The American team Inter Miami, led by the eight-time best player in the world, Argentine Lionel Messi, is on a whirlwind foreign tour, where it will cross about 25,000 miles (more than 40,000 kilometers) to play 7 friendly matches in 5 countries, but Argentine coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino is confident that… His team’s ability to deal with the resulting pressure.
Inter Miami will return to training this weekend, and has one week in its training center in Fort Lauderdale before embarking on a tour that will begin in El Salvador, then Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and finally Japan.
The arrival of Messi, along with his former teammates in Barcelona, Spain, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and, finally, Uruguayan Luis Suarez, represented an opportunity to make these friendly matches an opportunity to generate money for the club’s fund, similar to what major European clubs do through summer tours that largely aim to earn additional money.
However, the intensity of the matches raised question marks about the team’s readiness before the start of the official season on February 21.
Martino commented to reporters yesterday, Thursday, “We understand the technical and economic aspects, and we are trying to satisfy both sides without overstepping one or the other.”
He added, “We must ensure a balance in how each player participates.”
At the MLS media day, the team’s coach, Tata Martino, appeared and talked about some matters. He talked about Inter Miami’s visit to El Salvador, and stressed that the priority was to form the team in the pre-season, but he could not guarantee the presence of the legend Lionel Messi in the match.#InterMiamiCF pic.twitter.com/BECUVq78aQ
– Miami in Arabic (@InterMiamiAr) January 11, 2024
There is no doubt that Martino is always under pressure to involve Messi for as long as possible, but the experience last season was a warning bell.
Miami’s performance increased significantly immediately after Messi joined, as it won the League Cup, but that gradually faded with the injury of the Argentine flea and Alba.
The team failed to reach the final rounds of the local league, as Messi had to watch several matches from the stands.
For his part, Busquets believed that the team must find a good balance between football and commercial activities.
He said, “We must look at the balance between the sporting aspect, the development of this club, and the revenues that benefit the commercial aspect.”
He continued, “We will compete against big teams that will prepare us to be at a high level. When it comes to the time difference and long trips, we must be prepared and physically ready. This is what will help us during the season.”
After 7 days of returning to training, Inter will play its first test against the El Salvador national team on the 19th of this month in San Salvador.
Then he will face Dallas FC in Texas, before heading to Saudi Arabia to face Al Hilal on the 29th of this month, then Al Nassr, led by Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
Five days after that, the American team will head to face the Hong Kong League Stars team on February 4, before moving to Tokyo to play a friendly match against Japan’s Vissel Kobe.
The team will end its friendly matches on February 15 by facing Messi’s first team in his career, Newell’s Old Boys of Argentina, in Miami.
