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Inter Miami Stars Messi, Suárez to Miss MLS All-Star Game

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi waves as he walks off the field after being honored for his 45 career trophies before an MLS soccer match against the Chicago Fire, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi waves as he walks off the field after being honored for his 45 career trophies before an MLS soccer match against the Chicago Fire, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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Inter Miami Stars Messi, Suárez to Miss MLS All-Star Game

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi waves as he walks off the field after being honored for his 45 career trophies before an MLS soccer match against the Chicago Fire, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi waves as he walks off the field after being honored for his 45 career trophies before an MLS soccer match against the Chicago Fire, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi won't play in the MLS All-Star Game while nursing an ankle injury.
The 37-year-old Messi left the July 14 Copa America final win over Colombia with a right ankle injury. His teammate, Luis Suárez, also won't play in the game Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, with what the team described as “knee discomfort.”
Both were listed among the unavailable players by the league on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner from Argentina, has missed Miami's wins over Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire. The team said both players' status for Saturday's Leagues Cup opening match at home against Mexican club Puebla “will be assessed based on their daily recovery process.”
The MLS All-Star Game pits top players from league clubs against players from Mexico's Liga MX.
Miami teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba will play Wednesday night.
Real Salt Lake forward Cristian Arango will also miss the All-Star Game while serving a four-game suspension from Major League Soccer for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy. Arango leads MLS with 17 goals and 11 assists.

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Fearless German Soccer Coach Christoph Daum Dies after Career of Highs and Lows

Christoph Daum the fearless soccer coach - The AP
Christoph Daum the fearless soccer coach - The AP
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Fearless German Soccer Coach Christoph Daum Dies after Career of Highs and Lows

Christoph Daum the fearless soccer coach - The AP
Christoph Daum the fearless soccer coach - The AP

Christoph Daum, the fearless soccer coach who was denied the German national team job after admitting cocaine use, has died. He was 70 years old.

Daum died Saturday at his home in Cologne after a battle with cancer, family members told news agency dpa on Sunday.

“He was a pioneer of the modern game and was controversial and passionate about football until the end,” German soccer federation president Bernd Neuendorf said. “I was able to experience this first hand in a personal meeting a few weeks before his death. He lived football with every fiber of his being.”

Daum’s struggle with cancer was symbolic of his life – even as a skinny young child growing up in the west German city of Duisburg, he picked fights with boys who were bigger and stronger, The AP reported.

As a passionate and demanding coach, he led Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title in 1992. But Daum never lifted the trophy again. Between 1996 and 2000 his Bayer Leverkusen team finished runner-up three times and third once. In 2000, Leverkusen squandered the chance to win the Bundesliga for the first time by losing 2-0 at promoted Unterhaching. Daum said he cried his eyes out.

Leverkusen would have to wait until this year before finally ending its “Neverkusen” moniker. But Daum's contribution arguably laid the foundations for success. He was a guest of honor at the celebrations.

“Christoph changed a lot of things here in terms of processes and internal structure. Under him, Bayer 04 became the biggest competitor to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund," Leverkusen great Rudi Völler said.

Daum was tipped to take over as Germany coach in 2000 after the national team’s disappointing European Championship, but his personal life came under scrutiny when long-time rival Uli Hoeneß of Bayern Munich suggested in an interview that Daum had a drug problem. Media reported cocaine-fueled parties involving prostitutes.

Daum denied drug use and gave hair samples for analysis. The samples showed traces of cocaine.

He was fired as Leverkusen coach as a result, while the scandal also ended his dream of becoming Germany coach.

“It was a big mistake that I acknowledged and apologized for,” Daum said years later. “Who can say that their life has been completely free of mistakes? I certainly cannot. Ultimately, it’s important to recognize mistakes, correct them, and then do better. That’s what it means to be human.”

Daum enjoyed success as coach away from Germany, winning a league and cup double with Austria Vienna in 2003, and Turkish league titles with Fenerbahce in 2004 and 2005. He previously led city rival Besiktas to Turkish cup (1994) and league (1995) titles.

Daum returned to Germany after Fenerbahce and helped Cologne to Bundesliga promotion in 2008.

He also later returned to Fenerbahce, then coached Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge, Bursaspor and Romania.

“Christoph Daum was a true child of the Bundesliga. As a motivator and communicator without a previous professional career, he helped shape the coaching profession and the Bundesliga at the beginning of the media age,” said Marc Lenz, the managing director of the German soccer league.

Lenz said Daum "remained true to himself throughout his career, both in success and after setbacks and mistakes."

For his part, Daum remained philosophical about his highs and lows.

”You can fall. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall,” he said. “You just have to keep getting up again.”