"Guardiola's Barcelona was dependent... Argentina for 15 or 20 years" - Inter Miami boss on whether his side relies too much on Lionel Messi
Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano reckons it's 'impossible' for any side not to be dependent on Lionel Messi. The former also claimed Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, and Ernesto Valverde were dependent on Messi during their time at Barcelona, as well as the Argentina national team.
Despite being at the age of 37, Lionel Messi has arguably been the Herons' best player this season. The Argentine ace has garnered eight goals and three assists in 13 appearances across all competitions.
However, Messi was unable to register a goal contribution during Inter Miami's 3-1 loss against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final (April 30). The Herons crashed out of the competition, losing 5-1 on aggregate.
During the New York Red Bulls pre-match press conference, Mascherano stated (via ESPN):
"Teams have been dependent on Messi. [Pep] Guardiola's Barcelona was dependent for years, Luis Enrique's Barcelona, Valverde's Barcelona, and the Argentina national team for 15 or 20 years. In other words, when you have a player like Messi, you're clearly going to develop a dependency on him. It's impossible not to depend on him. It's clear that there are days when the team perhaps helps him more and other days when it helps him less."
Lionel Messi has failed to score in his last three games for Inter Miami, with his side losing all three within a span of six days.
"I'm not going to go crazy now either" - Javier Mascherano makes bold claim amid Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami's recent poor form
Javier Mascherano is refusing to hit the panic button despite witnessing his side lose three fixtures in a row, which resulted in their elimination from the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami were previously unbeaten in the MLS for eight fixtures, winning five, and drawing three.
The Herons will be seeking to return to winning ways in their upcoming MLS clash against the New York Red Bulls (Saturday, May 3). From the aforementioned source, Mascherano said:
"Two weeks ago, we were like Disneyland in here, it was all joy and everything was fine. Well, I'm not on one side or the other. Not even two weeks ago we were undefeated in the MLS and had lost only one game in 8 or 9 matches we played, and everyone was praising the team's performance. I've always said here, we had to be prepared for bad moments. I'm not going to go crazy now either. This is how it is, this is football."
He added:
"We have to keep our heads down, work hard, become stronger as a group, and know that we have to break out of this dynamic of losing these three games. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity to return to victory and start putting history back on track. Not much more than that. It's not that complicated."
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are currently fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference table with 18 points from nine games, four points leaders Cincinnati.
