Jim Curtin says Union ‘won’t be scared’ going up against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami

Union coach Jim Curtin had been avoiding the “M-word.”

While the Union racked up wins in the East division of the Leagues Cup, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami won everything in the South division. Each victory brought the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner closer to a date with the Union at Subaru Park. But Curtin was focused on one Leagues Cup match at a time, rather than thinking too far ahead to a potential semifinal showdown against Messi.

Well, it’s no longer a potential game. It’s here. Messi will be at Subaru Park on Tuesday at 7 p.m. And as soon as the Union knocked off Liga MX foe Querétaro in the quarterfinals on Friday, the “M-word” was all anyone could talk about.

“As you start to look at what Miami and their ownership group has done to make this happen, it’s amazing,” Curtin said Monday via Zoom. “It’s perfect for the league, and the way that Messi has lived up, and actually almost done even more, is what superstars do.

“These are guys that have pressure on them every second of every day, and they still produce every time. So it’s going to be an honor to play them.”

On Monday, USA Today reported Messi incurred a foot injury during practice, but Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino brushed off queries, saying the player was “fine.”

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi’s visit to Philly is a measuring stick for the Union beyond just the game

Inter Miami has won just five of 22 league matches this season. Since Messi debuted in the Leagues Cup on July 21, Miami has not lost a game (all in the Leagues Cup). He’s scored eight goals — at least one in each of the five matches he has played — and also tacked on an assist.

“If Messi receives the ball, it’s too late,” said Curtin. “We’re in trouble. We’ve messed up if he receives the ball at his feet. So can we now, in a smart way, try to cut out the weapons that get him the ball on the ground?”

The Union will have a chance Tuesday to be the first MLS team to get the better of Messi since he joined the league. They’ll be helped by the return to the lineup of Dániel Gazdag, who was held out of the Union’s match against Querétaro with a knee sprain. Curtin said that midfielder Alejandro Bedoya will also be available. Bedoya has not appeared in a game since July 15.

Julián Carranza, who exited the quarterfinal with a hamstring injury, is unlikely to start, but still wants to participate. Carranza, alongside Joaquín Torres, is one of two Argentines on the Union.

“Obviously a fellow countryman on the other team that’s pretty good at soccer,” Curtin said. “But [Carranza] picked up a grade one sprain, which is a hamstring strain that, look, again, news-wise that’s probably the best news we could have got. Probably won’t be from the start, but if he’s around even to take a penalty kick, or run around for a little bit of time without the risk of further injury, we’ll see where that stands.”

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi’s visit to Philadelphia is like Michael Jordan coming to town

Messi is not the only new face that has galvanized Inter Miami all the way into the Leagues Cup semifinals. Two of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, joined him in Florida, as did former Barcelona manager Martino as Miami’s new coach.

So although Philadelphia handily beat Miami, 4-1, a month and a half ago, the visitors will be completely unrecognizable from that June 24 match.

“It’s a roster that is, for a coach, difficult to prepare for, for sure,” Curtin said. “You can see how Jordi Alba and Busquets, it’s almost like pickup soccer for them with Messi. They know when to give him the ball, where to give him the ball. They’re going to score goals. That’s the reality of things. We’re going to obviously try to limit their chances as best we can. But we have to be ruthless on the counter attack against a Miami team that’s — I’ll just tell you right now — they’re going to have more of the ball than we will.”

Messi typically plays on the right flank, and as a result will likely match up on the same side of the pitch as Union left back Kai Wagner.

“It’s a great thing for everybody to play Messi now,” Wagner said. “We just have to play our style. We should not see who’s coming, who’s not coming. We play at home, we know what we can do at home, and that is what we have to do.”

Union goalkeeper Andre Blake might be able to give his teammates a few pointers ahead of the match. Blake and Union defender Damion Lowe have faced Messi before, when their Jamaican national team faced Messi and Argentina last fall in a friendly ahead of the World Cup. Blake made two saves on Messi in that meeting, but Messi also got the better of him twice en route to a 3-0 Argentina victory.

“He’s a world-class player and I’ve learned a lot from playing with him,” said Blake on Monday. “I’ve gathered some experience that hopefully I can use [Tuesday] to my advantage. Every time you are able to make a save against him, it’s big time. He also scored two against me in that game. So hopefully [Tuesday] I can keep him off the scoreboard.”

Other Union players with past experience playing against Messi include Torres, who faced him in 2019 as a prospect for Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys. Messi, who formerly played for Newell’s youth academy, scrimmaged against Torres’ team with the Argentine national team.

José Andrés Martínez has also played against Messi, when Argentina faced Martínez and the Venezuelan national team in World Cup qualifying.

The Union announced Saturday that seats for the match were officially sold out eight minutes after they became available to the general public.

“I just hope that stadium will explode, like it will be a full house,” Wagner said. “Hopefully, it will be the loudest stadium that we’ve got so far. I just have a message for all the fans: ‘Come here, support us, get as loud as you can.’”

Tuesday will mark only the second time that Inter Miami has played on the road since Messi joined the team.The Herons’ only other away game was at FC Dallas, so this will also mark Messi’s first time playing in the northeast with Miami.

In Miami’s last road game, Dallas had a comfortable lead for most of the game and looked like it might become the first team to defeat Messi’s Miami. But a Messi free kick tied the game, 4-4, in the 85th minute, sending the match into penalties in which Miami prevailed.

“Hopefully we can play well and win some new fans, turn some Messi friends into some Union fans,” Blake said. “They are coming to see goals, and hopefully they can see goals being scored against Miami, and not against the Union.”

The winner of Tuesday’s match will face the winner of the Monterrey-Nashville semifinal. If the Union can get past Messi, they will host the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 19 at Subaru Park.

“Once the whistle blows, our guys are going to give it their best,” Curtin said. “And I know we won’t be scared, we’ll be brave, and in this building, I’ll just say, anything can happen. Subaru Park, we’ve been pretty damn good over the last 50 games. And we know it’ll be tough. But we look forward to the challenge.”