The Apple TV studio analyst joins Mic'd Up to discuss the MLS postseason, Miami and Messi, and Wilfried Nancy's future
Major League Soccer’s 2023 decision to partner with Apple TV to carry its matches was groundbreaking, marking the first time a professional league moved most of its games to a streaming platform. This shift has since inspired other leagues, such the NBA, which will stream 66 games on Amazon Prime next season.
Andrew Wiebe, who has been with Apple TV's MLS Season Pass since its launch, serves as a studio analyst for and . The long-time podcast host has enjoyed seeing the programming evolve in just one year.
“We need people to walk away from any show… with excitement, with anticipation, and a tangible reason to care," Wiebe told GOAL. "I want people to be as juiced about the games, the players, the managers, stories, fan culture in the same way I am. I think we're finding ourselves with every step. And what encourages me is that this is just the beginning."
Wiebe credits the strong chemistry between himself and colleagues Kevin Egan, Sacha Kljestan, Kaylyn Kyle, and Bradley Wright-Phillips, as well as the producers, for the show's success. He pointed to their hard work behind the scenes as key to their standout Decision Day coverage.
“I was a little nervous about Decision Day… all these dominoes had to fall to give us an exciting day,” Wiebe said. “We were fortunate to hit fever pitch. Decision Day is about one thing: setting up the playoffs, and the bigger the bang the better.”
The First Round of the MLS Playoffs kicks off Friday with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosting Atlanta United. What is Messi's future in MLS? What's next for Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy? Who will win the MLS Cup? Wiebe discusses all of that and more in this edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportON THE MLS CUP
GOAL: The First Round of the MLS Playoffs starts Friday. Who do you have winning the whole thing?
Wiebe: In the modern era, great teams with great players win the MLS Cup. In terms of MLS Cup, there are no lucky winners. So all of which is to say, I have a hard time believing Inter Miami won't pay this project and this season off without the MLS Cup. Messi is in nuclear form, and they get to do the whole thing in South Florida, apart from one game in Atlanta. The only thing that can stop Miami is themselves, and that's been true all year. Nobody in MLS can compete [with them] on just attacking talent and championship pedigree.
AdvertisementIMAGNON INTER MIAMI'S HISTORIC SEASON
GOAL: A debate that is picking up steam is whether or not Inter Miami is the greatest team in MLS history. What are your thoughts?
Wiebe: Inter Miami is the single greatest collection of talent MLS has ever seen, that much, I'm sure of, and yes, that's sort of a cop-out to your question. Are they the greatest team? Not yet. To be the greatest team, you need more than ability and the on paper side of it, you have to pay it off. Messi is the GOAT, not just because of the goals and historic, absurd stuff that we've seen for years and years and years, but because all those individual moments resulted in trophies and collective history. I mean, he's like counting up to 50 trophies all-time.
I think of the Barcelona motto when I think of what's at stake for inter Miami, (More than a club). For Messi and Miami, these years are about making Miami more than just a soccer club in South Florida with big players. It's about making Inter Miami an institution. It's about making Inter Miami a club that represents something bigger and grander, something that people can't take away and doesn't shift year to year as coaches and players change. And to do that, Miami have to win, and they have to do it repeatedly…Anything short of historic greatness is below par for this group. So they've got to win MLS Cup.
GOAL: And if they win?
Wiebe: If Miami win the double, I think you'd have to argue they're the greatest team of all time on two fronts, on results and on talent.
ON MESSI'S FUTURE
GOAL: One thing that's already being discussed is what is MLS and Inter Miami's future going to look like without Messi in it. He can't play forever and when David Beckham left the league, there was a lull for a few years after he left. How does MLS combat that?
Wiebe: Messi is not replicable. So forget replicating Messi or what he brings. The goal of these years with Lionel has to be to set the foundation for the club, and that's what I mean when I say Més que un club. The club has to take on a bigger place than just where Messi played. The beauty for me is that Messi will be part of that project to continue [due to him being a part-owner of Inter Miami]. He has draw and a magic to him that nobody else in this game has.
So I think the challenge for Miami is, how do you rechannel that ambition? Who represents that who can take it into the next phase? And they've got to identify those players. It's not going to be easy, and it's certainly not going to be cheap, but having their own Stadium in Miami will help in having a legacy and a foundation laid by Messi is a head start that almost no other club in the world gets.
GOAL: Does that mean signing global stars in their prime?
Wiebe: I mean, straight up, why couldn't they sign anybody? Why should Inter Miami limit themselves in terms of any signing after signing Leo Messi, they should believe that literally everything is possible. If MLS wants to grow into the places that it envisions, it has to mean signing top-level players in their prime. That goes for Inter Miami, that goes for the rest of the league.
USA Today ImagesON THE MVP RACE
GOAL: Who do you have for MVP?
Wiebe: I voted for Cucho Hernandez. He earned the award this year. I know Messi's per-90 numbers are better, but come on, it's Messi. He's a human cheat code… To me, crucially, Cucho played eight more games. He has 12 game-winning goal contributions to Messi's six. That speaks to results. It speaks to the impact of the course of the whole year. And the Crew can play arguably the most aesthetically pleasing and effective brand of soccer the league has ever seen, because Cucho can play all three spots across the front line at best-in-class levels.
