Slow And Easily Beaten -- Lionel Messi's Miami Project Risks Global Embarrassment
A dejected-looking Lionel Messi walked off the field in defeat on Wednesday after his Inter Miami team were exposed in emphatic fashion by a young Vancouver Whitecaps. The 3-1 loss in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final meant a 5-1 aggregate defeat to the Canadian side and no-one who watched the games would question whether the scoreline was a fair reflection of the games. A Miami team built around Messi and a slew of aging former team-mates from his Barcelona heyday -- Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - backed up mainly by journeymen players from South America, showed their age against a Whitecaps team that was faster and sharper in all areas.