the middle of the night for me as
a kid, a 6-year-old to watch Michael
Lauro play for Barcelona and you
could see three games in a year.
And that was Real Madrid.
It was the whatever.
This is this.
This was my And what a play.
Wow.
What a play.
Liron: Got a profile of a player.
Yep.
Morten: a person.
Liron: One advice that beats all advice.
to parents,
Morten: Be a preant.
Liron: Not a coach.
I've been doing it
all wrong, god dammit.
Matt: it.
What?
Same question, but as it relates to kids
Morten: Challenges is a good thing.
Matt: you learn much more in tough
times than you do in easy ones.
Morten: and, and this is me speaking
from how to develop a player, a
top player throughout the system.
You need to be able to go through
that adversity and still overcome.
You said, how do we remove the Roblox?
My job is to add Roblox.
Liron: Okay.
Morten: The more I can put a Roblox
and challenges, I think the better
the chance I have to build and create.
But I do think that there's a tendency
that we wanna remove it, but it's
not the, it's not the highway you
Liron: so the stairs you show in your
presentation is not an escalator.
It's not an escalator.
You
Have to
climb up.
Morten: Our job is to make,
so challenges is a good thing.
If you're not playing, it's a good thing.
You don't change your mindset to that.
And then I think you have a you
can, you're better at climbing.
Liron: US national team versus
Denmark National team, U 13 to U 17.
Prediction they play
today, U 13 all the way through U 17,
Morten: So let's bump it up to 15 where we
Liron: let's go.
Morten: Let's go.
All right.
So for 15 and up man, I've been away
from Danish football for a while.
Matt: But the fact that you actually
have to think this hard is, is, is, is.
It says everything.
Morten: I would give it a 50 50.
Liron: I love it.
Spoken like a true Scandinavian.
Morten: from Scandinavian.
Would never pick that much.
We're not allowed to.
Matt: so social media, a
positive or a negative in the
development of youth players?
Morten: It's here, it's it.
We can't
in the right way.
No, generally speaking negative.
Matt: Yeah.
Liron: I told you it was a negative.
Matt: Yeah.
And to our, back to your point about
the staircase and the challenges,
you never see the challenges.
All is how perfect and wonderful
everything is for every
Morten: And essentially what you're
doing, you're solidifying people on
a position in the staircase, right?
Social media, and I haven't
actually think of thought about it.
It's just coming to me now.
The social media places
people on the staircase.
Matt: Yeah.
Morten: He is here you are one to watch.
You are top 11.
You are the next, you are already.
There you are.
They put people on the staircase
rather than showing, oh man, this
guy is wrong from here to here.
Or nobody.
Nobody shows that.
It's always a flash of where they
are and it's hyping players that
they to, to a place where they can't
be because they're youth players.
Nobody
has very few, okay?
No, not nobody.
Very few has the ability
to be so consistent on it's
up and down, it's injuries.
They're out of the team.
They get the challenges
and if they get the challenges,
people start to question if they
are the talent or why are you not
there when we said you were here?
Why?
Because it's difficult and because
there are challenges and because.
It's not a straight pathway, and
then they have to justify themselves.
And how do you justify themselves?
You make excuses not to lose, right?
Matt: Yeah.
Morten: Yeah.
So
Matt: I'm with you.
Liron: Last question.
Director.
Hardest part about leaving New York.
Morten: The people when you, oh man,
that was, that, that was, uh, that
was unfair to ask that question.
Um, definitely the people definitely,
because you, you invest so much when
you work with people, when you work with
kids, when you work with family, when you
work with staff, when, when you're so.
Closing that and, and you go
through all these things and
emotion it, it's, you bond.
and also as a father and, and as a normal
person, um, we, we built friends here.
My kids build friends.
They, they, they cry at night
because they don't want to leave
Matt: Oh man.
Morten: all that is hard, right?
It's hard.
So I, yeah, that and weather,
you can complain about the
weather.
But
Liron: you're saying our weather
is good?
Oh my God.
What,
Morten: You guys are unbelievable.
You have phenomenal weather.
Matt: we com We complain
that it's not hot.
Morten: months a year.
I
don't see the sun.
Matt: Yeah.
Morten: It's too cold and
it's too
hot, i'll promise.
When we get the stadium, , 2027
I told everyone, I'll be back.
I'll buy the tickets.
I'll sit in the stands and I'll watch
some of these kids that I've known,
that I've seen play on that stadium.
Matt: amazing.
Morten: This is such a,
this is such a big, this is a
really big myth, but I, I said
I'll promise I'll be back to do
that, because that's gonna be
Liron: All right.
Morten: Imagine that.
Liron: You know, it's like we, we
had someone,
here talk about the beginning of the
MLS, you talked about the beginning of
the youth program in Denmark, and we'll
be able to talk about the beginning
of kind of true New York City soccer
in in, in the professional manner.
And,
you're right, it is we're
all in this together.
director and I can now call you my friend.
thank you.
Thank you again.
Matt: Yeah.
Thank you
so much.
We, we really appreciate it.
Uh, It was wonderful to have you
on and best of luck to you and your
family and the transition back.
Wow.
Who den
Okay, start this again.
Morten said it plainly.
We can't give enough opportunity to everyone.
It's better to give a lot of opportunities to a selected few
rather than expand too much
Then he goes a step further and admits
that at a certain point, clubs just have to say the dreaded,
we don't think that you can be a pro in our environment.
It's the truth that we feel in our gut, but we don't always want to face.
Yeah, that moment refrains everything.
It reminds us that development systems aren't abstract.
They're built on trade-offs, limits, and choices that parents and players feel directly.
But we also learned, as do Academy directors and
coaches and everybody involved in the development process.
But his enthusiasm for U.S. soccer's future is exciting.
We created this pod to help make sense of a system that often fit feels opaque.
Conversations like this don't necessarily simplify it,
but they do make it more honest and will take the plus three for that.
Yeah, we
We wish you and your family nothing but the best as you return home.
to everyone who's listening, thanks for being a part of these conversations.
We'll see you next time at Chasing the Game.
We'll see you next time at Chasing the Game.
And if this helped you at all, just click,
And if this helped you at all, just click,
subscribe, or follow on this show or for in whatever platform you're listening. on.
It's kind of important.
And
happy holidays to all of you.
Matt, brother, I love you, man.
Liron this has been an incredible passion
projects for both of us, and there's nobody I'd rather spend time
within the basement than you and our guests.
So happy holidays.
I I love you, Liron.
Bye.