Everything did not go according to plan on Lionel Messi’s first official trip to Mexico.
In Wednesday’s second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals—the Concacaf version of the Champions League—Monterrey defeated Inter Miami 3-1. A 5-2 aggregate victory over Miami was secured thanks to goals from Brandon Vazquez, Germán Berterame, and Jesús Gallardo.
The lone goal for Miami was scored in the 85th minute by Diego Gómez. Though he had only one opportunity in the first half of the game, Messi got the start.
“As a coach, I’m happy to eliminate a great team. Gerardo [Martino] and Leo [Messi] are a great coach and player who are recognized worldwide,” Fernando Ortiz, stated, “We have the satisfaction to win the series.”
Prior to the quarterfinal, Ortiz expressed his confidence in his team’s abilities but expressed concern that Messi’s presence would have an impact on the officials.
“I said that we were going to beat them, not for a lack of respect for Miami, just because I thought that my players would understand what needed to be done,” Ortiz stated. “To me, Leo is the greatest player of all time, I did not mean to offend anyone, I just gave an honest opinion.”
Nico Sanchez, the assistant coach for Monterrey, apologized earlier this week following an audio recording in which he described Lionel Messi as a “possessed dwarf” and claimed that Messi had “the face of the devil” following an altercation during the first leg in Miami…
Messi, who participated in two exhibition games in Mexico in 2011 and one in 2006, lost the opportunity to lead Miami to the tournament’s inaugural semi-final.
Coach Gerardo Martino of Miami stated, “Today’s defeat takes away the illusion that we have to keep moving forward in this competition,”
Messi was attempting to win his second competition since joining Miami a year earlier. He had won the Leagues Cup the previous summer.
Martino declared, “We’ve competed well in the first game against Monterrey and in this one we did until Berterame’s goal, that’s when the series ended,”
Last Saturday, Messi played in the second half of an MLS match at Colorado after missing the first two with a hamstring issue that had been bothering him since March 13. He scored once in the 2-2 draw.
Monterrey is attempting to make it to their first final since winning their fifth Concacaf championship in 2021.
The MLS team protested over the amount of cards they were issued, which led to a heated altercation during the first match between Monterrey and Miami. After Jordi Alba was sent off in the 78th minute of the second leg, Inter Miami was reduced to 10 men.
Even though Miami lost in the quarterfinals, they can still participate in the Club World Cup in 2025. The competition’s extended version, which will be held in the US, will feature the champions of continental titles from North and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Teams that qualified under the new Fifa points system will also be included in the revised structure, along with one wildcard side from the US, which will serve as the host country. Fifa has not yet disclosed how the slot would be distributed. “Further details [will be] provided in due course,” a December 2023 statement from Fifa stated.
