Even with its unique charm, David Beckham’s speech was not heard by the 15,000 or so booing fans left at the Hong Kong stadium.
A banner on the ground reads “Refund, Refund, Refund.”
This all happened because Lionel Messi injured his hip adductor muscle and was ruled out of Inter Miami’s preseason friendly in Hong Kong.
Even Luis Suárez, who was always a bridesmaid, could not appear as a substitute.
South China Morning Post described Messi’s absence as “the biggest disappointment in history”. Apparently, lack of physical ability is no longer a reason not to play soccer.
With Messi in town, the 40,000-seater stadium had just been sold out, with seats costing £100 per person.
Taking Messi out of the equation means removing the problem, if there was one in the first place.
The Hong Kong government said the Major Sporting Events Commission (MSEC) had provided organizer Tatler Asia with a HK$16 million (£1.5 million) grant for the event.
“The government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed in the organizers’ arrangement regarding Messi not taking part in today’s match. The organizers owe an explanation to all football fans,” the statement said. .
“MSEC will take follow-up measures with the organizers in accordance with the regulations, including the reduction of funds due to Messi’s absence from the match.”
The Hong Kong debacle is just the next disastrous leg of Messi’s magical mystery tour. It started with a 0-0 snoozefest against the El Salvadoran national team, two weeks and 15,000 kilometers away. Inter Miami could only manage two shots on target against a goalkeeper who had never left his home country.
Miami then lost 1-0 to FC Dallas in front of a crowd of 32,000 at the 92,000-capacity Cotton Bowl. At this time, the visiting team had three shots on target.
Then on to Riyadh and an unexpected highlight of the tour. Miami once again only had three shots on target, but they scored three times and Messi also converted a penalty in the 4-3 loss to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s Al Hilal.
This was supposed to be the penultimate waltz into the impending last dance, the final showdown between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, before the latter withdrew with a calf injury.
So in this seven-game, 37,000km journey, this is neither the first nor the last disappointment. marca He named it “Last Dance Disaster.” Messi came off the bench for seven minutes and played calmly as Al Nasr won 6-0, allowing Aymeric Laporte to score from the halfway line.
But those seven minutes were enough to further irritate his hip adductor problem, starting a chain of events that led to Beckham’s vilification in Hong Kong.
Miami ran out 4-1 winners, but none of the “big four” of Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba started the game, although the latter two were substituted in the 62nd minute. Participated.
Messi held a press conference to apologize for his absence, pointing out that he held public training sessions and met with fans during his injury. He also said that he is “a little tired from the whole tour, so I want to finish the last match and go home.”
The final game in Asia will be against Andres Iniesta’s former team, Vissel Kobe, before returning to Miami and hosting Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s childhood club. Their season begins on February 22nd against Real Salt Lake.
Here’s the thing – Inter Miami isn’t very good. They finished 27th out of 29 teams in Major League Soccer last season, finishing the season without a win in seven competitive games.
Despite renewed hype, packed nights at DRV PNK Stadium, and winning their first trophy, the League’s Cup, they are still a barely functioning team, even by MLS standards. Former Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino didn’t make the team any better than when he was coached by Phil Neville.
Beckham and others would like to see Inter Miami’s history divided into the “Early Years (2020-23)” and the “Lionel Messi Era (2023-Present)” as per the Wikipedia page. At this point, there is no evidence that anything other than cosmetic changes will occur. This may not be the last time Beckham gets booed.