Messi and Busquets Not Moving to Miami for a Holiday

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Clermont - Parc de Princes, Paris, France - June 3, 2023  Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi reacts REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Clermont - Parc de Princes, Paris, France - June 3, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi reacts REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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Messi and Busquets Not Moving to Miami for a Holiday

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Clermont - Parc de Princes, Paris, France - June 3, 2023  Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi reacts REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Clermont - Parc de Princes, Paris, France - June 3, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi reacts REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Newly appointed Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino says there is no question of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets moving to South Florida to chill on South Beach.

Instead, says the Argentine who was appointed on Wednesday, the pair are coming to Miami to fight for titles, AFP said.

Martino, former coach of Messi with Barcelona and Argentina, said he had spoken to the seven-times Ballon d'Or winner and former Spain midfielder Busquets about their impending move to the Major League Soccer club

"Sometimes in our world you associate the United States and Miami with holidays. And it’s not that. They are coming to compete," he told a press conference on Thursday.

"They are coming from winning world titles, Spanish league titles. They are not going to relax. They will compete because it is in their blood," he said.

Martino takes over Miami with the club bottom of the Eastern Conference having lost their last seven games. They are ranked 27th out of the 29 clubs in MLS.

The former Mexico and Atlanta United coach said there was still the chance to salvage something from this season, however.

"One is to see if we can make the playoffs. Right now that seems like a stretch, but as long as we have the possibility we can’t stop trying," he said.

"We are in a good place in the US Open Cup, and now there’s a new tournament, Leagues Cup, that we will aim for. After that, the goal is to build for 2024," added the coach known as 'Tata'.

Sporting Director Chris Henderson said the club would be making more changes to their squad in the coming weeks.

“Come late August we’re going to have a different look. This will give the opportunity for Tata and his staff to work with the players in a new way.

"It feels like a new beginning for the club and we’re going to do everything we can to rise up the table game by game," he added.

Martino won MLS Cup in 2018 with Atlanta United and said he was well aware of what awaited him in the North American league.

"I see a league that is always evolving, a league that has a lot of rules, but they are very clear," he said.

"It is very level for all the teams, the system of budgets and draft allows all teams at the start to have the same aspirations.

"I like the complexity of the cold of one place, rain of another, heat of another. All that makes you as a coach have to think about more than just managing what happens on the field," he said.

But Martino believes Messi will transform MLS.

"That the world’s greatest player decides to play in this league, evidently it will open an even greater scenario of growth," he said.



Champions League Semis: Barcelona-Inter Revives Memories of 2010 Epic and Arsenal Hosts PSG 

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
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Champions League Semis: Barcelona-Inter Revives Memories of 2010 Epic and Arsenal Hosts PSG 

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)

The free-flowing attack of Barcelona comes up against the rugged, smothering defense of Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals.

Ring any bells?

Go back to 2010 — when Lamine Yamal was not even 3 years old and Lionel Messi was close to his prime — and Camp Nou was the scene of one of the most memorable matches in Champions League history, between the same teams going head-to-head there again on Wednesday.

Protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg, Inter — coached at the time by Jose Mourinho — delivered a defensive masterclass against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona to survive with 10 men for more than an hour and lose just 1-0 to progress to the title match.

Memories will come flooding back ahead of the rematch this week, especially with the two protagonists owning the same traits as 15 years ago.

Barcelona is back in the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season, on the back of by far the best attack in the new-look, 36-team league stage. With Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski up front, Barca scored 28 goals in eight games — and has netted nine more goals in eliminating Benfica and Borussia Dortmund in the knockouts.

Then there’s Inter, the Italian champion, which conceded just once in eight games in the first stage and held on grimly to oust Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Inter won the 2010 final, against Bayern, for a third European Cup title so its run toward the final this season has echoes of that title-winning campaign.

Arsenal vs. Paris

Saint-Germain While the Barcelona-Inter Milan semifinal is awash with history, this one seems relatively fresh.

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have met just three times in the Champions League and never in the knockout stage. One of those occasions was this season, when Arsenal won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium.

And it’s at home that the Gunners play on Tuesday in the first leg, hoping to reproduce the exploits that saw them beat defending champion Real Madrid in both legs in the quarterfinals.

Their opponents, however, are aiming to eliminate an English opponent for the third straight round, after seeing off Liverpool and — less impressively — Aston Villa.

With its “galacticos” — Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Messi — long gone, PSG is bidding to win a first Champions League title by going with talented up-and-coming players instead.

Arsenal is also striving to become European champion for the first time, having not reached the semis since 2009.