How FC Dallas expects to defend Lionel Messi
How FC Dallas expects to defend Lionel Messi
He's only one player but he can do a ton of damage.
When you hear FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez discuss any key player in Major League Soccer, he will tell you immediately that they are only one player and still have ten other players to contend with.
While FC Dallas has already had to deal with the likes of LAFC’s Carlos Vela or Denis Bouanga, or Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar, none are still on the same level as what they’ll face Sunday night in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 when they host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.
Still, the game plan appears to be similar to how FC Dallas defends the Velas or Mukhtars of the league when they square off against Messi.
“I think we can often be focused on the player,” said Estevez during his pre-game press conference on Saturday afternoon. “We tried to show the strengths and weaknesses of every player in us. Messi has a lot of strengths, but he also has weaknesses. We have to exploit that in every Miami player. We have to treat Inter Miami as a collective.”
So far in the 2023 Leagues Cup, Messi has five goals and one assist in the three matches that Miami has played in. So far, fellow MLS teams like Atlanta United and Orlando City have not figured out how to fully defend Messi and the Miami attack.
FC Dallas defender Marco Farfan discussed what it will be like playing against someone of Messi’s caliber on Sunday and how he hopes just to treat him as any other player in this league.
“I've honestly faced a lot of really good wingers and forwards in the league so far,” said Farfan. “There's a lot of talent around the league, but we're talking about Messi probably the best player in the world, but for me, nothing changes.
“You know, it's obviously going on with confidence and afford to take on this challenge. And, you know, it's a collective work; not one player is gonna win this game, and, you know, it's the focus for us and for myself is to work together and try to get the result.”
Estevez is hoping that the first three Leagues Cup games will be building blocks for another positive result on Sunday that sees them advance to the quarterfinal round. While he knows the pressure is on Miami to advance, he still feels his team will be focused to get the result on Sunday evening.
“We're going to go out confidently, and the pressure is to win here at home,” said Estevez. “We always want to win because we have the sport and, like any other team, always having the pressure of playing here at home and making it difficult to be able to get something from his team.”