Lionel Messi WILL play in Inter Miami’s US Open Cup semifinal, confirms head coach Tata Martino

Messi leads Miami to first trophy with Leagues Cup win

  • Lionel Messi has enjoyed a victorious whirlwind start to life with Inter Miami 
  • The 36-year-old scored 10 goals in seven games during the Leagues Cup run 
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  • Inter Miami head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino told reporters that Lionel Messi will play in the US Open Cup game against Cincinnati on Wednesday.

    Fresh off its victory in the Leagues Cup Saturday, Inter Miami – and Messi – will be back in action in the US Open semifinal against FC Cincinnati.

    Martino told reporters that Messi will be available to play in the clash against the Eastern Conference leaders but did admit that he will have to rest the World Cup winner at some point after his whirlwind start to life in Miami

  • We said that at some point he would have to rest because of the load of minutes played,’ Martino said before practice on Monday.

    ‘Clearly, Wednesday is not going to be that day. If he does not tell me he wants to rest, he will continue to play.’

  • Miami head coach ‘Tata’ Martino confirmed Lionel Messi will play against Cincinnati on Wed.
  • The 36-year-old is still however set to be rested at ‘some point’ following the Leagues Cup
  • Messi was in tremendous form throughout the cup run and scored 10 goals in seven games

  • Messi has been in tremendous form since debuting for Miami and has already scored 10 goals in just seven games.

    His goal output became one of the fundamental reasons Miami were able to go on a surprising run to the final.

  • Lionel Messi - Latest News, Transfer Rumours & Opinion - 90min

    ‘We didn’t think we would be so competitive at this tournament because our team was still under construction,’ Martino said.

    ‘But, well, we ended up competing and winning and that has made us very happy and optimistic for what is to come.’

    But, while Messi appears to be a lock-in for the starting XI Wednesday, he and his 36-year-old legs have a lot more to come.

    The Herons will also try to resurrect a season that has landed Miami at the bottom of the standings in Major League Soccer with the team returning to league action against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

    Miami’s record currently sits at a pitiful 5-3-14 for only 18 points in the league.

    Messi appears to have well and truly embraced his new life in Miami, sharing a touching moment with one of his teammates following Leagues Cup victory.

    Cameras captured the moment Messi humbly handed DeAndre Yedlin the captain’s armband and instructed him to lift the trophy.

  • Messi gave DeAndre Yedlin (R) the armband and told him to lift the Leagues Cup trophy

    Yedlin had worn the armband for Miami before Messi made his blockbuster move earlier this summer.

    But Martino claimed that it wasn’t the first time Messi had made a touching gesture with his new teammates.

    ‘This is not the first time that he has made this type of gesture,’ Martino said. ‘This is the reason why when people say he is the best player in the world, it is not only because of what he does on pitch during a match.

    ‘The same thing happens at training, with him and also with Jordi Alba; they get the younger players together to explain the work and the goals. That really helps the team prepare more quickly.’

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Messi is bedazzling US soccer and it is a pure joy to watch

Lionel Messi hasn’t even played a league game for Inter Miami, but you can hardly move on the internet for clips of his Florida feats.

Here’s a delightful flick.

There’s an otherworldly pass which you could probably use as evidence in court to legally prove he’s an alien.

Look: another agnificent goal, struck with a purity other mortals can only dream of.

Messi is bedazzling US soccer and it is a pure joy to watch

Messi

Lionel Messi hasn’t even played a league game for Inter Miami, but you can hardly move on the internet for clips of his Florida feats.

Here’s a delightful flick.

There’s an otherworldly pass which you could probably use as evidence in court to legally prove he’s an alien.

Look: another magnificent goal, struck with a purity other mortals can only dream of.

Yet if you look in the comments — which you should never do, but sometimes you can’t help yourself — you will find people who are denigrating the standard of defending, the standard of goalkeeping, or the standard of opposition more generally. The implication is: these flicks, these passes, these goals don’t actually mean anything because Messi’s opponents are no good.

Another — perhaps healthier — way to look at it is to delight in it all, to embrace the pleasure of watching probably the greatest player we will ever see put on a show; the simple joy of a great player absolutely taking the piss.