Neither Lionel Messi nor Luis Suarez was part of the most recent victory of their club Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, against the Philadelphia Union, a duel that ended with a score of 2 goals to 1 in favor of ‘ The Herons of Florida. It must be remembered that both Messi and Suarez are concentrated on their respective national teams ahead of the next Copa America that will take place in the United States.
Once again and as has been customary in much of the current Major League Soccer season, the team led by Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was able to turn the score around. At 4 minutes into the game, the Danish Mikael Uhre opened the account for the local team, but at 47 minutes into the game, the equalizer came thanks to the German Julian Gressel.
Expulsions that complicated the situation
2 expulsions made the horizon of the match very complicated for the pink team, since at 67 minutes into the game David Ruiz and at 83 the Argentine Tomas Aviles saw the red cards and had to abandon the match. When the match seemed to be tied, Brazilian Leonardo Alfonso appeared to put the match 2 goals to 1 in the 94th minute, sealing the victory for Inter Miami.
Inter Miami continues its good progress in the North American championship and has only lost one game in the last 12 it has played, achieving a total of 7 wins and 4 draws in favor. The Florida team continues to lead the Eastern Conference with 38 points in its favor.
Miami must resolve without Messi and Suarez
Before the game against the Philadelphia Union, Gerardo Martino spoke about the current situation of forward Leonardo Campana, who is the team’s main offensive asset until the returns of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez: “I spoke with him about his situation. It also seems a little unfair to me that we have to burden him with the responsibility of having to do everything possible to prove himself in the game that he has the opportunity to do, and the truth is that he doesn’t. It is also true that when it is time to play in this circumstance there are many absences in the team, and then the team is also irritated. He has to play naturally the way he does. When he gets a few minutes, he takes advantage of it. When he has the whole game, he will try to take advantage of it and be good for the team, but without that need to make it seem like he is risking his future.”
Could Messi leave Inter Miami?
On the other hand, Tata Martino took the opportunity to talk about a phrase from Messi in an interview with ESPN in reference to Inter Miami being the last club of his career: “He gave it as a probable last team. There is always the possibility that it will not. When one talks about these types of players, who have marked an entire era in the history of football, and we begin to see that the end is approaching, we tend to think for them and extend their careers. In short, both Leo and his family are preparing for when the end comes, which comes to everyone. We want him to play forever. The way he does it he could extend his career much longer than other footballers. But sooner or later the end comes and all he does is express it.”
If Argentina and Uruguay reach the final of the Copa America, this would mean that both Messi and Suarez will miss a minimum of four more games because Inter Miami will be facing Columbus Crew in Florida this Wednesday, on Saturday, June 29, they will face Nashville, on Wednesday, July 3, will head to the home of Charlotte FC and on Saturday the 6th they will face Cincinnati as a visitor.
The Herons will have to face two more games against Toronto (7/17) and Chicago Fire (7/20) before getting ready to face a new edition of the Leagues Cup and defend the championship obtained last season. The current champions will debut on Saturday the 27th against Puebla de México for the first day of Group East 3 and on Saturday, August 3 they will close the zone against Tigres de Mexico.
