MLS
Inter Miami, with 11 winless streak set for Messi unveiling
Inter Miami will celebrate the signing of Lionel Messi on Sunday but will do so after their winless run extended to 11 games with a 3-0 defeat at St. Louis City this Saturday, leaving them rock bottom of Major League Soccer.
Miami confirmed the arrival of Messi hours before their game kicked off in Missouri, but that couldn’t inspire Gerardo Martino’s team to victory as they suffered their 14th defeat in 22 games.
Miami are bottom of the Eastern Conference and their latest loss also left them in last place in the overall standings — 29th of 29 clubs.
That leaves Messi, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and Argentina World Cup hero, playing for officially the worst team in MLS.
Fortunately for the club and their new star, MLS does not, like most leagues in the world, have relegation. But Messi will need to have a transformational impact on the field if the club are to make a push towards the playoffs.
Messi has been expected to make his debut on Friday against Cruz Azul in the new Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring all the top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
MLS is suspending its play for a month while the Leagues Cup is played, meaning the 36-year-old former Barcelona star won’t have a chance to start helping Miami up the league table until they host Charlotte on August 20.
But while the move has excited fans and gives Miami and MLS a chance to grow their popularity and revenue, the Florida club clearly hope that Messi will be able to raise the levels of his teammates.
“Lionel Messi is an incomparable talent. What he brings on and off the field will elevate everyone around him and we’re excited to have him at Inter Miami,” the club’s Sporting Director Chris Henderson said on Saturday.
There was nothing exciting about Miami’s performance in St. Louis, however, with the home side taking the lead in the 28th minute thanks to a header from a corner buried by Samuel Adeniran.
St. Louis, top of the Western Conference in their debut season, made it 2-0 five minutes before the break, with Miami again unable to defend a corner as Tim Parker glanced in a header at the near post.
German Eduard Loewen completed Miami’s misery with a thundering free-kick, 10 minutes from the end.
– Disappointing debut –
It was a disappointing first game in charge for former Barcelona and Argentina coach Martino, who said fans would need to be patient with Messi and left open the question of whether he would feature against Cruz Azul.
“We look to the future with hope (given) that the best player in the world will play for our team, but also with the patience that we have to have so that he can get in good physical shape and can play at the right moment,” he said.
“We ended up losing the game with three set pieces, which, of course, is valid and that’s how games are won. We have a lot of stuff to correct,” he added.
Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati continued their outstanding home form with their 11th win in 12 games thanks to a 3-1 win over a Nashville team who ended with nine men for the second straight game.
USA defender Walker Zimmerman put Nashville ahead in the 31st minute with a tap-in after Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano failed to hold onto a cross.
The home side drew level through a 42nd-minute Luciano Acosta penalty but then Nashville saw Taylor Washington and Fata Picault both sent off for second yellow cards, leaving them two men down for the final 20 minutes.
Acosta set up Santiago Arias with a clever diagonal pass in the 74th minute before newly signed Gabonese striker Aaron Boupendza made sure of the win.
Ian Harkes, son of former US international John, scored twice for the New England Revolution, second in the East, as they beat Wayne Rooney’s D.C. United 4-0.
Last season’s runners-up, the Philadelphia Union beat 2021 champions New York City 2-1 with goals from Jose Martinez and Chris Donovan.
-AP
MLS
Luis Suarez Ready To Hang Boots –
![Luis Suarez Ready To Hang Boots -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Luis-Suarez-Ready-To-Hang-Boots.jpg)
Inter Miami will be the last club Luis Suarez plays for, the Uruguay striker said on Thursday.
Suarez, 37, signed a contract with the Major League Soccer side last year for the 2024 season after a stint with Brazilian club Gremio.
He reunited with former Barcelona team mates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with whom he won four LaLiga titles in five years in Spain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club, my family already know that. I don’t have a date yet, but it’s the last step,” Suarez said in an interview with Uruguayan radio station Del Sol.
“I’m ready for this last challenge, but there is an inevitable fatigue and, in the end, I want to have quality of life in the future,” he added.
Suarez, who also played for clubs including Ajax Amsterdam, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, has won 138 caps for Uruguay since 2007.
Inter Miami kick off their MLS campaign against Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21.
-Reuters
MLS
Messi-less Miami lose U.S. Open Cup final to Houston
The Houston Dynamo defeated Inter Miami 2-1 to win the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday with an injured Lionel Messi watching from the stands at DRV PNK Stadium.
Without Messi and his former Barcelona team-mate Jordi Alba, Miami struggled to compete with an enterprising Houston and went in 2-0 down at the break.
Houston grabbed the lead in the 24th minute with a perfect counter-attack ending with Brazilian Artur feeding the overlapping Griffin Dorsey who blasted in at the near post.
French forward Amine Bassi doubled the lead from the penalty spot nine minutes later after DeAndre Yedlin had brought down Nelson Quinones.
Houston thought that they had scored a third after the break but Quinones’ effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Substitute Josef Martinez gave Miami some late hope with a left-foot strike in stoppage time after latching on to a ball from Argentine Facundo Farias.
But despite some late pressure, it was too little, too late from Miami and Houston deservedly won their second U.S. Open Cup to add to their triumph in 2018.
Miami had won the Leagues Cup last month with Messi prominently involved but they must now battle to make the Major League Soccer play-offs with uncertainty over their Argentine star’s fitness.
-AFP
MLS
Inter Miami to wait until ‘last moment’ to decide on Messi fitness for Cup final
Inter Miami will wait until the “last moment” to see if Lionel Messi is fit to play in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo, coach Gerardo Martino said.
Messi was substituted in Inter’s league match against Toronto FC before halftime with an unspecified injury, and missed Sunday’s clash against rivals Orlando City.
The Argentina captain is a doubt for the U.S. Open Cup final when his team will aim to claim their second title after winning the Leagues Cup last month.
“We are going to wait for Leo until tomorrow, until the last moment,” Martino told a news conference on Tuesday. “I’m going to sit down with him, see what his feelings are (…) We’ll probably come to an agreement tomorrow.
“There are three issues here: there is the player, then the final, and then what comes next. We have to try to make the decision, there are always risks, but we have to reduce them.”
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 12 games for Inter Miami since his arrival from Paris St Germain in July.
The Miami side are yet to lose with Messi on the pitch and Martino said he would not consider playing the 36-year-old if it were not a cup final.
“It’s 90 or 120 minutes that stand between you and a title,” said the Argentine boss. “It’s logical. If it was any other kind of game we wouldn’t take any risks.”
-Reuters
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