Miami boss tells team to ignore new stadium party
MIAMI — Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano insists his players must avoid being distracted by the festivities surrounding the opening of Nu Stadium on Saturday night, and instead channel the excitement as motivation to claim three points.
The visit of Austin FC will mark the Herons’ long-awaited debut at the 26,700-capacity stadium at Miami Freedom Park, after playing at its temporary home in Fort Lauderdale since arriving in MLS in 2020.
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“Well, ultimately, we have to be careful about how we manage our emotions,” Mascherano told reporters on Thursday. “We know this is a celebratory day for the club, as they are inaugurating their new stadium — the stadium they had dreamed of since the very beginning, and which took so much effort to build.
“Now, finally, it has become a reality. However, we are obviously going into a match where our primary objective is to maintain the momentum we’ve built — especially after the great game we played in New York — while keeping in mind that the best way to celebrate is after the match, and with a victory.
“We must try not to get too caught up in all the festivities and hype surrounding the pre-match celebration; often — whether consciously or subconsciously — that sort of atmosphere tends to make you relax too much. Instead, what we need to do is harness all that positive energy that will be in the air, channel it onto the pitch and strive to secure the win.”
The team trained at Nu Stadium for the first time on Thursday morning in front of fans and media, testing out the Bermudagrass pitch.
Lionel Messi, Noah Allen and Alex Shaw failed to participate in the final portion of the training session after returning from international duty. Messi played the full 90 minutes as world champions Argentina beat Zambia 5-0 in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
“Neither Leo [Messi], nor Noah, [Allen] nor Alex [Shaw] — the three players who played on Tuesday and logged the most minutes — were scheduled to participate fully; we had already planned it that way,” Mascherano said.
“It hasn’t even been 48 hours since they finished playing, so we simply wanted them to move around a bit in a regenerative manner … So, really, it’s just a matter of exercising the standard, common-sense caution we apply to all our players. Again, we had planned it this way all along.”
Mascherano later confirmed that Messi is in good shape and should be available to feature in Saturday’s game.
“He looked good — the reality is that, physically, they have no issues whatsoever. And barring any unforeseen complications, he will be playing on Saturday.”
Messi scored in Miami’s 3-2 win over New York City FC before the international break, a victory which took the MLS Cup champions up to third place in the Eastern Conference.