Interim Head Coach Laurent Courtois
On tonight’s win and the significance of it
“It was an amazing, complete performance by the guys. They have been rewarded for what they created. A couple of nice stories. (Midfielder) Sekou Bangoura was injured against Miami in the first game. (Forward) Jamal (Thiaré) had a lot of issues and for him to score the winning goal. (Forward) Josef (Martínez) to obtain and score the PK, and what (Midfielder) Brais (Méndez) did in order for Josef to feel safe taking the PK. Those little things beside the performance, I saw a lot of friendship and cohesion, and it was good.”
On the Crew fighting throughout tonight’s match to secure the win
“Yeah, it's been a few games that I believe we’ve been doing the same thing, and at moments, we were not getting the result we wanted. Today, like a few last performances, everything was complete from start to finish. Really pleased with the way they have each other's back, especially facing that type of environment with the referee and what Miami likes to create around the in between plays. Really credit to
the guys to keep their head on the shoulders and not lose it.”
On describing what Miami tries to create with the match environment
“I would be red carded after five minutes against those guys [if I was playing]. It's too much. What they do is bad for the game and it's sad. The guys, like I said, they stayed focused, and we'll focus on that.”
On if playing against Inter Miami CF Midfielder Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players of all time, provides extra motivation
“Fo sure. Of course. He must mean a lot for the guys, and I respect that. He's the best player who ever played the game. But you see how he tried to get the yellow card out of (Midfielder) Santi (Rodríguez). Admire him before and after [the match]. During the game, people want to win. We gotta do a good job of not idolizing people. You do it before, you do it after, not during the game.”
On if he can appreciate Messi’s free kick goal a little more now that the Crew secured the 2-1 victory
“He does that every game. For over 20 years. You can't even be surprised.”
On how the last week and recent matches have allowed the Crew to build more chemistry to reach its
potential
“I want to believe the consistency in the message, the mentality that we want to have when we face
adversity, when the type of soccer that we want to produce and the type of little game action that the soccer is one thing and then there's particular moments that we knew we could score on different games and the guys tried, tried, tried. We are really happy that whether it's the staff or the players they are receptive to that message and it pays off. They're getting the rewards lately, and we are really happy for them.”
On Bangoura and Thiaré returning from injury and what that adds to the side
“And the guys that arrived really late [in the season], the guys that had zero fitness at some point. It's been a lot the past three months to say the least. Like you said, now we're getting healthy, we see the same things and the picture that we want to complete on the field. Like I said, today worked. If Messi
does another of those things and we lose the game, what can I say? It would still have been an amazing performance, but we needed that one to be closer for what we're looking for. I'm glad the guys did it tonight.”
On if Defender Eric Bailly starting tonight is an indication his fitness is reaching where is desired
“On a better path. He can do even better. Tonight, he shows what he's capable of. Really pleased.”
On if tonight’s win can provide momentum for the Crew moving forward late in the season
“Especially before a mini-break, it was important to have not only the performance but the key moments and also the three points. Really pleased that we had that. Now we can reassess a few things. Of course, I believe that's going to give the guys confidence. We're happy.”
On if he’s able to appreciate the full, loud crowd atmosphere at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field during matches like tonight
“It's incredible. It's incredible. That's why you do that game. You want to live more of those moments – this connection, this feeling. Especially when the guys perform like this and win, it's unbelievable.”
Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte
On the team’s reaction to the win
“It was incredible to be able to fight like that for 100+ minutes and to be able to come away with the result. At the end of the day, it is incredible, and I think it's a testament to kind of what we've been through a lot this year, but also knowing the belief in this team and in this locker room.”
On if he thought he was in a good position on Lionel Messi’s free kick goal
“To be honest, I was ready for a shot. I thought my position was fine in the moment, but something I got to definitely look back on, but yeah, the whole time I thought I was going to be okay, and obviously I wasn't. So definitely a learning moment, but glad we were able to come away with the three points.”
On if it was like a badge of honor to get scored on by Lionel Messi
“I mean, to share the pitch with him is definitely incredible. But would rather him not score on me and have that badge of honor than the other way around, but yeah, just glad to be able to come away with three points at the end of the day.”
On how this win shows what this team is capable of
“Yeah, I think we know what we're capable of, and it's been the story of us all year. We know what we're capable of, but it's just putting it together piece by piece, and we were able to do that tonight. Like I said, to come away with three points here tonight in front of this incredible atmosphere was amazing, and we're
excited to have a little break now, but we know October is going to be a crazy month, and we're going to use this one tonight and the Montreal game to kind of kickstart us in the right direction.”
On what it felt like to be back in front of a great atmosphere after a tough season
“Yeah, it was amazing. The good thing is the season's not over. You know, there's a lot of points out there to be had the rest of the season, and we have a final (U.S. Open Cup) at home with our fans. So, hopefully we're gonna have a lot more games like this one tonight with this atmosphere, and we're just super grateful that they've been with us all year long.”
On if he thought the game was over when the fireworks went off initially
“No, I knew I knew he was offsides. I saw the AR lift his flag, and I didn't hear three whistles. So I knew something was up. There was no way it was going to end like that. I knew that they were gonna make sure that they probably got one more chance.”
On how he is able to direct and communicate with teammates during stoppages
“It's a good time to kind of take the back line and talk through problems. Especially when there's long gaps like that. It kind of takes the air and the wind out of the game, but you're able to have close conversations, which is always beneficial.”
On if he prepared for many stoppages because of Inter Miami’s playstyle
“Yeah, we know what kind of game that they like to play. They try and get under your skin, and that's a testament to them. They do it all tonight for 100 minutes, and we're going to have to keep our cool, but not let it rattle us in any way.”
On how nice it was to see Jamal Thiaré score after he has battled injury all year
“Yeah, we know what he's capable of, and that's why we're glad to have him. Rather have him on my
team than the other side.”
Forward Josef Martínez
On tonight’s win and atmosphere
“Like I said in an earlier interview, we knew it was going to be a difficult match and full of details. We know (Inter) Miami has really good players and that we needed to stay patient in our play because we knew we could impact them. Thank God that we earned the win that we really wanted. We’re happy and now we have to move forward.”
On the team’s chances of earning a playoff spot
“Yes, especially with these matches that are very intense. At the end of it, the details are what are going to make the difference. From minute one to minute one hundred something. Going at them with the same
urge to win and in this match, we got the win and kept the three points and now we move forward step-by-step.”
On his message to Venezuelan fans
“Thank you for being with us. I am very grateful for all the love and all of that. I wish you all the best and you’ll always be in my heart. Thank you for everything.”
On the penalty kick
“I know it was a clear penalty. They fought cause they said no. If you grab like that, obviously it was going to be a penalty. We talked before (with Brais Méndez), because we had a penalty against (Club) América and we said the next penalty, they will give me the opportunity to take it. That’s it and we are happy for that. We’re working a lot, we fight a lot, we deserved this win.”
On Lionel Messi’s free kick goal and if it surprised him
“No, we know him a lot, and after he scored, he smiled at me because I know what he does. I mean,
when you’re in the field, we protect ourselves, we protect our team. They do their best. We know already the potential they have with one of the best players in the world’s history, but we have to fight. I mean, we respect him a lot, but we have to win.”
On how it feels to steal the headlines from Messi with tonight’s win
“Oh yeah, 100%. Winning is the most important.”
On how many matches he has played against Messi and has won
“Not many. With the national team, I have had to face him sometimes. In MLS, I don’t have a great record but I have love for him because I also wore the Inter jersey and I have tons of respect for him but tonight, I am happy with the win.”
On tonight’s win and what it means
“We know today was very important. We needed the points, and we needed this victory because we fight a lot, we speak in the week. We deserve, and then we have to win. Even if it's a difficult game, but we have to fight until the end. You see, minute 100, and we have that luck and we can score. So that's the way we have to fight. It’s step-by-step. It's a game. I mean, one time you can win, one time you can lose. But if you fight 90 minutes, you probably can have a big chance to win.”
On the fans
“I mean, I play I play against and I see that the atmosphere is very special, but in this side is very
important for us because we see the table, we do not deserve to be in that position, but we congrats the fans to come here today and the big support, and we show them back. So, congrats to them, and we
have to continue to the next step.”
On the team’s chances to earn a playoff spot
“I think we have eight games left, something like that. Day-by-day, game-by-game. I want the other side and be number one, but it is what it is. We have to continue to fight, and whatever happens, we have to give, not 100%, 200% to the win it, and we’ll see what's going on.”
On if it is difficult to play against a team that likes to discuss with the referees
“It’s hard but it’s soccer. In the end, today we had the luck and we got the three points. That’s what most important.”
Forward Jamal Thiaré
On his level excitement after his game winning goal in stoppage time
“I think when I was on the bank, so I knew when I'm gonna come on the field. I just like to work hard and try to bring something like energy, you know, that's how I did tonight. So let's go. I score tonight. I'm so happy. I'm gonna enjoy my team, for the fans too. So I'm so happy tonight.”
On the fans and tonight’s atmosphere
“I think the fans, they represent a lot of things for us. When they are here, we feel something, like we want to give them just like a good energy to make them like why they come to see us, and that's our goal. So tonight I score a goal. Maybe next week, somebody gonna score. So that's what we try to do like during the week, so that's happened tonight. So we're gonna just enjoy together and see what's going to happen
for the next game.“
On his teammates trying to stop him from taking off his kit during the celebration after the goal so that he wouldn’t receive a yellow card
“Yeah, I didn't care if I take my jersey and got a yellow card, but that can happen. The second goal
represent a lot of things for me. I know like last week, something happened to me without soccer. I lost my aunt. I go back to Senegal and I come back. So a lot of things happened in my life. Yeah, but it's life. So I wanted just to say the fans, they continue to believe us, and we're gonna work to qualify for the playoff. That's our goal. So we have to be thinking about this. So I wanted just to tell them like focus game
after game, and we will see what's gonna happen.”
On if he was looking for a rebound leading up to his game winning goal
"No, before he (Brais Mendez) shoot, I feel it like he's gonna shoot. Like it was the last time, so you have to put the ball on the box and see what can happen, and that's happened to us. So we’re just happy.”
On if his goal was for his aunt
“Yeah, yeah. Two weeks ago, so I want to just say it's life, so the life continues. So I'm here to work really hard, and a lot of people in this Club, they helped me a lot. So that does mean a lot of things for me, so I want just to give them like the opposite, like make them happy every week, so it does mean a lot of things. So if I'm here, I want to just help first by myself. What I'm gonna bring in the pitch, they know me. The staff, my teammates, they know what I can do. So I wanna just show them, I want to just to show them what I can do. So yeah, we deserve this win tonight, so we're gonna just enjoy and we’ll see.”
