Vancouver Whitecaps star forward Thomas Müller claimed that Inter Miami are more of a one-player team, relying unashamedly on Lionel Messi, whereas his cohesive Canadian champions are “such a good group.”
As soon as the final whistle blew on Vancouver’s 3–1 Western Conference final triumph over San Diego FC, the narrative for this year’s MLS Cup was cast in concrete: Müller vs. Messi.
The former Bayern Munich icon was keen to downplay this direct rivalry before the hype machine could really get going. He failed.
“It’s not about Messi against Thomas Müller; it’s Miami against the Whitecaps,” he told MLS, a tower of celebratory caps piled on top of his head. Müller’s justification was that his side are far too well-rounded to have him as their figurehead—although the same can’t quite be said for Miami.
“Maybe they rely a little bit more on him than we do on me, because we are such a good group, you know what I mean?” Müller explained, with some justification.
Messi vs. Müller Dependency (MLS Playoffs Only)
Stats via FBref.
Even after Tadeo Allende’s match-winning hat-trick against New York City FC in Inter Miami’s victorious Eastern Conference final, Messi has still scored more than a third of his side’s goals in the playoffs alone (six of 17). Müller, by contrast, can lay claim to just one of the eight the Whitecaps have plundered thus far.
The German icon hasn’t teed up a goal for his new employers in the postseason just yet, while Messi boasts five assists. Of the 17 goals Miami have scored since the regular season concluded, their Argentine talisman has either teed up or converted 65% of them.
This hulking reliance is played out across all manner of attacking statistics. While the Whitecaps have spread the goals around—Brian White is the only player to have scored more than once in the playoffs—Miami’s fortunes hinge upon Messi’s output.
Müller: Messi Rivalry Good for MLS
MLS
“The nice thing about it is not only playing against the greatest player who played our game and is still playing our game, but it’s more that, I think, when you have a pairing like this, more people are watching,” he predicted.
“If more people are watching, the value also for you as a player, as an individual, also for your team and also for your franchise, is way bigger.”
“The match gets a little bit more important than it is,” he added. “It’s a final for the MLS Cup. But if it’s with these big, big players and big names in the soccer world, then it’s a little bit more exciting for more people in the world. So a perfect situation for everyone involved.”
The 2024 MLS Cup between LA Galaxy and Red Bulls New York drew an average audience of just 468,000 viewers across FOX. RBNY’s former RB Leipzig playmaker Emil Forsberg and the Galaxy’s ex-Southampton center back Maya Yoshida were arguably the most high-profile figures from a European-perspective involved in that historically underwhelming clash.
As Müller is probably right to speculate, there will be a few more tuning in to see him and Messi in action this weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Thomas Muller Aims Sly Dig at Lionel Messi, Inter Miami Before MLS Cup.
