Tuesday night’s Leagues Cup match between Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) is not the first time Brad Guzan has faced the mighty Lionel Messi.
The Five Stripes’ veteran goalkeeper was in net when Messi’s Argentina handed the US men’s national team a 4-0 humbling in the semifinals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario before a massive crowd in Houston, a rout that also included a Messi free-kick golazo from a very similar area on the pitch to the icon’s show-stopping game-winner vs. Cruz Azul in his Herons debut last Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium.
So Guzan knows what a massive challenge it is, not only on the field but in the mind, to lock horns with the GOAT, a player many of his teammates have idolized, and probably still do.
“It's exciting, of course, when you get to play against one of the best players in the world, if not the best, right?” Guzan told reporters on Monday. “So that part is exciting. But when we get on that plane to go down there, it's about going down there to get a result. It’s about going down there for work and being focused and concentrating for however long we need to in terms of 90 minutes, penalties, whatever it may be. We have to be ready for that.
“Then afterwards, we shake hands and there’s certainly a respect level, I think, that goes both ways. But for us, it's about being focused and understanding the objective.”
Messi: Season 1, Chapter 2
ATLUTD look likely to get an even bigger dose of Messi than Cruz Azul did on Friday night. Herons coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said on Monday that Messi and his old friend Sergio Busquets, both of whom made their Miami debut off the bench vs. Cruz Azul, will play bigger roles against Atlanta, hinting the duo could be in Tuesday’s starting lineup despite having just a handful of training sessions under their belts since arriving.
“It is very probable that both Leo and Busi will play longer,” said Martino, “thinking that if they do play longer, they will change the dynamic of the team.
“Everything will depend on how they feel. It's just their second game … It is also true that when Leo plays from the beginning, he is likely to play the full 90 minutes.”
Tata confirmed Messi will captain Miami, which may represent another hint that he’ll be in the starting XI this time. The legend donned the armband after entering Friday’s match early in the second half and there’s little doubt he’s immediately become a vital leader despite being new to the team.
“He’s a guy who wants the team to evolve,” said Martino of Messi, noting that the player is adapting quickly to colleagues and circumstances which are very different from what he experienced at Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona. “He’s teaching his teammates and getting them into the game, shortening the times to convey an idea … so of course that is contagious when you see it.”
Tuesday marks Martino’s first meeting with Atlanta since leading them to their memorable 2018 MLS Cup championship, the capstone of his work in building the high-octane identity that made them one of the most successful expansion projects in league history. He said he’s not thrilled to be facing his former club at this juncture.
“It’s very important in my heart and it was very important in my life, and I really enjoyed the two years, not only in the club but also in the city,” Martino said of ATLUTD on Monday. “So it's a game that has a special tinge to it. Obviously we could have played one of the other almost 30 [MLS] teams and it would have been better. But hey, we got Atlanta, and it's also good to do it after having won the other night.”
Atlanta: Spoiler role?
The Five Stripes’ current head coach, Gonzalo Pineda, witnessed that euphoric era in Atlanta from afar as a member of Seattle Sounders FC’s coaching staff, and also knows and respects Martino’s work with Mexico, having himself worn an El Tri kit 45 times as a player.
“Regardless of what Mexican media thinks, I think he did a great job in Mexico. At the end he had so many injuries with Mexico that he couldn’t apply what he was working on for so many years,” said Pineda. “Regardless of that, I always express my admiration. I think we think the game in probably the same ways. We like to be protagonists of the game, we like to have control, we like to have possession. We believe that we have to try to play beautiful football for fans to be engaged.
“So I think we have some similarities in there. But of course he has way more experience and way more success than me. I’m at the beginning of my career, and I hope at some point I can have half of the success that Tata has had. Once the whistle blows, I think I have to be the best coach for my team and I have to be up to his level, so I can help my players to be good on the field.”
Cruz Azul largely outplayed the Herons on the opening night of Leagues Cup, yet failed to finish myriad scoring chances and thus left themselves exposed to Messi’s late free-kick magic. As daunting as the Argentine legend’s presence might be, Pineda wants his side to seize both the moment and the tempo of the match as they begin their Leagues Cup campaign – notably boasting midfielder Thiago Almada, Messi’s World Cup-winning teammate with Argentina.
“The best way to limit a very good player to put attacking actions, to create chances on goal, is don’t give them the ball,” Pineda said. “That's normally how we do, or we try to do, against good players. And of course we know he can be very dangerous, but also is the connection, right? Busquets can be very good at finding him in pockets. And I think if we can deal with that, having more of the ball than them, I think we're going to be OK.
“It's just a matter of that personality that it takes to be on that type of stage, that type of stadium with that type of energy, and having more of the ball, having to be always in control of the game, having good possession sequences together when we are in possession, being compact.”
