The Cincinnati tactic interpreter, Pat Noonan, believes that Lionel Messi has changed the face of Inter Miami. Cincinnati will have a match against Inter Miami in the semifinals of the US Open Cup 2023. The Cincinnati vs Inter Miami match on the US Open Cup 2023 schedule will take place at the TQL Stadium on Thursday (24/8/2023).
Pat Noonan realizes the quality of Lionel Messi. He said that the player nicknamed La Pulga had made a real change for Inter Miami. Since Messi’s arrival, Inter Miami has played very well. The Herons are unbeaten in seven straight matches in the 2023 Leagues Cup.
This series of positive results led Inter Miami to lift the 2023 Leagues Cup trophy. Apart from that, Messi is also like a superman. Because, his arrival was able to stop the bad trend of Inter Miami.
“Inter Miami had never won in 11 matches in the league, before (Messi) arrived,” said Pat Noonan, quoted from the official US Soccer website. “Now, they have never lost. This is because there is the world’s best player, or one of the best in the world who changes the dynamics, from professionalism to quality on the field,” he said.
According to Pat Noonan, Messi’s magic has made Inter Miami players, who were previously little known, such as Robert Taylor, have better self-confidence. What’s more, Inter Miami doesn’t only have Messi. The Herons are also reinforced by Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Messi, Busquets and Alba already understand each other, considering that the three of them had defended Barcelona for a long time. In addition, Inter Miami was managed by Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who had brought Atlanta United to win Major League Soccer (MLS).
“He (Messi) makes the players around him better,” said the coach from the United States. “You see players like Robert Taylor. Then, many of these players play with different levels of confidence. You see the best version of them, and it’s not just Messi. There is also additional quality from Busquets and Alba and then, Tata Martino,” he said. “So now you have an experienced coach who has excelled not only at international level, but specifically in our league,” said Pat Noonan.
Meanwhile, Gerardo Martino revealed that Lionel Messi doesn’t want to rest yet so he’s ready to fight Cincinnati. “We said that at some point he (Messi) had to rest because of the many minutes he played,” Martino said. “Obviously Wednesday (against Cincinnati) is not the time (to rest). If he doesn’t tell me he wants to rest, he will continue playing,” he said.
