Lionel Messi is already in freezing Dallas to deliver his second performance in Inter Miami’s frenetic preseason

Lionel Messi will play its second preseason game this Monday with InterMiami in the cold city of Dallas, in the state of Texas, where he will face the local franchise which also participates in increasingly sought-after competitions Major League Soccer. The meeting with FCDallas It will be played starting at 8pm (Argentina time, with Apple TV broadcast) at the Cotton Bowl stadium, remembered for being one of the venues of the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Messi and his teammates arrived last night in Dallas, where temperatures dipped below freezing, just four days after staying in hot and humid weather The Saviour for the start of the team’s frenetic and charged traveling preparation Gerardo Martino. Las Garzas drew goalless against the Central American team and are nine consecutive games without a win since last year. The captain of the national team and the newest winner of the award The best of FIFA He only played the first half and was then replaced.

Tata once again called on the team’s numbers for this commitment in the city that saw John Fitzgerald Kennedy die just over sixty years ago. In addition to Messi, Dallas will feature Luis Suárez, who made his debut for his new club against El Salvador, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. His rival has in his ranks the Argentinians Facundo Quignon and Alan Velasco, returning from a serious injury.

As for those who traveled to El Salvador, Martino included the Argentine Nicola Stefanelliwhich adds to the presence of the young Tomás Avilés and will replace him Facundo Fariasagain suffering from a ruptured cruciate ligament which will keep him inactive for more than six months.

The friendly will take place at the iconic Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where the Argentine team faced Bulgaria shortly after the tumultuous departure of Diego Armando Maradona of the 1994 World Cup in the United States for the doping that precipitated his end as a footballer for the Argentine national team after considering that “they cut off the legs”.

The stadium has a capacity of 92,000 spectators and will host a match of the local franchise after 15 years. FC Dallas usually plays at Toyota Stadium in Texas, where River Plate faced Pachuca in a warm-up friendly on Saturday night.

An agenda full of matches

After the match against FC Dallas, Inter Miami will return to train in Miami for a week before getting back on the plane and traveling to Saudi Arabia.

They will face each other on January 29th Al Hilalcurrent leader of the Saudi league, and the scheduled clash will take place on February 1st “The Last Dance” against Al NassrCristiano Ronaldo’s team.

After that clash in the land of sheikhs and petrodollars, Inter Miami will continue east to land in Hong Kong, China, where on February 4th a team made up of the league’s stars will face the local Hong Kong All-Stars. .

In the last phase of the marathon tour, they will arrive in Japan to face Vissel Kobe in the capital Tokyo on Wednesday 7th. It won’t be a simple “friendly match”: the presence of Andrés Iniesta, a player who said goodbye to that club, is expected, and who will have the chance to meet up not only with Messi but also with his former teammates Suárez, Busquets and Alba.

From there, with all the jet lag in the world in tow (literally) and several million dollars raisedDavid Beckham’s team will take the last plane that will transport them to the United States but this time crossing the skies of the Pacific Ocean.

In addition to the benefits it will obtain from playing each match, the American team’s strategy is to strengthen its presence in the Asian market, where Messi is a marketing phenomenon that both Barcelona and the Argentine national team have already been able to cultivate.

As if it were a reward for so many kilometers travelled, Messi will have a surprise on February 15th when he plays his last preseason match, against none other than Newell’s and at its new home, DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, where it plays home.

That crash against the Leprosy It will be the week before Messi’s first official match, Wednesday 21 February against Royal Salt Lake, the other team that will cross the borders of the United States to play a pair of duels in Portugal. The first step in a very busy agenda which until March includes commitments for the MLS but also for the Concacaf Champions League and two friendlies with Argentina national team in China.

Source: agencies