For the Argentine, who has essentially played soccer as a world champion and eight-time world soccer player, it is also another meeting with his personal nemesis.
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The record in direct duels clearly favors the Bayern legend. Don’t you believe it? Let’s refresh your memory here.
The first of ten meetings so far took place 15 years ago in Munich. For Müller it was an unforgettable evening in two senses. He debuted with the German team in the 0-1 defeat against Argentina, and after the match there was an iconic press conference in which the Argentine coach, Diego Maradona, did not want to share the podium with Müller, not recognizing him as a player despite the 67 minutes he had played before.
Four months later, Maradona knew exactly who Müller was. In the World Cup quarterfinals, the Bayern player put Germany on the path to victory in a matter of seconds. Not even Lionel Messi could change the 0-4 defeat of the Albiceleste.
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In another duel in 2012, Messi once again had the advantage. Another meaningless international match that ended 3-1 in favor of Argentina.
📸Thorsten Wagner – 2012 Getty Images
The next time these exceptional talents crossed paths was in the Champions League. In the semi-finals of the 2012/13 season, Bayern dismantled Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg. This time Müller was even the player of the match as a double scorer. In the second leg, Messi, injured, had to watch from the bench for 90 minutes as Munich also won clearly 3-0 at the Camp Nou. Of course, Müller scored again.
In July 2014, Messi experienced perhaps the most painful defeat of his career and certainly Thomas Müller’s greatest triumph: Germany’s World Cup title in Rio de Janeiro.
📸 FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT
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While Müller and the rest of the team turned night into day, Messi wondered years later when the pain would subside: “I don’t know if the wound will ever heal,” La Pulga revealed in an interview on ‘FIFA.com’ in 2017.
En route to his fourth and final Champions League trophy, Messi turned Jérôme Boateng into a meme and eliminated Bayern in the semi-finals with Barça in May 2015. The infamous MSN trio was too much for Müller and company, even though they won the second leg thanks to Müller’s winning goal.
Some time passed until the next meeting between the two. During the ghostly atmosphere of the Corona pandemic, Messi experienced a night of terror with Barcelona. Müller contributed two goals and an assist to the historic 8-2. “What a massacre,” was the headline in Spain’s most important newspaper, ‘El País’, the next day.
Even in the Paris Saint-Germain shirt, Messi did not fare better against Müller’s Bayern. In the 2023 CL Round of 16, Munich advanced with two wins (2-0, 1-0), despite Müller only being on the field for 90 of the 120 minutes. To date, it was the last duel between the two main protagonists of today’s MLS final.
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The results clearly favor Thomas Müller. In competitive matches, this is even more pronounced. When it really mattered, Lionel Messi was only able to come off the field as a winner once against Müller’s teams.
📸Alex Grimm – 2023 Getty Images
Naturally, the Whitecaps hope this continues, as they would then be MLS champions for the first time. However, the favorite role clearly falls to Inter Miami. Messi and the old Barça connection around Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba want to make Florida’s American dream club a reality.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸Alexander Hassenstein – 2023 Getty Images