Julio Ramos' Insight on MLS Evolution and US Soccer Dynamics

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00:00Chiba, you are one of the fans that have been pouring its heart onto the game as a fan for

00:06the longest.

00:07You were there when Chiba USA broke through and was the very first Latino-centric team

00:15in the U.S.

00:17You were there as a founding member of the supporter group for LAFC.

00:23How exciting is it to see that the league has evolved so much?

00:27So exciting, man.

00:29From Diablo Echeverri, Pio Valderrama, Jorge Campos, to Messi, Suarez, Oliver Giroud, etc.

00:36I think it's been amazing, man.

00:40At the end of the day, the fact that this league is growing so much, that the world

00:44is giving the U.S. the opportunity to have more football during summer, bringing the

00:48big teams, bringing the World Cup, the club's World Cup.

00:51I mean, it's just, all of that adds to what has been created through football, and I'm

00:57very excited about that.

00:58Nick, this is a moment that we've been waiting for a long, long time, the return to play

01:04of MLS.

01:05A lot of expectations for Galaxy, a lot of expectations for LAFC, but another team that

01:12all eyes are going to be on is San Diego Football Club, the newest team in the competition.

01:20What are your predictions around this team?

01:23They're kind of a dark horse in a few ways.

01:28Obviously, with a new team, anything can happen, and sometimes you get that beginner's luck,

01:33something that LAFC had.

01:35Not saying it was all luck.

01:36You guys are touchy.

01:37I'm not saying it was all luck, but it happens.

01:40Teams come out with a lot of hype behind them.

01:42There's a lot of excitement.

01:43They have something to prove, and I think we could see that with San Diego.

01:46What an amazing city.

01:48What a city that is full of amazing soccer fans.

01:51They finally have something to call their own.

01:53It's about time, is what I've been saying this whole time, and I think we could see

01:59real magic happen with San Diego.

02:01I feel really, really good about them.

02:03What about you guys?

02:04Following on the steps of the San Diego wave, I don't want to belittle the success of the

02:08women franchise in the area that has set the standard, really, for what San Diego Football

02:13Club needs to achieve, because that franchise is one of the most successful ones, and I've

02:17been in that stadium, and the environment is world class.

02:23The footsteps that they need to fill in, they're already pretty big, and Choclo Sano will definitely

02:30help doing so.

02:33Also, San Jose is one of my dark horses.

02:36I think San Jose is going to give a lot of headaches next season, but also, there's something

02:41that is happening around the MLAs that is very, very exciting, and it's all the rumors

02:49around the USL creating a Division I tournament with relegation with their USL I, USL II tiers,

03:00which will shake.

03:02The mere foundation of US soccer will be shaken to its core if relegation is introduced to

03:09any major tournament, or any major league in the United States will be this, the competition

03:14and MLAs needs to accept that is moment to conform to what soccer is around the world.

03:22What do you guys think about that?

03:24Look, they just announced that they're going to have a USL I team, and Pico Rivera, I'm

03:30so excited about that.

03:31I didn't know there's more opportunities for young players to develop, to become professionals,

03:37and like you said, man, the fact we're going to have relegation, I think MLAs is going

03:39to feel that competition, and it's weird because it shouldn't be that way, right?

03:45It shouldn't be like the system with all these different divisions, relegation, and all that

03:49so that everyone can have an opportunity, MLAs is not doing that right now, but we hope

03:54that in the future they follow USL's steps, and I'm very excited for that, man.

03:58It brings more competition, it gives more opportunity, it makes excitement, it makes

04:02these magical moments that are heartfelt, where dreams come true, there's so much more

04:07to benefit from it than there is to lose, but hey, it's about winning people over and

04:10convincing them that it's worth doing, and that just takes time, I guess.

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