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Messi and Inter Miami start playoff push at Red Bulls

After the high-octane excitement of their successful Leagues Cup campaign and the thrill of their comeback victory in the US Open Cup semi-final, Inter Miami and Lionel Messi get down to the main job at hand on Saturday.

The Major League Soccer regular season returns in full with Miami, who travel to the New York Red Bulls, faced with the tough task of climbing from bottom place in the Eastern Conference and into the playoff positions.

Prior to the break for Leagues Cup — and Messi’s arrival along with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — Miami were winless in 11 games in MLS with the worst record in the entire league.

In most leagues in the world, a team in that position would be focused purely on avoiding relegation from the top flight.

But MLS has no relegation and instead has a playoff system which could yet offer a way for the new-look Miami, under Argentine coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, to compete for the title — MLS Cup.

The top nine finishers in each conference earn a spot in the playoffs with the top seven going into the first round, best of three series of games.

The eighth and ninth placed teams play each other in a single elimination ‘wild card’ match to get into the first round.

Miami are currently 14 points behind ninth place with 12 games left and so have little room for error in the remainder of the season.

But the form they have shown since the arrival of Messi and his two former Barcelona team-mates, unbeaten in eight games, albeit winning three of their knockout ties via penalties, suggests such a playoff push is not out of the question.

It will be a long slog to turn Inter’s MLS season around and adding to the difficulty of the task, Martino admitted after Wednesday’s shoot-out win over Cincinnati in the US Open Cup, that his star man was amongst those feeling the pace of their recent exertions.

“Both Leo and many other players are reaching an important physical limit and from today we will evaluate how we approach the next three matches,” he said.

“The fatigue is overcome with all the enthusiasm … I hope the team in the future could play better, but it’s very difficult to do that when you almost can’t rest,” he added.

It would not be a shock then, for one or more of Messi, Busquets and Alba, to start on the bench at Red Bull Arena on Saturday with Martino retaining the option to throw them on in the second half.

The Red Bulls are in 11th place in the East, 11 points ahead of Miami, and have their own hopes of clambering into the post-season.

Saturday’s games see Eastern Conference leaders Cincinnati host 2021 champions New York City, while in the West, top-placed St.Louis City, enjoying a dream first season in the league, are at Orlando City.

Defending champions Los Angeles FC travel to North Carolina to face Charlotte FC.

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Messi into another final after inspiring Inter Miami comeback

Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to come back from 2-0 down to beat Cincinnati on penalties after their thrilling US Open Cup semi-final ended 3-3 after extra-time in Ohio.

Inter Miami, who won the Leagues Cup on penalties against Nashville on Saturday, are now one win away from their second trophy since Messi joined the club last month.

The US Open Cup is American soccer’s oldest and most important knockout competition, dating back more than a century to 1914 and is similar to England’s FA Cup or Spain’s Copa del Rey.

Miami will host the Houston Dynamo in the final on September 27 after the Texan side beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 after extra time.

A month ago Cincinnati, who are top of Major League Soccer’s standings while Miami are bottom, would have been clear favourites. But the Florida team are now a very different side to the one which was winless in their 11 league games before the arrival of the Argentine.

In the intense heat, with temperatures over 100 degrees fahrenheit (38 Celsius) at kick-off, Inter Miami’s unbeaten run since the signing of Messi and Spanish pair Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba looked to be coming to an end.

Inter trailed 2-0 with 22 minutes remaining before the Argentine delivered two perfect assists to striker Leonardo Campana to take the game into extra-time.

Messi’s compatriot Luciano Acosta had put Cincinnati ahead in the 18th minute and American striker Brandon Vazquez doubled the home side’s lead with a fine strike from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute.

In the 68th minute, Messi whipped in a free-kick from the left which was headed home by Campana to breathe some life into what had been a tired display from Gerardo Martino’s side.

Cincinnati thought that they had made it 3-1 but Yuga Kubo’s effort was ruled out for handball.

In the seventh minute of stoppage time Messi, from deep on the left, swung in a ball to Campana at the back post and again the Ecuadoran forward found the net to force extra-time.

Miami went ahead in the first period with Benjamin Cremaschi sliding an excellent pass into the path of Josef Martinez and the Venezuelan made no mistake with a precise finish.

But Cincinnati bounced back in the second period with Japanese winger Kubo firing a right-foot shot into the far corner past the diving Drake Callender.

The teams were at 4-4 in the shoot-out when Callender saved Nick Hagglund’s penalty for Cincinnati and Cremaschi converted the next to book Miami’s place in the final.

The 18-year-old Miami-born Cremaschi, whose parents are Argentine, was congratulated by Messi after his match-winning spot kick.

“I’m living a huge dream,” he told CBS Sports, “Sometimes I sit down and really think about the position that I’m in and it’s incredible, I never believed I was going to be in the spot I am in now,” he said.

There was a more sober view from Martino, whose team must now begin their 12 game attempt to climb from last in the Eastern Conference to the playoff positions.

Martino suggested he may be forced to rest some of his players, including Messi, after an intense eight-game spell.

“Both Leo and many other players are reaching an important physical limit and from today we will evaluate how we approach the next three matches,” he said.

“The fatigue is overcome with all the enthusiasm … I hope the team in the future could play better, but it’s very difficult to do that when you almost can’t rest”

Houston took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Mexican international Hector Herrera but Salt Lake levelled with a Julio Anderson goal in the 64th.

Panamanian midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla fired in a fine solo goal in extra-time before Luis Caicedo wrapped up the win at the death.

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Messi leads Inter Miami to first trophy with Leagues Cup win

Lionel Messi scored a screamer and won his first trophy in North American soccer as Inter Miami beat Nashville on penalties (10-9) after their final ended 1-1 in 90 minutes.

The Argentine World Cup winner had put Inter Miami ahead in the 24th minute with a wonder strike into the top corner but Fafa Picault levelled for Nashville in the second half.

After Messi hit the post and Leonardo Campana missed a last-second chance to win the game in regulation for Miami, the game went to a shoot-out which ended in a duel between the two keepers and Elliot Panicco’s shot being saved by Miami’s Drake Callender.

Messi and his teammates rushed to celebrate with the American goalkeeper, who had made some key saves late in the game to keep his team alive.

Inter Miami, in their third season of existence, were rock bottom of Major League Soccer when Messi joined them a month ago but Messi, along with Spanish pair Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, has utterly transformed the team leading them on a seven-game unbeaten run to the League Cup title.

Co-owner David Beckham, who created the club, said he was stunned by the way the former Barcelona trio had been able to bring about change so quickly.

“It is like a movie, you watch these players play and it is, emotionally, everything about their play is beautiful,” he said.

Seven-times Ballon d’Or winner Messi has now scored 10 goals in seven games in the pink shirt of his new club and on Wednesday has the chance to reach another final when his team take on Cincinnati in the semi-final of the US Open Cup.

This was not the dominant, entertaining Miami that in the past month has lit up the tournament, featuring MLS and Mexican Liga MX clubs, but the win was sweet nonetheless.

“I am very happy to win our first title in just one month, the club’s first. The team is growing by leaps and bounds and we are very happy,” said midfielder Busquets.

“We have infected the team with our spirit, our work, our character and experience. We are making a solid team … And then we have Leo, who makes a difference because he’s the best in the world.”

Nashville set out with the clear intention to limit the impact of Busquets and by extension Messi and they were effective in forcing Miami to play a slower type of possession football, deeper in their own half.

Gary Smith’s side sent an early warning that they could trouble Miami at set-pieces with Walker Zimmerman’s header from a Lukas MacNaughton corner forcing Callender into a low save.

Inter Miami were probing, with Messi dropping deeper and looking for gaps in the home defense.

But with Walker Zimmerman marshalling the back line well chances were hard to come by until Robert Taylor spun and turned and fired a fierce drive which Nashville keeper Elliot Panicco did well to keep out.

Three minutes later, Miami had the lead — and the source of their breakthrough was no surprise.

Taylor’s attempted pass inside was blocked and the ball fell to Messi who zipped past Zimmerman, opening enough space to his left to unleash an unstoppable drive from over 25 yards out which flew into the top corner past the helpless Panicco.

Miami looked in total control, playing with confidence bordering on swagger, but it was a different story after the interval.

From a corner, Picault won a header at the back post which ricocheted in off the foot of Benjamin Cremaschi and Callender.

Suddenly Nashville had the belief and their German forward Hany Mukhtar came alive, testing Miami with his speedy runs and Callender with a blast from the right.

Messi went close to another Hollywood ending with a 71st-minute shot from just outside the box which shaved the outside of the post.

But in the final seconds, his Ecuadorian team-mate Campana should have won the game for Miami when he rounded Panicco but from a tight angle could only hit the post with the goal at his mercy.

Then came penalties and with all 10 outfield players having shot, with one miss for each side, it came down to the keepers and Callender kept his cool with his shot before denying Panicco and launching the celebrations.

While the players sprayed champagne in the locker room, Argentine coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was in a reflective mood.

“The most important thing we had to do is put together a team while we were playing a seven-game tournament, and that’s very difficult to do,” he said.

“We now have greater clarity about what the future may hold for us after winning this title in 30 days”.

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Lionel Messi partakes in first training session with Inter Miami

Lionel Messi got down to business with his new Inter Miami team-mates on Tuesday, taking part in his first full training session with the Major League Soccer club.

The Argentine World Cup winner took to the club’s training field at 9:00am local time with temperatures already above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Along with his former Barcelona team-mate, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, who signed for Miami on Sunday, Lionel Messi was given a ‘tunnel’ welcome from his new team.

The players lined up opposite each other and Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets ran through the ‘tunnel’ to applause and slaps on the back from the other Inter Miami players.

Chatting with Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, likely to be his strike partner for Miami, Messi was watched by over 200 media representatives who had attended the session as he did some basic drills.

Miami’s training sessions had barely attracted double figure attendance from the media prior to Messi’s arrival.

Lionel Messi had been unveiled to the club’s supporters at the stadium on Sunday at a celebratory event alongside Miami co-owner David Beckham and his first game is scheduled for Friday.

Inter Miami, who are ranked last in the 29-team MLS, face Mexican club Cruz Azul in the opening game of the new Leagues Cup, a tournament style competition featuring all top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

It is not clear yet if Lionel Messi will start that game or make a cameo appearance from the substitute’s bench and his coach, fellow Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has asked for patience while the 36-year-old builds up his fitness.

After watching his side’s winless streak extend to 11 games, the recently appointed Martino left open the possibility that Messi might not be ready to go just yet.

“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.

Lionel Messi played his last competitive game for Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on June 4 and then turned out for Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15, scoring after just 79 seconds in a 2-0 win.

Unlike in most of Europe, MLS’s season runs from late February to the end of October, followed by the playoffs and the championship game, MLS Cup, on December 9.

Despite sitting rock bottom of the Eastern Conference with the worst recording in the league, Inter Miami are not mathematically ruled out of contention for the playoffs but it would take a huge impact from the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner to turn their season around.

Lionel Messi is the biggest star to join an American club since Brazilian legend Pele moved to the New York Cosmos in 1975.

MLS hope that his presence will massively boost interest in the league, which features clubs from the USA and Canada, and generate fresh revenue for their broadcast deal with Apple TV.

MLS’s 10-year deal with Apple TV, worth a reported $2.5 billion, will allow fans in 107 countries to watch Messi in action via a subscription.

On Sunday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league, which is already broadcast in Spanish and with some games in French, was considering introducing other languages to broaden the appeal of the broadcasts and cash in on interest in Messi.

“I think you’ll see more and more multiple languages on Apple. That’s the uniqueness of the technology. We’re looking at launching other languages as early as next year,” he said.

“I think there will be more opportunity for us to be very, very targeted to specific audiences,” he said.

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America’s number 10′ Lionel Messi ‘unveiled’ at Inter Miami

It rained on his parade, but Lionel Messi greeted his new Inter Miami fans and was hailed by the club’s owner as “America’s number 10” at a damp but celebratory unveiling event on Sunday.

Miami’s 20,000 capacity stadium was close to full despite a huge thunderstorm just before the event to celebrate the arrival of the Argentine World Cup winner was due to begin.

A massive tropical downpour forced organizers to delay the start of “The Unveil” as fans took cover or waited out the rain in their cars.

The event started around two hours later than originally scheduled with wet but delighted fans chanting Lionel Messi’s name as the lights dimmed on the venue.

The club’s co-owner David Beckham opened the ceremony saying Messi’s arrival was a “dream come true”.

“Leo, we are so proud that you have chosen our club for the next stage in your career,” said the former Manchester United player whose move to MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 was the league’s previous biggest arrival.

“Welcome to our family Leo,” Beckham added in Spanish, to roars from the crowd.

Inter Miami’s majority owner Jorge Mas then whipped the crowd up with his own bilingual speech.

“Tonight is a gift and celebration to the city that opened its arms to my family,” said the Cuban-American businessman.

“Tonight we are doing this in the rain. “This is holy water!” he added.

“This is our moment! Our moment to change the football landscape in this country,” he added, before introducing Messi as “Your new number 10, America’s number 10”.

Lionel Messi, who arrived in Inter Miami on Tuesday with his family and caused a viral sensation after being photographed shopping with them in a local supermarket, thanked the supporters.

“Thank you very much to all the people for supporting me and giving me this love. I am very happy to be here in Miami,” he said.

“I really want to start training, to compete, I have the same desire that I always had to compete, to want to win, to help the club continue to grow.

“I am very happy to have chosen to come to play in this city with my family, to choose this project and I have no doubt that we are going to enjoy it a lot, we are going to have a good time and very good things are going to happen,” he said.

Inter Miami, the bottom club in Major League Soccer, confirmed on Saturday that the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner had signed a deal that will keep him with the club until 2025.

The former Barcelona great opted to join Miami after his contract with French club Paris Saint-Germain expired last month.

His former Barcelona team-mate, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, was also presented to the crowd after completing his move.

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber praised Mas for his determined pursuit of Messi for the club which is in only its fourth season.

“Lionel Messi was on his radar from the very beginning. I have to say, when he would say that many years ago, I didn’t think that he would be able to deliver it,” Garber told reporters.

“But here we are today with a player that I think, without doubt, is not only a generational player, but in my opinion, the greatest of all time.”

He was scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday but the club said Sunday that had been postponed. No explanation for the decision was given.

Lionel Messi could make his debut for the club on Friday against Mexico team Cruz Azul in the new Leagues Cup, which features teams from both MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

However on Saturday, the team’s new Argentine coach Gerardo Martino urged “patience” after watching his side’s winless streak extend to 11 games.

Latin music stars Camilo and Ozuna were set to entertain the crowd at the DRV PNK Stadium, about an hour’s drive north of downtown Miami.

The stadium, Inter Miami’s temporary home on the site of the old home of the now defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers, was not completely full as the event got under way with fireworks.

Inter Miami are planning their own purpose-built stadium, Freedom Park, in Miami but it is not expected to open until 2025.

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Sergio Busquets joining Lionel Messi at Inter Miami

Inter Miami announced on Friday they are signing former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets to team up with Lionel Messi at the Major League Soccer club.

Lionel Messi said earlier this month he was moving to Miami and he will now be reunited with his former Barca team-mate Sergio Busquets.

Inter Miami posted a tweet heralding the arrival of the player.

“Si, Busi” read the Twitter post, referring to Sergio Busquets’ nickname. The tweet included quotes praising Busquets from several people in the game including former Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

pic.twitter.com/Mil6KD4l7M

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 23, 2023

Sergio Busquets said in May that he would leave Barcelona in the summer at the end of his contract.

The 34-year-old made 143 appearances for Spain before announcing his retirement from the team in December.

Busquets has been a central part of Barcelona’s successes in the past 15 years, including nine Spanish league titles and three Champions League triumphs.

Sergio Busquets played as pivot behind Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez in an iconic midfield trio, and the three of them also won the World Cup with Spain in 2010.

Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas said this week that the club expected to make between three to five new signings to join Lionel Messi.

“We’ve been preparing our roster for Messi’s arrival in ’23, so we left an enormous amount of flexibility,” Mas told the Herald.

“We will be making additional signings during the summer window, more than what people anticipate… I can say we will potentially be making between three and five signings.”

Sergio Busquets is likely to occupy one of the three ‘Designated Player’ spots, an MLS designation for high-earning players, whose wages do not count against the salary cap.

Inter Miami have also been linked with another Spain and Barcelona favourite, left-back Jordi Alba.

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