From FC Barcelona to Argentina and now at Inter Miami, Gerardo “Tata” Martino has often enjoyed a prime vantage point on the greatness of Leo Messi.
It sounded like Martino might just have run out of superlatives to describe the icon after he produced another jaw-dropping display Saturday night, setting new MLS records by contributing to all six of the Herons’ goals in a 6-2 thumping of the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium, scoring the game-winner and assisting on the other five.
Who else on earth can render a Luis Suárez hat trick an afterthought?
“Well, I always say the same thing: It is redundant to talk about him,” said Miami’s Argentine head coach in Spanish, having just reeled off a quick list of some of his most memorable performances of Messi’s storied career.
“Messi makes the difference, always. He participated in six goals – I don’t think we will ever see anything like that again.”
"Like the old days"
What made Messi's explosive night against RBNY that much more singular was it all unfolded in barely half an hour of the second half. Miami had walked into the locker room down 1-0 at the halfway point, thanks to a well-taken transition sequence finished emphatically by Dante Vanzeir in the 30th minute.
“In the first half we couldn't find the passes between the lines,” said Martino, noting the Red Bulls’ control of central areas in that opening 45 minutes. “When we found it, we pulled forward to find the pass in another part of the field. We couldn't progress on the outside, either, because they jumped well with the winger on one side or the other.”
Some tactical tweaks to open up gaps in the Red Bulls’ 4-4-2 shape, a bit more directness to get the visitors’ back four turned and, in particular, the insertion of new signing Matias Rojas, changed everything.
Signed on a free transfer just a few weeks ago, Rojas made an immediate difference, drifting infield to receive a pass from Messi in the 48th minute, ghost around two defenders and hammer a left-footed blast past Carlos Coronel from outside the penalty box.
Mere moments later, it was Rojas’ pressing of Wiki Carmona that provoked a turnover deep in RBNY’s territory, immediately exploited by Suárez’s swift service to Messi for a straightforward conversion.
“The Red Bulls just got Red Bulled,” noted commentator Danny Higginbotham on the MLS Season Pass broadcast, and indeed, the taste of their own medicine can only have heightened RBNY’s frustration.
“Today Luis’ connection [with Messi] was very good,” said Martino. “Like the old days.”
Instant chemistry
The win, Miami’s MLS-leading seventh, was effectively sealed 12 minutes afterwards when Rojas and Messi carved open the Red Bulls with a fluid exchange of passes suggesting chemistry that belied the Paraguayan’s recent arrival, sealed by Rojas’ clinical chip over Coronel.
“A player that has a lot of quality, that has a good left foot,” said Martino of Rojas. “We were looking to advance him a little bit at a time. He hadn't been playing for several months; he understood that it wasn't proper to start at the beginning. What we did was put him in at that point and of course in the training, they were already showing understanding, being able to find each other.
“I believe that today we saw a version of Matias in 45 minutes that was very good and that I hope that spot inside on the left works best for him. But we're not hurrying with the expectations that his signing generated – now the expectations are going to be generated after today's game.”
The fact a newcomer could be so impactful, and craft such interplay with Messi after a matter of days, does not bode well for IMCF’s MLS counterparts. Saturday's W keeps Miami (7W-2L-3D, 24 points) atop the overall league table for at least another week.
Nor does the relentlessness with which the Herons continued to attack RBNY long after the result was assured, which Martino did not exactly deny was fueled by the memory of the Red Bulls’ 4-0 rout in the reverse fixture back in March, a game Messi missed due to a hamstring injury.
Next they’ll take aim at CF Montréal, the other side to inflict a league loss on Miami this season, with a visit to Stade Saputo next Saturday (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), before a Rivalry Week clash with Orlando City the following Wednesday, May 15 (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
