Mark on Genk Preseason & Previewing the Belgian Super Cup

07/16/21 • 39 min

No guest this week but Mark McKenzie and Heath Pearce have plenty to catch up on. Mark shares his epic journey to get back to Belgium, an inside look at training camp so far, thoughts on team bonding activities and, of course, riding bikes in the Netherlands with the boys. The Belgian Super Cup final is this Saturday July 17 at 2:45PM ET on ESPN+ and Mark recaps how Genk made it to the Final and Brugge barely getting away with the league title last season. The guys also get into their thoughts on the Euros 2020 Final and Mark shows his support for Saka & Rashford and discusses where we go from here. Finally, the guys talk a little Gold Cup and what they're looking forward to in the rest of the tournament.

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“Orange Slices” connects the past, present, and future generations of U.S. internationals around our collective soccer story. Hosted by emerging U.S. international Mark McKenzie and former U.S. international Heath Pearce, this cross-generational show is an unfiltered celebration of our national team and soccer Americana.

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Previous Episode

Sacha Kljestan

Our guest this week paved the way for Mark out in Belgium back in the 2010s. Sacha Kljestan had an incredible career with Anderlecht - winning the league 3 times and qualifying for 2 Champions League campaigns. Sacha opens up about his time in Belgium and shares some knowledge with Mark on what it took to push through Champions League Qualifying and make a name for himself out there before American soccer was truly on the European map. The guys also dive into Sacha’s prolific national team career, a behind the scenes look at missing out on the 2010 World Cup squad, how he picked himself up after that heartbreak, how Jesse Marsch motivated him to be the best version of himself and what drives him to compete to this day with the LA Galaxy.

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Next Episode

Genk Season 2 Underway, Champions League Qualifying and Mark's a (Dog) Dad

On today's Orange Slices, Heath and Mark catchup after what's been a busy couple of weeks for the hosts and US soccer in general. No guest this week, but we'll be back on a normal cadence next week with guests. Heath and Mark catch up on Mark's latest adventure - pet fatherhood, the Belgian Super Cup, the beginning of the Belgian season, Champions League Qualifying against Shakhtar Donetsk right around the corner, Gold Cup, the Olympics and some other fun topics. Join in and listen to a candid conversation with the OS hosts.