Futbol Americas: Marvelous Messi in Cincy

0:08A very happy Monday to you all. Welcome to Football America. It's Shaka Hislop. He is Herculez Gomez. Together they are business casual. It's every time. This is casual Monday. This is more than casual. This is upscale casual. Upscale? Eh. What would you call it? I haven't called up, Scal, but I'll take it. Anyway, Christian Pulisic coming back in style, scoring the winning goal in the Milan Derby. And also we have Ugo Lloris not super happy about the turf that he had to play on, but we'll get into that a little bit later. First, let's take a look at how Inter-Miami fared versus Cincinnati. MLS playoffs, conference semifinals.

1:02And here was the first one already in the 18th minute. Who else, Herc, but Messi? Yeah, I had this in my bingo card. Messi off a header? No, I did not. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but he gets them on the board. Yeah, I mean, he's had a few in his career, but a handful. This was a handful, too. Shaq, 57th minute. Mateo Silvetti doubles the lead. Nice search by Silvetti. Little Messi credited with the assist. But it's all about the finish from Selvete coming in from that left-hand side. I mean, he was playing with a lot of confidence. Daniel Allende was playing with a lot of confidence as well, Herc. Yeah, what you don't want to do is give Lionel Messi time to scan the field and just thread.

1:41It's not even threading the needle. Just so much space in between those lines, and Allende does well. This is special, though. Oh, look at this. That's the ball by Lionel Messi outside his left foot perfectly into space. Allende doubles his tally. 4-0 into Miami. This by Allendecek right here, cutting the angle, forcing the defender. Yeah, forces the defender to either pull him down or let him go by. Well, at least I got a messy jersey out of it. FC Cincinnati out after some more messy magic in the Eastern Conference semifinal. It's now 12 goal contributions in 2025. That's a record in a single MLS postseason.

2:21He's the first player with three assists in the MLS playoff game since Emmanuel Reynoso. back in 2020. He's the third player with a five-game scoring streak in MLS Cup playoffs history, including Carlos Ruiz and the Josie Altidoro. With that, we will welcome in our Lizzie Becherano. Lizzie, of course, you were there. You follow this team very closely. So the first question to you is, I know we've said so many things about Lionel Messi, but just what's been the reaction around what he's been able to do, which is essentially just break more records here with Inter-Miami in the playoffs. It's been really exciting for Inter-Miami fans.

3:02Obviously, there was nervousness in that first round. Whether Inter-Miami could get over the hurdle, whether it was more of a mental game for them given how last season went, and ever since that decisive final game against Nashville, this team has been, quote-unquote from Marcerano, almost perfect. now fans know what Messi's capable of they've seen it throughout the regular season not for nothing he won the 2025 golden boot so now it's more so about how Messi has been able to connect with this team how he's been able to connect with Mateo Silvetti who has only really played seven games for Inter Miami since they joined in August and how he's been able to foster that relationship with Tadeo Allende and turning that into a huge success for Inter-Miami.

3:55So a lot of excitement, not so much surprise for Messi, but now they're true frontrunners in MLS Cup and it's no longer a mental game and more so one on the field. Yeah, Shaggan, it seems that there was a shift, right? Because we know what Messi is capable of, but I know we've had several conversations about how his own teammates kind of can sort of keep up with him, which seems kind of impossible. But what Lizzie just said with Silvetti, with Allende, could this be the key that they finally click and maybe make it a little bit further this season? It could be, and perfect timing. As Herc will know, winning an MLS Cup is all about timing and peaking at exactly the right time.

4:34Now, we spoke about Messi's magic last season. We spoke about Inter Miami and how great they were. You had stumbled at the final hurdle. Now, you just wondered if history was about to repeat itself. After losing that second game to Nashville, you just couldn't help but wonder, if not think it. And ever since, Inter-Miami have just been almost unplayable. They have absolutely cruised since then. Lionel Messi at the heart of it, as you'd expect. But it's all about the supporting cast and how they are chipping in, how they're supporting Lionel Messi in his efforts. And Inter-Miami right now, I don't think there's much debate to it, playing the best football in the league.

5:18We're burying the lead here, and I'm going to bury it with you guys. FC Cincinnati is one of the few teams that Lionel Messi had not scored up on, excuse me, in Major League Soccer. We were all curious about how Inter-Miami and how Lionel Messi would react after not being, what was it, a couple weeks, if not more, in action, how that could stall their great form against Nashville, and they didn't miss a beat. In fact, Messi scores his goal first time against FC Cincinnati, and he has a hat-trick of assists. It's this that I want to concentrate on. Mateo Silvetti. Mateo Silvetti's playing in place of Luis Suarez, and that's why I'm saying we're burying the lead here.

5:59They trashed a team like FC Cincinnati, a team that's higher in the rankings, which is why they had to play in Cincinnati this game. And he did it with Luis Suarez on the bench. Yeah. They did it with Messi's strike partner on the bench. And that's no small thing because Mascherano has been accused of being part of the Messi and friends crew. His resume before Inter Miami was very thin, very weak. He had a failed campaign with the U-20s. And the only reason they went to that World Cup is because of political reason. FIFA gave Argentina the tournament, and then he was there. It was a failed U23 tournament in the Olympics with Argentina.

6:38And somehow, he still gets here and gets this job. Why? Because of Messi. So you would think he would never go against the grain when it comes to Messi and friends. And yet he did. He went with Selvetti, not Luis Suarez. And it's where Messi looked best. It's where Messi and the team looked best. And today, they're going to host a game against New York City FC because they played the right way. Yeah, and that's where the conversation was going to lead here with Lizzie as well to get it, obviously, into the Javier Mascherano and the comparison versus Tata Martino. But this was the starting 11, as Herc mentioned.

7:12And yeah, no Luis Suarez in Messi just had obviously another dominant performance against, as Herc said, a team that he hadn't been super great against here against FC Cincinnati. Let's listen to the man himself, Javier Mascherano, and we'll keep talking. Claramente para mí no es una decisión fácil cuando tienes que sacar a un jugador como Luis con su trayectoria, con la importancia que tiene en el equipo y en el club. but I also have to say that it's admirable how he took the decision. Because we talked about it in the week, he understood it, he helped his teammates, he trained in the best way, he was always behind.

7:59And I think he showed the greatness he has as a player and as a person. Yeah, interesting words there from Javier Mascherano. And I'm sure it was difficult, Lizzie, but what ultimately went into this decision to sit Luis Suarez to kick things off? Yeah, I first want to start off with a point that it's not just that Leo Messi hadn't scored against FC Cincinnati. In fact, Inter Miami hadn't beat FC Cincinnati in the regular season. They lost 3-0 at TQL Stadium and then tied 0-0 at Chase Stadium. So this was a huge feat for them coming into the match. Now, Mascherano spoke post-game saying that this game, FC Cincinnati as an opponent, required more of the skill set from Toto Silhuetti and from Tadeo Allende.

8:51He wanted to manipulate spaces and really use speed to his advantage. And that was more so the skill set of the other players. and obviously they performed well. And it was a repeat of the attack we saw in the final game against Nashville, which obviously wasn't his decision. Suarez was going on a one-game suspension. And so he just repeated that. And to his point, this isn't the first time that Luis Suarez has played this kind of role in a team. We saw it last summer when he was with Uruguay in the Copa America. I mean, he came off as a substitute off the bench in the 67th minute in the semifinal against Colombia.

9:30So he knows how to be a role model. He knows how to be a mentor. And throughout the season, Machado has harps on the importance of Suarez as a player on and off the field. It's not just what he does against opponents, but more so what he does mentoring young players on the field, mentally during training, during the week. So this is Suarez as a player, and Mascherano was able to recognize that but also do what's best for his starting 11 against FC Cincinnati. Yeah, and it's interesting to see him kind of just waiting around and coming in in the 75th minute here, Shaq, making this decision, holding him off until the 75th minute, says what about Javier Mascherano as a manager?

10:13I'll be honest. I thought it was an easy decision to make, in all honesty. So, you, Luis Torres gets sent off in the loss to Nashville. The next game, Silvetti comes in. Allende plays along. Silvetti, Allende play alongside Leila Messi. You win 4-0. The game says you stick with that starting 11. And that's what Mascherano did against Cincinnati. And while, yes, there was one change at right back, free coming out. But other than that, you reward the players who won that last game against Nashville. as convincingly as they did. You don't. You drop one of those two to bring in Luis Suarez. You definitely lose whoever misses out, if not a few others in that dressing room.

11:00So I think Masjano did the only thing that a manager could in that situation. Now, Luis Suarez made that decision for him by getting sent off and then the team responding as they did. Good to be able to call on Luis Suarez to come off the bench later on, give him the finisher that he is, give him the pro that he is. It's a good option to have. But in terms of starting 11, I don't think Mascherano changes it at all going forward. We've seen this in world football. The game has dramatically changed. You can have a special player who maybe won't work defensively as much as the rest. But you can't have two.

11:41You cannot have two. And we see this at the highest of levels. You see Barcelona and how good they were last season and defensively the struggles they even have in this season. That's not a defensive line issue. That's a front three issue. So those front three aren't pressing. If you can't press the opponent in the way that the game deems today, you're going to suffer, especially against a team like FC Cincinnati that is very good in those transition moments. So you have to give the team legs. Selvetti, legs. Allende, legs. The players surrounding Messi are going to do some of that work for Messi.

12:12You can't have two players who need that work, that cover. So it was an easy decision, like Shaq said. Listen, it was a retroactive punishment. I'm sure that's not what Luis Suarez would have wanted, but it was the right call at the end of the day. So he's not here. I know Lizzie says he's done this before. Let's not forget, in Uruguay, that was the last of Luis Suarez and the problems he had with Marcelo Bielsa. I'm sure it's not a very easy decision, not at all, for a coach like Mascherano, who happens to be friends with Luis Suarez, who happens to be friends with Messi, Jordi Alba. It's a bitter pill to swallow for any athlete, knowing that your time is coming to an end.

12:46It happens to us all, Shaq. Father time is undefeated. There comes a time when you understand that on the field, you're not going to be able to help your team in the same way you used to. And that's a hard thing to come to terms with. It's the maturity, and it sounds weird to say it, right? But it's the maturity of the manager of Javier Mascherano in this moment. It's the maturity from Luis Suarez to take it like Javier Mascherano says that he did. But speaking of these decisions and comparisons too, Lizzie, I mean, Inter-Miami fans are naturally thinking about Tata Martino and what he wasn't able to do with this team versus what they're seeing now with Javier Mascherano.

13:24I mean, you've seen both sides of the coin. How are the fans doing now with Javier Mascherano versus what they lived with Martino at the time? as Herc mentioned before he came in obviously his limited experience this is the first time he ever coaches a club team and the expectations were huge not just because Inter-Miami fans wanted success but at the end of the day because you're coaching Busquets, Chordialba, Leo Messi and now obviously Rodrigo De Paul so coming in there was a lot of nervousness a lot of criticism and now I guess he's proven somewhat wrong. There's no trophy yet. And it's true that as Mascherano said, as Jorge Mas said yesterday, nothing is done.

14:10Nothing is accomplished until there's silverware in the cabinet. But he's actually led this team to various kind of heights during the season, something that Tata Martino couldn't do. I mean, in the beginning of the season, he led them to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal. Tata Martino fell in the quarterfinal. he reached the final of league's cup he was the only one to lead an mls team to the knockout round of the club world cup and now obviously something that that couldn't do in reaching this point of the playoffs you could argue what tata matatino accomplished and what mascherano hasn't in silverware but truthfully through time mascherano is showing that he is capable of leading a team He is capable of reaching heights.

14:58And with the decision of benching Suarez, that this isn't just a former FC Barcelona coaching his friends. He's not just another teammate of Messi. He's now a coach leading this team to what he thinks is success. And it's funny, yesterday Jorge Mas was asked, do you think he's underappreciated? And he laughed and said, he's appreciated by me. So for now, that's all that's important. and fans are taking notice and reaching the Eastern Conference Final. Technically, he's 90 minutes away from one kind of trophy and two games away from the ultimate trophy. I mean, if Inter-Miami Messi had pressure to lift Major League Soccer, MLS Cup, excuse me, before this game, the pressure has already doubled because they're going to be the favorites in this game.

15:52New York City FC is a lower seed. New York City FC just shocked the support shield champion it won't be easy but certainly given that it will be in Fort Lauderdale in Messi's home they're going to be heavily favored and the expectation is to beat New York City FC and to face two or three right now we're going to find out soon very good opponents in the west and one that I would say that if it is Vancouver you're going to have to go play in a setting where they eliminated you as well. Vancouver eliminated LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, so it's not going to be easy, but all eyes are going to be on Messi and Frenza.

16:32Yeah, avoiding a little bit of history being repeated here for Inter-Miami, hoping to lift that MLS Cup. But Lizzie, I'm sure we will continue to talk to you throughout these MLS playoffs. Thanks for hanging out. Thank you. Thank you. Gab Marcotti here for Gusto. Right now, everyone is trying to run leaner, tighter budgets, smaller teams, higher expectations. Now, the last thing you have time to waste on is manual payroll or chasing down an HR form. Gusto is how small business owners get time back when every hour counts. Gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses. It's all in one, remote friendly and incredibly easy to use.

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17:56One more time, gusto.com slash football. Treat your taste buds to an explosion of flavor with Fruity Rainbow 5-Hour Energy Shots. It's a fruity candy flavor explosion, a zero-sugar treat that's Sweet Tooth approved. You can take care of those candy cravings and get the caffeine boost you're looking for without the sugar. Stock up on Fruity Rainbow 5-Hour Energy shots, available online at 5hourenergy.com or Amazon. All right, let's take it to the matchup. You just mentioned, Herc. And now in the conference semifinal with two stars, Huming Son, Thomas Muller, a long ball. Okay, keeper. Jack, how about that assist?

18:36Emmanuel Savi. Nice ball over the top. I mean, don't let that bounce. The bounce just kind of checks perfectly up for Sabi, who's brave, but that's the finish. So good. How about this? Shaq, I need your expertise here. Could Loris have done more? You should have done a whole lot more with this. You don't push that back into play, put it around your pose, let them take another corner. You don't do that. That seems like a rookie mistake there. 60th minute, though, he's no rookie. Sun's first two shots are saved. Funnels in the third effort to get a goal back, Herc. Yeah, it's a good ball in by Delgado.

19:15Laid off, and Sun gets a second bite of the apple. Third. The guy on the ground heads it away. Can't do anything much, and it's 2-1. Game on. All right, how about this, though, from Denny Ibuanga. Tristan Blackman getting his second yellow card. This is the 93rd minute. Second yellow shot. Yes, it is. Intentionally checks your player. No, Herc? No, no, it is. It is. That's a yellow card. This is what's coming. It's what's coming. Ah, you felt it. I'm watching this game and like, why would you give a free kick up there? It wasn't Trisman Blackman's fault. He had to give it up. Right. And then, ah, nobody's stopping that.

19:47That's a nice one. To do. Teach her under a little some more. So excited, obviously, with that reaction. We are headed to extra time, but no goals in extra time. On to penalties. Son takes it first, misses it. Watch this. Watch this. Look, look, look. he cramps when he does it. Yeah, he was kind of wincing after that as well. Not so much because of missing it, but maybe a little bit in pain. Hugo Lloris there saves it. Matias Laborda converts Herc. Yeah, Laborda and the Whitecaps are through. And Denny Boanga, coming Song, Steve Chirondolo, they gone. I mean, it's heartbreaking, right, to see Song's role in what we had seen him since the beginning, since his arrival at LAFC, Shaq, and now we saw him kind of, I don't want to call him from hero to zero, but it just didn't converge as penalty.

20:45No, well, to that point, after you score a free kick, as you do from 20 yards, and then all of a sudden from 12, you kind of fluff your legs. Mind games. But saying that, I wouldn't take a penalty. I don't have the nerve, so I'm in no position to criticize anybody who misses one. Credit to him and son for stepping up, taking that first priority, seeing that being the player he is, has experienced as much as he means to that franchise, you understand him being the first. You see him miss, and that puts a whole lot of pressure on everybody else coming behind. So it's a really difficult pill to swallow.

21:18But one that, as LAFC look back on this, they have to wonder how they let this get away. Up against 10 men in extra time, you don't make it count. That's on you. You had the advantage going into extra time. albeit you had not only had the advantage, you had the momentum thanks to Hewman's late free kick. You don't make those count, and then you leave it to what is football's version of Russian roulette. That's what's going to happen. I tell you what, I was watching this game live, and as LAFC are pressing on committee numbers, you're thinking to yourself, this goal's going to come. It just feels like one of those games.

21:54It missed a lot in actually. The 2-1 comes. Of course, but the 2-1 comes, and you're like, And as Shaq said, football has a funny way of kind of taking its own, you know, coming to life. The momentum is in favor now of LAFC after this second goal. And you're thinking, and the Vancouver red card. Vancouver red card, you're thinking, it's just a matter of time. Danny Bowanga hits the woodwork. You get your most experienced players now for a penalty kick. Khaming Sung misses, you know, a guy you think would bury it. Mark Delgado, who's been money all year for LAFC, misses his as well. Well, it's just one of those things, like, as much as they tried, it wasn't in the cards form.

22:36And to Vancouver's credit, they weathered the storm. They put LAFC in some very precarious situations. They made LAFC commit those mistakes. And it's a worthy elimination of LAFC and Vancouver, a team that on that home turf is going to be very difficult to play against. Vancouver probably thought that – this is ours here. There was a moment in extra time where LAFC had the woodwork three times. Towards the end. 122nd and 123rd minute with both Denny Buonga. If I'm playing for Vancouver and I see my woodwork get rattled three times, and the most days don't, I'm like, no, Lady Luck's playing for us here.

23:16No, no, don't worry. We win this. It's a part of the game. Yeah, yeah. Clearly. But you see that, and genuinely, and again, I'm sure Hurg has been there, where there are times you're on the pitch and you just think, yeah, this is ours. You know, we might be a man down or whatever it is, but we are going to win this. And you see those moments. And as a player, you think, yep, Lady Luck's on our side here. Vancouver did everything right. I mean, you're playing against a team like LAFC that is so good in transition and open space. What you want to do is eliminate that. And what I mean eliminate that is if you force LAFC to chase the game, now they're the ones opening up and you can pick them apart.

23:52You scored an early goal, which forces LAFC to kind of come out a little more, change their posture. Then you score a second goal. Halftime, Sif Trenolo is making two changes because now he's got to change the tactics. And this should be a game that's in control. And when LAFC comes back in it, you've got lady luck and enough mentality to see it through. Yeah, well, lady luck or maybe the turf had something to do with it. At least Hugo Lloris had something to say about that. Well, first of all, I really want to be honest with you. I come to the MLS because I still want to enjoy football. I was really pleased for a semi-final of conference to see a full stadium.

24:36But I think playing on the artificial pitch like this one, it's almost unacceptable. and I think the MLS should think about it and the owner of Vancouver should think about it because we all love football and I think

24:58this pitch, this crowd, this stadium, this have a better feel. In lower division in France, there is even better artificial pitch than this one. I think it's something that we can improve for the MLS. So it sounds like he's not unhappy about it being artificial. He's just bothered about the quality of the artificial turf here. I think it has a lot to do with it being artificial turf, regardless. Yeah. Listen, I'll be honest with you. I've heard the spiel about this turf is so good and then I guess on it, and it's nowhere near turf. It's not the same. It's not, and it cannot be. So I understand.

25:43I feel Hugo Lloris' frustrations. On the one hand, you want to say you're coming to MLS, you know they're turf pitchers, right? So if he did his homework, and he should have, he knows that from time to time you're going to play on turf pitches. But you don't expect that you're playing in a conference semifinal and you're going to be playing on turf. You want it to be on grass. You want games of that magnitude, the pitchers and the talking point. and now you could look at at certainly the first two goals that that lafc conceded and you could point to hugo lorris errors but there are two errors that i sympathize with the first long ball over the top checks in that turf if it's grass it does it does not check that way it comes through a whole lot more and all of a sudden hugo lorris if the ball doesn't come through come all the way through to him he's in a better position to make a challenge that first goal doesn't go in similarly with you second and during the highlight I said yeah Hugo Lloris asking a whole lot more but again that ball checks on the turf and if you're not quite sure how it's rolling you're not sure if I put try to put this around the post do I just leave it for somebody to tap in from two inches or do I kind of help it back out and maybe it forces somebody a defender four yards out at least it gives me a little bit more of a chance if that play is four or five yards out so I sympathize with that.

27:06But I also really do feel his frustrations. Games of this magnitude, you don't want the turf to be a determining factor in the result. And I feel that's what it was. There are going to be those who watch this and they're going to say, well, this is just sour grace from Hugo Lloris. He's just complaining because they lost. Okay. Could be true. Like, it could also be true that it's just turf is not good for the game and turf is universally hated by all footballers and i've played for clubs that have played on turf in mexico cholos in major league soccer the seattle sounders and i've played in new england's turf and i've played in vancouver that same turf and there are different turfs but there's one common denominator how much i hated playing on all of them and that is the reality footballers don't like it they may say that medically or scientifically it is proven that you are no more susceptible to injuries I don't believe any of that I believe there is a certain wear and tear that comes with playing on turf that is dangerous to the athletes and also impacts the game there's a reason that Cholos is undefeated at home this season and it's not the great home crowd which could be a case but it's that turf there's a reason that some of these teams like Vancouver have such an advantage playing on turf because they're used to the turf it's different it's not the same so why I would love to be talking about how ridiculous Vancouver's fans were how great of an ambience that was Mueller Sebastian Berhalter Sabi who maybe we should be looking at him a little bit more when it comes to the U.S.

28:48Men's National team of players who's been in and out we're not we're sitting here talking about the turf because it plays a factor. The women had a World Cup in Canada and one of the major talking points was the turf. They were sued. FIFA was sued because of the turf in Vancouver. Why are we subjecting the best athletes you have in this country on the soccer side, on the football side to this type of atmosphere? I'm sure the same players in Vancouver will sit there and tell you I'd rather not play on turf. It's just time to move on. There are certain settings that you would say New England, that stadium, they share with the football team.