Lionel Messi Luis Suarez Sergio Busquets Jordi Alba Inter Miami Gerardo Martino Spain Argentina Japan Saudi Arabia Hong Kong El Salvador Lionel Messi Luis Suarez Sergio Busquets Jordi Alba Inter Miami Gerardo Martino Spain Argentina Japan Saudi Arabia Hong Kong El Salvador

Martino confident Miami can handle ‘Messi tour’ demands

guardian.ng

MessiLionel Messi’s Inter Miami face a globe-trotting pre-season schedule, travelling almost 25,000 miles to play seven friendlies in five countries but coach Gerardo Martino is confident they can handle the workload.Miami will return to training this weekend and have just a week at their base in Fort Lauderdale before heading off on a tour which takes them to El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan.The arrival of Messi along with former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and most recently Luis Suarez — has made such friendly games a significant revenue generator for the club.But the schedule has raised concerns that Miami run the risk of overdoing games and travel before the season starts on February 21.“We understand the business and sports sides, and we try to satisfy both sides without exceeding one or the other,” Martino told reporters on Thursday.“We have to balance how much each player participates,” he added.The pressure is clearly always on Martino to feature Messi as much as possible but the club’s experience last season stands as a warning.Miami shone brightly winning the mid-season Leagues Cup shortly after Messi’s arrival only to burn out quickly amid injuries to the Argentine and Spaniard Alba.The team were unable to make a late push into the playoffs with Messi watching much of the back end of the season from the stands.Busquets also feels the club will have to maintain an equilibrium between commercial and football activities.“It’s looking at the balance of the sporting side and the growth of this club and the revenues that benefit the business side,” he said.“We will also compete against great teams that will prepare us to be at a high level.

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Cristiano Ronaldo mengalami cedera yang membuat Al Nassr membatalkan laga uji coba di China. Laga persahabatan lain melawan Inter Miami pun menjadi tanda tanya.
Cristiano Ronaldo issued a public apology after he suffered an injury that contributed to Al Nassr's postponement of their preseason tour of China, while his fitness status ahead of a showdown with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Feb. 1 is unknown.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have cancelled their two-game China tour after the forward suffered an injury, the Saudi club said on Tuesday, sparking concern over the Portuguese's participation in their upcoming encounter against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami slumped to a 1-0 defeat against FC Dallas in a pre-season friendly on Monday before the team set off on a hectic international tour. After a lacklustre 0-0 draw against El Salvador on Friday, Miami delivered another performance to forget in wet, cold conditions at the Cotton Bowl Stadium. Argentine superstar Messi and former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets were all substituted after 64 minutes with Miami trailing 1-0. Messi created a handful of openings during his stint on the pitch, with his best effort a rasping 30-yard volley that was parried by Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes early in the second half.

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