FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Inter Miami star Lionel Messi is a game-time decision for Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final against the Houston Dynamo.
Messi was subbed off during the 37th minute of Inter Miami’s win over Toronto on Sept. 20 due to muscle fatigue and has not played since, missing one game for his MLS club and one international fixture for Argentina.
Ahead of the Open Cup final, Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said on Tuesday that though Messi trained that morning, the club will wait “until the last moment” to decide his availability for Wednesday’s match.
Martino also said another high-profile Miami player, defender Jordi Alba, is doubtful to play in the final.
Unlike most other professional American sports leagues, MLS does not require teams to submit injury reports. As a result, some coaches including Martino say they are reluctant to voluntarily provide information that in their view could help the preparation of opposing teams.
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However, Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said Houston is still preparing as if Messi is going to play.
“We’re pretty sure he’ll play,” Olsen said. “We’ll prepare for them in that way. They’ve got some options if that isn’t the case. But we’ll prepare for their best lineup unless we hear something more concrete.”
Multiple members of the Dynamo have faced Messi previously in competitions outside of the United States. As a member of the U.S. national team, Olsen played against Messi and Argentina in the 2007 Copa America. Dynamo captain Héctor Herrera, a midfielder for the Mexican national team, faced Messi last fall in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And Dynamo defender Erik Sviatchenko played against prime Messi and Barcelona in the Champions League as a member of Celtic back in 2017.
Sviatchenko said he’s not putting too much stock into his previous game against Messi, but is rather leaning on his entire career experience as a 15-year veteran.
“I think in football it’s very difficult just to give a map or a screenplay and say, ‘Hey, I have this for you guys and you just follow this and you’ll be fine,’” Sviatchenko said. “It rarely happens like that. So it’s down to the kind of small incidents, small momentum things — and of course, us (players) with more experience, we need to have a great game. We need to be the guys that players can rely on. … Don’t think about that it’s a final, don’t think about it’s Messi or whoever. You have a chance here to win something. That’s more important than anything else.”
While Messi is the focal point at the No. 10 position, Miami’s attack boasts numerous other threats including Leonardo Campana and Jose Martínez. Limiting free kick opportunities will be a huge point of emphasis for the Dynamo, even more so with Messi in the mix.
“There’s been thousands of coaches that have tried to stop him and thousands of coaches have failed constantly, so I don’t have the magic bullet to stop Messi,” Olsen said. “No one has proven that they do have that. But of course, we’re all trying to do the same thing: limit his space and condense the areas. There’s all these little tricks that you can do to try to limit him. But they’ve also put together a very good supporting cast around him so now you dial in too much there and there’s a lot of other guys that can hurt you.”
Would the Dynamo prefer the chance to go up against Messi, or prefer perhaps an easier path to a trophy without him on the field?
“It’s a difficult question, you know?” said Dynamo midfielder Artur. “Of course, you always want to play against Messi and so there is a balance of wanting to compete at the highest level you can, but also having maybe a better chance. But it’s helpful to know, like I said, they played yesterday in Orlando without him and got a good result (a 1-1 draw).”
Artur and Sviatchenko said they hope Dynamo players will not be too awestruck when defending Messi. Olsen said he hopes the Dynamo’s experience playing against other elite MLS stars, like Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar, will serve them well against Messi.
“I hope we go after him in the same way we would go after all the other great 10s that we meet,” Olsen said. “I’m not underselling him. He is who he is. He’s a remarkable player, but relishing in this opportunity that we have to play this team, with the individuals they have, is I think the right mentality that we should have.”