The surging Colorado Rapids host an Inter Miami side in flux on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.
The Rapids (4-3-0, 12 points) posted a 6-2 home rout of the Houston Dynamo last Saturday. Rafael Navarro and Kosi Thompson each scored a brace and Josh Atencio also scored for Colorado. The Rapids also added an own goal from Houston in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
Conversely, just four months after its first MLS Cup title, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano resigned for personal reasons on Tuesday. The Herons (3-1-3, 12 points) tied the New York Red Bulls 2-2 last Saturday and turned to sporting director Guillermo Hoyos as interim coach.
Hoyos’ relationship with Miami’s star forward Lionel Messi, who leads the team with five goals, dates back more than 20 years to their time together at Barcelona’s La Masia academy.
“Friendship is not negotiated,” said Hoyos about Messi. “There is a friendship there, one that has spanned various years, and one that we share with many players because we have worked together in different countries.
“Yet, that friendship does not mean that we can be right on top of him, constantly hovering over him, every single day. I believe that everything must be respected: his privacy, and everything else.
“One must exercise great prudence, and, above all, proceed quietly, while striving to grow and evolve within this dynamic. For, naturally, all of this is new, and being alongside the greatest player in history is truly an extraordinary experience on the pitch. I am grateful, deeply grateful.”
After its dominant performance, Colorado coach Matt Wells, Navarro, Thompson and Atencio were all named to the Team of the Matchday. The Rapids have scored 19 goals on the season, which is tied with the Vancouver Whitecaps for the most in Major League Soccer.
Colorado’s Dante Sealy scored a goal in a 1-0 U.S. Open Cup match against Union Omaha on Tuesday. The 23-year-old forward is still in search of his first MLS goal in a Rapids’ uniform.
“I had him in my office and told him to focus on the process, the habits — and the goals are only an outcome,” Wells said of Sealy. “If you start focusing on the goals you are in trouble.”
–Field Level Media
