After taking charge ahead of the 2025 season, Jensen led NYCFC to a second MLS Cup title within one game.
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“When I stepped into our dressing room to lead this project, from day one I mentioned establishing a bulletproof mentality from our guys in the dressing room and our staff. So, it doesn’t matter where you play or who you play or when you play, you have to be able to focus on what needs to be done,” Jensen told ESPN this week.
“So, you focus on your work, and you focus on your responsibilities and always stay true to your own identity. It doesn’t matter who you play with.
“And it’s definitely like the X-factor, because Messi is who he is and he has a huge impact on the league in general. It’s mainly because it’s so positive.
“But can you imagine when you are playing against a legend like Messi on the field and the quality he still has in his game, you can get overwhelmed and forget about your job and your responsibilities and not be as competitive as you need to be so that we can get the results we want as a team.”
NYCFC have yet to beat Inter Miami this season, drawing 2-2 in the opening game of the 2025 MLS campaign at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before losing 4-0 at Citi Field in September.
Despite past results, Jensen stressed that the team has evolved since the last time they faced Miami and will now look to be a more dangerous opponent.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” he said. “But for us, if you focus on Miami, we’ve played them twice. The first game was the season opener, which was very interesting for me because it was my first game in MLS where I saw what it means to play against a team with Messi and what kind of impact it has on the team and the environment, the fans or the officials, or whatever happens, even your own team or your own players.
“To develop ourselves as a team moving forward in the league, but especially going into game number three, those lessons in those two games have been massive for us, because now again with some of the changes on the Miami side and the development we’ve shown throughout the season, we’ll be able to have better matchups than we did in games numbers one and two. But, again, the margin will be very small.”
NYCFC qualified for the playoffs by finishing the MLS campaign in fifth place in the East, before defeating Charlotte FC in the Round One series and defending Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union in the Conference Semi-Finals to clinch a ticket to the Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, after entering as the East’s third seed, Miami has clinched a playoff berth with consecutive 4-0 wins over Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati. With the roster including Messi as well as fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, there is no doubt who is the favorite in Saturday’s clash,
When asked if he minded being called the underdog, Jensen reiterated the importance of his team’s mental toughness.
“I have no problem (being called an underdog),” he said. “They can call it whatever they want. It’s all part of the bulletproof mentality approach. So I don’t care what anyone says or what position they put us in if it’s the underdog or the favorite. It’s all outside noise. It’s all outside the world.”
The winner of the Eastern Conference Finals will face either San Diego FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup on December 6.
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