DERRICK WILLIAMS can still picture how the Greatest Of All Time kept staring at him.
The former Ireland defender joined MLS side Atlanta United 13 months ago and a play-off run meant five games against Inter Miami and the one and only Lionel Messi.
Unfortunately he hasn’t been able to snag the Argentine’s jersey as of yet[/caption]
He revealed how Messi actually stares at the opposition defenders rather than focusing on where the ball is[/caption]
Miami boast a star-studded side with Javier Mascherano on the line and Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba also involved.
But Williams saw how Messi is just on another level — because of the special focus he gave to the Irishman.
The former Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers and LA Galaxy man told SunSport: “He was more just watching us.
“Say if the ball was on the other side of the pitch, he’s just watching when we moved.
“I’ve never seen a striker doing it before. So he was watching how far we’d go to the left when the ball was there, how far to the right . . . that kind of thing.
“So he knew what he was going to do before the ball came to him.
“There was one time when the ball was on the left and Alba had the ball and Messi’s just looking at me, and I’m thinking, ‘Why does he keep looking at me?’
“But he’s seen how far I’ve moved over.
“So when Alba whipped the ball into him, he’s played it first time around the corner to Suarez — inch-perfect through the gap because he’s seen I didn’t move over far enough. Jesus, the levels, it’s crazy.
“I was lucky enough to play against him five times last year.
“But just that first game, looking at him in the tunnel was a bit surreal.
“Growing up watching him, playing for Tramore and then you’re playing against the best player to ever play the game. It was a proud moment — one of my best in football.”
And Williams got the upper hand over the course of the season.
He continued: “Yeah, we played them five times, we beat them 3-1 at our place and then 2-2 at theirs in the regular season.
“In the play-offs, we lost 2-1 there, won 2-1 at our place and then won 3-2 in their place.
“I asked him for his shirt after that game and he said, ‘Yeah — inside’.
“But I think he was p***ed off and it just didn’t happen. I did get Busquets’ jersey last year.”
NEW SEASON CHANGES
Atlanta’s play-off run ended in the next round — effectively the last eight of the competition — having squeezed into the post-season by finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference.
That has led to changes over the close season ahead of the big kick-off tonight, when Atlanta host Montreal.
The club sacked former Mexico midfielder Gonzalo Pineda last June, with assistant coach Rob Valentino taking the reins for the rest of the season.
Former Celtic boss Ronny Deila was unveiled as manager in December and the arrival of former Newcastle United midfielder Miguel Almiron and Middlesbrough’s Emmanuel Latte Lath — for a record $22million — is a major statement of intent.
Williams added: “The expectation is high this year and we’re looking to win it.
“We’ve just signed Almiron and Emmanuel Latte Lath and Mateusz Klich.
“It’s funny. I think people in Europe sometimes don’t realise the standard of it here.
“You only notice it when you’re here. It’s very under-rated.
“At Atlanta, our average attendance is 45,000. At Blackburn when I was there, the average was 17,000.
“It shows how big it is. You go to Nashville, where it is a football-only stadium, and they fill out every game, the same in Austin.
“Last year, we sold $50m worth of talent, we sold our left-back, Caleb Riley, to Chelsea for $9m, we sold Thiago Almada to Lyon for $24m.
“It’s crazy how big it is and I have players in Ireland and England texting me saying, ‘What do you think? Do you think I could go over?’
“And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, it’s tough to come over after 30’.
“It’s harder than you think, you cannot come over here at 35 to retire.
“I have the same agent as Kevin Long, who joined Montreal last year.
“We played them and I asked what he thought and he said it’s tougher than he thought.
“It’s especially like that for defenders as the DP players — the players who aren’t in salary cap — are mostly attackers. They’re the ones they spend millions on.
“So you’ve got Messi, Suarez, Christian Benteke, Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi — really high-quality internationals.”
BRILLIANT DECISION
Williams, 32, believes that moving to the US at 28 was one of the best decisions of his career, having started at Aston Villa before spells with the Robins and Rovers.
He explained: “I’d always thought about it. Because my dad lived here, every summer I used to go to Atlanta because that’s where my dad lived.
“And over the years I’d go on holidays here with my wife, I’d go to California, we’d been to Vegas a few times.
“So when LA Galaxy came in for me when I was at Blackburn, I thought it would be perfect.
“At the time, I’d played a lot of games in England in League One and the Championship. I wanted something new.
“Covid had happened and we were in lockdown and then Galaxy came in and I thought, ‘What an opportunity, I used to go there on holidays’. I’ve never regretted it.”
After two seasons in California, he was traded to DC United, where he worked under Wayne Rooney.
But when the former Manchester United hitman left, Williams was keen to move on.
GEORGIA ON HIS MIND
He weighed up his options in England before Atlanta swooped and took him to the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
He is now settled in Georgia, with America his home.
Williams said: “I wouldn’t say never ever, but I don’t think I’ll move back to Ireland. The weather affects me a lot. I like the sun.
“I’ve two girls now as well and the lifestyle here is a bit different.
“I want them to be outside playing constantly. We go home as much as we can too.”
But Williams realises regular trips to Dublin for Ireland games are a thing of the past — and are unlikely to return under Heimir Hallgrimsson.
The Waterford man won three caps and scored one goal, with his last appearance being a goalscoring one against New Zealand in 2019.
He was called up by Stephen Kenny but a positive Covid test after the Euro 2020 play-off with Slovakia meant he missed the chance to add to his appearances.
NO IRISH RECALL
Williams does not think Hallgrimsson will be calling him any time soon.
He said: “The Ireland centre-backs are quality. I’m not as good as them.
“I can’t say I’m better than Dara O’Shea, who is in the Premier League.
“John Egan isn’t even in the squad and he was the best centre-back when I was there.
“Now you’ve Nathan Collins, Jake O’Brien, Andrew Omobamidele. It’s just the position.
“It’s probably the hardest position in the Ireland team to get into.”
Could he do a job at left-back? He smiled: “No, not anymore. I won two of my caps at left-back but can’t get up and down the pitch like I used to.
“I do wonder could I have won more and maybe there were a few occasions.
“Stephen Kenny wanted me in a squad afterwards in 2021 but I got injured. And it was a bit unlucky how my last camp ended.
“It was a killer as I was playing good football and we had Wales at home. But I was the only player who got Covid and I had to isolate for two weeks.
“Two of the other centre-backs got injured so I would have played. I was gutted. It was a s*** way to finish, being in quarantine for two weeks.
“Those caps were some of my proudest moments. I would have been happy with one so to win three was special.”
