Thomas Müller reacts to the final defeat against Miami with an announcement

“They already had it in the bag”

Thomas Müller reacts to the lost final

The defeat in the final hurts Thomas Müller because, in his view, Miami didn’t win, but the Whitecaps lost. Then a clear announcement follows.

With the 1:3 defeat against Inter Miami, the Vancouver Whitecaps missed out on the Major League Soccer (MLS) championship title – and with it the crowning glory of Thomas Müller’s first months in North America. The former international was disappointed after the game, but left no doubt about his optimism for the coming season. “We will be here in this final again next year and we will be stronger than this year, but that is all in the future,” said the 36-year-old.

The Whitecaps got off to the worst possible start against Inter Miami’s star ensemble: the hosts took the lead in the eighth minute with an own goal – a deficit from which Vancouver never recovered despite increasing control of the game and increasing chances.

“I had the feeling that we gave it away instead of Miami getting it somehow. But you have to recognize the victory,” explained Müller afterwards. He continued: “Even though Miami has a great team, but we already had them… yes, I’ll just say it now, we already had them in the bag. And then we have a bit of bad luck with the post, post, post. You have to say very clearly that if the goal is scored, the game goes in a different direction.”

But in the end, Messi was the big hero of the game, was homaged with chants and hugged by his teammates. The world champion from Argentina remained inconspicuous for long stretches – but was significantly involved in all three goals. First he played the deep pass before the own goal, then he won the ball himself before the 2-1 score and laid it on for his world champion colleague Rodrigo de Paul.

And in added time it was another pass from the 38-year-old superstar that Tadeo Allende (90th minute +6) made it 3-1. “Messi had three assists, I had none. He won the duel, he won the title, we don’t need to talk around it,” said Müller when asked about the escalation in many media outlets.

While Messi now faces an uncertain future – his teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez have ended their professional careers after winning the title – Müller is already looking forward again. “For many of the boys it hurts even more, of course, they’ve been fighting for this title in this league for years and now they had the chance. And the pain to watch is of course hard,” said the long-time FC Bayern professional. At the same time, he emphasized: “I’m almost thinking about this next season because I know what potential there is still lying dormant.”

There isn’t much time for regeneration. Müller’s next trip is to Germany – and then “in what feels like four weeks we’ll start preparing again.” If his announcement comes true, the coming season will be long again.