Inter Miami winger Allende misses training ahead of MLS Cup Final vs. Vancouver
The first signs that the MLS Cup Final is this weekend were the larger than usual media contingent at Inter Miami training on Thursday morning and the buzz when reporters noticed that Tadeo Allende, who has scored eight goals in the playoffs thus far, was missing from practice.
Not to worry, Miami fans. Coach Javier Mascherano explained that Allende woke up with a mild fever but is expected back at training on Friday and should be ready for the highly anticipated game against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Chase Stadium.
Shortly after training, the most tangible evidence of the championship game arrived. The 43-pound sterling silver Philip F. Anschutz trophy was displayed on a table as Mascherano and Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen, and players from both teams, addressed the media.
Vancouver’s German star Thomas Muller, who joined the team from Bayern Munich over the summer, was among the players who spoke. He addressed his long history with Lionel Messi and other Inter Miami players, whom he played against in Europe and with the German national team.
Muller and Messi have faced each other 10 times with club and country, and Muller’s team won seven of those games. Two of those were at the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and the 2014 World Cup final. Messi and Mascherano were with Argentina for those painful encounters.
Asked what memories he has of playing against former FC Barcelona stars Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who are both retiring after Saturday’s game, Muller said: “I don’t want to talk too much about the matches we played, but I want to say these two guys are great players for the game, not only for their country and their clubs, they’re personalities. They’re role models in their positions and I tip my hat to them.”
He later added that he will feel nostalgic seeing all those Inter Miami players, and Mascherano, on the field at Chase Stadium.
“For me, it’s always nice to meet old friends; we’re not really close, but I was always watching them play, they were great players, some still are, and it’s always nice when you can look back to your history,” Muller said. “But what was in the past is not very important for the future.”
Messi spoke with Apple TV MLS Season Pass about the matchup against Muller. He said: “First of all, it is very nice that Muller has come to play in MLS and the repercussion that this represents. It’s good that this final came to be and that we can face each other again. We have already faced Vancouver and we know what kind of them they are...We know it’s going to be a very, very tough game. And the addition of Müller coming to that team, makes them much better still. It brings more awareness to the game, to the team and it will be a very, very special final, in which we hope will be in our favor.”
Asked what memories he has of playing against Muller, Mascherano smiled and replied: “There were not many good memories. He is a player I have faced over many years with our national teams and club teams. He is one of the best of his generation, a World Cup champion who has won everything with Bayern. He brings not only Vancouver, but the league, an elite player. We hope that Saturday the coin will fall on our side.”
The Whitecaps beat Inter Miami 5-1 over two legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals in April. Both teams have changed since then with Vancouver’s signing of Muller and Miami playing at a torrid pace of late, outscoring its opponents 13-1 in the past three playoff games.
“Obviously, they were much better than us in April, but the situation is not the same,” Mascherano said. “We are in a different situation because now we arrive to this final with confidence, with some different players. We know they have a very, very good team. But we have our tools to do our game and try to be better than them.”