New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen said his team will adopt a 'bulletproof' mentality when facing Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night at Chase Stadium, shutting out the impact stars like Lionel Messi may have on the environment surrounding the game.
After taking over ahead of the 2025 season, Jansen has led NYCFC to within one game of a second MLS Cup title.
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"When I stepped into our dressing room trying to lead this project, from day one what I mentioned to my guys in the dressing room and my staff was to establish a bulletproof mindset. So, it doesn't matter where you play or who you play or when you play, you have to be able to focus on what needs to be done," Jansen told ESPN this week.
"So, you focus on your own job, and you focus on your own responsibilities and always stay true to your own identity. No matter who you play.
"And this is like the X-factor, of course, because Messi is who he is and has a huge impact on the league in general. It's mainly because it's very positive.
"But can you imagine when you're on pitch playing against a legend like Messi and the quality that he still has in his game that you might be overwhelmed and forget about your job and your responsibilities and be as competitive as you should be in order to get the result that we are looking for as a team."
NYCFC has yet to beat Inter Miami this season, drawing 2-2 in the opening game of the 2025 MLS campaign at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before falling 4-0 at Citi Field in September.
Despite previous results, Jansen insists the team has grown since last facing Miami and will now look to be a more threatening opponent.
"It's going to be a tough game," he said. "But for us, if you focus on Miami, we've played them twice. The first game was the opener in the season, which was very interesting for me because it was my first game in MLS to see what it's about playing against a team with Messi and what kind of effect that has on a team and the environment, the fans or the officials, or whatever goes on or even on your own team or your own players.
"Those lessons in those two games have been massive for us in order to evolve ourselves going forward as a team in the league, but also in particular going into game number three, because now with a few changes again on Miami's side and the growth that we've shown throughout the season, we will be able to have a better matchup than we did in game number one and two. But, again, the margins will be very small."
NYCFC qualified to the playoffs by concluding the MLS campaign in fifth place in the East, before defeating Charlotte FC in the Round One series and reigning Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union in the conference semifinals to clinch a ticket to the conference final.
Miami, meanwhile, has cruised through the playoffs, with back-to-back 4-0 wins over Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati after entering as the East's third seed. With a roster featuring Messi, as as well as fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, there is little doubt who the favorites are heading into Saturday's confrontation,
When asked if he minds being labeled the underdog, Jansen reiterated the importance of his team's mental toughness.
"I have no problem with [being called an underdog]," he said. "They can call it whatever they like. It's all part of the bulletproof mindset approach. So I don't care what anybody says or in what position they put us if it's the underdog or the favorite. It's all the noise outside. It's all outside the world."
The winner of the Eastern Conference final will go on to face either San Diego FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps at MLS Cup on Dec. 6.