Sunshine Clásico! | Inter Miami CF vs. Orlando City SC Preview

Hello everyone and welcome to another awesome episode of Messy & Co English Version. I'm Ashley with my awesome host Gian and we have a lot of great things to talk about. We're going to go over our Orlando City vs Inter Miami preview in just a moment, but first a word from one of our awesome sponsors. If you are ready to transform your backyard into a haven of relaxation and luxury, look no further than our amazing podcast sponsor, Lackawaisuda Pool Services. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lackawaisuda is a name you can trust when it comes to services, equipment repairs, and restoration for all things pools. If you're looking in the South Florida area for your pool to be serviced on a month-to-month basis, Lackawaisuda boasts an impressive five-star rating on Google reviews and it's a testament to their dedication to customer satisfaction and top-notch service. Also, if you mention Messy & Co, you will get your first month of pool service absolutely free. So don't wait for pool service, patio renovation, or more. Call them now at 954-793-7206 and get a free quote for any project. Thanks, Lackawaisuda. Awesome. All right. Welcome. So as I said in the intro, we're going to be doing a preview of our game against Orlando City and to get us started, Gian, I know you have some specs for us and tell us how you're doing. I'm going to do my best impression of Austin today and take us to the promised land. But yeah, you tell me, how are you feeling? I'm doing good. I mean, we just spoke yesterday. I know, we're acting like this is brand new. But yeah, I'm doing good. Nothing much has changed over the last 12 or 15 hours. We talk with each other far too often is what we're learning. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I mean, I don't even know how I feel about this game. I think there's a lot of questions and uncertainty around it, which we'll obviously talk and touch on some of those topics on today's episode. But basically, it's Inter-Miami at Orlando City tomorrow night at 7.30 p.m. at Exploria Stadium. So just so we can kind of get a grasp of what the situation is around each team right now, Orlando is currently second in the Eastern Conference. They have 50 points with a record of 14, 7, and 8. They recently lost against New York City. So they're coming off a loss against New York City and Queens this last Wednesday, where they lost 2 to 0. They currently are in their last 10 matches. They have 7 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw. So they're kind of like on a roll. They're doing very well. Again, a team that's second in the East. They haven't lost at home in four games. So that's something to kind of, I think, remind ourselves as we're going into this game. It's going to be a really tough game. And something interesting as well, even though Orlando City did lose on Wednesday against New York City, they did clinch the playoffs already. So they are already clinched to make the playoffs because of DC United's 1-1 draw against Atlanta United FC. Now, on the other hand, Miami has not clinched the playoffs. Miami is in the playoff push with a handful of games left. So every game right now seems to be a must-win game and a very important game. So they're currently, again, 12th in the East. They have 28 points with a record of 9, 15, and 4. Inter is 5 points out of 9th place, which DC United currently hold. And Miami actually is also on a roll ever since Messi arrived. They had gone 12 games without losing prior to that lopsided loss against Atlanta United, which we were hoping was going to be a lot better game last Saturday. But we know that that was kind of a dumpster fire right there. But we ended up losing in first loss since Messi arrived. And then Miami is trying to get back on track now, especially after having a really nice win in a weird game where Messi and Alaba came off against Toronto FC. But they ultimately ended up scoring four goals, which was really nice to see them be able to handle that game without our two vets in Messi and Alaba, even though Busquets was still in the game. So taking that into consideration and seeing that we've got a really tough matchup against Orlando, I think I'm kind of all over the place here because I don't know how Dada is going to approach this game. Is he approaching it as a throwaway game? Or is he approaching it as, yeah, Messi and Alaba, which we'll talk about it. Are they going to play? Are they not? Is this a game where he's going to, you know, we're in the playoff push? I'm going to try to win this game. What are your thoughts on that? Yeah, so I mean, a lot of a lot of interesting points. And I think it's a good place to start with, you know, to answer your question, Messi and Alba and Sergio Busquets are not playing. No three of them are playing. They are all getting their rest. Well deserved, obviously, with Messi and Alba. It's a little bit more than that. But Busquets getting the rest he deserves, which leads us all to believe that maybe it's not a game. Obviously, I don't think they ever go into a game wanting to lose, you know, five, nothing or anything like that. But with the cup final next Wednesday and with maybe more favorable matches happening down the stretch of this playoff run in a very hostile environment in Orlando, in a Derby against a very good side, I think they're deciding to go maybe the safer route, which is play hard, put your best available, keep being available. They may not everyone available, but have your best available, go play and continue to build. And so in terms of how I feel, I'm not looking forward to it, if I'm completely honest. But, you know, this team has done nothing but surprise us, like you said, since Messi has come and hasn't played every single game. But since Messi has arrived, they have been 11-1-1, right, in 13 matches in all competitions, or now 12-1-1, I think, because it's been 15 games. And he didn't play in a few of those, right, or he came in late or this, that and the other. So Inter Miami shows that they have still the quality and they've improved so much as a team that you never know what's going to happen. But I think for this particular match, their eyes are maybe a little bit ahead on to Wednesday's cup final. Yeah, and I agree with you. And I think it's quite interesting seeing that neither of the three are going to be playing. I think that ever since Messi arrived, whether it was Messi not starting or not playing at all, we always had at least, I think, one of the three guys on the team. And that's going to be, I think this is going to be the first game where we don't have any of them playing. And where each one of them bring, I think, individually their strengths, I think their strengths all in all is their leadership. And that's, you know, it's good to have at least one of them on there because, yeah, during difficult moments, they're able to settle the team down. It's almost like having, we said this before, like having a coach on the team as well on the field with you. And so I think it's going to be a weird game without them. But we, I didn't know if Busquets was, you know, before we heard the announcement or we heard rumors of him not playing tomorrow. I don't think that we necessarily, I don't know if you did, but I don't know if many people were expecting that Busquets wasn't going to play. I think that from the beginning, we knew that Alba and Messi weren't going to play. So at least to me, I had a sense of relief or tranquility seeing that at least we're still going to have Busquets. So it's going to be an interesting game to say the least without those three on the field. But I think that one of the things that we've been able to kind of bank on throughout these games is also the depth of our team. And knowing that we've got a lot of guys that have become better players since Messi's arrival, since Busquets and Alba's arrival. These are guys that have their confidence going through the roof. They've even, I think, improved on their actual gameplay and their abilities. And I think that we have enough, whatever. I mean, we'll get to the lineups later, but I think that we have enough right now to be able to make this a competitive game. We lost 3-1 that first game where they played us in Miami. But that was a completely different team. And you think about the young guys. We've got Aviles. We've got Facundo Farias. We've got Gomez that we're still not, we're still unsure if he's going to be available or not. But this is just a completely different team despite our quote-unquote big three. So definitely a game to kind of see what our team is really made of, you know. It'll be an interesting coaching job for sure for Tata. Yeah, as well to see what Tata does. I mean, it all depends, again, what is Tata looking for in this game? Like, is he going to try, obviously you're going to try to win every game, but is this a game, like do you feel as a fan and as a sports analyst, do you feel that this is a game that you can throw away? Regardless of the fact that, again, every player wants to win a game, every coach wants to win every single game. But is this a game that you feel comfortable, like, okay, this is a game that we can lose in the grand scheme of things with knowing that we need to make sure that everything, you know, that we're prioritizing Open Cup Final, but still taking into consideration that we're in the middle of a playoff push. Yeah, I think that there is, again, there's no really such a thing of wanting to lose or throwing games away, especially with how tight the playoff picture is. But I really don't think Inter Miami have a choice in terms of what they want to do. Like I said, it's a hostile environment. I'm wondering if the game is actually going to even feel maybe more level than we think, because Orlando's clinched their playoff spot, and they know that we're not bringing our, let's say, quote unquote, A team, right, like our A plus team. So are they going to do that and risk, you know, their own injuries or problems? I don't know. So I think it's going to be actually a battle, a more intricate battle than people think in terms of tactics and who's putting, you know, their best foot forward. But yeah, Inter Miami, we know where they're focused on, and it's on the Cup Final next Wednesday. And, you know, the other, like I said, the other matches that we have left to play against Charlotte, against New York City FC, and even against Cincinnati, who by then will probably have their first place clinched, and you may not see their best 11. I feel like those are all matches that we would bet on ourselves for. And this one, while it's not that, you know, we're such a better team than we were. And so we could bet on ourselves against anyone. But at the same time, it's a war of attrition. We've had to play so many more games than everyone else we're playing in the last however many, you know, two months, two and a half months. So I think it's for the best. And, you know, you take it one game at a time, and you just try and get better each game. Yeah, agreed. And that could, I think that that could become a factor in this game, to the point that you made knowing Orlando knowing that they have already clinched the playoffs, again, knowing that we're not bringing our a team, necessarily, but at the same time, I feel like there's still that lingering rivalry, though, right? And they may want to put a stamp on it and be, you know, on the other hand, it'd be like, we'll beat you 10, zero, we don't care. Exactly. So that's the thing that's going to be interesting to see when it comes to the game. What side of the spectrum are they going to be on? Or is this whatever you guys are? I mean, we cleanse you guys aren't bringing your game, we're just gonna, you know, we'll show up or not, we're gonna this is gonna be a statement game. And we're gonna make sure that we show you who is a boss in Florida. So taking that into consideration, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. I mean, as we've seen, especially with that game, where Messi first played Orlando in the League's Cup Final, we won that was an incredibly physical game and in a hard fought game. So I'm wondering if they could come back with that, with that fire. I don't know if that's going to happen. But it's something interesting that happens in the MLS because a lot of you know, in European soccer, you don't have to really deal with this where you're having to rest, be worried so much about rest because of the the actual league itself, where they're playing every weekend rather than having so many games because of the middle of the, you know, these games on Wednesday, then you play on, on Saturday or Sunday, and then again, another game for for a cup. So I don't know, I'm hoping that at some point, MLS starts to rethink this, this whole schedule. Well, there was a long period of time where the play there was no overlap with like most players who were either playing in Europe, or they no longer play for their national teams. And so they were fine with this because they wanted to try and get as many eyeballs as they can. But I agree. I think that they're, as they're expanding the talent level, the age range, the competitions there, they're going to have to move some things around. But but this is a preview show. And we do want to talk about the game. So specifically, starting lineups, who do we think is going to start for Tata Martina? Do you want me to go first? Or do you want to go first? I'll let you go first with the with the lineup. But I want to preface. So you can steal everything I say? Yeah, so I could. Yeah, I mean, lately, you've been on fire with the lineup. So this one, I don't feel confident about. No, I'll be honest. I have no, I don't know what's going to happen. I just think that there's so many possibilities, again, because it all depends on what on how Tata eyes this game. But I want to preface this before you get to your lineup, that Orlando typically plays in a 4-2-3-1 formation, right? So they play in a 4-2-3-1. That means they're going to have four defenders. They're going to have two pivots with either Martins or Cartagena and Araujo as the two pivots as a double pivots. And then they have Pereira playing as a 10. He will be the one distributing the ball. And then they've got Angulo along with either Ojeda or Torres on the wings. And then up front, I think they have Enrique as a sole striker. So this is a team that's going to be really compact in the middle. They're going to be able to close, I think, those passing lanes in the middle. And I think that taking that into consideration, I think that I want you to take that into consideration. So when we try to build these lineups and knowing that the middle, I think Orlando is going to do a really good job of clogging that middle area. And knowing that some of the teams that have had the best, I think, opportunities and success against Orlando have been teams that have attacked through the wings. That's something that I think Orlando has kind of had a hard time dealing with more so than anything else. Taking that into consideration, are you thinking of 5-3-2 or 4-3-3? What formation are you thinking? 5-3-2. I think it's a little bit more 5-2-3, but it's either going to be one or the other. I think it's going to be that because you don't have that same level of quality in that final third in terms of getting from midfield to the final third at the same level as before. And so you need to have a stronger defense. And like you said, play through the wings. So I'm going with a 5-3-2, but I'm going to explain it as if it's a 5-2-3 in terms of how you see everyone. In terms of our back line, it's going to be Noah Allen on the left, Yedlin on the right because they still want that leadership and captaincy. Tomas Aviles, Sergio Kristoff, not Kamal Miller. I think you're going to either see Ryan Sailor or McVay. I think you're going to see one of those two. I think Kamal Miller is going to get the rest. And that may be a bold move, but that's what I think. And then the two midfielders, it's going to be Gramosky, Arroyo, and then quote-unquote Farias. But like I said, I'm seeing him that he's going to be playing more up. But let's just say that. And then those two. And then our front three, it's going to be Farias, Campana, Robert Taylor. Okay, so I think that that's important. And when I talked about my lineup, I was thinking the same thing as far as the wings. To me, it's really important to keep those three up top. And I'll explain. I think the formation is going to all depend, again, on what Tata wants to do. Because I think that if he's thinking there's no way that we're going to win this game. If he's thinking that this is a game where I want to rest players. I want to rest players. I want to make sure that everybody's available and rested for the US Open Cup final. I think that that's where you see a lot of big changes. Where, again, you don't see Miller. Maybe you see McVay. You might not see, let's say, Grzymaski. And maybe you see a much more different midfield. Where maybe Ulloa is playing in the midfield. And David Ruiz and that sort of thing. And maybe you don't see Farias. Maybe you see Joseph. You don't even see Campana. You see Joseph up front with Stefanelli. And who else could play up there? And maybe Robinson. Yeah, maybe Robert Robinson. And I guess I was trying to go for something where it's kind of a mixture of both. It's a mixture of rest and starters. So that some people get to continue playing. But yeah, I mean, it could very well be that too. Yeah. And now I think that, because you had said five in the back, right? Yeah. You had said five in the back. Here's where I think the five in the back might be detrimental. Because I think that, obviously, that five in the back is more of a defensive scheme. And I think that if, like, I would hate to be in Orlando playing at home, at their, excuse me, visitor at their home. And knowing that they're rolling. They're doing so well. They're doing excellent. And just, like, taking on attack after attack after attack. Because that's what tends to happen sometimes when you have those very defensive lineups. What I would like to see is a 4-3-3. And that would be interesting for me. Because you need someone. And this is what I'm wondering as well. If, like, if Benga's going to play. Because you got to realize right now, you're not going to have Messi playing. And you're not going to have Busquets. And Adelaide's obviously not playing. But for Busquets, with Busquets, Busquets is the one that kind of connects that back line to the front line. You're not going to have him anymore. I think you have to have at least Kremasky in that midfield. Because if you don't have Busquets or Kremasky, how the heck is that ball going to get from the back to the, you know, to the forwards? There's no connection. So I think that, I think Benga has to be there. So I would like to see maybe David Ruiz with Arroyo as, like, double pivots. And then have Kremasky a little bit up front. And then on the left, Farias. On the right, Robert Taylor. In the front, Campana. And I think that that's a competitive, a very competitive lineup. I think we can actually do some damage with that. And then the back four, on the left, it would be Noah Allen, Yerlin on the right. And then in the midfield, it's, I think you've got people to choose from. Is it going to be Miller and Aviles? Is it going to be Miller and Kristoff? Are you going to let, like you said, Miller rest? Kristoff has been resting. So I think Kristoff can start. So is it going to be Kristoff with Aviles or Kristoff with McVay? It all is very contingent on how much that values the rest for some of these players going into that game on Wednesday. So really, it's all over the place. Like, I don't know what. Yeah, exactly. Because we don't know if he's going to play, like, his best available. Or if he's going to basically let other people get playing time. And yeah, it's got to be like, I agree. It's got to be a mix. I think you don't want to go in ultra defensive. We're scared of you. We're just going to try to not receive as many goals to make sure we at least take care of our goal difference and all that. Or it's going to be, we'll rest some players, but we want to make sure that we still make this a competitive game and give ourselves a chance to win, which is what I really hope is going to happen. Yeah, it'll be. It will be very interesting. I'm curious to see. I would like, you know, I like Ben. Ben had to get the chance to play more. And he's still like he said, he's only 18. He should be able to take the minutes and continue to improve and put a little bit more of a stamp on the game. Robbie Robinson, I think, would be good to play. Robert Taylor still getting his chance to shine. And Campana, I think, should be able to play, even though, you know, I understand that they're worried about injury or fatigue, but these players are young and they're really talented. And this is the time where you want to keep them sharp. Yeah. And I think we'll obviously, you know, if some of these players that will probably be starters on Wednesday, if some of them do start, I'm sure we can see substitutions in the second half that'll probably take them out. I think regardless of maybe how the game is, but if, you know, if it's a tight game or maybe the game's already out of hand by the 60th, 70th minute, I think we'll see players like, especially like Farias come out, players that you need to make sure you take care of. I don't know if Farias is going to play. I want him to, but I can see a world where they want to rest him because he's played a lot of minutes. Yeah, he's played a lot of minutes, most definitely. But I think that if that's the case, if Farias doesn't play, then that's where you would probably see like Robert Taylor and Robbie Robinson or something like that, I think. Totally. Or Stefanelli. Or Stefanelli as well, yeah. Which we've touched on that many times. That's what's good about having such a deep lineup, you know? Yeah. So I definitely think that this is a winnable game, but winnable, I think, is very much depending on what route that decides to take. But it is a winnable game. Yeah, it will be interesting. And so with that in mind, I want us to talk about, you know, what are the different scenarios based on the results? You know, what is ideal for us in order to get ready for the cup final and make it to the playoff push? But really quickly, before we talk about that, I want to give a quick shout out to one of our new sponsors, Simplify. Simplify provides a myriad of professional IT services for small and medium-sized business. They provide a wide spectrum of flexible business technology solutions, including business growth, consulting, technical help desk, IT support, project management, hardware, and complete cabling and network installations. If you need help with IT for your small or medium-sized business, visit simplify.com. Now, so what are your thoughts on, let's say we lose. What does that, where does that leave us? Well, I think if we lose, I don't think the playoff push is over at all. And the reason being is that we've still got, okay, so if this game, once this game is over, I think we've got five games left, if I'm not mistaken, right? It was five games. Let me just. I know we definitely have Cincinnati, two Charlotte, and NYCFC. So that's four. I am not sure which I'm missing. Yeah, it's five. Yeah, because after this one, the next game would be obviously after the US Open Cup final, it'd be against New York City. Then it'd be against Chicago. Chicago, that's what I'm forgetting. So yeah, five. Yeah, Cincinnati. And then the last two games, Charlotte as well. I think that there's very much a chance for us to continue, especially knowing or continue our playoff push, especially knowing that we are only five points out of ninth place. And we've got four games that are still against teams that are between us and that ninth place in Chicago, New York City, and both games against Charlotte. So that right there, I think. And then obviously that last game, that other game that we have against Cincinnati, which is going to be one of the tougher games. But mathematically, we can drop this game and we're still very much in it. And then I think DC United has a couple of games coming up for them as well that are going to be on the tougher side. So we got to play, I guess, today that DC United either ties against New York or that the Red Bulls beat them. So that'll also give us a much better indicator as to where the math lies. But Inter-Miami is still very much in. And I think that also goes into play when they're making these decisions as well, when they know that, hey, this is a game where we can let our players rest. We can let our players rest, be ready for the US Open Cup Final, which seems to be priority right now. And then whatever happens at Orlando, we're still in this playoff push. We still have the opportunity to make it. So I think that also when they took that into consideration. And then I think moving forward, once the US Open Cup Final is done with, I don't know if anybody's resting after that, to be honest with you, unless there's an injury or something like that, especially knowing the results don't go. Yeah, exactly. Especially knowing how competitive Messi is and knowing that Messi, I mean, I think it's become very clear that Messi wants to win everything right now. So I don't, if we're in it, I think that nobody's resting after the US Open Cup Final unless we've qualified for the playoffs or we've made it to the playoffs with maybe one game left or something like that. Maybe they don't play the last game. But other than that, that's, yeah, we're going full force after the US Open Cup. Yeah, I agree. I mean, like you said, including this game tomorrow, you know, we're four points behind with 18 possible points left on the table, right? For us to grab. So we have done a good enough job of, you know, playing on the offense and getting a lot of wins for ourselves, as well as having our direct competitors in between us in the standings not having results go their way. So we're putting ourselves in a position where we can keep being in it until the very end. So I agree with you. This is, it's one of those games where every game is important. You always want to put your best effort, especially when it's a derby against one of your rivals. But at the same time, it's a war of attrition. We've had a long season, a tumultuous season. We have a huge Cup Final on Wednesday. We have opportunity to continue to build. And this is a game where maybe you rest some of your best players, you let other players get their chance to shine and maybe pull out a result that's unexpected, you know, where you can really see how much of an impact these leaders have made on the team, how much everyone has grown, everyone's hunger to show and prove their place within the team, either as a starter or as a sub. And so I think regardless, it'll be a great match. And I'm excited for it. Yeah. And I think that nobody's going to fault Inter Miami for making this choice to rest their players ahead of such a, an important match. So I don't think anybody's going to fault them. I also think that nobody should or will, whatever the result ends up being, should look, I think, that take it in a way that maybe Miami doesn't care about losing or maybe take it hard. Because I think that ultimately what the goal is going to be here is make sure you come out healthy once this game is over. And I think the goal is to get at least the one point. Because when you go, you go to, you're playing as a visitor. I think the goal is always going to be at least walk out of that match with that one point. So if we come out with three, with the three points, that'd be incredible and amazing. But I think goal right now is to come out healthy and try to get at least one point. Totally agree. Awesome. Any other last thoughts before we go? I know, you know, we've been putting out a lot of content. We will be doing, of course, the post-match stream tomorrow, right after the game. And we're going to have a lot of great content before the cup final on Wednesday. Any last words? No. Well, I say, let's do like we always end each one of these with our prediction. So let's, let's go ahead and hear you. Oh, well, no, let me give you, I'll let you lead us out. So let me give you, I guess, my prediction first. So I think it's going to be one, one. That's what I think it's going to be. I think it's going to be one, one. I think it's going to be a really tough game, obviously. And I think it's going to be a lot closer game than people think. People probably think this is going to be a blowout, maybe because there's no Messi, Alvaro Busquets, and possibly the others missing in the lineup. But I think this team is resilient. I think that this team is going to want to hold it down, hold down the fort while Messi is gone. And they very much believe in themselves. I think that they think next man up. I think that that's kind of like a mentality. So I think one, one. And I think it's going to be a goal from either, I don't know if Farias is going to play. Like you said, now you made me doubt. But it could, it's probably going to be a goal from one of the guys in the front. So it's going to be either Campana, Farias, or it could be Robert Taylor, I believe. Because Robert Taylor's been on fire. Yeah, you know, I actually completely agree. I think one, one is a very possible score. And maybe two, two, you know, we like goals. Our defense isn't necessarily the strongest, but our offensive players have been playing great. So one, one or two, two, I'll make my official prediction one, one. But yeah, it'll be really interesting. And I think it's not, again, I don't think it's a season-defining match. But it's good for us in terms of building. Hopefully, like I said, we pull out a great result. Everyone plays at their best. It'll be interesting to see who is rested and who plays, who gets their opportunity. And as always, we're really excited. And we'll be, we'll be here to provide the commentary for everything involving InterMiami and Lionel Messi. So with that being said, thank you so much for listening or watching us. Please follow us at Messi and Co on Twitter or X, whatever it's called. See our podcast, just search Messi anywhere where podcasts are listened to, Spotify, Apple, etc. And if you want to watch this, you can watch it on the Five Reasons Sports Network YouTube channel. Just search Messi and Co. And follow us if you have any questions. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Make sure to listen and share. And we look forward to speaking to you again tomorrow. Take care. Bye.