Q&A With Fox Sports Commentator Brian Dunseth

As one of the voices of Fox Sports’ soccer coverage, including Major League Soccer (MLS) and CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) matches, Brian Dunseth has found his feet after retiring from his playing career, which included stops with the New England Revolution, LA Galaxy, and Swedish side Bodens BK, among others, in 2006. As well as broadcasting, Dunseth has been a driving force behind the clothing brand Bumpy Pitch and lifestyle website Original Winger.

NASL.com’s Matthew Levine spoke to the current host of Sirius XM’s “Counter Attack” about his radio work, Tony Meola’s opportunity in Jacksonville, and more.

Levine: You’ve been on Sirius XM’s “Counter Attack” recently, are you hoping to make it a full-time position or at least exploring that avenue?

Dunseth: It’s funny. When we get all the ex-players together everyone has a certain direction, but when you get the guys who are in broadcast and media there is a very small window of opportunity that are full-time gigs, and sometimes they are fantastic opportunities or they don’t fit the right way. I’m in the sub-category where it’s freelance and I can work with whomever. Besides doing games, this is a fantastic opportunity with Sirius XM to be nimble in the expanding world of the conversation of soccer.

For me it’s fun because I can step outside the box of being an American guy focusing on MLS and the U.S. national team and focus on more world topics. I love it, it’s fantastic, and I can do it from my house, so my wife and kids are super happy.

Levine: Tony Meola was the host of the show, but is now the coach of the Jacksonville Armada FC. Will you be following his season closely?

Dunseth: I’m going to be paying attention – as much as I can. It’s pretty cool with Harksey [John Harkes, who will coach the USL’s FC Cincinnati] going in and Tony going to Jacksonville, spending a lot of time with J.P. Dellacamera, and knowing Giovanni Savarese and Alecko [Eskandarian], it’s going to be fun to watch the evolution of the game. Every league in this country has to be nimble in terms of recognizing what works, what doesn’t, and how to grow the game.

I’m definitely excited for Tony and excited to see how he takes all the philosophies he’s learned over the years and executes them. For a start, I think Jim Rooney is a fantastic addition.

Levine: You, of course, have your own games to watch and broadcast during weekends, but have you gotten a chance to watch much of the growth in the NASL over the years?

Dunseth: I’ve paid attention as much as I can. I do struggle at times – I try to watch as many games as I can, but I have two little boys so there is so much time I get the television. It’s funny. I was a part of contraction with the Miami Fusion when Tampa Bay [Mutiny] and Miami contracted. I was talking to Tony about this because it’s a really fascinating organism, especially in Florida, to see all these teams start to pop up and the thirst for the game in Florida. Ten years ago we were told there is no place for this game – there’s not enough support.

You’re going to have your heartbreak of teams not surviving and the celebration of teams joining up. I think it’s a reality of the way the game is growing and what individual owner’s expectations are. I think it’s a fantastic league and as it continues to evolve and grow I will be on the forefront keeping an eye on how it all plays out.

Levine: You mentioned Gio and Alecko earlier, have you been impressed with what they’ve done in their three years with the New York Cosmos?

Dunseth: I was a teammate of Gio’s in New England and I knew he was going to be a head coach somewhere. I think for a lot of guys you have a couple of different options when you retire. Do you want to be a coach, and if so, what is the entry level? Once you figure out that opportunity, do you have the right infrastructure, the right ownership, the right philosophy, and how can you surround yourself with the right people? Alecko has done a fantastic job, Carlos Llamosa has done a fantastic job.

The Cosmos are an interesting team because of their ambitions have always been very clear. I don’t want to say resurrecting, but matching the past history of the club, and they continue to show they aren’t afraid to spend money. Super, super happy and impressed with watching those guys. They are all fantastic human beings, the guys I just mentioned.

Levine: You’ve been doing the broadcasting, but you also have other projects like Bumpy Pitch and Original Winger. How did those come about and where are those going in the future?

Dunseth: We looked around – this was back in 2004 – and saw the height of the throwback. We saw the silky sweatpants and the Adidas Sambas, but it didn’t really resonate with us in Southern California. We tried to figure out how we can dress the way we want to dress, but still kind of showcase the lifestyle and culture of the sport.

With Original Winger we’re talking about living this lifestyle, so let’s prove it. It kind of showcases the game through our words and our eyes being a bunch of latch-key kids from Southern California who were into virtually everything – we never wanted to pigeonhole ourselves on just soccer – so that’s why you see music and movies and art and graffiti and all the relationships with different people in LA.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know every day we love being a part of something pure and organic in our eyes. It’s fun to hear that it kind of resonates with a certain culture in the game – it isn’t always identifiable but as we see the game grow it’s more of a populated space.