the Argentine legion and the faces that join the last dance of Messi, Jordi, Suárez and Busquets

“Pressure? None! We have improved a lot to compete. We have made a big change. We are a great team, with many names it is true, but we have to demonstrate that on the field. It will not be easy. Hopefully we can all win tournaments. But it won’t be easy. The rivals will come with the motivation to beat us as was the case with Barcelona.” Jordi Alba He made the message clear hours before the start of a new MLS season. Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami They are going for everything they play in 2024. Tonight, from 10 p.m. in Argentina, the grand premiere will take place.

The statement by the Catalan defender, one of the stars of the team that will debut this Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, forces an obvious question What was it that changed? The most important variable, beyond the frenetic tour of Asia that altered the preseason but at the same time generated many profits, is the work time that the coach has. Gerard Martinor with your group of players. We must not forget that Tata, like Messi, arrived last year and got into a car that was walking. Now, the project starts from scratch.

But there was also a change of interpreters. In this transfer market, the Rosario coach made some adjustments to the squad -or roster, as it is called here-. Eight players left and four arrived. Arithmetic is eloquent: it has fewer pieces, but the idea is that they fit together better. And that’s what he looked for.

To begin with, and as is well known, now there are four stratospheric figuress that has the franchise that is owned by the brothers Jorge and José Más Canosa y David Beckham. Messi is the standard bearer of the soccer revolution here in South Florida and is still accompanied by his Spanish squires Jordi Alba y Sergio Busquets, 35 years old. But a new star was added to this constellation with the arrival of the Uruguayan Luis Suarez. There are four fantastic ones that draw a kind of vintage Barcelona, ​​now painted pink. They are friends, they are buddies and they understand each other like almost no one else on a playing field.

They will, of course, be the backbone. The compilation #YoJuguéConMessi by journalist Carlos Arasaki clearly shows the alchemy that these four players have. Messi played 570 games with Busquets – he is the one with whom he most shared the court -, 355 with Alba and 256 with Suárez, who has nearly 500 goals scored in his backpack, of which 195 were in partnership with La Pulga.

On the other hand, with much less noise than the Uruguayan Pistolero, Three other players arrived at Inter Miami. And there you can see Martino’s surgical intention to strengthen the starting team and, in turn, think about the future. The name of the Argentine Nicolas Freire It wasn’t on almost anyone’s radar.. But Tata had him in his head and went looking for him to shore up the defense. The central marker, 30 years old, emerged in Argentinos Juniors and there he began to show his good condition. So much so that caught the attention of the City groupwho bought his pass and transferred it to the Uruguayan City Torque.

From there he went to Zwolle in Dutch football and then returned to South America with a short-lived stint with Palmeiras and another slightly longer one with LDU de Quito. He had his best performance in Pumas in Mexico and tried his luck again in Europe – in Olympiakos in Greece – to now end up in Miami. It will be important with the Ukrainian Serhiy Kryvtsov and with the Argentine Tomás Avilés on the last line, one of the main deficits in the last campaign.

The other important player that Martino brought is Julian Gresselwhom he knows from his time in Atlanta United. Born in Germany 30 years ago, he plays as a midfielder -preferably right inside- and has just been important in the Columbus Crew, the last MLS champion. His arrival will give some air to Busquets, for whom the central circle seemed enormous due to the quick transitions typical of MLS soccer. They value his talent and also his experience: he has accumulated 210 games in the American league between his spells with Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, DC United and Vancouver Whitecaps, with 25 goals and 56 assists.

The last reinforcement is another Argentine, Federico Redondo, which was announced in the last hours after long negotiations. He is a mini Busquets, who will also give him balance and exit from the middle. The midfielder comes from being an important player in the Argentine Under 23 National Team led by Javier Mascherano that qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He is 21 years old and it is a great bet: they paid eight million dollars for 75% of his chip.

The casualties category is broader. Brazilian midfielder Gregore de Magalhaes, Colombian striker Emerson Rodriguez Valois, Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, Swedish defender Chris McVey, Argentine midfielder Nicolás Stefanelli, Canadian defender Kamal Miller, Dutch goalkeeper Nick Marsman, Costa Rican midfielder Cameron left Johnson Cruz. Of all of them, those who played the most were Miller and Martínez. But their places were better covered, a priori, by Freire and Suárez.

The new Inter Miami is coming. Reloaded. A new dream for Messi begins. “The team we want will only be seen on the third or fourth date,” Martino warns. But he does it with a smile. He knows that only now, beyond winning the Leagues Cup, does he begin his work as a goldsmith for the MLS all-star team.