Argentine superstar Lionel Messi begins a season on Wednesday that promises to be busy, while Inter Miami is counting on him for a first triumph in MLS, which Hugo Lloris has just joined.
At 36, Messi will play his first full season in the MLS championship, which he joined last summer from Paris SG.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or had shone the spotlight on this minor championship and had an immediate effect on his team with a victory in the Leagues Cup for Miami, matches played in full stadiums and a significant increase in subscriptions to the MLS pass of Apple TV, single broadcaster.
The end of the year was less glorious with numerous matches missed by Messi due to physical problems and a pitiful elimination even before the playoffs.
Inter Miami is counting on “La Pulga” to win a first championship title at the end of the year.
Copa America
The Floridians attracted striker Luis Suarez in the off-season, completing the quartet of old FC Barcelona stars with Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. The former Camp Nou heroes begin their season on Wednesday evening with a match against Real… Salt Lake.
Miami hopes to quickly erase a painful preparation tour, with revenues surely inversely proportional to the quality of the game deployed in El Salvador, Saudi Arabia or even Japan. Messi even sparked a controversy and a mini-diplomatic crisis by failing to return to the field during a match in Hong Kong, subsequently citing an injury.
In addition to the championship, Miami intends to defend its Leagues Cup trophy (to which Mexican clubs are invited), which also opened the doors to the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup (round trip on 7 and 13 March).
Still in the United States, Lionel Messi has an appointment this summer with the Copa America, contested from June 20 to July 16, in which he is the title holder with Argentina. The competition serves as a rehearsal before the 2026 World Cup (United States, Mexico, Canada), in which the 2022 world champion has not ruled out participating.
“Flourishing”
To hope to win in MLS, Inter Miami will have to take inspiration from the Columbus Crew, the defending champion still led by their French coach Wilfried Nancy.
The Ohio franchise beat Los Angeles FC in the final, which experienced major moves in the offseason.
LAFC saw its Italian defensive totem Giorgio Chiellini retire, but recruited French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, captain of the 2018 world champion French team.
“The championship is becoming more and more competitive. I wanted to experience something new after my European career. When this opportunity presented itself I didn’t think twice. There is everything here for personal development on and off the pitch,” commented the 37-year-old former Hotspur of Tottenham.
Lloris’ reunion with Messi, his winner in the final of the last World Cup in Qatar, is not scheduled for the regular season. We will have to count on the Cup or a possible final in November for a clash between the two stars.
LAFC should still be able to count on its Franco-Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga, top scorer in MLS last year, despite rumors of a return to France. The presence of his Mexican talisman Carlos Vela is uncertain, with the latter currently a free agent.
On the benches, some new developments, with the former English manager of Aston Villa and Leicester Dean Smith at the head of Charlotte and the arrival of Phil Neville at the Portland Timbers.