#453: Natalia Astrain on USWNT challenges and opportunities

Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America

Adam Belz

Sports, Usmnt, Men's National Team, American Soccer, Us Soccer, Soccer, Mls, U17 National Team, U20 National Team, Youth National Teams, Yanks Abroad

4.8 • 893 Ratings

🗓️ 29 November 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Natalia Astrain, the Telemundo soccer commentator who's coached youth and professional women's soccer on both sides of the Atlantic and coaxed intentional, aesthetically-pleasing soccer from the U17 women's national team in 2022, joins the pod. She has a distinct vantage point for observing the challenges and opportunities facing women's soccer in America as the national team prepares for the beginning of the Emma Hayes era. Wide-ranging conversation -- everything from Onyeka Gamero's path to the first team at Barca to the superpowers of the American player and the overemphasis on results at young ages in the States.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Scuff Podcast where we talk about US Soccer. Our guest today is Natalia Estrain, the first coach of Barcelona Femine in the early 2000s who once headed Barsa's Women's Academy.
0:24.4	She is a former assistant at Adletico Madrid and what's now the Kansas City Current.
0:29.3	She coached the US U17s at the U17 2022 World Cup in India and now she's a commentator for
0:35.6	Telemundo sharing the booth with Andres Kontor. Few people have as good of a
0:40.8	vantage point into U.S. soccer where it stands right now in the women's
0:44.4	game and I am grateful to have her on the show. Thank you for being here, Natalia.
0:48.0	No, thank you very much. I'm really excited and yeah I feel really happy to join this conversation with you.
0:55.3	Good, good.
0:57.3	So let's start with the U17 team that you coached.
1:00.8	They played with a lot of patience and sophistication. I think that was noted by a lot of people who watched and not just crossing the ball but actually possessing and working it through the defense into the final third.
1:13.0	It wasn't perfect but the intent was obviously there and I wonder how did you get
1:18.0	how did you achieve that with that group? Well first of, I was really happy and lucky with the player, right? I think that we, when we make the decision about the roster, we did a good job.
1:32.0	It was the talent I did department and all the people that is behind making
1:37.6	these decisions. And I feel like it was really
1:45.0	good, really interesting, and really beautiful to coach this age, because you can work with them really good, right?
1:48.0	And for me, the key with them was make them
1:51.0	to believe in the idea, and not only the idea right because sometimes you have the idea
1:56.8	but it's a difficult work in the process and I feel like the most beautiful thing with
2:02.1	this group was they believe in the process.
2:05.7	So we have a purpose.
2:08.3	During all year before we were working to put the focus in the purpose.
2:13.3	What we want, what we want to achieve, no?
	...

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