aInter Miami have played two games at the brand new stadium and are yet to win. A week after a 2-2 draw with Austin FC, Lionel Messi and his team drew once again, this time against the New York Red Bulls, 2-2.
It was a disappointing result for Javier Mascherano’s side, but it was Michael Bradley’s side who surprised many with their resilient performance on the road. The Red Bulls will put a lot of pressure on Miami, a tactic that Bradley is familiar with from his playing days. Bradley also knows Mascherano well from his playing days.
After the match, Bradley was asked by Deporte Total USA’s Andrea Yanez about his similarities to Mascherano. Both were central midfielders in their playing days, and are now up-and-coming managers in MLS at similar ages.
Javier Mascherano once asked Michael Bradley to swap jerseys after the USA vs. Argentina game.
While Bradley had great respect for his fellow coach, he also shared some cool stories from when he represented his national team against each other.
I have a lot of respect for Javier. I’ve always done that as a player and now as a coach. One of the proudest moments in my career was after the game against Argentina, he sent someone into the locker room because he wanted to exchange jerseys with me…I was never the kind of guy who would go out of his way to exchange jerseys. But when someone like Javier Mascherano went out of his way to ask for mine, there’s no doubt that I kept his stuff.
Bradley and Mascherano actually faced each other three times at the international level. In each of the past three meetings between the United States and Argentina, Bradley and Mascherano have started for the national team. The first two games were friendlies in 2008 and 2011 that ended in draws. The other match was the Copa America semi-final, which Argentina won 4-0.
