Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are BACK: The serious business starts tonight vs. Real Salt Lake after a disastrous preseason tour

• Lionel Messi’s first full season in MLS starts tonight vs. Real Salt Lake 
•  It’s been a rough preseason, but Inter Miami are still stacked with talent 
• Rasmus Hojlund meant his chest goal. It was an act of GENIUS – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast

The last time we saw Lionel Messi face an MLS side in South Florida, the mood around Inter Miami was noticeably lighter.

The club had arranged a November 10 friendly vs. New York City FC to celebrate Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or win, dubbing it ‘Noche d’ Or’ and putting a bow on what had been a promising 2023 for the team.

But when the reigning Leagues Cup champions returned to DRV PNK Stadium last week for a final tune-up vs. Newell’s Old Boys, it was hard not to feel as though some of the sheen had worn off, ahead of the club’s MLS opener on Wednesday.

Miami’s preseason was at best choppy, and at worst a disaster.

Ignoring the results, which included just one win from seven games, there was a calamity of bad press as Miami cashed in with a journey taking them to El Salvador, Dallas, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan.

The tour gained unwanted attention in just the second game vs. FC Dallas, as Messi and his teammates took the field in front of a largely-empty Cotton Bowl that was only one-third full.

From there, Messi injured his adductor muscle, angered the Hong Kong government and fans when he sat out of a friendly there, and admitted he was a ‘little tired from this whole tour’ before Miami faced Vissel Kobe.

The No. 10 also played just seven minutes in a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Al-Nassr – who were without Cristiano Ronaldo – while Sergio Busquets was taken off with an injury scare vs. Vissel Kobe. 

This is all to say: the happier days of Messi hoisting the Leagues Cup over the summer feel far away, as does the innocence of his family trip to supermarket chain Publix soon after arriving Stateside.

Crucially, though, Messi is still Messi, and there are even greater expectations for these star-studded Herons after the addition of Luis Suarez. Any team with those names will at least be in the mix for its league title.

The first full season of Miami’s ‘Big 4’ will commence tonight, at home vs. Real Salt Lake, and Suarez will not be the only new face.

Veteran wide man Julian Gressel joined after winning the league with the Columbus Crew, while Yannick Bright was added in the first round of the draft as well.

Meanwhile, defender Kamal Miller has departed after totaling the fourth-most league minutes on the team last season, while Josef Martinez and his seven goals have left as well.

The club will also be without midfielder Facundo Farias after he tore his ACL in the preseason, while highly-rated 18-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi will miss two to three months with a sports hernia, according to the team.

So, there will be lots of pieces for manager Tata Martino to mix and match as he aims to get the most out of a squad whose best players are all 34 and older.

The positive news for Martino is his two best – and oldest – attackers are still quite good despite the mileage on them.

Messi, who wasted no time opening his Miami account with a stunning free kick vs. Cruz Azul, scored 11 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions after arriving in July.

And the 37-year-old Suarez, creaky legs and all, still managed 17 goals and 11 assists in the Brazilian league this past season for Gremio.

Alba, too, remains a threat bombing up and down the left while Busquets is surely one of the league’s best passers, even if his severe lack of pace will at times hamstring him.

The worry for those four, and Miami at large, is not winning a final or coming up with the goods in a big game.

It’s staying healthy and fresh enough to get there.

Miami could flirt with 60 games this season with the team set to play in four different competitions. What will it look like when Messi inevitably rests, as Martino has already planned?

The returns were discouraging in the six MLS games that Messi missed last season after his arrival, as Miami won just once, drew three times and lost twice. And Suarez, who has dealt with repeated knee issues, has not been the most durable of late either.

The Herons were not shut out in any of those six Messi-less games, perhaps surprisingly, though they failed to top more than one goal in half of them. 

It was their defense that let them down in 5-2 and 4-1 losses to Atlanta United and the Chicago Fire respectively.

Having a full season of Tomas Aviles, a reported $9million arrival last summer, and newly-signed Pumas loanee Nicolas Freire, should help in that department. A full preseason under Martino should be beneficial as well.

Miami’s aging core is surrounded by some decent young talent, and the team’s brass deserves credit for its reshaping of its roster over the past year. 

Make no mistake about it, though – just as Apple TV’s new MLS Season Pass ad revolves around Messi, so too do Miami’s prospects this season.

He’s playing alongside his best friends, for a coach he respects, and crucially, with a clean bill of health, according to reports from the eve of the season opener.

Miami and MLS both need Messi to explode, and the 36-year-old will soon show what kind of spark he has left.