Mic'd Up: The ESPN FC analyst spoke candidly about all things USMNT, and why he commits to being "as honest as possible"
After one of Herculez Gomez's first studio shows at ESPN, veteran analyst Craig Burley had to sit the former U.S. men's national team striker down. Burley offered a key piece of advice, telling Gomez that he was still pulling his punches – and when that camera light turns on, that simply wasn't going to work.
"He pulled me aside, "Gomez recalls, "and he said, 'Look, man, if you want to do this for a living, if you want to be here for a while and be good at it, you have to be honest with yourself and be honest with our viewers. You can't be afraid to hurt someone's feelings. You have to be honest.'
"I've maintained that ever since. That's the right way of doing things and, while there may be people who think my way is negative, I've learned that you've got to be as honest as possible."
In a summer defined by a war of words between the face of the USMNT's current generation and many of the faces of the national team's old guard, Gomez has not been short on opinions. He, like Christian Pulisic, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, has worn the USMNT shirt and knows the weight that it carries.
He also knows that it all comes with a bit of nuance – which can easily be lost in an echo-chamber of podcasts and social media chatter and outrage, some real, some just for show. That nuance may be lost, at times, but now – looking at the game, and this team, from a broader view – Gomez say it is vital.
The Gold Cup is underway, and despite the USMNT's 5-0 blowout of Trinidad and Tobago, the big picture remains the talking point. And Gomez admits all of the bluster risks a fractured USMNT fan base.
"This is highly unlikeable, what's going on right now," he said. "I don't think it's healthy at all. It seems like a big p*ssing contest to me, and I don't think fans want to see that in today's climate… You look at the Club World Cup and it seems that, despite having no local connection to those teams, some people are enjoying that. I don't know if any fan right now can enjoy anything about the USMNT."
Gomez discussed Pulisic's decision to skip the Gold Cup, the mood around the USMNT and his growing admiration for Diego Luna in the latest edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Getty Images SportON PULISIC'S DECISION AND THE FALLOUT
GOAL: Let's start with the obvious one here. Everyone is talking so much about the Christian Pulisic situation and, while it's a nuanced discussion, everyone has their own feelings. As a guy who has played for the national team, and now covers that team, how do you even interpret all of the chaos that has come from his decision?
Gomez: There are two kinds of thoughts here, right? As a player in the national team, I would never miss a game. I'd be there every single game, no matter what. Then there's the other train of thought as an analyst, where I think about how this Gold Cup is being treated like a secondary tournament. More importance has been placed on the Nations League, and this guy is coming off two seasons where he's played over 114 games and has been a pretty injury prone player. You look at who's being called in and it's a B or C team, and he's probably thinking to himself, 'I need some time and, while Milan can't give it to me, maybe U.S. Soccer will'.
With this, U.S. Soccer and Christian Pulisic both come out looking terrible. It could have been a joint communication from all parties involved. But instead it was U.S. Soccer putting out a statement wanting everyone to know that this was on Christian Pulisic. He asked for that time off, and it has since become a he-said, he-said sort of thing. It's a dumpster fire. You have Christian feeling like he's attacked by U.S. Soccer. Ex-players like Landon Donovan and Tim Howard are given access to the head coach of the USMNT for their podcast, and now he's seen Mauricio Pochettino kind of go off on him, and feels like he has to defend himself. I think it's just an unfortunate situation all around that could have easily been avoided, but here we are.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesON THE LOCKER ROOM
GOAL: You've obviously been in locker rooms where things like this have happened, where there's been a disagreement that has snowballed like this. How do you handle that in the locker room? What do other players think?
GOMEZ: I don't think the players in there right now think anything about it. Realistically, of the guys that played against Trinidad and Tobago, only Chris Richards and Tim Ream are ones who have really sniffed the starting XI in recent years. The talk in that locker room is going to be different and they're going to be going on on the same page. I think it's more about Pulisic and Mauricio Pochettino. We've seen what happens when a star player and a coach are at odds, and it never ends well. We just saw Robert Lewandowski with his coach in Poland, and he had to go. I saw it with Jurgen Klinsmann and Landon Donovan and it never ends well.
Now, this isn't the first CONCACAF player to not play the Gold Cup. It's very relatable to Keylor Navas refusing to play in the Gold Cup for years. Why? Because, at some point, it wasn't worth it for him and it was better for him to rest for his commitments to Real Madrid. He was heavily criticzed for it. You go back in time and we've seen it before with U.S. Soccer. Granted, though, this is the last tournament before the World Cup, so I think that's what gets people up in arms, but who are we really trying to get these top player integrated with? Looking at the roster, 90 percent of it won't be around next summer. Pochettino can get something out of it by identifying players. I don't know how many, but I don't know how much Christian Pulisic would have gotten from tournament. That said, I wouldn't have taken it off, and I understand that frustration from fans.
Getty ImagesON THE MOOD AROUND THE USMNT
GOAL: Obviously, this has overshadowed the Gold Cup, and that's a negative because the focus should be on this tournament. If anything, this summer has very much laid down a marker about how much people care about this team. Is there anything good to take from all of this? Is it a positive thing that this is happening one year out from a World Cup?
GOMEZ: Oh this isn't healthy at all. I don't think that this is confirming that people care; I think it's the opposite, really. I think people are starting to be like ,'You know what? F*ck this thing. This is not the team I grew up watching and not the team I want to cheer for.' This is highly unlikeable, what's going on right now. I don't think it's healthy at all. It seems like a big p*ssing contest to me, and I don't think fans want to see that in today's climate.
Tickets are expensive and times are tough and people have to pick and choose what to spend money on. Why would they spend money on this team right now? What makes this likeable or enjoyable and makes you want to spend your hard-earned money? I sympathize with that. Look, I work in this business and make my living off the U.S. men's national team and soccer in America. You look at the Club World Cup and it seems that, despite having no local connection to those teams, some people are enjoying that. I don't know if any fan right now can enjoy anything about the USMNT.
Getty ImagesON LUNA'S BREAKOUT
GOAL: All of that said, is there anyone that has stood out to you? Obviously, a good win over Trinidad and Tobago helps correct things a bit. Is there anyone in this current team that you're really enjoying?
GOMEZ: It's a small sample size, but I continually come out talking about Diego Luna. At first, it was like 'It's got to be more than just running and mentality.' But every game he comes out had is a little bit better at everything. He's showing something where that, regardless of what happens going forward, it's going to be difficult to ignore him being a part of this roster. This is a player that I really criticized for doing exactly what Christian, in a sense, is doing right now. He refused to go to that Olympic team because he was going to be an alternate, but here we are.
I'm cheering on this kid because I think he's highly relatable to a ton of Americans. I really enjoy watching and rooting for him. He's a guy that has raised his hand and said, 'Hey, I'm not going anywhere', and I don't think he is going anywhere. It would be difficult to put out a roster and he wouldn't be part of it.
GOAL: During a USMNT press conference recently, Luna was speaking about what drives him. He was saying how he plans for his family, for his parents and their sacrifice, for his own child and his future, and it was hard not to notice that Pochettino was smiling at his answer.
GOMEZ: We have a soccer culture here with pay to play and the college system that brings up a majority of our players, and most players have never had that type of struggle. When you look at this sport around the world, this sport is looked at as hope or a means out. It wasn't any different for Mauricio Pochettino and it's not any different for someone like Diego Luna. When you hear something like that, that's someone that the emajority of Americans, and the majority of people, can relate to. He's just a highly-likable individual who is, right now, working his ass off for an opportunity to play at a World Cup.