🚨🎙️ René Weiler, D.C. United head coach, on losing to Inter Miami:
“Honestly, I don’t think I will ever understand this man. We came into this game with a plan specifically designed to limit Messi. We put enough players around him, closed the spaces he likes to exploit, and made sure he couldn’t receive the ball comfortably. At some point, I genuinely thought we had figured him out.
The first half was a success. We knew we were dealing with a special player, so we prepared for every possible situation. We wanted to make his evening as difficult as possible, and for a while, our plan was working.
But the second half? I honestly have no explanation for what I witnessed. Messi became unstoppable. He scored twice, and the woodwork denied him the chance to complete a hat-trick. I was standing there wondering what more we could possibly do.
And this is the part I still cannot understand.
“Is this not the same man who recently said goodbye to international football because his legs could no longer give him everything he wanted?”
I heard those words, and now I have watched him dominate a game like this. It makes you wonder whether age even means anything to him.
My players spent the entire second half chasing him. We tried to close him down, double up on him, and take away his space, but he kept finding a way out.
Every time we thought we had him under control, he escaped.
Every time we sent another player to help, he found a pass nobody else could see.
As a coach, you spend hours studying opponents, preparing your players, and searching for solutions. But sometimes, you face a player who makes all that preparation look meaningless. Messi can make you question everything you thought you knew about football.
I respect Inter Miami, and they deserved their victory. But tonight, I have to be honest with you.
We didn’t just lose to Inter Miami. We lost to the greatest of all time.”