Julian Gressel has shared how he feels taking on Lionel Messi’s role in the Inter Miami system with the Argentine away at the Copa America.
The reigning Ballon d’Or holder has been, unsurprisingly, one of the best players in MLS this year, with Messi playing a starring role for Inter Miami in their push to the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings before departing for the Copa America, alongside Luis Suarez.
With Messi gone, Gressel has been nominated by Tata Martino to fill in for the 37-year-old in Inter Miami’s system, with the USA international already bagging a goal and two assists in two games in the role.
And Gressel has now shared his thoughts on replacing Messi for Inter Miami.
Gressel admits he’s enjoying the Messi role with Inter Miami
Speaking on the Player/Manager podcast, the former Columbus Crew and Atlanta United star admitted that he’s enjoying his new role in the Inter Miami system as the replacement to Messi as one of the main attacking and creative threats.
With three goal contributions already in two games and two wins, it’s safe to say that Gressel has taken to the role like a duck to water, and the German-born MLS star has now voiced his enjoyment in the new position.
Gressel said on playing the Messi role for Inter Miami in recent weeks: “We knew that he was going to be gone at the Copa America, so the intention was always for me to step into that position.
“Obviously, I’ll never be able to fill his shoes, but it’s something I can do and do it in my way, and I thought I played pretty effectively against Columbus.”
Herons might have cracked the code on how to win without Messi
Inter Miami have historically struggled without Messi, so the prospect of the soccer legend missing as many as six games with the Herons had many supporters fearing the worst for the Florida franchise.
However, with Gressel thriving as the new focal point of the Inter Miami attack coupled with some top performances from Leonardo Campana, Martino’s side have seemingly cracked the code on how to win without Messi.
Indeed, there’s still some time left before Messi is back and playing again for Inter Miami, yet with this current system, the Herons are looking the part, something that MLS teams will be wary of in the weeks to come.