Martino on Messi’s influence ahead of Inter Miami vs Atlanta United: ‘No team can neutralize him’

Gerardo “Tata” Martino reflected on what it means to face his former star player Lionel Messi ahead of Atlanta United’s clash with Inter Miami this Saturday, in what marks his first meeting with the Argentine since taking over as Atlanta’s head coach.

Martino, who led Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup and 2024 Supporters’ Shield before stepping away last year, didn’t hold back when discussing the challenge of trying to contain his old captain.

“Really, he’s the one who has the decision, not us — we’re the ones who are going to play against him. It’s always been that way. I don’t know, we just saw it, 39 years old at a World Cup, and everything that happened in a match went through him,” Martino said.

The reference wasn’t lost on anyone following Messi’s summer: at 39, he delivered arguably his best statistical World Cup, scoring eight goals as Argentina reached the final before falling to Spain.

“No team is capable of neutralizing him for 92, 93, 95 minutes of a match. So there’s always a moment where he’s going to be decisive. Sometimes there are many moments in a match, sometimes, like the match against England, it’s just one moment and it’s over, there’s no turning back,” Martino continued.

“And this is the same thing. I told the players: if we control the game for 89 minutes, it’s possible we still lose it,” the Argentine coach added. The comments set the stage for Saturday’s matchup, as Atlanta look to spring an upset against a Miami side currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference.

Martino and Messi’s shared history across three teams

Martino first coached Messi at Barcelona during the 2013-14 season, guiding the club to a 40-11-8 record across 59 matches and lifting the Spanish Super Cup, though Barcelona fell short in both LaLiga and the Copa del Rey that year.

He then took the reins of the Argentina national team in 2014, leading Messi and company to a 19-7-3 record over two years, reaching back-to-back Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, both of which ended in defeat to Chile.

Their most successful stretch together came at Inter Miami, where Messi’s arrival in 2023 produced an immediate impact under Martino, scoring 11 goals in his first nine matches for the club.

Martino went on to guide Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup and the 2024 Supporters’ Shield before departing the club last year, closing out a partnership with Messi that spanned more than a decade across three different teams.