Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano insists the team needs every player on the roster to defeat New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night at Chase Stadium, giving the same importance to those who start the game on the field or the bench.
"Yes, we're clear on how we're going to play. It's not my way to let the players know who's going to play until the last day," said Mascherano.
"I think that's the best way to keep everyone focused and engaged in the match because I still maintain the same thing. It's not only the eleven who start that are important, but also the rest of the team. Especially in these kinds of stages, the most important thing is that everyone has to be alert because we're going to need everyone."
Mascherano recently made changes to the starting line up by choosing to use Mateo Silvetti in the attack over Luis Suárez, a decision the coach later labeled as "difficult."
"Clearly, when you have to make decisions, Luis's situation is particularly challenging because of his profile and the career he's had, given his importance to this club and the team," Mascherano said.
"It's never easy, but that doesn't mean that the other decisions I've had to make are any easier, because when you have to make a decision, you have to take someone out and put someone else in, and you know that, both externally and internally-because I'm not going to be a hypocrite-names and hierarchies always matter.
"But in the end, you're taking one person out and putting another in, and well, we try to do it, when we make these kinds of decisions, in the best way possible, with honesty, prioritizing the group, prioritizing what's best for each match, and above all, in my case, trying to explain it to the player who's being taken out, even if they don't ask for an explanation.
"But I think that many times it's necessary to explain the reasoning, to say what the coach sees in order to make that decision, so that the player doesn't think you're making the decision arbitrarily."
Mascherano's game plan resulted in a 4-0 triumph over FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium as goals from Lionel Messi, Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti clinched the team a spot in the Eastern Conference final for the first time in club history. The team had previously been eliminated in the first round of playoffs when qualifying to the post season.
Despite recording two consecutive victories in the playoffs, a 4-0 win over Nashville in the decisive final game of the Round One series and the triumph over FC Cincinnati, Mascherano maintained the game on Saturday will not come easy.
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"Tomorrow's match is going to be a very difficult one. We're going to play against an opponent that has earned the right to be in the conference final, an opponent that has won all three of its away playoff games, the only one to do so, and we can't let all the surrounding hype distract us," Mascherano said.
"Our mentality and our focus have to be on going into tomorrow's game and going for the win from the very first minute, just like we did against Nashville and like we did against Cincinnati."
New York City FC qualified to the conference final by defeating reigning Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union 1-0 at Subaru Park.