Andres Guardado's Farewell Tribute Marks End of an Era

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00:00Speaking of speeches, Andres Guardado received a farewell, a tribute to one of the top players

00:08in Mexico's history.

00:09There are two things that I would like to point out, Marcelino.

00:12First of all, it's funny because this is a friendly, right?

00:15We're not supposed to be celebrating friendly victories, but to me, this is the most important

00:19victory for the Mexico national team since they beat Germany in the 2018 World Cup.

00:24Then again, ironic because we're celebrating a friendly.

00:27Like you said, I think that this changes the course.

00:30I think that this is the moment that Mexico kind of like turns a corner and shows that

00:35they still...

00:36El Gigante no ha muerto.

00:38The Mexican team is hot all of a sudden, and the U.S. is cold.

00:41They looked really, really well earlier in the week when they played against Panama on

00:45that 2-0, the first game of Pochettino, but now I think Pochettino is starting to see

00:50what this job is all about.

00:52I failed on my prediction last week when I said that the U.S. was going to win this game,

00:56but I didn't know that Pulisic and McKinney weren't going to be part of the team.

01:00Do you feel that there will be a different result if they have Captain America on the

01:04lineup?

01:05I think friendlies can go either way.

01:07I think one of the things that they have to be the most concerned about is how the team

01:12functions, how the team plays, and I'm very, very interested to see how this is going to

01:17play out.

01:18I think Pochettino, I don't know if I should call it culture shock, but he's going to be

01:23entrenched within a very different environment than what he's used to, high pressure, high

01:27performance stakes when he has coaching Europe and also in Argentina.

01:31I think what he has going on for him is that now he has a class of players that is training

01:37at that level that has more of that culture in their everyday practice, but I think that

01:43it's important also for the U.S. that they gave exposure to these players that might

01:47not be on the first team on a high-stakes game like the game against Mexico.

01:52We'll continue to see what these two teams do on the road to the World Cup, but also

01:56we have more exciting games this week.

01:59What about Lionel Messi?

02:02This guy cannot be stopped.

02:03The 6-0 trashing of Bolivia.

02:06What is your take?

02:07Well, the thing about Lionel Messi is that he's having fun.

02:10I think that's the most important thing.

02:12He looks like a kid there again.

02:14He said so.

02:15He said so.

02:16I mean, the words.

02:17I feel like a kid playing.

02:18You have to feel motivated.

02:19When you're a player like Lionel Messi, you have to feel motivated.

02:21I think that's one of the things that has made a difference when you compare Messi and

02:25Cristiano Ronaldo.

02:26I think he came to Miami.

02:28He revived again.

02:29The Paris Saint-Germain era was sort of probably not what he expected, right?

02:32I think he came from winning everything with Barcelona to, you know, having a rollercoaster

02:36ride with Paris Saint-Germain and being unable to win La Orejona, but he's having fun.

02:42And you know, I have to go back once again, talking about my own memories.

02:45Copa America Centenario got to broadcast that game, the final between Argentina and Chile.

02:50Messi had been so disappointed after losing the Copa America final two years in a row

02:54that he actually retired in the MIG zone right after the game.

02:58And everyone was thinking, well, is this it for Lionel Messi?

03:00He's got to come back.

03:01And then a couple of his teammates also retired from the team.

03:04But then again, a few days later, he said, no, I am coming back.

03:07He was available for the FIFA International date in September of 2016.

03:12I am glad that happened because it's like a back to the future moment, right?

03:16I mean, then if he retires from the national team, he doesn't win the World Cup recently.

03:20He doesn't give us all these great performances, Inter-Miami, et cetera.

03:24So I'm glad things are working out.

03:25I'm a little disappointed for Bolivia.

03:27I mean, with the altitude and everything, they were looking so good.

03:29You would think that it would be a more level game.

03:31It wasn't the case.

03:32I want to throw some numbers out there.

03:34Messi is out of control, 122 goals.

03:37The only player with more international goals than him is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.

03:43He also broke the record for the most hat-tricks with a national team.

03:47And just for you guys to have some context, this week, it marks 20 years from Messi's

03:52debut with Barcelona.

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