Argentine genius appears. Lionel Messi scored his first goal with Inter Miami, in the match against Cruz Azul for matchday 1 of the group stage of the Leagues Cup 2023 at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Watch Leo's goal here.
Messi's debut
Wearing the number 10 for Inter Miami for the first time, Lionel Messi will open a new chapter in his extraordinary career on Friday at the inauguration of the Leagues Cup, a trophy that will be contested by the 47 teams of the MLS and the Mexican league.
This pioneering union of two leagues for a tournament that will be entirely played in the United States and Canada until the final on August 19th, has gained global appeal with Messi's decision to leave European football and start a new life in Miami.
In his presentation on Sunday at DRV PNK Stadium, the Argentine star called on his new fans to gather on Friday for the match against Mexican team Cruz Azul, which will kick off the Leagues Cup.
In that match, which will pit the last-placed teams from the MLS and Liga MX, it is expected that both Messi and Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, his former teammate at Barcelona, will play their first minutes with Inter, either as starters or coming off the bench.
Both Argentine coach Gerardo Martino and David Beckham, co-owner of the franchise, warned in recent days that Messi will have the final say on his presence in the match, which has resale tickets priced at $18,000.
"It will be Leo who decides if he is ready, because we know that he has been away from the game for a few weeks with his family. But he looks sharp, he looks very good," said Beckham, while also warning that Messi may need some time to adapt and get physically fit.
"They both arrived in very good shape, so we may have some expectations of seeing them on Friday. But I don't want to rush into saying something that I might not be able to fulfill later," said 'Tata' Martino on the Argentine sports channel TyC.
The Argentine coach said on Thursday at a press conference alongside Busquets that "we expect immediate results and we hope it will be like that because the plan we have will flow better if we have positive results."
Inter Miami officially announced the signing of Spanish player Jordi Alba on Friday, who was Messi and Busquets' teammate for a decade at FC Barcelona.
Ver noticia en El Comercio: DT