Lionel Messi’s suspension caused quite a stir recently. However, coach Javier Mascherano was able to see a silver lining.
There was a huge outcry when MLS Commissioner Don Garber recently banned Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba from the Eastern Conference top match between Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati (0-0). “A difficult decision,” explained Garber, who had no choice because Messi and Jordi Alba had pulled out of the All-Star Game in Texas at short notice, with the rules stipulating a one-match ban.
Messi had reacted “very angrily” to the decision, as did his coach Javier Mascherano at first. The Inter Miami coach spoke of “madness,” but has now taken a much more conciliatory tone. The 41-year-old even said that the suspension of the World Cup-winning captain had been “good” for his team.
“The truth is that we had to give him a break,” Mascherano said before Inter’s opening game in the Leagues Cup against Atlas Guadalajara from Mexico on Thursday night (1:30 a.m. CEST). The enforced break was urgently needed for Messi “after many consecutive games” in order to “start the new marathon of games,” Mascherano continued: “So now he’s a little more rested.”
And just like Jordi Alba, he is ready for the game against Guadalajara, “if they don’t suspend him,” Mascherano added smugly.
De Paul waiting for visa
However, Messi’s Argentine national teammate Rodrigo de Paul, who recently joined from Atletico Madrid, could be missing. De Paul is still waiting for his visa. “If he is cleared, he will be in the squad, that’s clear,” Mascherano said.
