A place to discuss all things Messi.
Messi discussion thread
A place to discuss all things Messi.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Miami apparently in talks to hire Tata Martino. Imagine hiring a manager to match your star player in style instead of hiring a manager whose style wastes your star player's potential. What a concept! Maybe TFC could learn from Miami about how to handle things when you hire an expensive DP.
Not that I expect Miami to do well this year while sanctions for breaking MLS salary rules are in effect. But next year a manager like Tata could rebuild the squad around Messi.
Last edited by Oldtimer; 06-08-2023 at 06:05 AM.
I wonder if they get to have five DPs again like thier inaugural season but this time that gets covered up and swept under the rug.
Looks like Messi is trying to bring some more friends.
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1666636821734801408?s=20
So does every team get 4-5 DP slots now?Originally Posted by MikeForbes
The rumor is it will be 5 and there will be more changes to go with that.
But I will say this; letting Messi fill Miami with his old man buddies (Suarez, Busquets, Fabregas, Di Maria) will fail. This isn't an old man league and I figure they'll figure that out in a year or so.
Let them have their Messi, Di Maria, & Tata. As long as we have Bill, Bob, & Akinola we're good.
If they truly get all 5 of them, it might work as that's like half of a starting 11. Least for 45 min a game or so.
Otherwise yes I agree, its kind of been proven over and over again that aging Europe stars tend to really underperform in MLS.
The second tier type players are the ones who seem to shine. (Benteke, Giovinco, Pozuelo) etc.
Will certainly be interesting....
So lots of English people calling MLS a retirement league
I'm struggling to figure out who beyond Insigne & now Messi are European players now here late in their careers.
Insigne isn't even that old, he joined the league at 31. In Footy terms, with all the professional care nowadays that still pretty prime age. Michael Bradley at 31 was going to MLS Cup final. Much different then bringing in guys like Busquets, Suarez, Messi etc who are joining the league at 35. 36.
Last edited by SenorDingDong; 06-08-2023 at 09:41 AM.
Chiellini. Zava
Agree, while the club may not initially be realistically built to win it all, it would be much more competitive, entertaining, and marketable than it has ever been. I expect after an initial honeymoon phase, the realization to tinker towards a championship will prevail. Without question such moves, if they happen, will need, the balance offered, to be off-set, by an outstanding supporting cast. They will also depend on each pal's spend/likely contribution. Speculation by a few who shall not be named is that Tata is confirmed, so he has experience to handle this, but it is always a challenge for a conductor and his concertmaster to lead that kind of orchestra. BTW, rumours Griezmann wants in also.
Give you Chiellini, I'll even throw in a Bale. But a Zava, never, his avocados are massive!
You are absolutely correct. The only big name players to shine in the MLS was Zlatan and Henry. All the rest were mediocre at best, where the 2nd tier players still had the desire to prove their worth.
He came out of retirement with LAFC. Did you miss that?Give you Chiellini, I'll even throw in a Bale. But a Zava, never, his avocados are massive!
I would not be surprised or necessarily think it would be a bad idea… MLS will come out with a limited edition #10 Messi shirt for every team. Cannot retire #10 league wide, like NHL and Gretzky. But i think a special #10 Shirt would sell.
I am not overly optimistic that he is going to blow the doors off of the league… he still needs a supporting cast but it will be pretty awesome to see him play. We need a TFC v Miami roadtrip thread set up.
I think Miami has two options.
1) if you go the old players route, you get a good coach that understands tactics and that you hope your superior movement and understanding of the game exposes MLS’s positional weaknesses. Pray everyone stays healthy because once you get past the first 11, the team will struggle to pull that tactic off. Or…
2) have a lot of guys who are typical for MLS. Make sure they can get Messi the ball in the right positions to do what he does best…
If they get stuck in the middle on this they’ll get frustrated, out paced, and be ineffective.
You also have to hope Messi stays in good shape. You never know when age catches up to you this late in your career…
I do love a great Geriatricos team.
Unpopular opinion: I suspect Messi will be far less effective in MLS than people expect.
He's always been a great individual technician but as he's aged he's become more about interplay, quick passing, setting other guys up.
But Miami's team is shit. And this league is all about shutting down individual play as quickly as possible. And he's lost a few steps.
One of the reasons our two guys are struggling is they were never the types to beat three guys and set themselves up, ala Giovinco or Pozuelo. They're both quick, technically brilliant. But their mind isn't used to multiple dudes closing them down instantly, always challenging physically, never marking off.
Messi of even three years ago, none of that is an issue, because he's BOTH types of player. Now, he may end up being the most expensive set up man in history.
I guess we'll get to see how good a finisher Campana is. He looks pretty good to me. But I wouldn't be surprised if Craig Forrest is right and Messi's age doesn't show a bit. If he winds up with 12 goals and 15 assists, it'll still be a great season by MLS standards, but fans will be underwhelmed.
MLS doesn't lose either way; if it's tougher than he thought, after he just led Argentina to a world cup and scored 16 in France, it makes MLS look like a higher standard. If he just keeps on trucking, he brings in curious outsiders.
But a 35-year-old guy who scores 16 in a technically supportive, more balanced team of high achievers is not necessarily going to get that when Benjamin Cremaschi and Harvey Neville are supplying them.
Under 30s do well, over 30s generally do not.
(Lampard is the one major exception but he only played about 15 games of each of his two years.)
I think this is a sophisticated argument, I will make a simpler one.
I watched him in person at a game in Qatar - I had good seats, and for 45 minutes he was right in front of me. He walked the entire game, with very limited exceptions. He will score some goals, but he will not be amongst the 5-10 most impactful players in MLS. He will have many of the same problems Insigne has, he won't get the ball in spaces where he will be able to create enough 1v1
But does it matter? We get to see a deity, even if he is, now, in decline.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Only to Miami fans. The rest of the league gets to see the skills and MLS can't lose from either narrative.
EDIT: And Miami can't really lose commercially; they gained FIVE MILLION instagram followers in one day yesterday, instantly making them the most followed professional team in U.S. sports other than a few in the NBA.
Last edited by jloome; 06-08-2023 at 03:35 PM.
Yes... but 'the walk' is a very old dig at, knock about, Messi. Probably started around the half-way mark of his professional career; IIRC, perhaps early 2010's? The counters are many. A few... the obvious, he adjusted his play as a strategy/tactic to keep himself playing-longevity and playing the full match. The simplest, he is technically experienced and superior enough to know when to engage/run. The sophisticated, my favourite, some have suggested and that I read, the walking, particularly immediately at the start of a the match is a sign of his intelligence, that he is assessing for himself, which allows him to judge the pitch, his opponents and the spaces available. That is why, they say, he has scored the least amount of his goals throughout his career in the first 15 minutes of the match.
Inquired about season tickets .
They are moving to bigger stadium that is still under construction
They are trying to reduce scalping so will be making tickets non transferable.
200 usd/ga deposit
500 usd/premium- which will include food, drinks and parking.
Still have no solid numbers on season prices as they are still running the numbers.
The way we got around this in qatar was share login and password for whoever was going - still a risk too.
Follow-up... MLS/Apple/Addidas must be giddy as..., reviewing their conversion tactics and strategies...
BTW, unbelievable, it is at 6.7 Million Followers now!
Reports are that all their tickets, to the rest of their matches, are now sold out. Not sure about the credibility of these reports, since there is also chatter about moving temporarily to another, larger, stadium?
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/usmntonly/status/1666810472363085825
But can Messi do it on a cold, rainy night in Columbus Ohio?
MLS will now become the WWE for the next couple years, the red carpet and more will be pulled out, watch for A LOT of favoritism from the refs, anyone breaths on Messi it will be a foul. Good luck to defenders.
Pal 'Chomper' out!?
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/BarcaUniversal/status/1667063144781426691
And Miami already has three other DPs under contract. They'll have to deal Pizzaro or Josef Martinez, or buy Campana down somehow or trade him.
On that note, I thought their captain Gregore was a DP too, but I’m not 100% sure.
You are correct. Campana is a young DP. That's even more a problem, as they can't have all three DPs above the TAM cap or they lose the U22 spot.
So they'll have to buy out either Pizarro or Josef Martinez.
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