Messimania causes competitions such as Leagues Cup that previously went almost unnoticed and did not generate any interest, are now followed with the closeness and attraction of a great championship. Lionel Messi’s magnetism can do everything on a playing field and now, the captain of the world champion Argentina team seems determined to lead his new team, Inter Miami, to the first title in its history.
In that line, The team that belongs to the anti-Castro family of Los Mas and David Beckham will face Charlotte FC this Friday for the quarterfinals of this competition that brings together teams from the United States MLS and the Mexican League. The match will be played from 9:30 p.m. at the DRV PNK stadium and will be broadcast via streaming on the Apple TV platform.
In case of advancing, Inter Miami’s rival will be Querétaro or Philadelphia Union and the match will be played on Tuesday the 15th. If it were to get into the top four, the pink jacket team will be one step away from the Concacaf Champions League since there are quotas for the first three classified.
Messi’s influence on Inter Miami is undeniable as he changed the face of a team that had a long losing streak in the MLS, which will resume when this tournament ends. After seven goals and three assists in his first four games with the team led by Gerardo Martino, the Rosario supercrack shares top scorer table with South African Bongokuhle Hlongwane of Minnesota United who will play another quarterfinal key against Nashville.
“What ‘Leo’ did is neither more nor less than what he did seven months ago in the World Cup. He ratifies with facts what he said when he arrived, that he wanted to compete and try to win.” Martino said at the pre-match press conference. The Rosario coach added that “Messi is a leader on and off the pitch and has a different attitude than when he started when he was a football leader.. The image of the fourth goal asking for the ball to go in search of the fifth is a contagion for everyone” Martino exemplified
Charlotte is the newest franchise in MLS. He started competing last year. has former Racing striker Enzo Copetti in his squad who will not be able to play due to injury and the figure is the Polish striker Karol Swiderski, who played against Messi for his country in Qatar 2022. “We are going to have a difficult match because we are playing against a team that is in shape and has Messi, but We don’t play against Messi, we play against Inter Miami,” said their coach, Italian Carlo Lattanzio.
