The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is expected to make his Inter Miami debut on Friday against the Mexican club Cruz Azul, but he might only play as a substitute.
The Argentine was welcomed in South Florida last week to a flurry of excitement and was introduced to the crowd on Sunday during a special stadium function.
But since the initial hype, when club owner Jorge Mas described him as “America’s number 10” and promised the move would “change the football landscape” in the USA, there has been a noticable change of tone.
After spending time with his family on vacation, Messi only began working out really this week. The Leagues Cup’s inaugural match, which pairs MLS and Liga MX teams in a tournament format, may come too soon for the World Cup champion to start.
Messi will play “some part of the game,” according to co-owner David Beckham, while Messi’s countryman and former Barcelona coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino had speculated he would not even start.
Due to the overwhelming media interest, the pre-game news conference was moved to Fort Lauderdale’s downtown performing arts complex, and Martino stated that they would decide how to use Messi after training on Friday.
“It is very difficult for people not to have expectations,” said Martino, “But it may take a while.”
Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, a former team-mate of Messi’s from their glory days with Barcelona, certainly doesn’t feel ready yet for a full game in what will also be his debut.
“I need time to adapt. It would be practically impossible for me to play 90 minutes tomorrow,” he said.
But given that tickets for what has long been described as Messi’s debut cost about $250, it is very guaranteed that he will take the field at some point.
Ricardo Ferretti, the seasoned coach of Cruz Azul and a native of Brazil, smiled when he was asked if his team anticipated playing Messi.
“If he didn’t play… it would be better. But, they also have to think about something, why are there so many people here? Because of him, right?” said the 69-year-old.
But Ferretti, known as “Tuca” throughout his career as a coach in Mexico, was a little irked that the game between the two teams was being viewed purely as the debut of one player.
“We will not face a single player. He does not win or lose alone. Soccer is a team sport. There are players who stand out and deserve emphasis, I agree with that,” he added.
“There are two institutions here – Cruz Azul is a historic team, one of the greats of Mexican football and Inter Miami is an important team in MLS,” he added.
The Inter Miami players who haven’t been making the headlines in recent days, have had a strange week with over 200 media turning out to film their training session on Tuesday.
