The veteran analyst joins Mic'd Up to discuss the USMNT, Pochettino, Pulisic's future, Pepi's scoring and the keys to success
Brian Dunseth hilariously recalls how he got into broadcasting. Just weeks after being unceremoniously cut by then-LA Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas (a future friend) – a transaction Dunseth attributes to then-manager Steve Sampson – the defender, who enjoyed a nine-year professional career mostly in MLS, found himself facing an uncertain future.
“I was like, dude, I’m done,” Dunseth told GOAL.
Returning to Salt Lake City, where he had played the previous season, Dunseth decided to attend a Real Salt Lake game at the stadium then known as Rio Tinto Stadium. While there, he quickly noticed a blind spot in the coverage.
“Spence Checketts, the son of Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts, was doing a game preview,” Dunseth said. “I was like, ‘Dude, you’re missing this matchup and that matchup.’ So, in my typical joking fashion, I found Trey [Fitz-Gerald] and Spence afterward and said, ‘Hey, let me know when you want someone who knows what they’re talking about.’ It was a tease, but with a hint of seriousness.”
Fitz-Gerald, who is RSL's long-time PR executive, warned him that the job didn’t pay, but Dunseth quipped, “I can’t let your listeners sit through this stuff.” From there, as Dunseth described it, Pandora’s box opened, leading to several larger opportunities.
Today, Dunseth is nearing the summit of American soccer broadcasting. He’s one of the lead voices on Turner’s U.S. Soccer coverage, an analyst for Apple TV with co-host Max Bretos – and co-hosts a SiriusXM Radio show called with USMNT legend Tony Meola on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It’s a development Dunseth couldn’t imagine that night years ago in Salt Lake City.
“It’s been a great experience,” Dunseth said when reflecting. With U.S. Soccer now in a new exciting territory under manager Mauricio Pochettino, Dunseth has a point of view.
“This is our opportunity to kind of take those monumental steps as a collective group to take us as a footballing nation to the next level,” he said.
Dunseth touched on Gio Reyna’s future, Christian Pulisic’s overall impact in soccer and a story few know about Pochettino in this 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 ImagesON POCHETTINO
GOAL: As a broadcaster, you get to see a lot more behind the scenes then most. You’ve been able to see Pochettino from Day 1. What are your impressions of him so far?
DUNSETH: It’s just not him, it's his staff. We were down in Austin and it was the first time we were getting the chance as a group to meet with Pochettino and it was funny. He was apologetic because he was so busy. He's like, "Hey, is it OK if we eat really fast and I'll give you as much time as you want?" And remember, Poch has never done something like this where it's more insight and thought from a broadcast perspective, because you always have to have your guard up for the characters that cover teams over in Europe. So, Poch comes over and he's like, "I have an idea." He's like, "I want you guys to meet my staff and we'll have this conversation together. You guys meet us."
So, we kind of went around and we introduced ourselves, but he pushed all the tables together. So all of a sudden it became like this boardroom type of feel and we went down the row and talked about ourselves. They did the same thing. So I jump in and he goes, "Hold on a second. Here's my starting XI" and he gives us the starting lineup and goes, "What's your question?" I was like, "Get the riff-raff out of the way. Let's dig into tactics. Let's get into philosophy, shape, all these things."
GOAL: What has he brought to the team?
DUNSETH: To see the looseness of the vibe… and there’s such a level of respect for who he is, who his coaching is, there’s an accountability of focus and attention. That has been a part of the things that's been really impressive – with Yunus [Musah] playing as a right midfielder, the tweak of Antonee Robinson instead of underlapping Christian overlapping, on that left hand. All of these little things, we’re starting to see the growth in this group and how they are being tactically utilized. Like for example Tim Weah being used on the left as opposed to the right… All of these little details might have gone unseen under Gregg [Berhalter] but certainly are being pointed out by this group.
AdvertisementON WHAT GIO REYNA SHOULD DO NEXT
GOAL: It’s transfer season, so you know what that means – what does Gio Reyna need to do about his future?
DUNSETH: It doesn’t matter what anyone says. I've heard Landon [Donovan's] perspective, which I don't disagree with to a certain extent. I've heard Alexi Lalas shout out with Riqui Puig going down, what an unbelievable spring addition that could be for the LA Galaxy for a short-term loan. Take away what the best place for him could be. I just want to see him healthy. Because when I watch Reyna play, he's extraordinarily talented. He's kind of got this mixture of a Zinedine Zidane and a Paul Pogba-type gait because of his size and his ability with the ball. He's superb, his balance and all of those things – we just want to see him healthy.
One thing I will point out is I did ask Christian about health after the move to Milan last year. I think it was like sometime in the fall. And he said, "I have a manager that believes in me. If I'm starting all these games, I'm going to have minimal injuries." Obviously, he just picked up a knock and he's going to be out for a couple of weeks, but literally his health has been extraordinary when you compare and contrast what it was at Chelsea.
So, it almost feels like Gio needs to find a situation like this where you're almost – I don't want to say an undisputed starter because that's unfair to the collective team – but that a manager believes in the role that you can provide for him. Having a consistency of starts maybe could be the determining factor that overcomes what the injury concerns have been.
GettyON PULISIC'S BRILLIANCE IN 2024
GOAL: Speaking of Christian, are you surprised about what he’s done so far at Milan?
DUNSETH: Not surprised at all because I think it's the caliber of player he is. I think since the start of the 2022 World Cup, Christian's been extraordinary. The level of accountability that he put on his shoulders – I think in coinciding with Gregg Berhalter bringing Tim Ream back in, the connectivity that they had with Antonee Robinson, allowing Christian to fall in the pocket, Antonee to overlap, Weston and Yunus finding great positions with Tyler Adams. I think that position allowed Christian to shine with those group of players. He made them better. And since then, he has this monster mentality. Every time he steps on the field, there's very few moments where you could look and say Christian was average today. On a whole, you're looking at Christian between a seven and a nine performer out of 10 every single time. So sky's the limit.
GOAL: So now that Pulisic has entered this new level of standard, the rumor mill has also been churning, saying AC Milan isn’t big enough for him anymore – that he needs to return to Premier League, with a Manchester United or Liverpool. What’s your thoughts there?
DUNSETH: I think there would be a portion of the American general public that would want to see him rewrite his story in the Premier League if that makes sense. And I mean that from the most open and honest perspective because it's almost like I don't want to say he got screwed at Chelsea, but because it was so turbulent. But it feels like when he was at his highest level [at the club], something was always happening behind the scenes. And so you almost wish that at some point there's a chance for him to rewrite that Premier League story and have it very similar to what we're seeing at AC Milan right now.
That said, however long his story lasts at AC Milan, I think its important for American players like he, Yunus, Weah and McKennie, to continue to lift the conversation for American players. Make it easier for Americans to step through the door and be identified. Look at what Ademola Lookman has done since leaving Everton. These are all important moments because it breaks the threshold. It shatters the glass ceiling of what players are “known” for. So the more that he does that, the more that players can get over there.
GOAL: Final one on Pulisic, you’ve seen Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey up close, where does Christian rank among them?
DUNSETH: Having played with Landon and for a small amount of time, having seen the monster mentality up close of what Clint can do, those two for me are just the upper echelon of more recent generations right? The 2000s generation. But without a shadow of a doubt, what Christian is doing is taking on what they've done and taking it and hopefully to that next level. And I think ultimately 2026 World Cup will effectively be the everlasting legacy of what is the reputation of a lot of these players.
AFPON RICARDO PEPI
GOAL: Ricardo Pepi is scoring internationally, he’s scoring on the club level. The USMNT striker job has to be his, right? Even when Folarin Balogun comes back, you’d have to assume Pepi is No. 1, right?
DUNSETH: I think it's his job to lose… what I love about Pepi is that the adversity of his childhood, with everything that's happened with him as a young man, working his way through North Texas and working his way into FC Dallas. Then getting the opportunity over in Germany for that not to work out, then going on loan to getting this move to PSV to have nothing given to you whatsoever… You have to have this F-you mentality constantly… "I'm going to show you that I'm the guy because I have played with guys like that where they almost have to invent something that's gone against them to motivate themselves."
Right now, Pepi is the absolute No. 9 starter. I'd be shocked if he isn't, but it's up to everybody else first off scoring for domestic clubs and then proving that they can unseat what he’s done so well these past couple of months.
GOAL: With a role that continues to be uncertain at PSV, is it time for him to move on?
DUNSETH: The moment that I saw Fabrizio Romano put Pepi’s name in a tweet that suggested to me that the interest was significant enough that there's a potential for a move for PSV.. If they can, especially being in Holland, if you can double or maybe triple the value of this player in the better part of a year to 18 months, you got to cash in immediately because that's just the nature of the business in Holland.
So I could see it… What does the realistic opportunity look like? Because what you don't want to see is maybe the situation that Matt Turner finds himself in where you go to a club, you being told you're the number one at Nottingham Forest, things go sideways and then in the last moments you're kind of scattering for an opportunity and you end up being a backup at another club like Crystal Palace. So it's not easy.