NASHVILLE, Tenn. — MLS commissioner Don Garber said that it is the responsibility of each club, not the league, to take advantage of Lionel Messi‘s presence in the competition.
Speaking to ESPN’s Luis Miguel Echegaray ahead of Saturday’s Leagues Cup final between Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC, Garber spoke on a number of topics, including how to build off the inaugural edition of the tournament.
But when asked how, for example, the New York Red Bulls should maximize Messi’s presence when Inter Miami comes to Red Bull Arena on Aug. 26, Garber said: “It is the responsibility of the local clubs to build their fan base. The league is not going to tell them what to do when somebody else comes to town.
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“I know what I would do if I were a coach or a general manager. If I was the president of a club, and I heard Jim Curtin say this in Philadelphia, [I’d say]: ‘Come here and support your team.’
“Yeah, it will be nice to see somebody else wearing that pink jersey and that might be a special moment, but that was an opportunity for the Philadelphia Union to be on their way to winning another trophy.
“The league isn’t going to mandate those kinds of things. It’s really up to our teams.”
Miami claimed the first edition of the Leagues Cup, defeating Nashville on penalties 10-9 when normal time finished 1-1. Garber was effusive in his praise for the attention the tournament gained, and the excitement that was generated.
“So far, in Year One, a smashing success,” he said in reference to the Leagues Cup. “You think about the fact that there is no other league anywhere in the world that has pitted two border-connected, professional soccer leagues together in a competition to sort of determine who really is the king of the road here.
“There have been some unbelievable matches. There’s been enormous excitement and it’s just Year One, so imagine what our future holds.”
As with any new tournament, there are bound to be tweaks and changes. Garber said the Leagues Cup would be no different.
