The Argentine should be back in Tata Martino’s XI against Monterrey on Wednesday as the Herons look to overturn the 2-1 loss they suffered last week
There’s a word Inter Miami defender Franco Negri used to describe Lionel Messi’s return from injury this past weekend: “hope”. It’s what Messi can inspire in his teammates. He’s achieved so many things in his magical career that those alongside him feel like achieving even more is inevitable. That hope lifts their spirits, but also gives them responsibility. They, too, want to be part of Messi’s next triumph.
“Obviously Leo’s return gives all of us hope,” Negri said “Every one of us has to give their all because we have to go out to win on Wednesday.”
Hope won’t be enough on Wednesday, though. It’s too tall of a task. Down 2-1 from the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final, Messi and Miami will walk into Monterrey as heavy underdogs. And it’s not just the scoreline that’s against them, but history.
In this competition, MLS teams are 6-59-14 in competitive games in Mexico, with that sixth win coming thanks to the Columbus Crew’s stunning shootout victory over Tigres on Tuesday. Over two-leg series against teams from Mexico in this competition, MLS clubs are just 14-50. It’s a rough record, and there’s no denying that MLS has always been second-best in this competition.
Prior teams, though, didn’t have Messi and, luckily for them, Inter Miami does. They head into Monterrey with perhaps the greatest player of all time leading the charge. He may not be 100 percent fit, and he definitely isn’t 100 percent sharp, but he is Messi and, on many days, that will be enough.
It likely won’t be in this upcoming second leg. Monterrey are ready for the challenge, and there’s already plenty of bad blood built up between these two teams. Locker-room clashes, leaked WhatsApps, big accusations… the atmosphere will be fiery on Wednesday evening as Messi and co. look to do the impossible.
Can he do it? Can he conjure the impossible? Well, he’s been doing it for a long while now, and with Messi leading the charge, Miami will believe that anything is possible.
First-leg setback
One week ago, the first leg of this blockbuster tie felt like it was there for the taking. Despite missing Messi, Miami had it in their hands having seized the lead in the 19th minute through a goal from an unlikely source: Tomas Aviles. The young defender has had his ups and downs this season, with his inexperience exposed a few times throughout the campaign. At Chase Stadium, though, he provided the biggest moment of his Inter Miami career so far, heading home from a set-piece to solidify an early advantage.
Unfortunately for the hosts, it all unravelled midway through the second half. Having been cautioned just minutes prior, David Ruiz picked up a second yellow in the 65th minute. A learning moment for Inter Miami’s versatile youngster, but one that cost them dearly. Four minutes after Ruiz left for the locker room, Monterrey were level. Maximiliano Meza scored for Rayados and, from that point on, it felt like a tidal wave was coming.
It took until the 89th minute, but that wave finally overcame Miami, as Jorge Rodriguez scored a fantastic winner, giving Monterrey the 2-1 first-leg win heading back to their home turf. The game turned out to be a hard-fought battle, but that battle wasn’t just contained to the field.
Bad blood
In the days since the the first leg, things have gotten somewhat ugly. Reports following the match said that Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Miami manager Tata Martino headed for the referee’s locker room after the game. The ex-Barca group was frustrated by several calls during the game, as well as pregame comments from Monterrey boss Fernando Ortiz warning against referee favoritism.
A further report claimed that Messi confronted Ortiz at halftime. On Sunday, a WhatsApp voice message from Monterrey assistant coach Nicolas Sanchez was leaked.
“The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil,” Sanchez said in the recording. “He put his fist next to my face and says: ‘Who do you think you are?’ But because I didn’t look at him, I was looking away, I never answered back, it made things worse. And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me: ‘Fool, you going to cry? Fool, you going to cry?’ What a dummy! All those videos, they probably erased them all because it leaves them looking bad. What they did was really serious. They want to dirty the pitch.”
Ortiz has downplayed the incident, but confirmed it happened while opting not to add any further details. Sanchez, meanwhile, issued an apology.
“I could’ve hidden behind a statement, but I wanted to make myself responsible for the words that come out of my mouth,” said Sanchez in a video. “That’s my voice. It’s a detailed account of what happened on Wednesday night after the game… I sent the audio to my intimate circle, my closest, most private circle… but it was my error. I’ll learn from this. I understand that because this audio has gone public, many people could be offended.
“Gerardo Martino is a person who I don’t know and I referred to him disrespectfully. I offer him an apology and I hope he understands that I’m as Argentinian as they are, and I’ll always defend my club.”
Monterrey have requested that CONCACAF investigate the incident, but regardless of the result of that investigation, the pressure has been turned up massively ahead of the second leg.
Messi’s return
Messi wasn’t named to Miami’s starting XI for this past weekend’s match against the Colorado Rapids, as he wasn’t quite deemed to be 90-minutes fit. Miami could use him off the bench, though, and it’s never a bad thing to have an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner available as a super-sub.
The Argentine made an immediate impact, scoring an equalizing goal to level the score at one apiece. It was a heck of a finish from Messi, who showed that, even after a month on the sidelines, he was still more than capable of lifting Miami.
Ultimately, the Herons would drop points, squandering a 2-1 advantage to settle for a draw. Even so, getting Messi back onto the pitch with 45 minutes under his belt was massive for the team as they looked ahead to Monterrey.
“It’s the usual from Leo, what he provokes in our team, in his teammates, in people,” Martino told reporters post-match. “And the most important thing is that he felt comfortable, he felt good, he felt loose.”
He continued: “He just played 45 minutes and we understand the demands of the game that’s coming. The most important thing is that he returned, he felt good, he scored a goal and participated in the second. I think that’s what’s most noteworthy.”
Extra motivation
We haven’t seen it too often, but there is an angry side of Messi. The Netherlands saw that from him back in Qatar, spawning the infamous “Que Mira Bobo” phenomenon after he antagonized every orange-clad player in his path in that World Cup quarter-final.
Messi certainly doesn’t need that level of motivation. He’s scored boatloads of goals against teams he’s had no hard feelings for. But, even so, an angry Messi is certainly an interesting Messi.
Despite this past week’s chaos, Martino says that he believes Messi has a level head, and doesn’t believe that he needs any extra motivation: “When it comes to someone like him and the way he competes, the way he has on a professional level since being 16-17 years old, he doesn’t need any extra or special situation. He absolutely competes like this because he feels that way, and the day he doesn’t feel that way, he will leave football.
“No matter the situation where he finds himself or the league he plays in, in a friendly or decisive match, I don’t think he will approach it any other way than competitively to his limit. That’s what we expect from the whole team, not just him.”
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
