After the massive presentation last Sunday, where Messi and Busquets felt the warmth of their new fans, today they will have their first day dressed in shorts. The first training session for both of them with the rest of their teammates took place on Tuesday.under the orders of Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, with whom they already coincided in Barcelona.
Since MLS is on a month-long hiatus due to the first edition of the Leagues Cup (a tournament in which all the teams from the American league and the Mexican league face each other), Messi and Busquets will make their Inter Miami debut against Liga MX’s Cruz Azul.
It is true that the physical state of both footballers might not be optimal, but their quality and the expectation they have generated, as well as the exponential growth in the price of ticketsare factors that could force them to be owners.
Inter Miami shares a group with Cruz Azul and Atlanta United, also led by Argentine Thiago Almada, world champion with Messi in Qatar 2022. One of the curiosities of the Leagues Cup is that there will be no draws during the group stage. If a game ends even after 90, both teams will get a point, but there will also be a penalty shootout with the winner getting an extra point.
It is evident that the weight that those who emerged from La Masía will have in the Inter Miami locker room has no comparison with the short history of the Fort Lauderdal franchise. But inside the Florida club right now there are some players whose voice weighs heavily and Lionel and Sergio have already come close. Some of the most important are Josef Martínez, Kamal Miller or Leonardo Campana.
“I am very happy to have chosen this project with my family”, assured the Argentine star in his presentation, on a night in which the rain delayed his presentation for more than an hour. Now, the desire of Miami and, in general, the entire country, is to see the debut of this soccer legend who is being surrounded by his best friends. In addition to Busquets, they are soon waiting for the arrival of Jordi Alba. The left-back left Barça this season and Jorge Mas, one of the franchise’s owners, confirmed his signing, without specifying the date on which he could be presented.
Sheet and probable line-ups of the match:
INTER MIAMI: Callender; Allen, Miller, Kryvtsov, Fray; Arroya, Busquets; Cremaschi, Messi, Josef Martinez; and Taylor.
BLUE CROSS: Gudino; Rivero, Salcedo, Ditta, Huescas; Lyre, Chestnut, Moses, Rotondi; Taboo and Cambindo.
HOUR: 02:00.
STADIUM: DRV Stadium (Miami).
REFEREE: Said Martinez (Honduras).