Inter Miami coach Gerard Martino indicated that Lionel Messi, fresh off his spectacular winning goal debut, might make his first start against Atlanta United in the Leagues Cup on Tuesday.
Martino also announced that Messi, a World Cup champion, would serve as Inter Miami’s new captain.
Messi, who only joined Miami earlier this month, led the team in a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul of Liga MX on Friday and scored on a free kick in stoppage time.
Gregore, a Brazilian midfielder, was the club captain until he suffered a foot injury and will be out for quite some time.
Martino said to the press when asked whether Messi will continue to lead Miami, “The other day he was (captain) too, when he joined. I believe that he will.
Messi had an immediate effect after entering the game in the 54th minute as a substitute, scoring the game-winning free-kick in stoppage time as Barcelona defeated Cruz Azul 2-1 on Friday.
Despite the fact that Miami’s Argentine head coach Martino decided to restrict Messi and Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets’ playing time on Friday, he said on Monday that he is inclined to start the duo against his old team on Tuesday.
We may expect to see more of Leo and Busi on the field. I believe that if they play more, we can shift the dynamic such that they are more likely to play from the get-go. The former Barcelona and Argentina coach went on to say, “But we all know that when Leo starts, that amount of time we would be talking about is 90 minutes.”
It’s just their second game, so how they feel about things will determine a lot, he added.
If Inter wins Tuesday’s match at DRV PNK Stadium, they will advance to the quarterfinals of the new event for teams from Major League Soccer and Mexican Liga MX.
Since Major League Soccer has suspended its regular season until August 20, Messi and company won’t play again for almost a month if they don’t advance.
Martino has said that his club is still making adjustments in order to maximize the potential of their two new star players, and that they will soon be joined by former Barca fullback Jordi Alba of Spain.
Adding Busquets, Jordi, and Leo “makes it clear that we will have to (further) modify the way that we play and also have to work on raising the level in general,” added Martino.One who is “pretty humble”
Drake Callender, the team’s goalkeeper, says the other players have been trying to make the locker room atmosphere as normal as possible for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has impressed them with his down to earth approach, since the premiere on Friday.
I’ve never been around a player of his ability, so I didn’t sure what to anticipate, but he turns out to be a really modest guy. He said, “He’s cool.”
To this day, he is still learning the ropes of how things work over here. Personally, and I believe on behalf of the other players as well, we are just trying to make him feel at home and like a valued member of the squad.
I try to strike up conversations with him whenever I can so that he feels included. Please simply consider him another member of my team. It seems to me that cameras and spotlights follow him around wherever he goes. Many fans are eager to meet him and have him autograph their memorabilia. Callender said, “So I just try to be as normal as possible.”
Even though Messi received all the attention, former Barcelona midfielder Busquets seemed to fit right in with his new squad and rekindle his friendship with Messi.
Kamal Miller, a Canadian central defender, has claimed that playing with one of the best passers in front of him necessitates a new strategy while passing the ball from the back.
“Of course, if we have a player of his caliber on the field, we want to set up plays that include him. For this reason, we often ask him to “thread the needle” and locate the “killer pass.” “I think we’re all going to benefit from it, and hopefully it continues to go like it did on Friday,” he added. “Having a guy with that quality attracts so much attention, it opens up space for everyone else.”