The team is preparing for the game against Inter Miami

Wilfried Nancy has not yet had the opportunity to train against an Inter Miami lineup that included Lionel Messi. Still, the Crew coach has felt the impact Messi has had on the growth of the MLS.

Before the Crew's game against Inter Miami on Wednesday, Nancy joked about his friends from his native France. Nancy said they always ask how Messi is doing in MLS, even though Nancy is the coach of another team.

“It’s good for the league,” Nancy said. “Of course it’s good for everyone. This is a good start (to the league). After that I can talk about what we’re doing here and in the MLS.”

Since Messi started playing for Inter Miami in July 2023, the team has played two games against the club. Messi was unavailable for both the regular season game in June and the League Cup round of 16 in August.

Messi was unavailable for the first game as the Argentina national team was training for the Copa America tournament. Messi injured his right ankle in the Copa America final and had to sit out the League Cup.

Messi recovered from his injury and returned for Miami on September 14. He is confirmed to have traveled from Miami to Columbus for the upcoming game.

More: How Columbus Crew stays in the race for 1st place against Inter Miami

The crew has been studying Messi's game all season. When Nancy shows Messi's team's game tape, Nancy's reasoning for doing so has little to do with searching for upcoming games.

“He is a role model for me when I try to teach my players certain things,” Nancy said. “Because he is a player who has obviously won a lot of things, but what I like about him is that he plays with common sense. So when there's a pass coming up, he'll pass the ball. When it's time to dribble, he'll do it. And for me that’s rare.”

The crew, especially their backline, is looking forward to the challenge.

Defender Steven Moreira, who has competed against top players from other teams such as Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga and FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta, sees it as “motivation” when the team competes against big-name players. In this regard, fellow defender Rudy Camacho can identify with Moreira.

“It forces you to be more focused because you know they don’t need a lot of chances,” Camacho said. “They are clinical. So you have to stay in the game every second. You have to be focused because as I said, it doesn't take too much. But when he touches the ball, he can make the difference with a goal.” Assist or goal. So it's always something special.

With so much excitement surrounding Messi being in the lineup on Wednesday, Nancy also wanted the crew to consider that Miami's lineup has more to offer.

The Crew split the two games they played against Miami, losing 2-1 on the road in the regular season and winning 3-2 in the League Cup. In both games, Columbus had to fight every minute of the game and show the team how strong Miami's lineup is even without Messi.

“Everyone knows Messi,” Nancy said. “We know what he can do, so the idea is to prepare the game the way we prepare every game, knowing that there is a player who can make the difference. He's not the only one. … Everyone knows what they can do.” “Individually, it’s more about the connection to the other players, because Miami was still good without Messi.”

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The team is preparing for the game against Inter Miami

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