To the last friendly Inter Miami On his chaotic preseason tour he was consumed with anticipation. Yes Lionel Messi played, that if he did not play even for a minute due to his edema in one of his adductors. Ticket prices ranged from $67 for the cheapest seat to $20,000! from a VIP location, close to the pink team’s substitute bench and that included a face-to-face meeting with the Argentine star. To the Tokyo National Stadium Only 28,614 spectators attended, just over half of its capacity (54,224 people). The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner lost, on this occasion, with the music: the opening whistle coincided with the first hour of the recital. Taylor Swift in it Tokyo Dome, fifteen minutes by urban train from the National Stadium. The American singer was acclaimed for 55 thousand people sold out the tickets for the first performance of the Eras Tour in Japan.
The 0-0 tie between the traveling team of the MLS and Vissel Kobe, the Japanese champion – who is also in preseason and won 4-3 on penalties – had an omnipresent promotion in the Japanese capital. The district of Shibuya, the epicenter of entertainment in that city, appeared dyed pink in the previous days and showed off gigantographs of the Argentine star, so that no one would lose sight of the meeting. The good news for La Pulga fans was that the man from Rosario, recovered from his edema in one of his adductors, was on the substitute bench. His entry into the party, then, was a matter of time.
Messi, in short, played half an hour. Strictly speaking, 34 minutes of a game that did not have half of the field and in which Inter Miami once again sinned with an innocent defense and a midfield without legs. To top, Sergio Busquets, the team’s engine room leader, was injured in the first half when he received a stomp on his left foot. Assisted by doctors, he retired to the locker room. In principle, as a precaution. It is still another setback for Gerardo “Tata” Martino, coach of the American team. He had already regretted the absence of Facundo Farias (torn cruciate ligaments, will miss the entire season) and Benjamin Cremaschi (sports hernia, between two and three months off the field) and he had Messi in trouble. In that first period, in addition to Busquets, the Spanish Jordi Alba He was paralyzed. To Tata’s joy, the left back was able to continue playing.
“After training on Tuesday, Leo told us that he felt good, so we made the decision that he would play 30 minutes“Martino said at the post-match press conference in Tokyo. And he added: “I was very happy after the meeting because he felt comfortable on the court”. Regarding the process of the meeting, the former coach of Newell’s, Barcelona and the Argentine team said: “I think he was a even match. They played better in the first half, they had opportunities to score and we improved in the second half.” And regarding the warm reception that the team had – followed by thousands of pilgrims on its three Asian stops: Riyadh, Hong Kong and Tokyo – Tata noted: “We are very thankful because of how they have received us in Tokyo, not only in the stadium, but also throughout the city. In the same way we appreciate the treatment of the people of Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. In all three places We have been treated very well and we have deep gratitude for it.”.
Messi greets the fans after the game in Tokyo
The match with Vissel Kobe It ended in a somewhat bizarre way: Inter Miami He seemed to not have a list of kickers for an eventual penalty shootout, as happened. And even though there were six shots (parity was maintained after the initial five), Messi did not take charge of any of them. Quite a surprise. Only two footballers appeared before the press: DeAndre Yedlin y Jordi Alba. “It was incredible to play in this beautiful city and this wonderful country. “We are trying to grow our leagues and there is great potential on both sides,” said Jedlin, a former Tottenham and Newcastle player in the Premier League. His teammate Jordi Alba added: “It was a very good match in a great atmosphere. It will be a great memory and will also help us with what we are trying to achieve this season. We competed against a very good opponent, especially in the second half. When Leo joined he helped us a lot.”
Since the first match of Inter Miami’s globetrot tour around the world, Messi played 238 minutes, distributed over five games, namely: 45 against El Salvador (goalless draw); 64 minutes against Dallas (1-0 loss), 88 minutes against Al-Hilal (4-3 loss), a seven-minute cameo in Riyadh against Al-Nassr (6-0 loss) and the 34 minutes of this Wednesday against the Japanese monarch. In the middle, his non-appearance in Hong Kong in the team’s only victory in the entire preseason: 4-1 ante Hong Kong XI. In total, the Inter Miami superstar averaged 39 minutes per game. Not even a while. Too little for a tour that aimed to establish the pink team’s brand in the world. But a lot for a footballer who is already 36 years old and who is coming from almost two months of vacation: His last official match dates back to November 21, against Brazil and at the Maracaná.
To find a victory for Inter Miami points you have to go back to September 20 of last year: 4-0 Toronto. Messi only played 37 minutes. He didn’t convert or give an assist. Since then, six preparation matches and eight official matches have passed. He barely beat Hong Kong XI. Conclusion: only one friendly victory in the last 14! commitments. And in that victory he did not have his main footballer. From sports, The preseason does not leave any positive conclusions to Tata Martino. Beyond what the treasury has billed and the marketing behind each presentation, Inter Miami looked more like Lionel Messi FC than a franchise with aspirations to be competitive during the season that is about to begin. And that will have quadruple competition: MLS, Concachampions, US Open Cup and League Cup. Consuming the energies of a spine that is over 30 years old (in addition to Messi’s 36, Luis Suárez is 37; Busquets, 35 and Jordi Alba, 34) does not seem to be the best strategy for a team that can play 66 games between February and December. Time will tell.
To complete the last four games, the Inter Miami squad traveled almost 22 thousand kilometers: from Miami to Riyadh (12,029 km), from Riyad to Hong Kong (6,810 km) and from there to Tokyo (2,879 km). He did just two practices open to the public – with all that that implies for the coaching staff – one in Hong Kong and the other in Japanese territory. Instead of “Go global”, the journey could have been called “La Pulga Tour”. It was, in short, a test for the magnetism of the Argentine idol.
An easy calculation between the number of kilometers (21,718) traveled for these four games in Asia and the minutes played by Messi in the four games (129) gives a figure of 168 kilometers in the air for every sixty seconds of Messi on the field. The income of Inter Miami, which took advantage of the tour to present several sponsors (among them, an Argentine winery that will be its official wine sponsor) flows in another direction. The two parties in Saudi Arabiafor example, had an approximate turnover of 10 million dollars just for tickets. In Hong Kong there were 40 thousand people on the field who were eager to see the Argentine. And many others paid to witness the previous day’s training.
A Inter Miami It will now be his turn to get on the last plane and travel the almost 12 thousand kilometers that separate Tokyo from Miami. The squad will have to recover from the accumulated jet-lag and get used to Florida time again. Martino and his coaching staff do not have much time to draw conclusions about a preseason as full of trips as it is full of negative results (one victory, two draws and three losses). Physicality, precisely, was one of the factors that limited Inter Miami’s progression last season. Tata announced it in August. His team did not qualify for the playoffs because he blew the engine early. The 2024 preseason, demanding as ever, predicts more of the same.
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