"Pressure? None! We have improved a lot to compete. We have made a big change. We are a great team, with many names it is true, but we have to demonstrate that on the field. It will not be easy. Hopefully we can all win tournaments. But it won't be easy. The rivals will come with the motivation to beat us as was the case with Barcelona."
Jordi Alba
made the message clear hours before the start of a new MLS season.
Lionel Messi
and his
Inter Miami
are going for everything they play in 2024. Tonight, from 10 p.m. in Argentina, the big premiere will take place.
The statement from the Catalan defender, one of the stars of the team that will debut this Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, forces an obvious question
: What changed?
The most important variable, beyond the frenetic tour of Asia that altered the preseason but that in turn generated many profits, is the work time that coach
Gerardo Martin
has or with his group of players.
We must not forget that Tata, like Messi, arrived last year and got into a car that was walking.
Now, the project starts from scratch.
But there was also a change of interpreters.
In this transfer market, the Rosario coach made some adjustments to the squad -or roster, as it is called here-.
Eight players left and four arrived
.
Arithmetic is eloquent: it has fewer pieces, but the idea is that they fit together better.
And that's what he sought.
Río de la Plata Connection: Messi and Suárez officially play together again.Photo: EFE
To begin with, and as is well known,
there are now four stratospheric figures
in the franchise that is owned by the brothers Jorge and
José Más Canosa
and
David Beckham
.
Messi is the standard bearer of the soccer revolution here in South Florida and is still accompanied by his Spanish squires
Jordi Alba
and
Sergio Busquets
, 35 years old.
But a new star was added to this constellation with the arrival of the Uruguayan
Luis Suáre
z.
There are four fantastic ones that draw a kind of vintage Barcelona, now painted pink.
They are friends, they are buddies and they understand each other like almost no one else on a playing field.
They will, of course, be the backbone.
The compilation #YoJuguéConMessi by journalist Carlos Arasaki clearly shows the alchemy that these four players have.
Messi played 570 games with Busquets - he is the one with whom he most shared the court -, 355 with Alba and 256 with Suárez, who has nearly 500 goals scored in his backpack, of which 195 were in partnership with La Pulga.
Surgical reinforcements
On the other hand, with much less noise than the Uruguayan Pistolero,
three other players arrived at Inter Miami
.
And there you can see Martino's surgical intention to strengthen the starting team and, in turn, think about the future.
The name of the Argentine
Nicolás Freire
was not on almost anyone's radar
.
But Tata had him in his head and went looking for him to shore up the defense.
The central marker, 30 years old, emerged in Argentinos Juniors and there he began to show his good conditions.
So much so that
he caught the attention of the City group
, which bought his pass and loaned him to the Uruguayan City Torque.
From there he went to Zwolle in Dutch football and then returned to South America with a short-lived stint with Palmeiras and another slightly longer one with LDU de Quito.
He had his best performance in Pumas in Mexico and tried his luck again in Europe - in Olympiakos in Greece - to now end up in Miami.
It will be important with the Ukrainian Serhiy Kryvtsov and with the Argentine Tomás Avilés on the last line, one of the main deficits in the last campaign.
Nicolás Freire, with the UNAM Pumas shirt.
The other important player Martino brought in is
Julian Gressel
, who he knows from his time at
Atlanta United
.
Born in Germany 30 years ago, he plays as a midfielder -preferably right inside- and has just been important in the Columbus Crew, the last MLS champion.
His arrival will give some air to Busquets, for whom the central circle seemed enormous due to the quick transitions typical of MLS soccer.
They value his talent and also his experience: he has accumulated 210 games in the American league between his spells with Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, DC United and Vancouver Whitecaps, with 25 goals and 56 assists.
Julian GresselPhoto: AFP
The last reinforcement is another Argentine,
Federico Redondo
, who was announced in the last hours after long negotiations.
He is a mini Busquets, who will also give him balance and exit from the middle.
The midfielder comes from being an important player in the Argentine Under 23 National Team led by Javier Mascherano that qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He is 21 years old and it is a great bet: they paid eight million dollars for 75% of his chip.
Federico Redondo came to the National Team thanks to what he showed in Argentinos Juniors. Photo: AFP
The casualties
The casualties category is broader.
Brazilian midfielder Gregore de Magalhaes, Colombian striker Emerson Rodriguez Valois, Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, Swedish defender Chris McVey, Argentine midfielder Nicolás Stefanelli, Canadian defender Kamal Miller, Dutch goalkeeper Nick Marsman, Costa Rican midfielder Cameron left Johnson Cruz.
Of all of them, those who played the most were Miller and Martínez.
But their places were better covered, a priori, by Freire and Suárez.
The new Inter Miami is coming.
Reloaded.
A new dream for Messi begins.
"The team we want will only be seen on the third or fourth date," Martino warns.
But he does it with a smile.
He knows that only now, beyond winning the Leagues Cup, does he begin his work as a goldsmith for the MLS all-star team.