Has ‘Ted Lasso’ harm soccer in U.S.? ‘We’ll be joyful in the long term,’ says Brendan Hunt

Few exhibits on the air can declare to be as universally beloved as Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” and even fewer can say that with a soccer workforce as its forged of characters — solely FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” comes shut. But not everybody is a big fan of the mustached supervisor of AFC Richmond.

In an interview with The Athletic in February, Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin stated that the present has “set back the American coach 20 years” and used former Leeds United supervisor Jesse Marsch for example.

“We worked so hard to get to Europe and then Jesse kind of breaks in, and it’s like … what a curse to have that show break out at the same time he’s there. You can feel it with [Jesse.] He seems so angry at it but to go back to my earlier point, if you show that they’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

Brendan Hunt, who performs Lasso’s right-hand man Coach Beard on the present, had an opportunity to answer Curtin’s feedback on this week’s episode of “Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union” podcast, and he defined why he disagrees that “Ted Lasso” has had any unfavorable impact on soccer within the United States.

“With all due respect to Jim Curtin, Chicago Fire legend — I’m from Chicago; I know Jim; I have no reason to think ill of him — him saying that we are the setback for Jesse Marsch in particular, Jesse didn’t even get hired until both seasons of Ted Lasso came out, so that logic doesn’t particularly hold up, and with all respect to Jesse, we didn’t lose all of those games for Jesse, so it’s not our fault.

“As for the American participant, I don’t assume we’ve got any impact on the American participant, who’s already doing so effectively in Europe, and as for American soccer typically, I feel historical past will present in the long term that we have been a internet constructive.”

“I feel we’re making give a s–t about soccer however form of through an finish round who had crossed their arms and stated ‘it’s not for me, I’m soccer or hockey.’ We’re entering into folks’s homes, and if we’re entering into folks’s homes, meaning we’re getting their youngsters, and if we’re entering into their youngsters, meaning we’re deepening the participant pool, and we shall be joyful in the long term.”

You can pay attention watch Lalas’ wide-ranging interview with Hunt beneath.

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