By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For Lionel Messi, the MLS Cup final on Saturday will represent some endings. And, quite possibly, a new beginning.
Messi and Inter Miami will take on Thomas Müller – one of his longtime rivals – and the Vancouver Whitecaps for the MLS championship. It’s the first final for both clubs, which means the league is about to have a first-time champion.
“We know it’s going to be a very, very tough game. … It’s going to be a very, very special final,” Messi said in remarks distributed by the team Thursday.
But for Messi, it’s the end of a couple of eras. It’s the last match planned at Inter Miami’s current home, with the team set to move into a still-under-construction stadium near Miami International Airport next season. And barring some serious changes of heart, it will be the last time he gets to play with longtime teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets – they’re both retiring after Saturday – and possibly Luis Suarez as well.
“I’m very grateful for the career I’ve had, the teams I’ve played for, everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve enjoyed, and well, it’s been a privilege,” Alba said in Spanish on Thursday. “Yes, it’s a week with a lot of emotions, knowing that it’s going to be my last game … and hopefully, I end my career in the best possible scenario, in a final and we win.”
It’s not like Messi needs this win for his legacy; Argentina’s star – a winner of 46 championships for club and country worldwide, the most in history – is widely considered the greatest player ever and Saturday’s outcome won’t help or hurt that reputation. The same goes for Müller, the German great who has been on the winning end of a World Cup final in which he played against Messi (and Javier Mascherano, now the Inter Miami coach).
“It’s good that this final has come about and that we’re facing each other again,” Messi said. “We’ve already faced Vancouver and we understand the caliber of their team.”
That said, Saturday will bring at least one first: If Vancouver wins, Müller will be the first player to win a World Cup and an MLS Cup. If Miami wins, Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Busquets will become the first trio to say they were both a World Cup and an MLS champion.
“We are going to have four World Cup winners on the pitch,” Mascherano said. “I think it’s very, very interesting for the league.”
Müller – part of more than 30 trophy wins for club and country himself – was asked how the MLS Cup ranks on his list.
“At the moment, I rank it No. 1,” Müller said. “Because it’s the only final that we are talking about. It’s upcoming. At the moment, for me, this final on Saturday is the most important thing in my life.”
He then paused a bit.
“That’s a good line, ah?” he asked, laughing at his joke.
But clearly, the MLS Cup is something that both teams want badly. For Miami, it’s a chance to prove that bringing in the Barcelona foursome – Messi, Alba, Suarez and Busquets – was all worth it. For Vancouver, which beat Miami twice this season in the CONCACAF Champions League, it’s a chance to win a trophy and go through Messi to get it done.
“Obviously, they were much better than us in April,” Mascherano said. “But the situation is not the same. We are in a different situation. We arrive to this final with confidence, with some different players. And we know that they have a very, very good team.”
CONFIDENT WHITECAPS
Back in late April, the Whitecaps downed Lionel Messi & Co. 5-1 on aggregate in the two-leg CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. The first game ended in a 2-0 Vancouver victory at BC Place, followed by a 3-1 win in Florida.
“We’ve just got to trust our game. We’ve gone down there before and played them here, too, this year and put on a great performance, got two really good results. So we’ve proved that we can do it when the stakes are already high in a semifinal. Now, it’s the final,” midfielder Ryan Gauld said. “So we have to go do it again.”
At that time, Vancouver was on a roll, sitting atop the league standings with just one loss through 10 games. Striker Brian White already had six of his team-leading 16 goals this season.
The Whitecaps would go on to finish 18-7-9, second in the Western Conference to FC San Diego – the team they beat 3-1 in the conference finals last weekend to reach Saturday’s final.
Gauld and his teammates already know the challenges posed by a team featuring Messi, Alba, Busquets and Suarez.
“I think the threat they bring is obvious with the individuals that they’ve got that can make a piece of magic out of nothing. They’re the kind of players you can keep quiet for eight, nine minutes, and then they just spark into life,” Gauld said. “So it’s going to be about staying switched on and then doing our job for the 90, 120 minutes, whatever it is.”
Last season, the Whitecaps finished eighth in the standings and routed Portland in a wild-card game before falling to LAFC in the first round of the playoffs.
Vancouver has qualified for the playoffs in three of the past five years but hasn’t advanced out of the first round in that span. Since the Whitecaps joined the league in 2011, the furthest they’ve gone is the quarterfinals, in 2015 and 2017.
This is Vancouver’s first season under Danish coach Jesper Sørensen, who has kept the team focused amid the uncertainty of a possible sale and the addition of a German superstar.
Vancouver’s owners announced late last year that the club was for sale. Greg Kerfoot has been the owner since 2002, when it was part of the North American Soccer League. Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and former NBA star Steve Nash joined Kerfoot in 2008 before the Whitecaps became part of MLS in 2011. Mallett suggested in August that the group’s strategy might have shifted to adding a new partner.
There’s also the matter of the team’s stadium. The Whitecaps’ lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year and there’s not a lot of movement on a new soccer-specific stadium. MLS commissioner Don Garber said during his annual State of the League address that the team is looking for a move favorable lease, or it might have to make “tough decisions.”
The Whitecaps also added Müller this summer after 17 seasons with Bayern Munich. But rather than upstaging his teammates, Müller has taken on the role of facilitator.
“We have not only one player, we have so many strong guys, so many qualities,” Müller said after the victory over San Diego. “We have to bring it together, and we are growing, we’re learning. I’m very happy to be part of this, to bring my experience to the group.”
Sørensen said he never really expected the Whitecaps to be playing for the MLS Cup.
“But as the season went by, you start seeing that you have the quality to maybe take it far,” he said. “And now here we are.”
OF LATE …
Miami is 10-2-1 in its last 13 matches, going back to the regular season. The team has been particularly dominant in three win-or-go-home matches during these MLS playoffs, winning them by a combined score of 13-1.
Vancouver is 7-1-5 in its last 13 matches and has given up a total of 17 goals in its last 17 matches against MLS opponents.
HOME EDGE
The team playing in its home stadium, or home market, has won 11 of the last 14 MLS Cup titles. Of the three that lost in that scenario, two fell in penalty kick shootouts.
Vancouver won at Miami in April in the CONCACAF semifinals. Miami is 16-2-2 across all competitions at home since.
“We’ve been ready for this this whole season,” Vancouver midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. “The pressure, it comes with it. It’s a privilege and it’s fun and I think you know our guys are going to lean into it and enjoy it. Home team, away team, I don’t think it matters.”
VANCOUVER AT INTER MIAMI
When: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. PT
Where: Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
TV: FOX (Ch. 11), Apple TV+