Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami: Messi, Muyumba, Martinez, Martino and more

Atlanta United travels to Ft. Lauderdale to take on Inter Miami tonight in the Five Stripes' first Leagues Cup game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV and I'm going to go out on a limb and say you'll probably recognize a few folks gathered around the ball at that time. Which, hey, that reminds me, excuse me, one sec ...

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Ok, sorry about that. The search engine optimization game is a bloodbath right now. We gotta be on our A-game. 

Anyway, you won't just recognize the most famous person on the planet, and he seems likely to start if you haven't picked up on that. Josef Martinez and Tata Martino will be involved in this match too. There are so many narrative plates spinning around in this one that it's going to be hard to manage it all in your head. Your friends at your friendly neighborhood independent soccer journalism site are here to help though. 

Yes, Messi and Busquets will get significant minutes

Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino indicated in the run-up to this one that Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets will see an increase in minutes for this one. Considering they played the majority of the second half in Friday's Leagues Cup win over Cruz Azul, everyone has rightfully jumped to the conclusion that both will start tonight. 

It will obviously be fascinating for a number of reasons, including it being our first true data point on what Inter Miami will look like in a full game with two players unlikely to make an impact defensively. Yeah, that's not the narrative most folks will go with outside of Atlanta, but the Five Stripes should try and see it as an opportunity — even more so if Josef Martinez starts. 

Atlanta United's most critical outfield problems this year have largely centered around buildup. Gonzalo Pineda's game model dictates that the team play out of the back, control the ball and use possession as a means of defense. When the team has stalled in its own half due to the opponent's press or Atlanta's own struggles to pull apart a rigid mid-block, the Five Stripes have been prone to bad giveaways, overly methodical play and minimal chance creation. When they've been able to move the ball into the opponent's final third with ease, they've generally been a good-to-maybe-even-very-good attacking team. 

Atlanta should, in theory, have no problem working the ball into Inter Miami's final third tonight. Let's be clear about where Miami actually stands. This is a 1996 Honda Civic that just had a NASA rocket booster attached to it. Yes, it got exponentially faster, but it is not a good car. This team has spent the year in last place for a reason. They're poor defensively, their midfield has been hobbled by injuries and they don't have high-end quality attacking pieces. 

Now, obviously, the problem with all of that is that Atlanta United has already lost to that Civic sans rocket booster. This won't be easy. 

And it seems likely to expect Atlanta to be holding on for dear life on any counterattack. If the Five Stripes are controlling possession, their rest defense—a poorly-named soccer term that basically means the shape you keep in possession so that you can effectively shift immediately into defense after a turnover—will be critical. 

Beyond that, there's only so much you can control. The greatest player of all time is going to get his. All you can do is hope to capitalize on some potentially easy chance creation opportunities, outpace whatever magic he's able to produce and keep the ball away from him as much as possible. 

"You know my philosophy. The best way to limit a very good player is don't give him the ball," Gonzalo Pineda told media on Monday. "It's having more of the ball than them. It's having good possession.

"If Messi is going to create danger at some point, instead of 15 chances for Messi to create danger, what if it is only three?" he added. "What if we limit in that way that amount of chances, and hopefully, he's not sharp in two of those three."

Godspeed to all involved. In particular, probable starters like young wingback Caleb Wiley, defensive midfielder Santiago Sosa, and the entire back line. Fortunately, they should have some added help ...

Muyumba's debut?

It's likely at some point that we'll see Tristan Muyumba make his Atlanta United debut. Atlanta will almost certainly be patient with him as he integrates into the team and regains fitness, but he will be available for this one. Even if minutes are limited, it will be a breath of fresh air to see a new face on the field. 

That being said, Muyumba isn't the only player Atlanta should be patient with in this competition. The Five Stripes shouldn't throw in the towel from the first whistle or anything, but it feels prudent to limit minutes for Giorgos Giakoumakis and take whatever steps necessary to make sure this team arrives to their next MLS match on Aug. 20 with a healthy squad and relatively fresh legs. The odds of a run to the final are slim. Not impossible. Just slim. In a very similar manner to the U.S. Open Cup, it's okay to approach this with the understanding that fewer games wouldn't be the end of the world. Especially if a short stint in Leagues Cup allows for recovery and the integration of pieces like Muyumba and whoever Atlanta happens to bring in over the course of the next week as the Five Stripes prepare for a difficult 10-game homestretch in MLS. 

Take it all in

It's also okau to avoid thinking big picture here. This is special. Not just for the folks watching from home, but for the folks who get to play in this game. Yes, throwing in Tata and Josef to the mix is bound to bring up some sad feelings, but just remember to push those deep deep down and don't think about it and ooohh look over here it's Lionel Messi doing something spectacular against your favorite team how cool is that???

Anyway, it will be a moment to remember for everyone involved. In particular, I'll admit to being hopeful that Barcelona native Miguel Berry will be able to contribute meaningfully in this one. Berry shared with media last week that he attended Messi's first game at Camp Nou. Even when Berry moved from Catalonia to America, Messi continued to play a big part in Berry's life. 

"That was my one connection to what was my home for so long, watching Barcelona every single weekend. When you're far from places you call home and it's the only real connection to the sport when I moved here. That was my only connection," Berry said. "When I moved here it wasn't on TV like it is now. So we had to buy all the special packages to watch him play. It was the one thing that kind of kept us connected. It's just special that I got to watch him for so long and I was born at the perfect time to see him. I'm blessed and I'm lucky."

A quick reminder

One last thing — a quick reminder on the format for tonight. If the game is tied after 90 minutes, the game goes straight to penalties. The winner of the penalty shootout will get two points while the loser just gets one. Any points for Atlanta could be critical as they look to advance to the knockout stage. Inter Miami's win over Cruz Azul has opened the door for Atlanta here. The Five Stripes actually only need to earn two points against Cruz Azul on Saturday in Atlanta to advance. I wouldn't blame anyone for sitting back tonight and taking in the show.