For 60 minutes on Saturday night, Inter Miami had to get used to playing with Lionel Messi on the pitch.
It’s something that Miami coach Tata Martino told a crowded room of reporters that his team needs to get used to.
Though Messi did eventually come into the game, Martino said afterward that Messi would miss “at least” three games due to his duties with Argentina’s national team.
“He’s going to miss games [to play with Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions], so we are going to have to win without him. It’s something we’re going to have to get accustomed to,” Martino said.
Messi has become an integral part of Inter Miami’s offense since arriving in July and the club is desperately trying to make up ground in order to make the MLS playoffs.
Martino liked what he had seen out of his team before Messi entered Saturday’s contest and Inter Miami had led 1-0 before one of soccer’s biggest superstars took the field in the 60th minute.
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Miami is 11 points back of the playoff line with 11 MLS regular season games to go after defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-0.
“We put a lot of value in this win because (playing with a rotation) is something we need to get used to because Leo is going to join his national team,” Martino said. “He’ll miss at least three games this year and next year it will be the same, and we need to understand that when he’s not here the team still needs to provide results.”
The upcoming month is a jampacked one for the Argentine.
Inter Miami has two MLS games – Wednesday against Nashville and Sunday against LACFC – over the next seven days.
Then Argentina has World Cup qualifying games against Ecuador on Sept. 9 and Bolivia on Sept. 12.
