Martino: No Way to Stop Messi Before Atlanta vs. Miami
Listen to the story
Inter Miami will host Atlanta United this Saturday in a Major League Soccer, or MLS, match.
Before the game, Atlanta United's coach, Tata Martino, spoke to reporters.
Martino said there is no way to neutralize Lionel Messi during the match.
Neutralizing a player means stopping him from having an effect on the game.
Martino previously worked as Messi's coach, both at Barcelona and with the Argentina national team.
This experience gives him a clear view of how difficult Messi is to stop.
Messi is expected to start the match for Inter Miami.
This will be his first MLS appearance since his international retirement.
International retirement means a player will no longer play for his national team.
Messi recently announced that he was ending his career with Argentina's national side.
However, he will continue playing for his club, Inter Miami.
The match has attracted strong interest from football fans in the United States.
According to reports, the kick-off of the game was delayed.
No detailed reason for the delay was given in the summary.
Fans are especially eager to see how Atlanta United will try to control Messi on the pitch.
Martino's comments suggest that his team may focus on limiting space around Messi instead.
The match is considered an important clash in this MLS season.
A clash is another word for an important or exciting match between two strong teams.
Both teams will be aiming for a positive result on Saturday.
Vocabulary7 words
- MLS
- the top football league in the USA
- neutralize
- to stop a player from playing well
- start
- to play from the beginning of a match
- international retirement
- when a player stops playing for his country
- kick-off
- the start time of a match
- clash
- an exciting and important match
- coach
- the person who trains and leads a team
Quiz
Answer key
1. There is no way to neutralize him 2. It is his first MLS match after his international retirement 3. It was delayed
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Inter Miami will host Atlanta United this Saturday in a Major League Soccer, or _____, match.
Atlanta United's coach, Tata Martino, spoke to reporters before the game.
Martino said there is no way to _____ Lionel Messi during the match.
Martino previously worked as Messi's _____, both at Barcelona and with Argentina.
Messi is expected to _____ the match for Inter Miami.
This will be his first MLS appearance since his _____.
Messi recently ended his career with Argentina's national _____.
According to reports, the _____ of the game was delayed.
The match is considered an important _____ in this MLS season.
Both teams will be aiming for a positive _____ on Saturday.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think Martino believes Messi cannot be neutralized?
- How important do you think experience as a former coach is in predicting a player's performance?
- Why might fans be especially interested in this particular match?
- Do you think international retirement changes how a player performs for his club? Why or why not?