Wearing the number 10 shirt for Inter Miami for the first time, Lionel Messi will start this Friday (21) a new chapter of his extraordinary career in the opening round of the Leagues Cup, a tournament disputed by the 47 clubs of the MLS and the Mexican League.
This pioneering partnership of leagues, for a tournament that will be played entirely in the United States and Canada until the final on August 19, gained global appeal with Messi’s decision to leave European football and start a new life in Miami.
In his official presentation last Sunday, at the DRB PNK stadium, the Argentine star arranged a meeting with his new fans for the game against Cruz Azul, from Mexico, in his debut in the Leagues Cup.
In this match, which will put the bottom placed teams in MLS and Liga MX face to face, both Messi and Spanish midfielder Sergi Busquets, his former Barcelona teammate, are expected to play their first minutes with Inter Miami, either in the starting line-up or coming off the bench.
Both the team coach, Argentine Gerardo Martino, and David Beckham, one of the owners of the Miami franchise, have warned in recent days that Messi will have the last word on his presence in the match, whose tickets are being resold for up to US$ 18,000 (about R$ 86,000).
“Leo will decide if he’s ready, because we know he’s been away from the pitch for a few weeks with his family. But he’s doing very well,” said Beckham, who warned of Messi needing time to be physically fit and adapt to football in the United States.
“The two arrived very well, we can have some expectations of seeing them on the field on Friday. But I don’t want to rush and say something I can’t fulfill”, said ‘Tata’ Martino on Wednesday to the Argentine sports channel TyC.
The Argentine coach said this Thursday at a press conference alongside Busquets that “the results are expected immediately and we want that to be the case, because the plan we have will certainly flow better if we direct it with positive results”.
Inter Miami made official this Friday the signing of Spaniard Jordi Alba, Messi and Busquets’ companion during a decade at Barcelona.
Debut against Cruz Azul
Beckham’s willingness to ease the pressure on his new star is understandable, considering Messi, at 36, is coming off a grueling season for Paris Saint-Germain with the added strain of the Qatar World Cup, which he won with Argentina in December 2022.
Inter Miami, however, has no time to lose if they want to straighten out a dismal season, end an 11-game winless streak and seek a spot in the MLS playoffs.
The arrival of seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi coincided with a month-long break from MLS, giving the Argentine the chance to play for his first Leagues Cup trophy. The competition will distribute three places in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, an access route to the Club World Cup.
Its first opponent, Cruz Azul, one of the great clubs in Mexican football, is also going through a bad phase. Led by veteran Brazilian coach Ricardo ‘Tuca’ Ferretti, the club lost its first three games in Liga MX.
Leo’s first week in 📸🎥🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/O3Je17UmZ1
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 20, 2023
an unprecedented format
In addition to Cruz Azul, Inter Miami will also face Atlanta United in the first phase of the Leagues Cup, on Tuesday.
The three teams are part of Group South 3 in a first phase in which no game can end in a draw. In case of equality on the score after 90 minutes, each team will receive one point and the winner of a penalty shootout will add one more.
In total, the competition has 15 groups of three teams, which include 28 representatives from MLS and 17 from Liga MX.
As the defending champions of their respective tournaments, Los Angeles FC and Mexico’s Pachuca will join the top two from each group in the next round, which begins on August 2.
In single-game knockouts, the winners will then compete in the round of 16 (August 6-8), quarter-finals (11-12) and semi-finals (15).
The duel for third place and the final will be played on August 19, determining the three teams qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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