Tag Archives: Charlotte FC

Lionel Messi & Inter Miami CF to Play El Salvador in Friendly This January

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Lionel Messi is heading to Central American…

The 36-year-old Argentine soccer star and his Inter Miami CF teammates will begin their preparations for the 2024 season with a friendly against the El Salvador national team in San Salvador on January 19, the club announced Thursday.

Lionel Messi The game at the Estadio Cuscatlán is the first confirmed match for Inter Miami ahead of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season, which is expected to begin in late February.

“We’re excited to start announcing our preseason plans and preparations ahead of a thrilling 2024 campaign,” Inter Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said.

“We look forward to facing the El Salvador national team in what will be a good first test for our squad against the best players from the country.”

The announcement follows Inter Miami’s denial last week that it had agreed to take part in the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia in February. Event organizers had announced that Messi and Miami would face off against Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Saudi Pro League team Al Nassr as part of the event.

Inter Miami, though, said the announcement was “inaccurate” but that it looked forward to “showcasing our players on Inter Miami CF’s first international tour which will be announced in the coming weeks.”

Inter Miami, which failed to make the MLS playoffs, finished the 2023 season with a loss to Charlotte FC on October 21. The club then took on New York City FC in a friendly on November 10 to celebrate Messi’s record-extending eighth Ballon d’or award.

Despite failing to make the postseason, Messi made a huge impression when joining the club along with fellow former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in July. Messi scored 10 goals to lead Miami to its first-ever title with the Leagues Cup as fans across the U.S. clamored to see the Argentine World Cup winner in action.

El Salvador is ranked 78th in the latest FIFA rankings and most recently drew home and away against Curaçao earlier this month.

Also on Thursday, Inter Miami announced that it has sold out season tickets for 2024, just over two weeks after they went on sale.

Chris Armas Named New Manager of MLS’ Colorado Rapids

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Chris Armas is Rapids-ly headed to The Centennial State.

The Colorado Rapids have hired the 51-year-old Puerto Rican professional soccer coach and former player to be their next manager, according to ESPN.

Chris Armas Armas replaces Robin Fraser, who was dismissed in September with the Rapids languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Chris Little, who was also a finalist, took over on an interim basis, leading the club to a 2-4-2 mark.

That wasn’t enough to move the Rapids off the bottom of the table, as Colorado finished the season with 27 points and a record of 5-17-12.

Sources tell ESPN that Charlotte FC assistant Pa Modou Ka was also a finalist, as were two unnamed foreign managers.

Armas had the most managerial experience of any of the confirmed candidates.

Starting in 2015, he served as an assistant with the New York Red Bulls under Jesse Marsch, and took over as manager following Marsch’s departure midway through the 2018 campaign, leading the Red Bulls to that year’s Supporters Shield.

Armas struggled thereafter, however. He was let go by the Red Bulls midway through the 2020 season, and lasted less than a year as manager of Toronto FC as the team failed to produce results in 2021.

Armas later served as an assistant at Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick, and had a short stint with Leeds United where he was briefly reunited with Marsch.

As a player, Armas spent time in MLS with the LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire, the latter of which he won an MLS Cup with in 1998.

Armas also made 66 appearances with the U.S. men’s national team.

Lionel Messi Scores Again & Helps Lead Inter Miami CF to Leagues Cup Semifinals

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Lionel Messi continues his goal-scoring streak…

The 36-year-old Argentine soccer star maintained his record of scoring in every game for Inter Miami CF as his new team cruised into the Leagues Cup semifinals with a 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday.

Lionel MessiMessi’s eighth goal in five games since his arrival came with just four minutes remaining and with Miami already three goals up for the perfect finale for the close to 22,000 in attendance at DRV PNK Stadium.

Miami will travel to face last year’s Eastern Conference champions Philadelphia Union on Tuesday as they seek to continue their remarkable turnaround since welcoming the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Josef Martínez scored Miami’s opening goal in the 12th minute. He took a penalty ahead of Messi for the second time in three games and once again found the net.

Miami’s second goal came just past the 30-minute mark. With Messi’s run into the penalty box taking the attention of multiple Charlotte defenders, U.S. international DeAndre Yedlin found the run of a wide open Robert Taylor to sweep home a low shot from the center of the area.

“When you have Messi, you know he just needs a chance. He just needs one second,” Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio said. “You have to be very sharp to stop him from producing the magic he’s been producing since he went to Barcelona when he was 16.”

Perhaps no player has flourished more since Messi’s arrival than Taylor. After scoring five goals in 52 MLS appearances pre-Messi, the Finnish midfielder has four goals in five games with the Argentine great alongside him.

The impact on the team has been similar. Previously averaging just one goal per game as one of the lowest scorers in MLS, Miami has been scoring at a rate of more than three goals a game since the man with more than 800 career goals arrived.

After conceding four times in a wild round-of 16 victory at FC Dallas on Sunday, Miami’s defense also held its own at home.

With Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets shielding Miami’s backline, Charlotte didn’t manage a shot on target until the 55th minute. And though the visitors posed more of an attacking threat after some half-time changes, Miami was rarely troubled.

At the other end, Messi kept pulling the strings. With 12 minutes left, he released Diego Gomez with an inch-perfect pass down the left, and the substitute’s cross was turned into his own net by Charlotte defender Adilson Malanda.

“It’s beautiful to play with each other again,” said Busquets, a former Messi teammate with Barcelona.

For those in attendance, including Argentina’s World Cup-winning coach Lionel Scaloni, the only thing missing was a Messi goal. Not one to disappoint, Messi duly delivered it after an assist from Leonardo Campana.

Messi passed Minnesota United FC‘s Bongokuhle Hlongwane for the lead in Leagues Cup goals; each entered Friday with seven in four matches. Minnesota was eliminated in a 5-0 loss at Nashville SC.

It was the second consecutive game and third time in four outings in which Miami scored four goals, part of the massive turnaround of team that is in last place in Major League Soccer‘s Eastern Conference.

Inter now is just two wins away from the first trophy in the team’s short history and a 44th in the legendary career of their new No. 10.