FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi arrived just before the start in black attire, fashionably fitting for the tone of the night. He then went to a front-line suite with his family and watched Inter Miami’s game Wednesday night just like the thousands of fans wearing his pink jersey.
At 35, his body is getting old for getting out on the field every night. Age happens. Look in the mirror.
So, once again, everyone got to remember what no one needed to remember: What soccer was like before Messi’s unveiling party, before his dramatic play and before South Florida became a destination spot of international soccer attention. It seems like only yesterday, but it was all of two months ago by now.
There must be something relevant to say about Inter Miami without Messi. But I can’t think of anything after watching it lose to the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup final 2-1. It played an especially lackluster first half in getting outshot 18-1. Only a stoppage-time goal breathed some belated energy into the stadium.
Even accepting Inter Miami was a “tired team” as coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said, Wednesday simply confirmed what everyone knew, especially anyone on the other side: “They’re definitely different when (Messi) is not on the field,’’ as Houston coach Ben Olsen said.
Inter Miami’s behavior with and without Messi is a case study in the difference the best name in a sport can make in every direction. Think the fate of the New England Patriots before and after Tom Brady’s exit. Think of the TV ratings in golf with and without Tiger Woods.
Inter Miami hadn’t won in 11 games and sat in the bottom of the MLS when Messi arrived in July. It’s 11-0-1 in games he’s played.
It scored 2.71 goals per match with him. It scored 1.17 goals without him.
“He elevates everyone,’’ said Olsen, who previously coached at D.C. United. “I saw a little bit when Wayne Rooney came to D.C. United. When he was on the field, it was different. You’re going into battle with a legend, a guy who’s won everything.”
He made everything imaginable, too. A ball sneaking through legs. A shot to the upper corner. A pass at such a bumper-pool angle that Martino admitted to watching it repeatedly just to appreciate how Messi did it.
“He doesn’t pull passes or rabbits out of his magic hat — he pulls kangaroos,’’ CBS analyst Roy Hudson said after one Messi goal.
Thee was no magic hat Wednesday, much less anything pulled from it. With five MLS games left for Inter Miami, the question becomes whether this is it for Messi until next year. He sat out games at Orlando and Atlanta, missed games with Argentina’s national team and then left in the 37th minute last week against Toronto.
His Barcelona running mate, Jordi Alba, also is out with what coach Martino called, “muscle fatigue.” The idea with Messi is some unstated old injury.
“It was clearly not prudent for him to play, not even for a few minutes,’’ Martino said. “It was too risky. Yes, he will surely play before the league season ends. We will go game by game to see at what point the medical team says he is in condition to play without running risks.”
With Messi, Inter Miami could make up the five points it needs in this final stretch to make the playoffs. Without him? Well, Wednesday was the latest test case. It didn’t just fail. It barely competed for long stretches.
“What I saw was a team that was spent,” Martino said of his team that has averaged a game every four days for the past two months. “Some could say we were not good physically, others could say we were not good tactically.
“The reality is we are starting to suffer the consequences of so many games. When we first all came together and were on the win streak, players were more fresh, we had not accumulated so many games, and that has taken a physical and mental toll.”
Martino allowed how if Wednesday went into overtime its coming Saturday match, “would have to be played by the technical staff.”
MLS has roster and scheduling issues to sort out. As it was in a cup final, the show missed its star and Inter Miami turned into a pumpkin.
