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Inter Miami visits the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 25 and local soccer fans are hoping Lionel Messi has healed by then
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Published May 16, 2024 • 4 minute read
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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi reacts after being injured during the first half against CF Montréal at Saputo Stadium on May 11, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images /PNG
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There are thousands of soccer fans who will be keeping tabs on D.C. United’s game on Saturday.
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There’s no rivalry, no history, no reason to watch outside of one: will Lionel Messi play?
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Saturday’s game will mark seven days before Inter Miami and the Argentine megastar visit B.C. Place, and Messi’s status currently is, well, unclear.
He sat out Wednesday’s game in Orlando after suffering a knee injury against Montreal four days previously, and Miami coach Tata Martino said his status for Saturday is still up in the air.
“The idea is that he plays the game on Saturday against D.C. United, but it will continue to depend on how the injury (evolves),” he told ESPN. “He trained today as well and did well. We will not risk anything, so we will see.”
Lionel Messi dribbles the ball against Mathieu Choinière of CF Montréal during the second half at Saputo Stadium in Montreal May 11. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis /Getty Images
That isn’t comfort for many of the thousands of fans who shelled out well above market value for tickets to the May 25 game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, or the resellers trying to cash in on their Messi mini-lottery windfall. %7B%22provider_name%22:%22Twitter%22,%22provider_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%22,%22object_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%5C/StuCowan1%5C/status%5C/1789412291563155814%22,%22html%22:%22
Lionel%20Messi%20and%20his%20Inter%20Miami%20team%20has%20arrived%20by%20bus%20at%20Saputo%20Stadium%20for%20tonight%5Cu2019s%20game%20vs%20CF%20Montr%5Cu00e9al.%20It%20was%20quite%20a%20scene.%20#MLS<%5C/a>%20pic.twitter.com%5C/RS2aUDUldM<%5C/a><%5C/p>%E2%80%94%20Stu%20Cowan%20(@StuCowan1)%20May%2011,%202024<%5C/a><%5C/blockquote>%5Cn
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The King Kong of concerns in the room, of course, is will Messi play on turf?
Well, he’s already done it once this season, in a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution on April 27. That top-of-the-line FieldTurf was installed in November in the pitch shared with the New England Patriots.
Even teammate and current MLS scoring leader Luis Suarez, who skipped turf games while playing for Grêmio in Brazil last season because of knee pain, played in that game.
Messi himself said he had no problem playing on the artificial surface in April.
“The truth is my youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch,” Messi said at a press conference last month.
“Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”
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Miami has a week between the D.C. United game and Vancouver, but the idea of travelling six-plus hours to play on B.C. Place’s carpet may not be appealing, especially if nursing a knee ailment.
But another factor working in fans’ favour: Martino is focused on gaining as many points as possible before the Copa America sucks his top players away during June and July. The Herons currently top the East and overall standings with an 8-2-4 record, but only hold a one-point edge on second-place Cincinnati, who’ve played one game less.
The tournament’s first game is June 21 — it’s Canada versus Argentina, coincidentally — but teams will likely assemble in the first few days of June, meaning Miami has just four games between Saturday and a June 1 home game against St. Louis.
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And Miami isn’t Miami without Messi.
The Herons are 8-3-1 without their megastar across all competitions, and 1-2-3 without him, The league’s highest-scoring team was bagelled in Wednesday’s tie with Orlando, sans Messi.
Lionel Messi receives a grand welcome in Montreal. 🐐🤯
This is the first time that Messi has come to Canada 🇨🇦 https://t.co/w37RSNlPEU
— Made In Canada (@MadelnCanada) May 11, 2024
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Going further, Inter has played New York Red Bulls twice, losing 4-0 and winning 6-2; they’ve played Orlando twice, winning 5-0 and drawing 0-0. Guess which games Messi didn’t play in?
Suarez may be tied for the league lead with 11 goals, but Messi has 10 and a MLS-best 12 assists in just eight starts.
In his team’s win over Red Bulls, Messi scored once and had five assists, setting new league records for assists in a game and most single-game goal contributions.
“It has become redundant but it appears that he is always making history,” Martino said after the game. “If something was missing, it was this — to contribute in six goals.”
Even if Messi doesn’t play, there are still global luminaries to cheer for, like Sergio Busquets, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Julian Gressel.
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Every road game Miami has played this season has been a sellout. There was the 72,000 who packed into the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, 65,612 packed into Gillette Stadium for the Revs match — beating the 22 year-old record from the MLS Cup held there — and the same is expected at B.C. Place.
The Whitecaps have had crowds of 20,000-plus for eight straight games, dating back to last season, a streak that hasn’t happened since 2014. They drew an MLS-record 32,465 for their 50th anniversary game against Austin, an atmosphere that left an impression on head coach Vanni Sartini.
“Yeah, it was beautiful,” he said. “People behind my bench were offering me beer … it was fantastic. Like 30,000 is the record, unfortunately, actually it’s going to last only for two weeks. Because in two weeks, they’re going to be more than 50,000.”
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The capacity at B.C. Place is 54,500, though the team’s biggest crowd was 60,342, set in the inaugural B.C. Place NASL game in June 1983, before the stadium was renovated.
jadams@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/mls/vancouver-whitecaps/lionel-messi-injury-vancouver-match