THE ANGELS-. The MLS sets the ball rolling on Wednesday with all the spotlights pointing towards Miamiwhere Lionel Messi and his group of former Barcelona glories are set to dominate the league in a crucial year for soccer in the United States.
The first full season that Messi will play for Inter Miami will also debut the United States as the venue for the next major international football events, starting with the Copa América (June 20 – July 14).
The desired expansion of ‘soccer’ in this cycle that will culminate with the 2026 World Cup, of which the United States is the main organizer, involves capitalizing on Messi’s presence in the MLS.
The landing of the Argentine world champion in Miami in the middle of last year returned the MLS to the soccer map and made room for it in the sports headlines of the North American giant.
On the pitch, Messi exceeded expectations, transforming the then last placed team in the league into champion of the Leagues Cup, a joint tournament with the Mexican league in which he was top scorer and MVP (Most Valuable Player).
Inter looked like a practically unbeatable team when they had the Argentine star and his Spanish guards Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba on the pitch, but the injuries they suffered later prevented Inter from qualifying for the playoffs.
Doubts about the physical condition of this group of veterans, who were joined this year by the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, are Inter’s biggest challenge in the fight for their first MLS crown.
Messi, 36, Suárez (37) and Busquets (35) have already suffered physical problems during the preseason, in which Inter left a worrying image with just one victory in seven games.
‘Cucho’ crew, rival to beat
Inter will host Real Salt Lake in their stadium on Wednesday in the opening match of the 29th MLS season, in which Colombian striker Juan Camilo ‘Cucho’ Hernández’s Columbus Crew will be the defending champions.
In addition to Suárez, who moved to Miami from the Brazilian Gremio, the other big name recruited by the North American league is goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, captain of the French team that won the 2018 World Cup.
Lloris, 37, left Tottenham Hotspur to defend the goal of Los Angeles FC (LAFC), MLS champion in 2022 and finalist last year.
LAFC maintains in its ranks the Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga, Golden Boot winner of the last championship, but said goodbye to the Italian Giorgio Chiellini and could also live its first season without the Mexican Carlos Vela, who has not yet renewed his contract.
The other great Mexican reference in the MLS, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández, ended his period as leader of the Los Angeles Galaxy, the last franchise that revalidated the MLS title between 2011 and 2012.
The Galaxy, which has not reached the final for a decade, still has the Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig and made a big bet on the young Brazilian Gabriel Pec, for whom it paid around 10 million dollars to Vasco da Gama.
The winger joins other South American pearls who shine in the MLS such as Thiago Almada, world champion with Argentina in Qatar-2022, who remains at Atlanta United or his compatriot Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), current MVP of the tournament.
So is the Uruguayan international Facundo Torres, from Orlando City, who will have a new offensive partner in the veteran Luis Muriel.
The Colombian striker, who finished five years at Italian club Atalanta, joins a saga of illustrious names who wore the uniform of the Florida franchise, such as Kaká and Nani.
The 26 American teams and the three Canadian MLS teams will compete in a regular phase that ends on October 9 and will stop again for the Leagues Cup (July 26 – August 25).
The playoff ties will lead to the single-game final on December 7.
MLS is set to start with substitute referees due to the failure of negotiations with the league’s official union of judges.
Source: AP
