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Lionel Messi Gets Into Shoving Match with Former Indiana Soccer Player Jack Maher

Former Indiana men's soccer player Jack Maher made national headlines on Wednesday when he got into a brief scuffle with Lionel Messi during an MLS match between Inter Miami FC and Nashville SC.

Daniel Olinger

Lionel Messi Gets Into Shoving Match with Former Indiana Soccer Player Jack Maher
Lionel Messi Gets Into Shoving Match with Former Indiana Soccer Player Jack Maher /
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There's only one man who can stop Lionel Messi's recent reign of terror in the MLS — and his name is Jack Maher.

The former Indiana men's soccer player made headlines on Wednesday night when he drew the ire of Messi during a match between Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC. Maher was getting physical with the legendary soccer player (or fútbol player, if you prefer), which agitated Messi, and sparked a brief shoving match that gained traction on Twitter, Instagram and so on.

Inter Miami had won all nine of its games since the Argentinian superstar joined the MLS club in July. Nashville was the first team to not have been defeated by Messi and Co., holding the game to a 0-0 draw. Maher's club also became the first team to hold Messi without an assist or a goal through 10 matches of American play. 

Maher played two seasons at Indiana from 2018-2019, and was named a 2019 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's Second Team All-American. He was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Big Ten Tournament.

Though the Hoosiers did not win yet another national championship on the pitch during Maher's two seasons in Bloomington, Indiana went back-to-back in the Big Ten. Under coach Todd Yeagley, IU won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships in 2018 and 2019. 

Maher was signed by MLS as a Generation Adidas following his sophomore season, which made him eligible for the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. The Indiana defender was then selected by Nashville SC with the second overall pick.

Maher has been with Nashville for four seasons now, though in 2020 he was loaned out to the USL Championship club Charlotte Independence, and in 2021, to San Diego Loyal SC. He was later recalled by Nashville in 2021. 

In his four-year professional career, Maher has scored three goals. 

In nearly two decades of play for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and the Argentina national team, Messi has scored 818 goals in his career.

Truly impossible to say who is the better player. But it sure seemed like Maher got the better of Messi on Wednesday night. 

Related Stories on Indiana Soccer:

  • JT HARMS FEATURE: JT Harms dove into goalkeeping at 9 years old. He trained with far older players at academies, but his progress stalled at Duke. At Indiana, a position battle brought humility — and confidence. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA DRAWS 1-1 AT NOTRE DAME: Indiana's season began Thursday night in South Bend. Once freshman Collins Oduro tallied the equalizer in the 28th minute, the Hoosiers survived scares throughout the rest of the match, especially late. In the last few minutes, Notre Dame applied pressure with countless set pieces, but the Hoosiers held on for the draw in muggy conditions. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA PICKED 2ND IN PRESEASON BIG TEN POLL: The Big Ten men's soccer preseason poll was released Monday, and No. 2 Indiana was slotted second. In the same release, three players from each team in the conference were chosen for the players-to-watch list. From Indiana: Patrick McDonald, Sam Sarver, and Collins Oduro. CLICK HERE
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Daniel Olinger
DANIEL OLINGER

Daniel Olinger is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation reporter for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Northwestern University with degrees in both journalism and economics. 

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