Star of Inter Miami Julian Gressel gives his honest assessment of taking Lionel Messi’s place.

Taking on Lionel Messi’s responsibilities in the Inter Miami system while the Argentine is away at the Copa America has been discussed by Julian Gressel.

Unsurprisingly, Messi has been among the finest players in Major League Soccer (MLS) this season. He and Luis Suarez helped Inter Miami climb to the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings before Messi left for the Copa America.

Since Messi is no longer with Inter Miami, Tata Martino has nominated Gressel to take Messi’s place in the system. In just two games, the USA international has already scored a goal and provided two assists.

Furthermore, Gressel has recently discussed his ideas for Messi’s replacement at Inter Miami.

The former Columbus Crew and Atlanta United player, who now plays as Messi’s backup in the Inter Miami system as one of the primary offensive and creative threats, revealed on the Player/Manager podcast that he is loving his new job.

It’s reasonable to say that Gressel has adapted to the job like a duck to water, as evidenced by his three goal contributions in two games and two victories. The MLS star, who was born in Germany, has now expressed his happiness in the new role.

“We knew that he was going to be gone at the Copa America, so the intention was always for me to step into that position,” Gressel said of taking on the Messi role for Inter Miami in recent weeks.

“I know I’ll never be able to replace him, but I can still do it in my own way, and I felt like I played against Columbus fairly well.”

Given Inter Miami’s past struggles when Messi is absent, many fans were worried about what would happen to the Florida team if the soccer legend missed up to six games with the Herons.

But with Gressel flourishing as the new attack focal point for Inter Miami and some outstanding play from Leonardo Campana, Martino’s team seemed to have figured out how to win without Messi.

Indeed, there’s still some time left before Messi is back and playing again for Inter Miami, yet with this current system, the Herons are looking the part, something that MLS teams will be wary of in the weeks to come.

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