Inter Miami left-back Jordi Alba was full of praise for the entire squad after their 4-1 thumping against Philadelphia Union to seal their place in the 2023 Leagues Cup final.
Before the trio of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba arrived at DRV PNK Stadium in south Florida, many didn't think much of the Miami squad as they had dropped to the basement of the Eastern Conference in MLS and parted ways with Phil Neville.
They had (and still have) several young talents like David Ruiz, Leonardo Campana, and Benjamin Cremaschi, and even the veterans Josef Martinez and DeAndre Yedlin, but they were overlooked due to the Herons' poor form in MLS in 2023.
However, following their latest triumph that sees them now just 90 minutes away from lifting their first trophy in club history, many will point to the fact that the Herons have been on a tear recently because of their summer signings (even without the likes of Tomas Aviles, Diego Gomez, and Facundo Farias not in the picture quite yet). But Jordi Alba doesn't see it that way.
"This is not on record, I already said it the other time, that it does not consist of three players but of a whole team," the 34-year-old said after their win against the Union.
"It is clear that Leo [Messi] makes the difference because he is the best player in the world by far, but we are there to help him in any way we can and I think we have seen a team that has known how to compete very well."
Messi, Busquets, and Jordi Alba have more than likely taught the young Miami squad a thing or two on how to win games. But, again, the experienced full-back believes that they've learned from the younger players while the youngsters have, in returned, learned from the older players.
"I think we trust the whole team. They have welcomed us very well, they are learning from us, we are also learning from them. The truth is that we found ourselves with a very good team, which has very clear ideas and little by little we are growing as a team, which is what gives us the opportunity to win all the titles," he added.
The former Spain international believes that it's a great moment for the club, and that they ultimately deserve it:
"We were and we came out psyched up, we knew it was a very difficult opponent, also playing in their field," said Alba.
"Well, this team deserves it, since I've been here the truth is that the attitude, desire and ambition of the team is tremendous, so I'm very happy for my teammates, for the staff, for the club's workers. I think that Inter Miami deserves to play in the final and we will be able to enjoy it."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Inter Miami's Jordi Alba credits the 'whole team' for reaching the Leagues Cup final .
