Still in search of their first victory of the year,
Lionel Messi
's
Inter Miami arrived in
Hong Kong
at dawn
, from Saudi Arabia, to continue with the preseason and play a new friendly that will allow them to reverse the disturbing moment they are going through.
After suffering a humiliating 6-0 defeat against
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr
(who did not play due to injury), those from Florida once again left doubts on the field as the MLS debut approaches
on
February 21 .
That is why this Sunday they will have a new stop in which they will face a team of professional players from
Hong Kong
.
Las Garzas, after also losing 4-3 against Al Hilal on their tour of Arabia, landed in Hong Kong at dawn in Argentina.
There they were received by the airport staff, who gave a bouquet of flowers to coach
Gerardo Tata Martino
, with whom he had to pose on a stage with the rest of the squad for a group photo.
The match aspires to have a
full stadium
as a context, mainly thanks to the presence of Messi and the fans who are excited to see the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner in the former British colony.
Messi, accompanied by Suárez, are already thinking about their next game.
REUTERS/Lam Yik
Tickets went on sale in December and fans paid between
880 and 4,880 Hong Kong dollars
(between 103 and 573 euros) to get any of the
40,000 tickets
available.
Taking into account the furor generated by the star's arrival, the local police have planned a
large security operation
to maintain order near the hotel, with important road closures around the stadium.
The madness that Leo aroused in Hong Kong is such that along the immensity of rivers that cross the region, several residents have the possibility of seeing
boats that have a gigantography of Messi's face printed on their sails
.
Incredible but real.
Giant screens were also shown in areas near the coast, so that the Argentine's face can be seen even when the natural light of the sun goes down.
In the waters of Hong Kong, the boats appear accompanied by Messi.
Photo: Peter PARKS / AFP.
The possible alarms that sounded in Hong Kong when Leo came off the bench in the last game due to a minor discomfort, had a great impact on his fans.
However, given the possibility that the player from Rosario will not be able to play, a Hong Kong government source declared that there are "
contractual conditions that specify that he will participate except for illness or injury
."
Based on the hype that is generated around '10', the only training session that Inter Miami will carry out in Hong Kong will be this Saturday, with
doors open to the public
.
It, with tickets with prices ranging between 68 and 130 euros, already has all its tickets sold out.
Tata Martino's concern about the results
Without a doubt, the results obtained since the beginning of 2024 are not what was expected for those led by Tata Martino.
Even more so when they managed to incorporate none other than the Uruguayan Luis Suárez as a star reinforcement for 2024.
However, just as the results did not accompany them, neither did luck.
The thing is that Las Garzas ended up suffering two key players due to injury in the middle of the set-up.
These are
Facundo Farías
and
Benjamín Cresmaschi
, both Argentines who suffered a
torn anterior cruciate ligament in their left leg
and a
sports hernia
, respectively.
Tata Martino, at a press conference after his arrival in Hong Kong.
Photo: AP/Louise Delmotte.
Under this scenario, Martino tries to recover from the " totally disappointing
" defeat
against Al Nassr to be able to reach the MLS debut with greater confidence.
"If we have to find a time for these things to happen and for them to signal an important alert about what is happening,
we prefer it to be before the season starts
," declared the coach after the team's arrival in Hong Kong.
And he added: "We have not been able to win in four games in this preseason,
we have to get out of this dynamic of defeat
and obviously it would be a priority to be able to win the game."
Inter Miami was welcomed on stage at the Hong Kong airport.
Photo: REUTERS/Lam Yik
He was also consulted about Messi's physical condition, with the intention of providing peace of mind to all the people of Honk Kong.
"We will evaluate each of the players because we have played many preseason games. The aspiration is that Leo can play as many minutes as possible," said Tata.
"
He will surely be on the field
," he added.
After Sunday's game, Inter Miami will fly to Tokyo to face
Vissel Kobe
in their last game in the Middle East.
Afterwards, it will be time for a special friendly for Leo, when he faces
Newell's
on February 15 in Florida.
It will be the step before the points games begin to be played in the American league and those from Florida receive Real Salt Lake in their debut.
With information from Agencies