The Albany Gazette - Past is history says Mueller ahead of MLS Messi clash

German great Mueller, who joined Vancouver in August from Bayern Munich, has a winning record against Messi over the years both for club and country.

But the charismatic 36-year-old says past results -- Mueller has finished on the winning side in seven of 10 meetings with Messi -- will be irrelevant in Saturday's Major League Soccer showpiece in Florida.

"I look back in the past and I feel very comfortable with that, because that's already in the books, and I had a lot of great experience in these games with my teams, so it was fun," said Mueller, whose wins against Messi include Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final.

"But it doesn't really matter for Saturday, it's a new game," Mueller added.

"Maybe it gives you the feeling that I always have my confidence to beat someone or to compete with someone as a team and as an individual. So I don't need my history that much to be confident."

Mueller also played down the significance of Vancouver's dominance of Messi and Miami during this season's CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals, when the Whitecaps won home and away to secure a 5-1 aggregate victory.

"They won against Inter Miami this season twice. But what does it mean?," Mueller said.

"It gives you a little bit of good feeling. But in the end, the game is decided on the pitch and on Saturday -- in the future.

"So it's a nice thing to talk about, and I hope we can continue to talk about it Saturday after the game."

As well as the 2014 World Cup final, Mueller's wins over Messi include Bayern Munich's 8-2 humiliation of Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2020, when the German star scored twice and was man-of-the-match.

He also played in Bayern's 2-0 Champions League second leg win over Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 in a game that would turn out to be Messi's last appearance in European competition.

(B.Smith--TAG)