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Halford & Brough in the Morning

Messi Has Reinvented Himself

23 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

17.092 - 38.629 Mike Halford

7.04 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt? If you are, Sands & Associates can help to reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands-trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. We've got an open segment here.

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38.669 - 54.543 Mike Halford

Going to get into all kinds of sports. It's been a busy time of the year, especially here at Sportsnet 650. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominak at Jason Dow Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason Dow Mortgage.

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54.863 - 63.491 Sam Dykstra

We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Step strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintec. You didn't get to talk about the World Cup at all.

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63.551 - 64.051 Mike Halford

I'm going to do it now.

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64.071 - 74.319 Sam Dykstra

The first hour, so much hockey talk and... Man, the stars are performing. More pressure on Ronaldo today as Portugal plays.

74.46 - 94.397 Mike Halford

Okay, so that's going to be our one to watch. We're going to do that very quickly. I know England's playing Ghana at one, but in light of everything that's happening, the schedule works out great for the theater of this because in both of Portugal's match days now, The day preceding it had Mbappe, Haaland, and Messi not just play, but play spectacularly well.

94.818 - 115.747 Mike Halford

And then that sets the stage for Ronaldo. So Ronaldo and Portugal are taking on Uzbekistan at 10 this morning. I'm going to make that the one to watch. Brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audio-visual integration experts. specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessav.ca.

115.867 - 135.557 Mike Halford

So you mentioned yesterday, just another fantastic match day from what we're going to now start to refer to as the big three. Mbappe, Messi, Holland, for a second consecutive match day, all finding the score sheet, all in multiple ways, and another amazing day of theater.

135.537 - 159.975 Mike Halford

capped off by jordan algeria in the final match which actually wasn't half bad to be honest but it's a good comeback by algeria but the big story is of course messi becomes the world cup's career scoring leader with 18. mbappe on his heels with 16 world cup goals now now tied with the former record holder the german miroslav klosa and then of course holland in his first ever world cup

Chapter 2: What are the highlights from yesterday's World Cup matches?

277.757 - 301.337 Sam Dykstra

But the key is to win more than you lose, right? And what Messi is doing right now is just incredible because, and you brought this up on our text chat offline, right? After the 2018 World Cup, there were people that were like, well, that's probably his last World Cup for Argentina.

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301.578 - 319.969 Mike Halford

Yeah. And I think rightfully so. Yeah. You look at the age curve of players, and what you have to understand is that cyclically, A lot of the preeminent and prominent World Cup countries, the ones that win, let's just call it that. My son asked me the other day. He's like, how come only a handful of countries?

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319.989 - 339.728 Mike Halford

He didn't say handful, but only a handful of countries have actually ever won a World Cup. I'm like, well, one, it's incredibly difficult to do. You need an insane amount of talent domestically. Things need to come together. But I said, generally, it's the best of the best at the end. Every now and again, you'll get a surprise team in an upstart country, but it's the ones that...

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339.708 - 362.188 Mike Halford

and I know this sounds so cliched, but have football in their culture and in their blood. And there's this cyclical nature. So the cyclical thing I'm talking about is the really preeminent countries. Every four years, they've got another wave of players coming. Yeah. You know, it's another generation, another core group that's been crafted at the youth levels. And, and,

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362.168 - 368.795 Mike Halford

brought through the system together. Now those things change over time. Players develop, players grow, players fall off.

369.095 - 373.599 Sam Dykstra

And new programs can come on the scene and old programs can fall off.

373.66 - 386.833 Mike Halford

But there's a great old adage. It's like you go to the World Cup and they've expanded the field and Asian countries are making their mark and African countries are going further than they ever have. And at the end of the day, it's probably going to be Brazil and Germany in the final.

386.853 - 387.714 Sam Dykstra

Yeah, and then Germany wins.

387.854 - 410.586 Mike Halford

Yeah. So to that point with Messi, The reason pundits and scholarly pundits, guys that know what they're talking about, suggested the 2018 World Cup would be his last is because there should have been another influx of incredibly young, talented Argentinian players over two four-year cycles that would have come in. It speaks to his ability.

Chapter 3: How did Messi become the World Cup's career scoring leader?

559.451 - 565.119 Sam Dykstra

He can still score, yes. Overall, he's a net positive, I would say. Because Ronaldo in the first match... But you can't have him in certain situations.

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565.319 - 582.213 Mike Halford

No, but the problem with Ronaldo in the first match especially was, well, if you're not scoring, what is it exactly you do around here? And I say this having watched the Canucks last year, where I'm like, all five guys out there are a liability and a detriment to their team. I can't pick one that's been a positive. Anyway. Oh, another thing I wanted to bring up.

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582.233 - 583.395 Sam Dykstra

Did you do the one to watch?

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583.755 - 606.403 Mike Halford

I did. It's Ronaldo. Right. Yeah. The other thing I wanted to bring up was... And this is an interesting point brought up by you, a rarity. You mentioned yesterday that the group stage of the World Cup has been incredibly star-studded, both in terms of the guys playing, but also how they've risen to prominence. And they're all scoring. Yeah. Except Ronaldo. And then...

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607.582 - 622.407 Mike Halford

I did think it was interesting. You brought up the idea of have the star players benefited from a watered-down group stage and the ability to score bags of goals against inferior opponents yesterday. For example, Mbappe scoring twice against Iraq.

622.567 - 622.928 Giulio Caravetta

Yeah.

622.948 - 625.312 Mike Halford

They had a tough time, and the second goal was on a platter for him.

625.332 - 625.472 Giulio Caravetta

Mm-hmm.

625.857 - 641.461 Mike Halford

I do think there's something to this. I don't know if it was an intended consequence when FIFA originally expanded the field that we were going to go to America where they like their big stars and our big stars are all going to shine on the group stage because we're putting them up against minnows. It's certainly played out in particular instances.

Chapter 4: What impact does age have on top football players like Messi and Ronaldo?

1158.987 - 1161.33 Mike Halford

Right. You know, like they advance further in tournament.

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1161.35 - 1162.771 Sam Dykstra

And then Nigel from Sheffield.

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1162.791 - 1163.932 Mike Halford

Two European finals. Sorry.

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1164.073 - 1166.615 Sam Dykstra

Nigel from Sheffield would say, but you didn't win, mate.

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1166.835 - 1181.571 Mike Halford

Yeah. And that's a great debate. Yeah. At the end, can you truly compete with the best of the best, which is often what these tournaments unfurl? Can you actually beat them in those moments? Are you just playing so conservatively you're playing to get there and not necessarily to win?

1181.551 - 1202.869 Sam Dykstra

By the way, I'm going to check out Granville Street today. I haven't done it yet. And the fine folks at Dublin Calling, they've arranged a table for me to watch England and Ghana. So I'm going to go down there a little bit early. You're going to go to Dublin Calling? I'm going to go. Yeah, attaboy. No, I'm looking forward to it. And then tomorrow, you're going to the match. Yep.

1203.27 - 1207.456 Sam Dykstra

And I'm going to the FanFest. Me too. To watch the game. You guys are going to hang out together?

1207.637 - 1208.298 Mike Halford

FanFest?

1208.318 - 1216.831 Sam Dykstra

No, no, no. I'm in reserve section. Hey! And then, yeah, you're going to be in GenPop. No, I got my press pass.

Chapter 5: How has Messi reinvented his playing style over the years?

1852.68 - 1873.258 Jason Brough

Because then you're treading uphill the whole time, the rest of the season. Everything becomes a little bit bigger early on in the year. So for them, these next two weeks are huge, right? You play Calgary, you play Edmonton, both Western rivals. Edmonton's off to a 2-0 start. So this is an important couple of weeks. They've got to find a way to win a game.

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1873.378 - 1897.716 Jason Brough

And in doing that, like, you know, we talk about, when you talk about football, and I know the defense is taking their licks right now and But it's about complementary football, too, right? It's about picking up the other side when they're down, right? You're going to have games during the year where your offense and defense are not playing well, and you need the other to pick each other up.

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1898.217 - 1915.981 Jason Brough

And at the same time, you need your special teams to do something, right? You can't. You can't be fielding a missed field goal when you're five yards from the back of the end zone and try to get it out of there when you can just let it go out of the end zone and not give up a point and take the ball on the 40-yard line. Instead, try to take the ball out and getting it to the two.

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Chapter 6: What challenges does Ronaldo face in the current World Cup?

1916.903 - 1936.918 Jason Brough

And, you know, the ratifications of just that play led to a touchdown, right? So you need the other parts of the game to help each other out. So when the defense isn't playing well, you need the offense and special teams to make – Make some plays. Change field position. Get momentum going.

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1937.639 - 1962.428 Jason Brough

And I know that was going to be tough given the injuries to the offense on Friday just because of sheer numbers and the inexperience that they had at the wide receiver spot. But that's what wins you championships. And I point to last year in Saskatchewan. That's exactly the same thing that happened to them. Their quarterback went down for a few games and they weren't spectacular on offense.

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1962.661 - 1973.751 Jason Brough

but their defense really picked them up and turned the ball over. Their special teams scored for them. Those are the kinds of things that you need to happen when one side of the ball isn't helping you out.

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1975.503 - 2000.079 Sam Dykstra

With the two Alberta teams coming to Kelowna to play, the Lions, I was wondering if you could tell me about the state of football in Alberta right now, CFL in Alberta, because we know it's strong in Saskatchewan and we know it's strong in Manitoba. Those two teams, I'm not worried about their attendance. I'm a little worried about the attendance in Calgary and Edmonton.

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2000.12 - 2028.898 Jason Brough

Again, I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't worried, but I think the other part of that, too, is fans want to see winning football. And we all can admit that Edmonton hasn't put that product on the field. And so that's why this was so huge for them early on, was to come out of the gate. They're 2-0. And there are football fans there. We've seen that. And I think they will support it.

2029.3 - 2052.594 Jason Brough

Same for Calgary. They're so used to such a winning standard there for so long that when the team starts to struggle, it's unfortunate, but the fans find something else to do. And in those places, a lot of people, even in Hamilton when we were there, you know, the summertime in the East, you meet people are going to the, going to their cottages.

2052.674 - 2071.252 Jason Brough

They're, they're finding things to do on the weekends. Right. So you got to give them, you got to give them a reason to come right. It's a, it's a, it's a, you know, I know I hear you guys all the time and it's, it's a competitive entertainment market, right? You, you, you've got to put on a good show and people will come when, when you do that. And so hopefully they will.

2071.512 - 2092.915 Sam Dykstra

The name change in Edmonton seems to be a big, a big, big deal. I guess there, was it their president that came out and said the name change was, was a disaster for the team. And listen, like I, I don't know if I, you know, I see people on social media like, you know, when they change the name to Elks, I didn't put another penny into the team.

2093.015 - 2114.951 Sam Dykstra

I'm like, okay, well, names are pretty important to you, I guess. But, you know, there was a tradition in Edmonton and, um, it feels like that tradition has been lost. And it's not just the name change, but like you're saying, it's the play on the field. But how important is it to the league that it maintains interest in Alberta?

Chapter 7: What are the implications of the upcoming Canada vs. Switzerland match?

2597.553 - 2617.6 Mike Halford

I was like, what? Um, I was off my phone for five minutes and yeah, then checked my phone, made some calls and realized that was happening. And I mean, I still don't even know. Like, it's just everything has happened so fast.

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2618.643 - 2637.799 Sam Dykstra

I like when he feigns surprise that he'd been traded. Like, what did you tell me? That I've been traded to the team that I was demanding a trade to? Florida? Where my brother plays? Are you kidding me? That's wild. I put my phone down for five minutes. And the team that I've been demanding a trade to...

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2637.779 - 2662.538 Mike Halford

acquired me in a trade the freaking balls wild is that the freaking balls on these two man i can't i can't i mean i can believe it because they're living in their best kachuk life and era right now we're like we're gonna do whatever we want and they're gonna for the most part get away with it because they're gonna get i mean i i would be shocked if this doesn't turn out with florida going back to a stanley cup final i've got a hypothetical for you

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2662.518 - 2684.475 Sam Dykstra

yeah i've got a hypothetical okay okay let's say the oilers pull themselves together somehow or babs is a really good coach they haven't officially hired him yeah but let's say they do they get back to the stanley cup final and they play florida again who are we cheering for i'm cheering for edmonton i that's where i'm at with the kachoks oh man i don't know if i can go there

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2684.455 - 2687.584 Giulio Caravetta

I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can do it.

2687.604 - 2707.451 Mike Halford

It's not going to happen. I would like to put the Halpert disclaimer on this, that this is not me cheering for Edmonton. I just want to put that out there as a little PSA for the listeners. It's not me cheering for Edmonton. It should really underscore how I feel about the Florida Panthers, which I've never really felt that much of a hatred before this.

2707.752 - 2716.342 Mike Halford

I didn't like them, but this, and good on them for being the unquestioned villains of the National Hockey League right now. I think they've taken that mantle from Vegas.

2716.503 - 2738.568 Sam Dykstra

My God, I might do it too. I might look past my envy and jealousy for... If Edmonton won the Stanley Cup, I mean, for Wish, it's the same as if Carolina won the Stanley Cup. The celebrations would be equal and a ring is a ring. But I think that celebration in Edmonton would be incredible and it would be hard to watch as a Canucks fan.

2738.628 - 2759.349 Sam Dykstra

But I think I might pay the price and I'd be okay if McDavid won it. Especially if McDavid could get the upper hand on those guys. you know, forget Edmonton, forget the Oilers, but I think I'd go like, okay, I'm cheering for McDavid and Canada against this team.

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