FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — For Lionel Messi, MLS Cup Final Several endings will be shown on Saturday. And perhaps a new beginning.
Messi and Inter Miami will face one of their long-time rivals, Thomas Muller. vancouver whitecaps for the Major League Soccer championship. This will be the first final for both clubs, and MLS will have its first champion.
“We know it will be a very tough match. … It will be a very special final,” Messi said in comments distributed by the team on Thursday.
But for Messi, it’s the end of some eras. This is the last game scheduled at Inter Miami’s current home, as the team plans to move to a still-under-construction stadium near Miami International Airport next season. And barring a serious change of heart, this will likely be the last time he gets to play alongside long-time teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets (both of whom retire after Saturday), and perhaps Luis Suarez as well.
“I’m very grateful for my career, for the teams I’ve played for, for everything I’ve learned and enjoyed, and it’s an honor,” Alba said in Spanish on Thursday. “Yes, it’s a very emotional week knowing this will be my last match…and hopefully I can win in the final and finish my career in the best possible scenario.”
Not that Messi needs this victory for his legacy. The Argentine star is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, having won a record 46 times with club and national teams around the world, and Saturday’s result will neither help nor hurt that reputation. The same goes for Muller, the German great who won the World Cup final against Messi (and now Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano).
Messi said, “I’m happy that this final has happened and that we can play against each other again.” “We have already played against Vancouver and we know what their team is capable of.”
But at least one will be the first to appear on Saturday. If Vancouver wins, Muller will become the first player to win a World Cup and an MLS Cup. If Inter Miami wins, Messi, Rodrigo de Paul and Busquets will become the first trio to claim to have been both World Cup and MLS champions.
“Four World Cup winners will be on the pitch,” Mascherano said. “I think it’s very interesting for the league.”
Muller himself has won more than 30 trophies with club and country, but was asked how the MLS Cup ranks on his list.
“Right now, I rank it No. 1,” Mueller said. “Because all we’re talking about is the final. It’s coming soon. For me, Saturday’s final is the most important thing in my life.”
Then he paused for a moment.
“That’s a good line, isn’t it?” he asked, laughing at the joke.
But clearly, MLS Cup is something both teams really want. This is Inter Miami’s chance to prove that it was worth bringing in the Barcelona quartet (Messi, Alba, Suarez and Busquets). For Vancouver, which defeated Inter Miami twice in the CONCACAF Champions League this season, it’s a chance to win a trophy and do it via Messi.
“Obviously they were much better than we were in April,” Mascherano said. “But things are not the same. We are in a different situation. We go into this final confident with some different players and we know they have a very good team.”
Recently…
Inter Miami is 10-2-1 in their last 13 regular season games. The team was particularly dominant in three games during the MLS Playoffs, winning by a combined score of 13-1.
Vancouver has 7 wins, 1 loss and 5 draws in their last 13 games and has conceded a total of 17 goals in their last 17 games against MLS opponents.
home edge
Teams playing in their home stadium, or home market, have won 11 of the last 14 MLS Cup titles. Of the three losers in that scenario, two went down on penalties.
Vancouver won the CONCACAF semifinals at Inter Miami in April. Inter Miami has since gone 16-2-2 in all competitions at home.
“We’ve been preparing for this all season,” Vancouver midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. “The pressure comes with it. It’s a privilege, it’s fun, and I think our players know they’re going to lean into it and enjoy it. Home team, away team, I don’t think it matters.”
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