Fullback for Spain in this match. After reuniting with former Barcelona colleagues Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets at Inter Miami, Jordi Alba has said that he hopes to win further championships with the club.
After landing in Miami over the weekend, Alba is now eligible to make his debut for Inter Miami in the League Cup encounter against Florida rivals Orlando City on Wednesday. The match is scheduled to take place at Hard Rock Stadium.
The 34-year-old player earned five Spanish league championships and one Champions League trophy during his career with Barcelona. Additionally, he led Spain to victories in the European Championship and the Nations League.
At a news conference held on Tuesday evening, following the completion of training, Alba said, “I have come here to compete, to win everything.”
It was the correct option to come here to a really interesting project after having the good fortune to win everything with Barcelona and practically everything with the national team.
During the group round of the tournament, Messi and Busquets were instrumental in leading Miami to back-to-back victories against Cruz Azul and Atlanta. According to Alba, the influence of Messi and Busquets has already been visible.
Alba said, “I believe the arrival of Busi Busquets and Leo Messi has made the team grow a lot.” Busquets and Messi are both members of the Barcelona squad. “And I’m going to be the same player I’ve been in Europe, and I’m going to have the same demands of myself.”
Alba said that despite the fact that he has not played since Spain’s triumph over Croatia in the Nations League final on June 19, he has maintained himself in excellent form and is prepared to hit the ground running.
“While I was in Barcelona for a number of days, I was able to get some good training in. It is true that it is difficult to train on your own, but I got in contact with the (athletic staff) here at Inter Miami, and well, they made it very simple for me to do so,” he added. It is true that it is difficult to train on your own.
“I put in a lot of work to be able to compete when I got here, and I couldn’t wait to start training with my teammates so that I could get to know them on a more personal level.”
The left back has been received with a lot of enthusiasm.
He stated, “They have welcomed me in a spectacular manner.” “If you want to know the honest truth, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be here. And in terms of my body, I am in excellent shape; I am certain that as the weeks go by, I will feel much better; the adjustment to the new environment has helped, but I am otherwise healthy and in good shape.
“Even though I’ve only been here for three days, it already feels like I’ve been here my whole life,” the traveler said.
Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the head coach of Inter, said that he was satisfied with Alba’s shape, but that he would wait until Wednesday to decide whether or not Alba would play against Orlando.
It has been difficult for Martino to put together a cohesive squad since three of the league’s best players just signed with a club that is now last in the MLS rankings.
However, he said that he has been pleased by the manner in which the players have reacted to Messi, Busquets, and Alba in the locker room.
“From what we have gathered up to this point, it seems that they are advancing. They are not overwhelmed by the magnificence of the three players that we are discussing, but rather, they are focused on being able to learn from all that the three players have done during their careers, according to the coach of Miami.
“It is not easy for the players that we have here to receive players with such a long history, with so many titles, with such good ability, and with such a legacy in world football. In that sense, I think we are on the right track. It is not easy for the players that we have here.”