2023-12-19T10:28:06+00:00
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/ Argentine star Lionel Messi faces his childhood team, Newell’s Old Boys, after the latter agreed to play a friendly match against Inter Miami of the United States, which is defending its colors, champion of the World Cup in Qatar, next February.
The American club, which Messi joined last July from Paris Saint-Germain, announced on Monday that it will host the Argentine club at its stadium in Miami on February 15.
The Newell’s Old Boys team is based in the Argentine city of Rosario, where Messi was born, grew up and began playing football, before joining Spanish club Barcelona at the age of 13.
Argentine Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the current coach of Inter Miami, also comes from Rosario and defended the club’s shirt in three stops before supervising it as coach in 2012.
“I’m excited to welcome my beloved club Newell’s Old Boys to Miami. This will be a special match because of everything Newell’s Old Boys means to me,” Martino said.
“It will also be a good opportunity to prepare for a season that promises to be exciting,” he added.
Inter Miami’s friendly match will be the last match in its preparatory program for the new season, noting that it will also face the El Salvador national team in San Salvador on January 19 as part of its preparations.
Messi and his teammates will also play two friendly matches in Saudi Arabia, facing Al-Nassr and its Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, in a match that the organizers called “The Last Dance” and Al-Hilal (between January 29 and February 1), before traveling to Hong Kong and then Tokyo.