'It's in your face' - CBS Analyst Mike Grella on Serie A, bringing Italian football to national TV, and 'attitude' from American players

GOAL: You've got this live broadcast of a Serie A ground, this weekend, for a national TV network. What do you think it says about where soccer is in the U.S. right now?

GRELLA: I think it's really exciting. One of the most important things about football, is the education of football and understanding it, and not just on a tactical level. Falling in love with the game is very important, and I want young kids to see that. 20 years ago you couldn't find a football match on American television. It's very telling. Now you wake up on a Saturday morning or Sunday morning, and it's it's in your face.

The Premier League is there, the FA Cup is there. Now the Serie A is there. We're making that jump where we're going to be on CBS this weekend, so I think it says a lot about the growth of football in this country. I think it says a lot about the growth of football in general, and especially for us Italian football fans. I think we want to see it move in the right direction. And America's obviously huge market for Serie A also. So I'm hoping it sticks, and it gains more popularity.

GOAL: Serie A has been interesting so far. I wanted to talk a bit about Juventus, who are yet to lose, but have more draws than anyone else. What do you think is going wrong? Is Thiago Motta just not figuring it out?

GRELLA: This summer there was a merry-go-round of coaches in Serie A, more than I've ever seen, and I've watched the League my whole life. As we know, being in the game of football, it takes time to understand your teammates. It takes time to implement your way of playing. It just takes so much time to sort of understand what your best 11 is, how you want to play, what that looks like. Obviously, you need more than one transfer market to make it work as well. So I think, for all these managers: Raffaele Palladino, Vincenzo Italiano, Thiago Molta, Paulo Fonseca, even. I think they need time.

I think they're really good managers. You don't get those jobs in those positions if you're not a good manager. I think we can start to judge them towards the later part of this season and start to say, "OK, well, what have the results been? What is the style of play? What's it like in the locker room? Do they follow them? Do they want to play for them? What are the energy levels like?"

I think all those things need to be taken into account the end of the season. If you want to know what I think about Motta... I think that it's not been overwhelmingly convincing just yet. I think the squad was made a lot younger. I think that's what a lot of Juventus fans wanted to see. I think the squad plays a little bit better football when it actually has the ball. They have the first or second possession in Serie A. There's been sparks of these games against Inter in San Siro, where they tie 4-4, against Leipzig, away from home, where they're down a man, and they go back and win the game. So there's been these sparks and glimpses of this old Juventus DNA of winning and fighting and feeling them fight to the end.

And then there's been the reality of growing pains. They [drop points to] Roma and Napoli. I was there for that game. They play Stuttgart at home and they take one shot on target. And they look like they're never gonna score, even if they play 500 minutes of football. It's sideways and backwards, and it's slow, and it's predictable, and it doesn't look great.

Dusan Vlahovic is a microcosm of what's going on at Juventus. There's days where he looks like "That's the player we signed for €75 million!" and there's other days where you say, "My god, I mean he can't be the answer. He can't be a Juventus level striker." Some of the misses, some of the hold up play, some of the just bad games that he has... And I think that's just where Juventus is right now, a giant European Club, with unbelievable history that's just trying to find its feet. But I don't think it's been very convincing thus far.

GOAL: Tim Weah and Weston McKennie have been a bit in and out of the lineup for Juventus. Obviously, McKennie had an injury recently, Weah had one at the start of the season. But what have you made of their contributions thus far? It seems like when they're on the pitch together, things go well.

GRELLA: I think they're both very good players. I think we've learned to love them. I think they're a major reason why Serie A has grown in this country as well and rightfully so, because they have a lot of great tools.

We are launching a documentary later on this week about [Christian] Pulisic... Without spoiling too much, one of the things in it was having McKennie on, and his take on what it's been like being in Italy and being in Serie A, playing in Champions League football and he hinted at the fact that he always feels like he's on the out every single season, and then you have to sort of find a way to get him back in, and then he has to re-prove himself every single season.

So I think it's been a little unfair. I think there is a little bit of a stigma with American footballers. I think if you look at what McKennie's done, he's been their most reliable player. When it comes to professional football, I think you want to know there's got to be seven guys of the 11 that you start, that you know exactly what performance they're going to give you. They might not give you a 10 performance, but they're definitely not going to give you a three. I think McKennie embodies that. I think he's you're always going to give you that seven to eight performance. He's always going to work hard. He's always going to tackle. He's always going to be a good teammate. He's good aerially. And every team needs guys like that.

Yeah, maybe he's not the most technical. Maybe he's not gonna pick the past that unlocks teams - although he does have that in his locker as well. But he definitely brings an honest, solid performance that you can rely on every single week.

With Weah, he just has so many tools. You know, [ex-Juventus manager Max] Allegri is quite defensive. So he was playing as a wing back. I think you look at him playing up top now for Vlahovic. He's got four goals, which is the highest total he's had in a very long time, he's got pace, and he can strike a football, and he can play well anywhere.

With all the American players, even with Pulisic, the attitude stands out a lot. I think they're really good professionals. I think they work hard. I think they're good teammates. I think they have great character, and you can rely on them, and that's been the most important thing for American players.

GOAL: For sure. And on Pulisic, is this the best version of him we've ever seen?

GRELLA: Yeah, for sure. The first stage was when, he signed at Chelsea. And then you think, "Oh, it's the big American market. That's why he's there." And he goes on, wins the Champions League, and looks the part in some flashes. And then there's the injury concerns and the physicality of the Premier League...

And then he comes to Milan. You think, "OK, this is another marketing play. He's probably gonna be a guy that's in and out of the team. He's gonna be competing for a spot with Samuel Chukwueze, who they've also brought in and I don't think he's done very well."

And then he turned into a guy who was the first name on the team sheet every single week for Milan. I think that was very impressive. Then he notched it up another level to being the leading goal scorer in the team, the leading creator in the team. Then he turned out to be the guy that when moments would go bad for Milan and Fonseca, he was the most reliable player in the team. He still is right now.

You look at Liverpool right now. That's just as good as Klopp's best Liverpool already, and we haven't even seen them hit their peak yet, and you look at Pulisic. The goal he scores against them is fantastic. Milan's not in a good way. They're playing at home. He carries the footballs 50 yards, half the pitch, to do that at, that speed, at that pace, at that technicality, and know where guys are the whole time, and then be able to slot it.

I think he's shown a new level of now we're not talking about just an American footballer. We're talking about one of the best, being in the conversation of one of the top footballers in the world, regardless of the country, which I think is special.

GOAL: Fonseca has kind of played around with him a bit. Rafa Leao seems to be the guy on the left, but Pulisic has sometimes played as a 10, sometimes off the right. Let's say you're the Milan manager, where does Pulisic play for you?

GRELLA: If you have to pick one spot, I think you could probably say the 10 because Milan don't have a lot of really good options there. I think he's he can play in between the lines, he's super quick on the wing. As a No. 10, he can do a lot of damage.

But again, he's the type of guy that you just want in the in the team, regardless. You asked me about Motta before. I think this is an interesting point, because we're covering Juventus on the weekend. But you know, Fonseca's come under immense amounts of pressure. I was there and got to interview him after one of the games, when they played Inter away from home and won the game. The relief on this man... you could feel it, you could actually feel it!

And I think it's interesting because he's only four points behind Juventus with a game in hand. And so if they win against Atalanta - it's a tall task. But if they win against Atalanta, they're one point behind Juventus. And now we're talking about Fonseca, who everybody wants out, who's put under an immense amount of pressure, and Motta, who everyone's saying he's doing a great job. The lines are very blurred here early on in the Serie A season. Also, Milan have a point more than them in Champions League, so you could really make the argument that Fonseca's really not doing any worse. And Juventus have spent more money in the offseason. So it's a really fun, interesting season this year.

GOAL: Who wins the Serie A title?

GRELLA: I think it's still Inter's to lose. When you watch the way they play football, I think they're comprable to Liverpool in that they can dominate over 90 minutes. They create so many chances out of nothing, can control possession, can control tempo, can defend really well. They have game changers within the team. They have depth. I think they're very similar to Liverpool in that way.

But there is more parity in Serie A. Inter has shown a little bit of age. They're the oldest team in the Serie A, as well, and they're dealing with a lot of different competitions. So I think it's been difficult for them, but it's theirs to lose because of the quality that they have in their team and the job that [Filippo] Inzaghi has done. He's done such a phenomenal job.

GOAL: He's unbelievable, isn't he? That Champions League final between Inter and City in 2023, a couple of balls bounce the other way, Romelu Lukaku puts a couple of those away, and you have an Italian winner of the Champions League.

GRELLA: I think they surprised themselves. I think that was around the time Man City was starting to show some abnormalities and some cracks. The way that they were playing with the high line... they were very nervous as well in that game.

If [Inter] would have got one, it probably would have been a difficult night for Man City. But in the end, Man City walked away. But that was sort of a snapshot into what Inter is about. I mean, they play really good football. They're fun to watch and hard to keep a clean sheet against... they have so many game changers in Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez. They can bring Mehdi Taremi now off the bench as well. The midfield three are unbelievable, probably the best midfield in Italy as well. They have a long way to go, but I think it's theirs to lose.

GOAL: Nicolo Barella is one of my favorite players to watch.

GRELLA: He's a monster, man. One of these little guys that can compete with the biggest. You look at him and you're like: "Well, he's not very tall. He's not the fastest. He's not the strongest." But man, he competes. He'd be great to watch in the Premier League one day.

GOAL: Taking it domestically. A big game for your New York Red Bulls this weekend in MLS Cup. What would it mean for you and the fanbase to win this thing, especially given you guys have been to MLS Cup twice and are yet to win it?

GRELLA: It would be huge. The first thing I think of is a club that has a really good fan base. I think when you meet Red Bull fans, they're really educated about the team, about the game, about the way that they play football. They're very realistic. And no matter if they have a strong team or a weak team, they always make the playoffs. They have made the playoffs so many years in a row.

I was in the building for a little over two years, so I think about all the backroom staff... I think about the fans, the grounds crew. They're just all really solid people. They're hard workers. They're honest. They want to win. They want to compete.

So when I think about the potential for New York Red Bulls to win an MLS Cup, I just think that it's such gratification for all those people that were involved, and put so many hours, so much work into it. Even the people that were there in the past 20, 30 years, whatever it may be. And so I think it's something they really deserve.

I'd love to see them lift the trophy, because I think they've had a really good team for a lot of years now, and a really good system. They have a lot of good people around. Those are the people that just really deserve it. They've put in a lot of work for a long time. You know, the one thing against the club is that they never won the MLS Cup. Getting rid of that, the sort of easy way to be made fun of, I think they've earned it.

GOAL: Do you have a prediction?

GRELLA: I don't want to say anything too soon, but I've watched the last three or four games where I was really surprised with how teams sort of just fell right into their hands. I think they have a really good balance, and I think a 2-1 Red Bull win is very possible.

In the MLS, the game is so transitional. And the games are so much more open. And anybody could beat anybody on their day. I think it's one of the hardest leagues to get points away from home, just how how teams can play and surprise each other with different styles. So it's very much for the taking, for both teams.

GOAL: You had a little viral moment with Thierry Henry, when you had a bit of banter back and forth. Can you take me through that? Are the vibes good now?

GRELLA: The vibes are great. I thought it was hilarious. I had such a good time. I always have a really good time on the Champions League with that crew. The backroom staff is awesome there, they put you in such a position to succeed.

Thierry is a guy I've known forever. The amount of respect I have for him goes without saying. I think he's probably one of the best footballers that's ever played the game. So to see him bite a little bit was fun. I think everyone had a blast. I spoke to him the next day, we were great.

I love being on the show. I think it's I think it's a lot of fun. I think that's the secret sauce of the Champions League show, of what CBS coverage is doing, being able to make fun of each other and have a good time and cover football, be informative, but also just keep it light and fun, and have a good time. And I think that crew really does it. I think when we cross crews that happens a lot. So it's been exciting. I think we'll do it this weekend. We'll go and cover the game in a very respectful, informative way, but I think we'll have a lot of laughs. We'll have fun. We'll joke and nobody takes it too serious.

Thierry took it well, we all had a good time. I told Thierry the next day I said, "Your two boys [Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards] next to you are the ones who started the whole thing because they're the ones who made a very little thing bigger than it was." They made it funny, and it was a lot of fun.

GOAL: It just seems like you guys all really enjoy yourselves. Sometimes you watch punditry and you're like "He's being forced to do that" but you all seem like you're having a laugh.

GRELLA: They're putting us in positions to succeed. I guess if you want to relate to football, it's like "This is the formation we're playing out of. Now go and express yourself." That's such an excellent way to cover football, because at the end of the day everyone's having fun. I think the viewers are having fun as well. Nobody wants to sit there and watch an uptight crew, sort of getting too serious about football, because at the end of the day people turn on the football matches to laugh, to watch, to learn to enjoy it. So I think when it's too serious, it probably is the wrong direction as well.

GOAL: There's been so much conversation about the USMNT. The new manager, Mauricio Pochettino, doesn't have all of his guys back fit yet. But the question that is asked over and over again, is "How can the USMNT do at the World Cup?" What's your prediction?

GRELLA: Yeah, it's kind of nuts like when you think about. I always think it's funny when the managers of national teams get judged on how they do it at World Cups.

GOAL: I'm English. I know.

GRELLA: Yeah, yeah. I always like to go back to the eye tests and try to stay away from the results, try to stay away from how far a team gets, especially in a knockout type of tournament. If you're talking about the Premier League, or you're talking about the Serie A, I think the best team is probably winning that league and convincingly.

But when you talk about Champions League, for instance, how many years have we seen not the best team win Champions League? Sure, Man City have won it now. They were probably the best team when they won it. But when Chelsea won it, they were probably not the best team in the world, and surprised everyone. I mean when Porto won it, they were not the best team in the world. There's a lot of examples of form at the right time.

There was a U.S. team that made it to the quarterfinal, that almost made it to the semifinal [in 2002.] You would argue that they probably should have. You can't look at it in terms of "Did they get out of the group? Did they make to the quarter? Did they make it to the semi?" and judge them. I think you have to look at the product on the field, and look at "Are they organized? Is there a playing style that you can see? Do they have a plan B? Do they defend? Well, do they attack well? Do they work for each other?"

I think these are the more important values. I think that there's so much talent there, and there's so many tools that they have, and there's depth. There's so many players that are playing in Europe, and I think Pochettino could put it together. But we won't really know until we see, you know, a year of what the team actually looks like, and how they play, and what they perform like under pressure.

I do think, though, that they can make it pretty far in the tournament, especially because there's more teams now, which normally means a little bit less quality in the tournament. So the more teams you add, you know, the U.S. starts looking like one of the better teams.

Dec. 5: Jalil Anibaba on MLS Cup predictions, Inter Miami hiring Javier Mascherano and MLS's 'disheartening' coaching diversity issue

Nov. 21: Telemundo's Andres Cantor on Mauricio Pochettino's Argentine mindset, the USMNT and having a front-row seat for the rise of the American game

Nov. 16: Apple TV analyst Matt Doyle assesses Inter Miami's defensive 'insanity,' whether Neymar could join Lionel Messi, MLS Cup favorite

Nov. 7: Gary Neville talks USMNT World Cup hopes, 'hell of a player' Christian Pulisic, 'relentless' David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo to MLS

Oct. 31: Herculez Gomez on Mauricio Pochettino's impact, the USMNT's 'wide-open' striker race, and a player pool 'that lacks accountability'

Oct. 29: NBC's Rebecca Lowe on the growth of soccer, the 'incredible' Emma Hayes and 'profile-raising' Mauricio Pochettino

Oct. 24: Apple TV's Andrew Wiebe on MLS playoffs, Lionel Messi's 'nuclear form' and how Inter Miami can become league's 'greatest team of all time

Oct. 17: Jamie Carragher talks USMNT, slams Man City over legal case, questions Maurico Pochettino despite 'great' hire