Welcome to the Footy Fix newsletter, delivering you the best news and stories in the world of American soccer!
This week, we got some juicy stories— such as Antonee Robinson’s opinion on twitter (X) and Elon Musk, Bruce Arena’s bold claim that MLS will have world class players after the 2026 World Cup, Marcelo Bielsa telling Cristián Olivera to leave MLS because it makes players lazy, and much more.
Plus, Geoff Cameron spoke about his middle school teachers laughing at him for wanting to be a soccer player. So let’s dive in!
This week’s stories
Antonee Robinson speaks about twitter (X) and Elon Musk.
Bruce Arena claims top players will come to MLS after the World Cup.
Columbus Crew released the “Goosebumps Kit”, which pays homage to R.L. Stine.
Two most MLS signings scored on their debuts.
Hérculez Gómez explained why he chose to play for the USMNT over Mexico.
Marcelo Bielsa told Cristián Olivera to leave MLS.
Antonee Robinson spoke about his failed AC Milan medical.
Geoff Cameron opened up about his middle school teachers laughing at his soccer dreams.
Antonee Robinson Has His Say on Twitter
During a chat with Ben Foster on Fozcast, USMNT defender Antonee Robinson spoke about his opinion on twitter (X) and Elon Musk.
“You have X or twitter? It’s twitter innit? Not to go on a conspiracy theory but if Elon Musk wants someone to win an election, they’re gonna win realistically,” Robinson said.
“Most of the population is on twitter. You can push this stuff and not that stuff. It’s gonna influence it really.”
“You seen the tv show The Capture? Watch it, it’s on BBC. It’s an unreal program. The second season is about algorithms, pushing agendas.”
Foster agreed with Robinson’s points.
“I would probably follow different things from you, but we’d still get fed the same stuff. That’s the bit I don’t like, because they’re pushing an agenda,” the former English keeper said.
“The target audience is the voting age where they’re influenced by absolutely everything.”
Bruce Arena envisions MLS 4.0
Bruce Arena has a bold claim on the impact of the 2026 World Cup on MLS.
“The after effect of the World Cup is I think some of the greatest players in the world are going to want to play in MLS,” he said to CBS Sports.
“When I run into players around the world, they’re all excited about coming to the U.S. and they’d love to play here.”
“I think by 2026 or 2027, our league is going to be prepared to take on some of these great players that are in their prime. Not players in their early or mid 30s.”
“We are going to see some real elite players choose to come to MLS. It’s going to be a real exciting time for the sport in this country.”
Do you agree with Arena? 👀
Columbus Crew Looking Scary in 2025 with “Goosebumps” Kit
Columbus Crew released the “Goosebumps Kit”, which pays homage to R.L. Stine— a great American novelist from Columbus.
R.L. Stine wrote the horror series Goosebumps, which sold over 400 million copies. So it’s only fitting that he appears in the kit launch video.
He also spoke highly about the new kit. “That’s fabulous. A great creepy green, the color is perfect,” R.L. Stine said when they presented the kit to him. “This is amazing. I never dreamed this would happen, honestly.”
He’s behind the inspiration for many Columbus Crew tifos over the years, and he’s shown support to the team. So it’s great to see them release this kit.
Darlington Nagbe’s whole family also appeared in the kit launch video, which was shot like a great horror film.
MLS Record Signings Make Instant Impact
The two most expensive signings in MLS history delivered on their MLS debuts.
The $22 million man Emmanuel Latte Lath scored a brace for Atlanta United as they dramatically beat CF Montreal 3-2 at home.
The $16 million man Kévin Denkey scored the game winner for FC Cincinnati at home against New York Red Bulls.
They’re gonna have a lot of fun in MLS. Just sit back and enjoy them. 🍿
Hérculez Gómez on USMNT Mexico Dual-National Battles
During a chat with Fútbol Asada, former USMNT striker Hérculez Gómez explained why he chose to play for the USMNT over Mexico. 🇺🇸🇲🇽
“I had an opportunity to represent Mexico,” Gómez said. “At Pan-American level, the U-23s before the Olympics. They were going after me.”
“Hugo Sánchez, the Mexican national team coach at the time, and his assistant. They were trying to recruit me.”
“It was an easy decision for me. I never lived in Mexico growing up. I played there very briefly in teenage years when I was trying to make a name for myself before I made it to MLS.”
“But I was born in the U.S., educated in the U.S. All my family and everything I’ve known was in the U.S. It was a very easy and organic and natural decision for me.”
“Even though the temptation was there, I’ve got the full national team of the U.S. sniffing around, and then I had the U-23s in Mexico. It wasn’t a crazy decision for me.”
“Back then, social media wasn’t around. I didn’t have the attention of [Alejandro] Zendejas or Ricardo Pepi, when they had to make these types of decisions.”
“That gets amplified. Diego Luna, Julián Araújo. Inset a player here. Them making decisions get amplified, even before making a decision.”
“I didn’t have that so it just seemed very easy and natural. I cheer for both, sometimes I sh*t on both because I see the resources both have and it frustrates me. And I kind of lived in both worlds.”
“But I try to be as objective as I can and sometimes it gets me into trouble.”
Born in LA, Gómez played for a number of different clubs in MLS and Liga MX, before retiring in 2016. He played in three games in the 2010 World Cup, and helped the USMNT win the 2013 Gold Cup.
Now, he is a pundit for ESPN, where he discusses both American and Mexican soccer.
Marcelo Bielsa Told Cristián Olivera to Leave LAFC & MLS
Cristián Olivera left LAFC 10 days ago to Brazilian side Grêmio for about $4.5 million. He admitted that his national team coach Marcelo Bielsa also told him to leave.
“Bielsea told me to leave because MLS is a league that makes players lazy,” Olivera said on Punto Penal.
“I feel that way too. In the United States, we lost three games in a row and the players didn’t care. That’s when I realized that this league isn’t good for me.”
“Now I’m in Brazil, the games are played every three days. It’s beautiful.”
“So the change did me good. The Brazilian league is something else compared to MLS. My idea is to get to the World Cup qualifiers in 100% condition.”
The Uruguayan arrived in LAFC back in 2023 from Spanish side Almería. He played 51 games for them and had 16 goals and 6 assists.
Antonee Robinson Speaks About Failed AC Milan Medical Years Ago
Antonee Robinson could’ve been another USMNT player playing for AC Milan. He was about to sign for them in January 2020 to compete with Theo Hernández, but had a failed medical.
This may be old news now, but last week on a podcast with Ben Foster, Robinson spoke about it again.
“They saw an abnormality in my heart basically,” Robinson said. “I have having these things called ectopic heartbeats, which are inefficient heartbeats. I was having too many of them, too often.”
“The cardiologist at the time told me anywhere from like 3 to 5% was normal. I was having 15%. It’s something that might not show up on ECG if you do your medical at a team in England but if you go to Italy, they’re really strict about it.”
“I think a couple of players passed away in their league from cardiac arrest so they’re really strict about it. I had a teammate in the U.S. who had a similar thing with medical over there [in Italy].”
How did it go away? Robinson had to wait until June 2020 for surgery and in the meantime, he completely gave up caffeine.
The surgery didn’t go to plan because the irregular heartbeats weren’t there anymore, even when they gave Robinson an adrenaline shot to increase his heartbeat. So they just sent him home with an ECG to monitor his heartbeat for three days.
Robinson no longer takes caffeine and now, almost five years later, he’s putting up the best performances of his career.
There are positives from this situation. Robinson became a top left-back in the Premier League after signing with Fulham, where he developed his game with plenty of minutes given to him. He also changed his lifestyle and gave up caffeine.
“It’s scary thinking that if I didn’t have that medical, I would’ve just carried on with my lifestyle. I was approaching heart failure essentially,” Robinson said. “I also think it’s a common thing among black or mixed people, having heart abnormalities.”
“But in Wigan, we’d all meet at Starbucks before going in. So I wasn’t having just one coffee a day, and I had a caffeine shot before each game. That was enough for me to have irregular heartbeats.”
It’s scary how things can go undetected that could harm you down the line.
Geoff Cameron’s Gets The Last Laugh
Born in a small town of Attleboro, Massachusetts, former USMNT defender Geoff Cameron was laughed at by his middle school teachers for wanting to be a soccer player.
“I’ll never forget it. Mr. Dean and Mr. Blackwell, my middle school teachers,” Cameron said on The Ground Training Club Instagram page.
“They asked me where are you going? And I said I’m going away for a soccer tournament. They said, soccer? I don’t even know what sports they’re into but they basically said I’m not going to make it in soccer.”
“They asked what’s the point of me going away at fifth or sixth grade, and that soccer is not a sport because it wasn’t really big then.”
“They were my teachers or whatever but I knew deep down that they didn’t like soccer or they didn’t respect soccer.”
“I was very good at it. I just remember being the 42nd pick in the [MLS] draft. I went after that and they were still teaching there. I drove to the middle school after signing my first professional contract.”
“I’ll never forget it. I went to see Jay Parental, my gym teacher, he was a soccer guy who always believed in me. And Peter Pereiro who was like my godfather and I told them thank you.”
“Mr. Dean and Mr. Blackwell’s classes were always the last period. I went up to them and I just said thank you.”
“They looked at me and asked thank you for what? I said thank you for basically telling me I’d never make it.”
After signing his first pro contract with Houston Dynamo, Cameron went off to England four years later. He spent nine years in England with Stoke City, where he was a Premier League starter, and QPR. He ended his career with Cincinnati.
He also played in the 2014 World Cup.
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