Fans at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday were more worried about one thing than everything else, at least up to the 60th minute of the match between Inter Miami and the host New York Red Bulls.
In the fifth, seventh, and tenth minutes, chants of “We want Messi!” increased in volume, and were repeated many times more in the first half. The cries for the World Cup hero remained even after Diego Gómez’s well-taken goal in the 36th minute, which may have persuaded Inter Miami coach Tata Martino to sit on the lead and give his star the rest his 36-year-old body most surely needs.
Messi was rightfully granted a break after starting for Inter Miami for eight straight games and scoring 10 goals to lead the MLS team to the US Open Cup final and win the Leagues Cup.
Despite the expectations of the audience, Coach Martino justified his choice to start his 36-year-old compatriot on the sidelines.
I understand the people’s desire for him to perform; this will occur everywhere we go, he remarked.
But as the coach, I can’t let those supporters’ preferences influence me. My responsibility is to see to it that Leo looks for himself,” he stated.
Even Messi’s Inter Miami colleagues expected the fan fever despite the Argentine’s being in the country for more than a few months.
After Saturday’s match against the New York Red Bulls, Miami right-back DeAndre Yedlin predicted that there would be a few irate supporters: “When we found out that he wouldn’t be starting, I expected there was going to be a couple angry fans.” But I can’t blame them because if I had come as a child or a fan, I would have wanted to witness the best player to ever play the game.
Two minutes into the second half, Messi got up from his Miami bench spot, sending the fans into a frenzy as he made his way to the corner to start warming up. When he and his longtime Barcelona colleague Sergio Busquets joined the game in the 60th minute, the cheers only became louder.
Messi had a little role but scored in the 89th minute to celebrate his debut in the regular season.
Messi received a deft pass from Benjamin Cremaschi, whose low first-time cross was tapped in by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, after Jordi Alba acrobatically hooked the ball into the box to Messi. Messi then pivoted and twisted before slipping the magnificent pass.
Since joining Inter Miami, Messi has scored 11 goals in nine games across all competitions.