Kazaiah Sterling Pt 2 - USL1 Title, Jam’s 5 celebrations, and Kaz’s 9 Toes?! - E2

Kaz is back for part 2 with the Back Stick as he shares his experience of transitioning from Tottenham to the USL with South Georgia Tormenta FC, discussing his early challenges, the excitement of playoff football, and the emotional rollercoaster of his first season in the US. Both Kaz and Jamil reflect on their journeys, the camaraderie built within the team, and the joy of achieving success together. 

We sat down and discussed the 2022 USL League One Play off run, which culminated in Kaz and Jam being crowned champions. The pair go through their goals in the final, and just what it meant to both of their careers. The discussion also touches on personal growth, injuries, and the transition to new teams, providing insights into the life of professional athletes.

This episode also marks the debut of ‘Extra Time’ - a staple segment of the Back Stick Podcast, where each guest will tell us the answer to 4 simple questions! Kazaiah discusses Harry Kane, a Champions League debut and a few menaces on a night out during this edition of Extra Time on the Back Stick Podcast.

00:00 Transitioning to Professional Football in America

05:21 Does Kaz Really Have 9 Toes?!

09:14 Hitting Form in 2022

10:33 The Craziest Game Of Our Lives 

15:20 2022 Tormenta Play-Off Run

24:52 Goalscorers: 2022 USL 1 Final

31:06 Jam's 5 Celebrations?!

32:42 2022 Championship Reflections

34:09 Tormenta 2023 Ups & Downs

36:17 Transition To Pittsburgh

37:53 City Life In Pittsburgh

39:09 Extra Time

46:46 Champions League Debut

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Transcript

Jamil Roberts (00:00)
I love that, mate. I love that. And I think that's a good place to move on there. You've sort of taken us into the early days, your first steps in into professional football in America. Obviously you went over the tournaments down at IMG when you were younger. But talk to me about you signed for Tormentor. Talk to me about that first week, right? Because obviously touched on it. We were signed around the same time I got to preseason.

Kazaiah Sterling (00:14)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Jamil Roberts (00:28)
the day before you. Yeah, it was the first week of the season. think I got in on the Monday. Kaz got in on the, it might have been later then. I might have gotten on a Wednesday. Yeah, Wednesday, Thursday. And then there was the first league game against North Carolina on the Saturday. Like talk to me about that first training session and then the first impressions of playing USL one football.

Kazaiah Sterling (00:29)
It wasn't even pre-season fam, season was starting on the weekend. Yeah.

I'm going on a Thursday. I think it was on Wednesday, yeah.

On the Saturday. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (00:58)
at where we used to play the pitch.

Kazaiah Sterling (01:01)
But okay, the training session, I thought the training session, I really thought of Ian's sessions. I think Ian's a really good coach. So the session itself, I was just like jet lagged, like my leg, he's like, it's Thursday, not too, but this was a session, this was a proper session. So I was like, I was like struggling, I was like, damn, I'm still recovering that. Just from the flight, the session, barely settled into my apartment, stuff like.

Jamil Roberts (01:07)
Mm-hmm. Nah, 100%.

Kazaiah Sterling (01:31)
So then I can't remember the Friday shit, but the game, remember it. Rollin' up to Georgia Southern, we played at Georgia Southern's field. Generally, I think that's the worst field I played on, just for the sole fact that I played on Bum, because I was like, I forgot to say, was playing at Potters Bar before I went to Torment. I was like, I started playing with my boys. One of my close friends was at Potters Bar.

He's like, why don't you play with us? I like, you know what, might as well. I've always wanted to play with my boys, you know? So I ended up playing there for a couple months. I was loving it. It just felt like kicking around with the boys. few clubs were like, lower league clubs, mentioned me just like, come play for us, stuff like that. I'd say like non-league, because I think Portisbo was like step seven maybe, seven, eight. So a few step five teams were saying come play for us. I was just like...

I still just sitting there, I just trying to enjoy football literally. So that was that period. But so yeah, I was playing them pitches before coming to Georgia Southern. Like, it was brazy, it was, you know what it is? It's got it so hot as well. It's got it, it was so hot, yeah. So like there was, the pitch was just dry and it was bumpy. So I've come on.

Jamil Roberts (02:41)
Hahaha

Mm-hmm.

Kazaiah Sterling (02:53)
I think we both might come on that game, same time roughly. Yeah. Yeah. So I could barely get a touch in that game to start off with, but the pitch was crazy. I'm just like, yo, that was one of the hardest games I played in my whole life. Generally, one of the hardest games I played in. I was just like, maybe like...

Jamil Roberts (02:55)
we've come on 60th minute and Ian said go win us the game.

Kazaiah Sterling (03:21)
I've just, my level just extremely dropped. That was the first thing, because I'm like, always got told that a good player don't blame the pitch. So I'm like, my first thing was that, yeah, maybe I'm just arsed. Maybe I'm just not at the level no more. That could be a possibility. And that's the first thing I thought before anything. I'm just like, yeah, maybe that's that. I can't see myself getting out of this situation, doing well, if I've got a player the whole season. And then like,

Dom Okus (03:34)
F***!

Jamil Roberts (03:34)
You

Dom Okus (03:50)
That's actually hilarious. I'm sorry to interrupt that. It's funny that the pitch is so bad that you're doubting your ability. That's how bad the pitch is.

Kazaiah Sterling (03:53)
No, you're good.

Yeah, I swear to you, I will never, I even remember like I played, someone played like a ball to me. I remember it like he said, I played Jamil like a pass, it was like a first time pass. And the way I watched that ball onto my foot, I was just nervous about me. The pass even still came off my ankle, it was still good weight. There'd probably a clip of it somewhere. I can definitely, I played it, was just like, yo, this is a matting like.

Jamil Roberts (03:58)
You

you

Kazaiah Sterling (04:26)
I've got to watch the ball into my foot every time I control it. This is going to be long. It's going to be long.

Jamil Roberts (04:29)
It goes back to when you were in the Rondos at Tottenham and you said you can't use the pitch as an excuse. All of a sudden...

Kazaiah Sterling (04:38)
Yeah, like, I'm just like, for what I expect of myself, like, I'm thinking, you know, I'm coming here, I'm like, I know I'm definitely more than good enough for this level, but I've got to show everyone this. And I'm coming in and thinking the pitch that I'm like, if you're thinking, if that's your excuse, I'm like, maybe this is the level for you, or below even. So I'm just like, yeah, then who do we after that? Was it maybe Charleston or something?

Dom Okus (04:39)
Yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (05:07)
open clock game come on in that one i thought i had a decent little sub cameo i was like yeah cool things are getting better then i think i had that thing with my toe after that

Jamil Roberts (05:08)
Yeah, ciao!

Ha ha!

Yes! I wasn't even gonna bring it up but I tell you what, you've done it now.

Kazaiah Sterling (05:27)
Yeah, I'm keeping our buck on here still. We're keeping it real, fam.

Dom Okus (05:30)
Talk to me Jam, talk to me Jam, what's the context? What happened with the toe?

Jamil Roberts (05:33)
Alright, okay, so

Kazaiah Sterling (05:36)
You

Jamil Roberts (05:38)
you

I started calling Kaz towards the back end of the year. Well, it wasn't calling him. Every time he scored a goal towards the back end of the year, I would post it on my story and I would say he only needs nine toes. Right. So back to the beginning of the season where Kaz was, we were playing Charleston battery and it was either that game or the game after. I don't know what happened if someone stepped on your toe or something, but it got infected, right?

Kazaiah Sterling (06:11)
Yeah, I like a blister and then like...

Jamil Roberts (06:13)
Yeah, so we're roommates on away trips. So I've literally got a video. I've literally got a video of us in Greenville Way and he's there literally performing surgery on his own toe in the corner of the room.

Kazaiah Sterling (06:17)
Greenville!

It was f**k, out of bucket, every use mad man.

Dom Okus (06:34)
What are you doing? Like just draining it because you're swollen or something.

Kazaiah Sterling (06:35)
I'm not basically it's just sweating up like there's a blister and it's just like it's just swollen

Jamil Roberts (06:40)
Bro, it looked like the biggest bunion you've ever seen on his toe.

Kazaiah Sterling (06:43)
But like the pain was like, it's like someone was stabbing just, they had a needle and they're just going. So like I genuinely couldn't sleep. I was like waking up middle of the night like, and the physical rate, all she was giving me was just like stupid little cream, just saying, yeah, just keep wiping on it. was like, I can't walk. I'm like losing, I'm genuinely losing my mind. I'm going crazy. Like this pain is probably the worst pain I've ever felt in my whole life. Like not even exaggerating.

Jamil Roberts (06:50)
You

True. True.

my echo.

Kazaiah Sterling (07:14)
So then it ended up having to get it cut open. Like finally she thought maybe we should get it cut open. So after it got cut open, I was fine like a day or two.

Dom Okus (07:27)
You know what's funny about this story is that as you're talking about it, I can see you reliving it and getting vexed.

Jamil Roberts (07:27)
Go.

Kazaiah Sterling (07:33)
Bro, mad bro, like she's being so silly, like my toe is so fat, like it's, and she just saying, just rub this cream on it and put it in the hot water, it'd be cool. I'm just like, and I'm out here dying, bro. So we get cut open.

Jamil Roberts (07:33)
I see!

Dom Okus (07:47)
This is so good

Jamil Roberts (07:48)
bro, this guy, he would never wear the same pair of boots on either foot because he had one pair of boots that were looser on the foot on his toe because he couldn't fit his toe into one of the boots.

Kazaiah Sterling (08:01)
That was, that's a different, that's also, then I broke my toe, the other toe. So yeah, mad.

Dom Okus (08:01)
You

Jamil Roberts (08:06)
okay, well then... So yeah, there you go. So he does that and then he breaks his toe later on in the year. So there comes the chant, he only needs nine toes. And then, but the thing is I started it and no one really thought anything of it. And then it went like two weeks, three weeks when he started banging goals in towards the back end of the season.

Kazaiah Sterling (08:18)
Yeah, so Jamil just started that rubbish.

Jamil Roberts (08:29)
and all the lads are like, what's going on here? So then I tell my own story because I've seen it firsthand at the beginning of the year. And then it gets to the point where the whole team put in hashtag nine toes on all of his posts, on all of their stories, on everything.

Kazaiah Sterling (08:46)
So it gets to a point where we're going out and people even girl they ask me, like, is it true you only have nine toes? I'm just saying like, me and the team full of idiots as well, like you, Jake, like these guys are egging it on. So I'm out at bars and people ask, like, you actually got nine toes and shit. I'm just like, these men are not serious.

Dom Okus (09:00)
You

That's so funny!

Jamil Roberts (09:07)
you

Kazaiah Sterling (09:09)
But it's hilarious. It's so funny. couldn't even be mad that that's how funny it was.

Dom Okus (09:14)
That's jokes. That's so jokes. That's so jokes. Just to bring us back in. Jam, you just touched on it there. They started banging goals at end of the season. So was this the season you lot won the league? Was that your first year there? that when you lot won the league? that right? Okay. Okay. Okay. So Jam, just from your perspective, talk me through that when Kaz started to hit form and like, you know, how he was playing and you know, what was really clicking for him.

Kazaiah Sterling (09:26)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (09:38)
be fair, it was actually just when he got fit. He had the early setbacks, which we touched on earlier, obviously the first toe injury. And then there was a couple of muscle injuries, I'm pretty sure, in there. He just couldn't get going whatsoever. And I think it was about the time where Ian, our manager, sort of realized that he had to maybe treat Kaz a little differently. He couldn't be out there being 100 % Monday to Friday if we wanted him to be Kazaya on the weekend.

Dom Okus (09:42)
Rev.

Jamil Roberts (10:09)
So he got fit and then really that I can't pinpoint a time where it did click for him. It was just sort of happened to where we started picking up results. We started clicking as a team. And it was like he got one, he got two, he got three to the point where towards the back end of the season, it was like if Kaz is on the pitch, we're gonna we've got a chance.

Kazaiah Sterling (10:33)
wrong that that green voice, when somebody low key when somebody came, we just started that picking up points, low key,

Jamil Roberts (10:40)
yeah, yeah, when the USL Tour and the women's team came.

Dom Okus (10:45)
NNHAH!

Kazaiah Sterling (10:47)
Low heat, like, so I want to quote it coincidentally, I don't know, but when they came, everything just started just going perfect. Like, around that 5-5 Greenville game, stuff like that.

Jamil Roberts (10:48)
Yeah

It did click. Mate, have you ever played, to this day, the craziest game I've ever played in.

Kazaiah Sterling (11:05)
Crazy, 100%, but for me, how the day started, was we was late for the meeting. So we got dropped, me, Toby and King got dropped. This is another story.

Jamil Roberts (11:13)
shit, yeah. Just Dom, just for contact for Dom and the listeners. So this is the day where we're playing Greenville at home. And obviously it's a massive game. It's a rivalry game there. So we have the pre-match meeting and Kaz lives with two lads, Toby and Kingsford. And they just don't turn up to video. They just don't turn up. And we're looking around just like, yeah, yeah, that's like.

Kazaiah Sterling (11:38)
You know, we swap the times so that it's normally like four, sorry, but they swap so that we're just there chilling. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (11:44)
Yeah, well basically Kings, I don't think Toby was starting then, I think it was still early for him. But Kings and Kaz were definitely starting and both of them got dropped from the lineup. we're like, honestly, like lads in the changing room were thinking like...

It's probably the right decision from a discipline perspective. Yeah. But we're also thinking, fucking hell. we've just, yeah, you know, like, we played the game and we're four nil, three or four nil down inside of 20 minutes.

Kazaiah Sterling (12:04)
I respected it. couldn't even be angry. Couldn't have been angry.

Dom Okus (12:10)
Yeah, yeah.

in the hope of...

Kazaiah Sterling (12:26)
All I'm thinking is I'm gonna get cooked off. I'm definitely getting blamed for this, 100%. I'm cooked.

Jamil Roberts (12:26)
and then

Yeah, yeah, I can see that. We get one back, we go in for one down. Right? Was it for... No, no, no, it was it. It was, yeah. We go in, it's... Yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (12:39)
No, four two. No, five two.

So I came on, I came on and like someone got, who got injured? Barry?

Jamil Roberts (12:49)
Was it Barry or Arthur, one of the two?

Kazaiah Sterling (12:52)
I think it was Barry. Barry got injured. So then I have to come on in the first. So I'm not even ready. But like, this is just fate, I guess. Come on. And at the 30th minute, I scored two goals straight away. Bam.

Jamil Roberts (12:54)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so we go.

Yes! no! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (13:08)
straight away so it's like 4-2 now then they scored some weird the goal was weird as hell so it's like we going half time 5-2 and then then gone jump

Jamil Roberts (13:17)
Five-two down at half-time. And you know what? The manager didn't even grill us. He literally just went like, lads, that was one of the worst halves of football I've ever seen. Like, it can't get any worse. So, like, let's just play for some pride or something. We went out and funny... I've cut in from the right-hand side and I thought, fuck it. Like, it's five-two. And it's a bang-on top corner from, like, 25 yards.

And that was like, it was like in the second half, like 52nd, 53rd minute. And all of a sudden we're like, fucking hell, actually, let's have it then. Like, let's have a go. Yeah, yeah. And mate, they crumbled. Absolutely crumbled. they, you know what you can tell when you're playing, but I can't only imagine what it was like watching that game live because it literally felt like they all of a sudden.

Dom Okus (13:45)
Matt

Kazaiah Sterling (13:52)
That five free? Yeah man.

Must have been mad, bro.

Jamil Roberts (14:11)
Like they dropped to the edge of the box and we were just peppering them to the point where it went 5-4, 5-5 with like eight or nine minutes ago and we had two chances to win it and we missed both of them. We should have won the game. A game that finished that we were 5-2 down in at half time, we should have won.

Kazaiah Sterling (14:23)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, think 4-0 in 20 minutes is the craziest stuff I've ever seen in my life.

Dom Okus (14:33)
Goodness.

one of those. Yeah, because I was going to ask, is it like they've just started on flames or is one of them ones that they've had four shots, four goals and

Kazaiah Sterling (14:45)
I say flame, was a partly poor defending but like especially in the US you don't get punished like that. You know what saying? Like the first goal, bam. I saw one guy run through and go ding the keeper up. I don't think that guy's ever done that before. everything, well he might have, I don't know, from playing against him, like knew a few times, I thought that was a blip. But like yeah, everything was just going in.

Jamil Roberts (14:48)
Mm-hmm.

Dom Okus (14:52)
that.

Jamil Roberts (15:16)
Yeah, craziest game I've played and craziest game by far. Yeah, well, I mean, I guess to be fair, speaking of Greenville, probably a good time to move on to the playoff run. Obviously we make the playoffs and as you touched on before, Dom, like this is where Kaz really started to get hot, right? To the point where, as I said before, like if Kaz is on the pitch and he's on it, like we've got a chance. We get into the playoffs and we play Charlotte.

at home, we managed to get a home game which it was big because we just opened a new stadium and so Gabriel Obertan is at Charlotte Independence, played for, signed as technically Ronaldo's replacement at Man United when he was a kid.

Kazaiah Sterling (15:48)
Miracle.

Jamil Roberts (16:05)
First off, hits the hardest ball I've ever seen in my entire life. One nil. Yeah. Ridiculous.

Kazaiah Sterling (16:09)
Scary hard. Like you heard it in the stadium. The angle was ridiculous. The angle he shot from was like, when he's lining up to shoot, just thinking, that's just shit. Why would he even shoot from there? Bam. Fuck, I was like, yo. Cause I'm a keeper hater as well. I'm a keeper hater. I'm always hating on keep. Like why, near post. I was like, he shot, I went, damn.

Jamil Roberts (16:20)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dom Okus (16:27)
Is it?

Jamil Roberts (16:29)
You

Dom Okus (16:39)
Is it one of those ones where it hits the back of the neck and everyone's just looking at each other? That's kind of silent and everyone's just like, whoa, what's happened? Yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (16:43)
Mm-hmm. Ditchy, ditchy. Pin drop.

Jamil Roberts (16:43)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. And I can't remember, did you score two in that game or? Yeah, yeah. So that was the start of Kaz's sort of playoff run there. That was, I remember a couple of people said there was regular season Kaz and there's playoff Kaz. There's two different players. And was that the game, the first one where you turned in the first half and then banged it or the second half?

Kazaiah Sterling (16:52)
Mm-hmm. Yeah,

you

Dom Okus (17:03)
Hehehehehe

Kazaiah Sterling (17:11)
No, that was in the second half, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (17:13)
second half yeah, talk me through that goal because that was that's one of my favorite goals that you've scored.

Kazaiah Sterling (17:18)
It was like, I still had the team, we just needed a goal, you know? And I was like, creating quite a bit. I remember putting King through and goal. I was creating quite a bit, but I didn't have any shots. And that was like the main thing, half time, like, dress, eat, that shoot and stuff. So this is funny, because me and my roommate, King, we'd have like literally fights in training, like, cause he wouldn't pass and stuff. Like, generally, like.

Jamil Roberts (17:22)
Mm-hmm.

Kazaiah Sterling (17:46)
we'd be at each other almost fighting because he hasn't passed me the ball the whole season. Jamil will tell you when he's back, whole season. I'm arguing with this guy, the coach is turning, but he's not passing to me. He's just not passing. Jamil will tell you, King is greedy as hell. much of them, King is greedy as hell. Whole season, and the one time he passed the ball to me early, I was in the pocket, just got it turned.

Jamil Roberts (18:05)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love him to death, loves the boy's feet.

Kazaiah Sterling (18:15)
smashed into the bottom corner. That's probably one of my favorite goals as well. Just that timing of it, just like... He just felt the game change.

Jamil Roberts (18:20)
Yeah, it was a sick finish. it just, yeah. Yeah, it was sick. And obviously big time. Do you know what? Similar to the Greenville one that we talked about earlier, cause they were the better team. Charlotte was the better team. And we got the one and it was like, they just shit themselves. And then we batted them and we ended up getting the points. Yeah. Yeah, they did. Yeah. Yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (18:37)
Got a red card. Got someone sent off. I made a joke with Jay, I'm like, I'm going to get someone sent off. Like if I'm thrown gone, I'm just going to take the red. So they just run across him and that dived the old fellow. This ref has to give it. Yeah, this went on to win.

Jamil Roberts (18:47)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, went on to win and then obviously the second game we go away to Greenville and that was a place where me and you weren't really familiar with it, but Tormenta just at the time never lost to Greenville. We obviously had the crazy game with them earlier in the season, the 5-5 and we just, even though they were probably the favorites going in, we just, we literally thought it was a gimme game. Like, okay, like we've beaten Charlotte, we're in the final. Like we're just going to beat Greenville.

Kazaiah Sterling (19:18)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, literally, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (19:25)
Yeah, and it was 1-0 and it was a pretty easy game in the end. You scored in the first half. And it was... Yeah. I don't even remember the game really. was that, like...

Kazaiah Sterling (19:31)
Yeah.

I paid all for that game.

I played awful. I remember I'd diarrhea the night before. I was like, I might not be able to play. like, this is my luck. I hate Greenville. The Greenville stadium, I hate. Because I've been there, had my first toe injury, broke my toe there the second time. And the first time I would go there, I'd have diarrhea. I'm just like, fuck this place. Journey for that. I don't ever want to go there ever again. Well, yeah, luckily we won. The fence was solid that game, I remember.

Jamil Roberts (19:49)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (19:59)
You

Jamil Roberts (20:07)
Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (20:09)
Yeah, so Jam, you're talking there a little bit about kind of the quarterfinal, semi-final, kind of how you got kind of regular season cares and playoff cares. And so obviously I know you guys going to the final, taught me a little bit for it from both your perspectives, obviously. First season there, I don't know if you were as expected to even get this far and kind of what the mentality was in the camp. And then taught me through the game as well. So maybe Jam, do you want to go first and just tell me kind of from your perspective what it was like.

Jamil Roberts (20:37)
Yeah, mean, the season itself, were, Tormentor was never a team at the time that was even remotely close to winning anything. You know, it was known as like a small market club. But we knew in the dressing room, we had good players. We had a really good team. And then I think a few other teams sort of started to take notice, you know, when they seen some of the names that were signed.

some of the clubs they were coming from. And then once we sort of hit form, like we really were a team that no one wanted to play against because we were climbing the league, you we were on the upward trajectory. And then we get into the playoffs and as I said before, it really was like we needed to beat Charlotte because we were so confident we were going to beat Greenville that we were already in the final. So, I mean, going into the final, we actually got lucky because...

The other semi-final was Richmond, who Mattie Bentley played on the right for them. They were sick that year. Like, they were...

Kazaiah Sterling (21:40)
Mm-hmm. We have Belanios. He was crazy.

Jamil Roberts (21:43)
Yeah, Belanios was a joke. Him and Tozaki and then Matty on the right, it was... And Nils Vinyols was sick that year. they... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like they were on. We actually played Richmond the other day and Nils played a crazy ball to win it later on. Just, he's a sick player. But going into that semi-final, ours was first.

Kazaiah Sterling (21:51)
I like the 8. Yeah, I like him a lot, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (22:10)
So we thought we win the game, we're gonna play Richmond in the final. And then, you know, they won the league, they were the best team by far. So it was really like no pressure on the final, we win, great, whatever. Find out that Chattanooga somehow won away at Richmond with 10 men.

Kazaiah Sterling (22:25)
Was it in the extra time or no? Or is it even extra time or the ninth minute?

Jamil Roberts (22:28)
It was, yeah, Yeah, it was Rafa Metzigan, like absolute banger, cut him from the right on his weak foot and smashed it bottom corner. We were like, we were celebrating in the changing room because we were like, my God, we've got a chance. Like we've got a chance of actually winning it now.

Kazaiah Sterling (22:43)
I Darren must have been crazy happy as well, hosting the final.

Jamil Roberts (22:46)
Yeah, yeah, Yeah, because we we hosted as well because obviously Chattanooga got in as the four seed, we were the three seed. So, you know, it was just everything about it's kind of like a bit of a fairy tale in all honesty, like the probably the smallest market in the USL to make the final was was massive. And, you know, I don't know if you've felt the same Kaz from the beginning of year and throughout, you know, especially me going into the final, I thought, you know, this is ours to lose.

Kazaiah Sterling (23:16)
100 % so like me just going into my first season in America I was just like for my personal expectation I'm just like I don't know I didn't really I didn't really understand the league format like we played teams three times and stuff like that I didn't know any of the teams so I didn't really have a clue what was going on half the time I was just like just really like telling up following whatever else is doing

I didn't really understand the playoff because in England, the playoff is not really a thing. I didn't really watch basketball NFL like that. So like the console playoff I just never really got. But I just knew whatever it is that the season we need to win, I want to be in that sort of thing. So like when it got to the close to the end of season and we was in the round, I was just like that we go. I need to be involved. Whatever it is, I need to be involved in that, you know, so.

Dom Okus (23:58)
you

Kazaiah Sterling (24:06)
Obviously got to do my part to help that. But like Jam said, Charlotte was probably the only team in the league that, me personally, I just felt like, oof. I feel like, I was like, there's games going on, if I'm turning up, I feel like, I know I'm gonna do my thing, Charlotte was like, I could do my thing, but they got guys who can do their thing as well. And like Jam said, I just think if we beat them, that.

Smooth, that's how I felt. Just in my head over to you that you don't take that as a given when you get out there on the pitch. that was my take first just in my head. was just like, we can 100 % beat any other team. And then like you said, it smooth sailing from then. Yeah.

Dom Okus (24:52)
Yeah, so I think you guys are beating around the bush a little bit. So don't worry, I can be the one to help you up. So you go into the final against Chattanooga, you both get on the score sheet and you end up winning. So Kaz, you first talk me through your goal. What minute of the game was it in? Talk me through the sequence.

Kazaiah Sterling (25:10)
So it was a penalty first half. So before the game, before anything, I was like, my biggest fear was losing. So like, even when we won, I wasn't even like happy. I was more just like relieved. It was a weird feeling. I was just more like relieved we didn't lose more than happy. But like into the game, we got a penalty. It was like 20th minute maybe. Yeah, so like.

Jamil Roberts (25:34)
Yeah, early, inside half hour.

Kazaiah Sterling (25:38)
It's penalty. I'm just thinking. It's a bit fucked that I think this, but I'm just thinking that. I'm like, yeah, I'm going to score. I'm just thinking that which way I'm going to run after I score sort of thing. That's why I've...

Whenever I get a chance, that's what I'm thinking. They say like, you know when they he thinks he scored, commentators be like, he thinks he scored before he scored. That's me. That's literally me. I'm wheeling away before he's gone in. I've played it out with my, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I just believed I I was like, yeah, I'm a hundred percent scoring this. I scored, we're winning one-nil. We're playing well, creating chances. It's going well then. They just scored like a flute goal.

Jamil Roberts (26:23)
free kick

Kazaiah Sterling (26:23)
that right free kick on the half way, the corner by the touchline, loop on in, the header was crazy.

Jamil Roberts (26:28)
Yeah, bro, I was on the bench for the final and the free kick was like, past the bench, like closer to their goal than the bench was to our goal. It was miles away.

Kazaiah Sterling (26:43)
Just lobbed one in, the guy crazy header, I can't like crazy header like, the ball didn't have any pace on it so like he really like, proper like, like flicked it and went right like looped kind of into the corner like crazy header. So just like fuck. another weird thing, had to do an interview at halftime, we just conceded so I'm just thinking fucking hell man, we just conceded. And I'm yeah I'm getting stopped due to like you gotta do an interview, I'm just like.

Jamil Roberts (27:06)
Seriously.

Kazaiah Sterling (27:11)
I don't give a fuck about their interview. We just flipping conceded in the final. They're getting interviewed mid game. I guess that's the thing in I've seen that quite a bit now in America, the interview.

Dom Okus (27:22)
So, just quickly, what did they ask you?

Kazaiah Sterling (27:25)
can't remember what they asked me but I just said some generic shit like, yeah, just, you know, got to keep focused, blah, blah, blah. You know, we know what we've been doing. Just, yeah, just normal generic shit. I just said something like that. But I was just thinking that, you know, I need to get into the team so I need to hear what coach is saying and shit and I might have to do an interview but I just find that a bit funny but.

Dom Okus (27:30)
Yeah, yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (27:48)
But yeah, it would come out second half and then it was a tough second half actually. I'd say second half was quite even, both teams were on edge. Then Jamil comes on. She follow American college soccer, you know how it goes and Jamil was involved in the final.

Jamil Roberts (28:08)
Yeah, was my first touch of the game. Yeah. I think I came on in like the 78th minute. And yeah, yeah. And bearing in mind, since McQuailly came in, I had played left wing back pretty much since Quell came in. and he threw me on the right and just said, like, actually...

Kazaiah Sterling (28:13)
What was that, Steve? Yeah, it had a bit of lung.

Dom Okus (28:14)
What's it?

Kazaiah Sterling (28:22)
Yeah, and the goal was at 8-1, ish.

Jamil Roberts (28:38)
Funny enough, the same thing that he said to me and Kaz, the first game that we played, go and win the game, that was the message, going in, like go and win us the game. the funny thing is, Kaz picks up the ball on the left-hand side, right? And he's driving through the middle, and I can't remember who it was, but someone makes a run on the inside. And yeah, it might have been.

Kazaiah Sterling (29:04)
It might have actually been Quele, so he might have come up with a king probably.

Jamil Roberts (29:07)
Probably. And he's made a run, and it's just opened up the space, right? And he slipped the ball over to me. And honestly, my first instinct when it came over was like touch, combine, like see if I can get whatever. And the ball just skipped up off the surface, right? Like the weirdest bounce ever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and literally it was spur of the moment decision. I thought, fuck it. I'm hitting it.

Kazaiah Sterling (29:26)
It's already bubbling before it's even got to you

Jamil Roberts (29:35)
and that just caught it so sweet off my left foot went in top corner near post. I don't even think the keeper's expecting it. And the funniest thing is when you watch it back, Kaz is about to scream at me for not giving him the ball back.

Kazaiah Sterling (29:39)
We gotta get a clip of this.

Dom Okus (29:41)
Thank you for listening.

Kazaiah Sterling (29:50)
Shut up.

No, no, no, no. It wasn't even that. like, I turned the guy, this is a drill we done the day before, like credit to the coaches for that one. Cause they said we're going to score like this. It's like a freebie to scenario drive at the heart and play whoever you, very much our pitches is a new pitch. So it's a bit like, it's not even bubbly. It's just like, it's just uneven. It's literally just uneven. So I played him this ball.

And I've seen it, Jamil's like, you know the way he plays, like, you know when he's about to shoot, he's got the David Beckham arm up, he's like. And I'm just like, don't shoot. That's what I was thinking, cause I'm like, this bull, like, if you can get a clip of this, like, the bulls actually going like this.

Jamil Roberts (30:28)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (30:28)
hahahaha

Kazaiah Sterling (30:40)
I'm just like, don't shoot. Shooting on that pitch is insane. Maybe on a different pitch, cool. That pitch, insane. I'm just like, don't shoot. He's shot. I didn't even know it went in, because the way it went in was so weird, the near post. I was just like, you even see it. I'm just like, shit, that's gone in. then I run off. I don't know if you can get that clip in, but that would be hilarious.

Dom Okus (30:59)
You

Jamil Roberts (30:59)
Yeah

Yeah, nice, funny.

Dom Okus (31:04)
Yeah, 100%. 100 % got it. And what's that feeling, Jerm, when the ball hit the back of the net? Like, what did that feel like?

Jamil Roberts (31:10)
are made to this day is my my favourite moment in football. Like I've like did the thing in college and everything. But doing it in the professional level was like something I can't even describe. Like I just remember I I see the video back and I know that I'm trying to act cool. I'm trying to be like, yeah, this is what I do. But

But inside, I'm going nuts. I've even given it that one after, like...

Dom Okus (31:39)
Jamil If

Kazaiah Sterling (31:40)
Jamil, hey, if If If this was now, you'd be in a reel for like trying to be on the cover of FIFA Celebration. He done like five celebrations. He shushed our own fans. He went like this to our own fans, I swear to God. No, he went shh.

Jamil Roberts (31:45)
it.

Kazaiah Sterling (32:00)
I'm like, yo, those are our fans, Jamil

you

Dom Okus (32:05)
That's good.

Jamil Roberts (32:06)
I've knees I've done a knee slide. I've jumped up on the fence in the crowd. I've shushed the crowd I've gone like that and then after that I've right right wing back now

Kazaiah Sterling (32:17)
Just that, yeah, it's now.

Dom Okus (32:20)
Flippin'

Kazaiah Sterling (32:22)
No, that was hilarious. Bear in mind that that pitch is not a knee side. I don't even know how he done a knee side. Physics say he shouldn't have been allowed to like. I was expecting one of them knee sides where you like go and then you like tumble over. But obviously it's Jamil also, it worked out.

Jamil Roberts (32:28)
you

Dom Okus (32:35)
Yeah. Sick, sick, sick. So a successful kind of first season for you both. And I guess the kind of perfect ending to like unknowing because for both of you, right, you're both kind of obviously, Jem, you've played in the US but has your first time and to like play your first season and to win something and to score in the game must have felt amazing. So

Kazaiah Sterling (32:55)
Mm-hmm.

Dom Okus (33:01)
Did you kind of feel like you say relieved that talk me more through that even after the game like that relief.

Kazaiah Sterling (33:05)
Yeah, because getting to a final and especially coming from England, know, playing what I did and coming here, for me, in my head, I was expecting that. Coming away from this end, I've lost going back home, telling my friends, family. I've got family watching this game, friends. Because all of the games are always late.

The games are at 10, 11 o'clock, so no one's really watching back home. But my boys are staying up. It's on a Sunday as well. So my boys are just like, yo, you better win that. I'm staying up. I've got work in the morning. Yo, better show me some sort of thing. So I'm thinking about stuff like that. So yeah, it's just a relief that we've it more than like, yes, we've done it. I don't know how to describe it. I don't know why I felt like that, but that's just how I felt.

Jamil Roberts (33:49)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I definitely agree with that because my boys would have given me shit if we didn't win.

Kazaiah Sterling (34:01)
Mm-hmm.

Dom Okus (34:02)
That's good. That's good. That's good.

Kazaiah Sterling (34:04)
HONDO

Jamil Roberts (34:05)
you

Dom Okus (34:09)
Yeah, I was going to say kind of just going into where you are today, right? So was that last season for you both? The season before? Two years ago. Right, okay. So just a quick kind of summary of the next season. So obviously you've won it now. Did you go into the next season as kind of like now one of the top teams in the USO League one and was there even, you know, for yourself a bit of more of a target on your back? Obviously you're unknown.

Kazaiah Sterling (34:16)
Two years ago, two seasons, season before, yeah.

Dom Okus (34:38)
when you first come in and do well and then now people kind of know a bit about you. So did you have that kind of target in your back end? Was there higher expectation for you in your second season?

Kazaiah Sterling (34:47)
Yeah, I'd say definitely. So in terms of second season, I kind of didn't expect to be there, but just contractual situations and stuff. I ended up staying the second season there. And about the start of season of injury, I had a back injury, so I missed maybe the first two or three months of the season. So that was just like, once again, it was just annoying just having to get going again. But yeah, like you said, there was a bit of a target.

on our back just as a team, individually, just I know, so was getting like, sometimes like man marked in games and stuff. Which for me is like, I'm not a dribbler sort of thing, like, I genuinely don't like dribbling and stuff, so like, for me, if I'm getting that man marked, that means, or like they're bringing extra players, that means someone else is free. So I like to like combine. So that, for me, was like, that was fine sort of thing. But like, I feel like the season after, like, we kind of almost like maybe had a better team even.

But we just definitely underachieved. We just couldn't get it going, you know? I conceded a lot of goals late, so it was hard. Individually, I thought I had a decent season. Players would have solidified that, but we ended up not making players, so that was quite of a downer to end on that. But definitely an enjoyable season in terms of football.

I thought I was playing that to my... to showing everyone what I can do and stuff so that from a personal level I was enjoying it, stuff like that,

Dom Okus (36:18)
I feel that, I feel that. then just to fast forward to today then, so obviously you're now at Pittsburgh. How did that move come about?

Jamil Roberts (36:20)
Thanks

Kazaiah Sterling (36:27)
Just like through my agent, just you know, talking to teams and stuff in the off season, stuff like that. It was quite late I signed, so it was kind of like, not maybe a rush, but it's like, it's getting to like January, late February, I need to like get myself over to a team if I'm gonna go over there. I wasn't sure if I staying in England or coming back over. And especially as an international, like Jamil would tell you, just like, it's just so much harder just sorting stuff out.

Jamil Roberts (36:46)
you

Kazaiah Sterling (36:56)
So was just like, you know, I just need to be somewhere where can play at that level. Similar to my torment situation. Wasn't too, too fast about where I was going. At first I was, but like the later got into that transfer window sort of thing. I was just like, you know, I just need to be somewhere, play, have a good season then, you know, whatever. So that was that sort of process of me getting to Pittsburgh.

Jamil Roberts (37:21)
Yeah, but I remember me and you fucking FaceTiming and like beginning of February. I'd already signed with Chattanooga, but I couldn't go because of my visa. So again, like the international problems and whatever you're flying back and forth doing your thing. trying to try it. Like with me and him this off season, was, it was honestly a nightmare for both of us. Like just trying to literally

Kazaiah Sterling (37:28)
Mm-hmm

they're immune. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Jamil Roberts (37:50)
play for the clubs that we were signing for.

Dom Okus (37:54)
Yeah, but just to to kind of round off kind of Pittsburgh, I want to talk a little bit off the pitch, like how you assimilated to like being in a bigger city now. I know it's very different to where you were living when you're playing for tour mentor. So just tell me a little bit about what you think of Pittsburgh, the city.

Kazaiah Sterling (38:03)
Mm-hmm.

The city is really cool. I just love being in that city, but I just love seeing that big buildings at night, skyscrapers, so I just love it. like where our stadium is, like you can literally see like all the big, it's like on the wall, you can see like the big buildings. So feel like, I don't know about, yeah, I haven't been to like all the stadiums in the US, but I probably, that's probably what, I can't see it getting much better than that.

Jamil Roberts (38:27)
Underneath the bridge. Yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (38:37)
I think our training one's better, definitely, which is, which I found a bit odd. But yeah, the city itself, just like, I really like it. There's more stuff to do. Like I teaming is so cool. So that it's made it quite easy to just settle down, you know, and be here throughout the season.

Dom Okus (38:55)
Yeah, yeah. Dope. And I think that's good segue into kind of our last segment of the show, which is we're calling Extra Time, where we talk about kind of teammates, you know, some of the best you've played with, funniest, best doing that. So Jam's going to lead us through this one. So take it away, Jam.

Jamil Roberts (39:11)
Yeah, yeah, mate. So these are just quick fire, mate. You can go into as much detail as you want. But the first one Who's the best player that you've played with in your whole career.

Kazaiah Sterling (39:22)
Best. I guess that.

For me, that question is weird because there's trained with and played with. I've played with, I was in the team with them week in, week out sort of thing. I guess Harry Kane if I'm going to do that, Harry Kane, best player I've trained with, played with whatever. But at academy Academy level, I've played with some crazy players. Really nasty players.

Jamil Roberts (39:30)
Mm-hmm.

Okay, not bad. I'd have him at Chattanooga.

Dom Okus (39:47)
Hehehehe

Kazaiah Sterling (39:53)
But I say probably like Marcus Edwards, he's like, he was a joke growing up, still is now sort of thing. Yeah, like he, and he wasn't wrong to, you know yeah, like genuinely like really nasty, genuinely really nasty, like, but yeah.

Jamil Roberts (39:58)
Yeah, Poch called him Messi like, didn't he?

Yeah.

sick, So maybe that leads us on to the best player that you've played against in your career.

Kazaiah Sterling (40:17)
against this is a hard one

very very hard on I don't really remember plays that that too tough that I played against

Jamil Roberts (40:29)
Not maybe not less less maybe go not necessarily like on the day but

Kazaiah Sterling (40:34)
you know, I'm being silly. I'm forgetting them Youth Cup games. I've got touched a few of them.

Jamil Roberts (40:40)
Mm-hmm.

Kazaiah Sterling (40:45)
Youth Cup times, Callum Hudson-Odoi was a... What he was playing up, the way, what he was doing was he was violating still. He was violating still. Playing up, doing that playing up was crazy. I played against Foden, Foden was, he was good. It's crazy that some of these players I'm mentioning, I guess maybe at the time, there was maybe better players than them in the team, which is weird to even say that.

Jamil Roberts (41:03)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (41:14)
you

Kazaiah Sterling (41:16)
that there was more feared players than that. Foden at the time, when I was playing against him, sort of thing. Which is crazy to say. Not all of them are even, I'm still playing at it. A lot of them are, like, off names, I'll say Foden, Reece James. Reece James was really good at just growing up. Just like, could do everything. Mason Mount was really good growing up as well. Still is now, but like, a lot of the Chelsea players, as in Chelsea just...

Jamil Roberts (41:41)
Ahem.

Yeah, well, my age group at Chelsea oh my days, was Dom Solanke and yeah, to be fair, every single one of them, bro, we got pumped every week by them. Tammy Abraham was guaranteed Hat-trick, Dom Solanke guaranteed Hat-trick. And then I ended up, I went on trial with them for six weeks and it was the first time where I stepped into a changing room and I went, yeah, I'm miles off it.

Dom Okus (41:46)
Madagaramya.

Kazaiah Sterling (41:46)
A joke.

It was all of them that Everyone's got the same trauma

Dom Okus (41:56)
Yeah. Yeah, bro.

Kazaiah Sterling (42:03)
You

Jamil Roberts (42:13)
Alright, well, you've dropped a few names there, so we like that. Moving on, bit different away from the football, right? So think of you're going on a night out and you can pick three teammates past or present to come with you. Who are you picking? And I'm exempt.

Kazaiah Sterling (42:17)
Ayy.

Dom Okus (42:17)
Yeah, mate.

Kazaiah Sterling (42:37)
Cool. That's a... You know what? That's a hard one, because even to start with, going out in America and England and at London, it's two different things, two different dynamics.

Dom Okus (42:38)
He won't gonna pick you anyway.

Jamil Roberts (42:39)
Hahaha!

you

Mm-hmm.

Kazaiah Sterling (42:53)
I'm gonna do an American one. I'm gonna put Jake up there. Jake Dengler. Haha, yeah. Can't not mention Jake going out. I'm trying to think. He just loves seeing out. I'm gonna have to do Chris as well. Yeah, Chris and Jake duo is crazy.

Jamil Roberts (42:57)
Thank you.

Yeah, they have to. They have to.

For a second, yeah, yeah, yeah.

that is unmatched in it. Not Nick.

Kazaiah Sterling (43:23)
Nick, I wanna put Nick, I hope he sees Nick's a menace. Nick's a menace, they're all menaces. I'm gonna, no, I'm gonna go them three actually. Them three. Nick, yeah, crazy menaces, all three of them. Jake Moore, Jake Moore behave, he's a different type of menace, yeah, that's a crazy three together, crazy.

Jamil Roberts (43:29)
Hahaha

Dom Okus (43:30)
Good

Jamil Roberts (43:34)
Yeah, yeah, Nicky, Nicky, Chris, could vote Jake dangler.

Hahaha!

Bro, what nickname did you give Chris Heckenberg throughout the year for his difference how he was in the changing room and the mask?

Kazaiah Sterling (43:51)
The mask. You seen the mask? Yeah, when he starts drinking, he just turns into like, he's the most intelligent guy you'll ever meet. He's so smart. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but he's so smart, knows everything. bam, night out, Chris, just an idiot. But funny as hell, you would never think.

Dom Okus (43:54)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (44:06)
No, he is. He's...

you

Dom Okus (44:16)
you

Jamil Roberts (44:19)
Yeah, he really is. Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (44:19)
Yeah. Just so quickly, before you go to the next one quickly. Kaz, did you ever go to a place called Oceana in Watford? So the reason I'm bringing this up yeah is because I've got PTSD from that place. Yeah. Let me tell you why I got PTSD. Cause all of these man, Kaz Sterling, flipping Dom Solanke, Tammy Abraham, all these guys you're talking about used to be in there. So, for context, this is a, like, just like a big bar in Watford.

Jamil Roberts (44:29)
You

Kazaiah Sterling (44:37)
Hey, save! shit.

He's a shut it down.

Jamil Roberts (44:49)
We had it with we had Oshis and Plymouth as well. Yeah.

Dom Okus (44:49)
nightclub and it used to be a small room. you know it's showing up yeah yeah so they had the bar the had a room called Barcelona which is where basically they play all the hip-hop and R &B in this big place it was like a small room and all of these men that are on their like second year scholars first year pros just turned 18 would go there and spend all of their wages and take all the girls so like any good looking girl that was in there yep just come to our table we play for Chelsea come to our table play for Arsenal come to our table we play for Tottenham and so man's got man just there

Kazaiah Sterling (45:16)
Yeah, it peak.

Jamil Roberts (45:18)
Yeah,

Dom Okus (45:18)
Like, yeah, I play for my county.

Kazaiah Sterling (45:21)
It's cool. By the time I started going to school, it was Prism. It was called Prism, but it's the same. They have to change the name, but yeah, same soul dynamic. But yeah, that was a sport. Early years, that was a sport. I didn't go out until late, actually. I didn't really go out like that, but when I did go out, was definitely when everyone used to go, yeah, Prism thing.

Dom Okus (45:25)
Okay, okay, change name,

Jamil Roberts (45:26)
Yeah, same thing happened in Plymouth.

That's so funny.

Dom Okus (45:34)
Yeah, but funny, but yeah, okay

Yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, funny.

Jamil Roberts (45:48)
Cool cool. Well, I guess on the subject the nights out in America specifically was the best night out or your favorite city that you've been out in in the US so far

Kazaiah Sterling (45:58)
I probably say Pittsburgh, because they got a similar set up. They do clubs and stuff. There wasn't a club in States where it was just blue room, you know? Just that there are some good nights, they're 100%, but like...

Jamil Roberts (46:02)
Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Yeah, it's made by the people though, not by the venue.

Kazaiah Sterling (46:15)
I'll definitely say Pittsburgh. There's a couple of clubs here. They even do after hours as well. That proper city, how it'd be in London sort of thing. So I guess it's similar to what I know, so really...

Jamil Roberts (46:28)
Yeah, I've never been out there. need to. Dom, have you been out in Pittsburgh? Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (46:34)
Yeah, it's good, you know. Yeah, it's good, bro. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kazaiah Sterling (46:35)
Lots of Dave. There's a few clubs. Yeah, they got loads. They got North Shore, Southside, Enclave, places like that, Penn Society. So yeah.

Jamil Roberts (46:45)
Sweet. All right, mate. Last one, back to football. So any point in your career from when you was a kid in the youth team, first team involvements with Tottenham, loan, Tormenta, Pittsburgh, whole career, what's your biggest achievement, the one that you're most proud of to date?

Kazaiah Sterling (47:07)
When I think about it, definitely my debut. the time, don't know why I kind of like... Yeah, I kind of like not brushed it under the rug, but it's just like I made my debut that it don't mean anything yet, know, sort of thing. definitely that it being at Wembley as well in the Champions League, I think about that's quite crazy, you know, being at the National Stadium.

Jamil Roberts (47:14)
the Champions League one? Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Nice.

Kazaiah Sterling (47:34)
Stuff like that, so I'd probably say definitely making my debut as well. Family was there to see it as well.

Jamil Roberts (47:38)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's sick, mate. Yeah. So just on that, what did you came on for Delhi, right? So what did what did Poc and what did Delhi say to you before you come on?

Dom Okus (47:41)
sick.

Kazaiah Sterling (47:47)
Yeah.

You know what? I can't even remember. I'm assuming he said go enjoy it, something like that. But I came, I got up to come on in the 80th minute. The ball didn't go out. This is just, I feel like this is just my luck. when it comes to football. The ball didn't go out play for eight minutes. Eight minutes, bro. So I was on the side for like, I was just standing there just like, about to make my debut. don't even know what was going through my head.

Dom Okus (48:11)
Matt.

Jamil Roberts (48:21)
doing high knees.

Kazaiah Sterling (48:23)
Just like, yeah, just like doing just dumb shit. Just like, you know, trying to look like trying to get the nerves out as well. I'm like, yo, we don't keep the ball like this, that no one's going to foul no one or throw in nothing, bro. It got to the point where Michel Vorm was in goal. He was like telling someone like to kick the ball. That he saw that telling someone to kick the ball out. I'm just like, well, you're eight minutes the ball in play, no stuff like nothing. I'm just like, that's unreal.

Dom Okus (48:26)
Mwahahahah

Jamil Roberts (48:43)
That's sick. Yeah, I like that. Yeah

Dom Okus (48:45)
Yeah, sick.

Kazaiah Sterling (48:51)
But of course that would happen to me. like, yeah, I'm pretty sure he said that, just have fun. So there's three and all up. They had already qualified top of the league, the group stage. So was just like, yeah, go and enjoy it.

Jamil Roberts (48:53)
mate.

I love that. can't even fathom that experience. So the fact that you got to do it and then move on over here and do what you're doing now is unbelievable. I guess that's a good place for us to wrap it up. So...

Dom Okus (49:23)
Yeah man, that-

Jamil Roberts (49:26)
Yeah, it's been a good one. I've enjoyed this one.

Kazaiah Sterling (49:30)
No, same.

Dom Okus (49:30)
100 % bro. Yeah, we really appreciate it. It's been funny. It's been real. It's been honest. So just appreciate you for coming on there and telling us your story, man.

Kazaiah Sterling (49:36)
Mm-hmm.

Anytime, literally.

Jamil Roberts (49:40)
Yeah, sweet. Well, anyway, that wraps us up. So as usual, I'm going to ask everyone, all the listeners, all the fans, like, subscribe, comment, let us know who you want to see next. And yeah, I guess we'll see you next time. Kaz, Dom, see you soon. Cheers, boys.

Kazaiah Sterling (49:59)
See.

Dom Okus (50:00)
Peace.