Lionel Messi doesn’t require any “extra or special situation” to inspire him for Wednesday’s second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal matchup with Monterrey, according to Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo Martino.
Messi and Miami enter the second leg of their battle today behind 2-1 overall from their encounter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last Wednesday. Despite being injured and missing the game, Messi was involved in a post-match altercation where he went to the Monterrey locker room, according to an ESPN source.
The World Cup winner from Argentina practiced in full on Tuesday alongside his colleagues, and he will be available for the pivotal second leg.
Messi doesn’t need anything extra to get motivated for the game, according to Martino, when asked if the event that occurred after the first game would bring him any extra motivation on Wednesday.
“When it comes to someone like him and the way he competes the way he has on a professional level since being 16, 17 years old, he doesn’t need any extra or special situation,” Martino stated. He competes in this manner because it’s how he feels, and the day he stops feeling that way is the day he’ll give up on football.
When he finds himself in a friendly or pivotal match for his league, I don’t think he will approach it in any other way than by competing to the best of his abilities. We anticipate that not just from him but from the entire team.”
The manager went on to minimize the altercation between the two squads, stressing that there were more important topics to discuss.
“Tomorrow’s game is so great and generates [excitement], from our side at least, so it’s a shame to have to talk about things that aren’t happening because of football,” stated the former Atlanta United boss. It is not worth it or appropriate to be delayed by non-football-related matters when there is so much to discuss about the game tomorrow, the preview, and the post-match.”
Messi missed the opening leg of the series, but he should play tomorrow. He last played on March 13 due to a thigh injury, but he made his debut as a substitute against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
“All right, he’s OK. After playing 45 minutes in Saturday’s MLS encounter against the Colorado Rapids, he felt fantastic, according to Martino. “Tomorrow is still our training day, so we’ll see. The most crucial aspect, though, is that the injury is still present.”