Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano reminisced on Barcelona‘s historic 6-1 comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017 Champions League round of 16, using that night’s example to inspire his players as they get read to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal series.
Mascherano, alongside alongside then-Barça teammates and current Miami stars Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez, inspired Barcelona to the quarterfinals of the European tournament when coming back from a 4-0 loss in the first leg against PSG with a triumphant 6-1 scoreline.
Now, Mascherano and Inter Miami enter the second leg with a 2-0 deficit in need of at least two goals to tie the round and three to advance to the final for the first time in club history.
“That night [in the 6-1 win over PSG] I learned that nothing is impossible. In football, everything can happen. Everything, absolutely everything,” Mascherano told a news conference Tuesday.
“An elimination that we were 4-0 down. I think it was 2-0, in the second half we had it almost there and then they scored a goal and we had to score three more and we did it because in the end, until the referee signals the end, everything can happen.
“I think that more than I can transmit as a coach, I have, at that moment, four teammates who shared with me the experience, and they live it their skin.
“That’s the thing that they can convey to rest. Clearly the situation is different, there are no two equal games, the contexts are totally different, but I think that the tie-breaker and tomorrow’s situation in particular will give us the possibility of getting through.”
Inter Miami previously managed a come-from-behind victory against LAFC in the quarterfinals, losing 1-0 in the first leg before triumphing 3-1 at Chase Stadium to secure the ticket to the semifinals.
Though the team understands the expectations and responsibilities surrounding this game, Mascherano insisted these moments make the profession of football worth it for athletes and coaches.
“If there is something that we like, something for athletes, in my case now that I am no an athlete and I am a coach, it is to play with this kind of pressure, in the end it is what gives you life, it gives the game meaning,” Mascherano said. “The fact of being able to compete, to the illusion of having to overturn a negative result, and we have that. I think that is that pressure, that responsibility, but can tell you that pressures are different things in life.
“I think that this kind of pressure, if you know how to handle it, you can handle it, the end what it gives you is maybe a positive perspective.”
Defender Maximiliano Falcón echoed the coach’s thoughts, adding players must face these kind of challenges to be able to play football.
“For you to be in this profession, for you to play football, you need passion, you have challenges and tomorrow we have one that is difficult,” he said.
“Today, it would be good to be winning 4-0, but this is the situation. We are very convinced that we will do a good job and the result will be seen.”
