Javier Mescherano faces a dilemma – how can Miami keep their star man fit while also pushing for every possible trophy?
At half time, Rodrigo De Paul sprinted to Lionel Messi's locker. There sat Messi, relaxed, disappointed – but assured. De Paul and Miami, meanwhile, were reaching the point of existential terror. Messi had gone off injured in the 11th minute of their Leagues Cup fixture with Necaxa.
He was able to walk off without help, but uncertainty about his status was rife.
"I can't even describe to you how I felt when I saw him go down like that. Everyone knows he's not just a player, he's the soul of the team, the soul of the whole football," De Paul said after the game.
Messi assured him in the locker room. There was no rip, tear or pop. Instead, Messi had felt a tweak – what Javier Mascherano described as "discomfort." Still, De Paul's existential dread pointed to what might yet be a larger problem for Miami here. Messi is 38, he will need to miss games.
Messi completed his third consecutive full training session with his teammates and will be included in Javier Mascherano’s squad for Saturday’s MLS match against LA Galaxy, with the manager saying Friday, "Leo is fine, he’s been training with the team since Wednesday – you’ve seen him yourselves – and we believe he’ll be in the squad."
But what this season has already made clear is that those moments when he goes to ground and can't get up with the same spring are becoming increasingly common. Indeed, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner needs protecting more than ever – or Miami's title hopes might crumble.
Getty Images SportA near-impossible decision
In retrospect, should Messi have even played against Necaxa? He didn't need to suit up after just one day of actual rest following their nervy, ugly, narrow 2-1 win over Atlas. Athletes of his age tend to get time to recover, recuperate, and work their way back. They rarely play a full 90 minutes at all. But Messi is not normal. He has more control, more autonomy.
There is a club issue, and a player issue.
For Miami, it's a near impossible decision. Mascherano may be the manager, but his actual power here is admittedly limited. He has been hired in large part because of is relationship with Messi – not due to his coaching nous or ability to control a locker room.
Messi seemingly tells Mascherano that he is able to play, and Mascherano agrees. The club, meanwhile, have a certain obligation – fair or otherwise – to MLS writ large. They were fined last year for giving Sergio Busquets a night off on a road trip to Vancouver. There is a league-wide expectation that Messi will show up to every game – the league even suspended Messi for not playing in the annual summer All-Star Game – and play every second that he possibly can.
And more broadly, how do you tell the best of all time that he shouldn't play? To be sure, Messi knows his body. But he is also an ultimate competitor. He has probably played through bumps, niggles and knocks throughout his career.
Messi is in his 22nd professional season, and had played in more than 1,100 matches, not including the youth level. Still, this is a footballer trying to squeeze every last ounce of sport out of his aging body. Can you really begrudge him for wanting to put the boots on?
AdvertisementGettyA loaded schedule
It would be easier to accept, of course, if Miami were on a simple, predictable and reasonable cadence of fixtures. The reality is, the Herons are being put through the ringer. The month of June, in particular, was grueling. Miami competed in both MLS and the Club World Cup. The latter tournament was a strain on every collective sinew of the Herons squad, presenting four high-intensity fixtures against (mostly) superior competition.
They picked up three injuries in the first game. Messi looked exhausted by the third and fourth. Even the amateur body language experts of social media could tell that something was amiss. Miami were thrust back into MLS, and now have Leagues Cup to contend with.
Messi – ever the good soldier, MLS ASG notwithstanding – played 11 matches from June 14 to July 30. He started all of them, and didn't get subbed off once. This is not a normal thing to ask of any footballer, never mind someone in the twilight of their career. Mascherano has repeatedly complained about how packed the schedule is, and admitted that Messi needed rest.
"Our initial plan was to give him some rest," Mascherano revealed after their win over New England Revolution last month. "But once New England scored, we felt the pressure and decided to keep him on. In the next few matches, we need to find the right moment to let him rest."
AFPResponding to Messi-mania
But finding those moments is impossible. There are a multitude of reasons. The painfully obvious, and perhaps too easily ignored, one, is that Messi is a star player. Miami aren't entirely reliant on him, but they're close.
Multiple people, both around the club and observing from afar, pointed out that the Herons managed to rack up results last summer when Messi was out with an ankle injury. But that was also a kind slate of fixtures, and coincided with a fine run of form from the now-really-aging Luis Suarez.
How vital is he? Messi's goalscoring streak this summer included braces in five straight games and six out of seven, leading Mascherano to gush, "He generates all of this. I think the admiration is total, but it’s not just because of the kind of footballer he is. I think he’s a role model, someone who transcends the sport. Any sports fan feels admiration for athletes like Messi, Michael Jordan, Rafael Nadal – people who have made history in their sport. We are very privileged to witness this up close.”
And there remains the obligation to the league. Messi-mania has tempered since he first arrived in the league. Those early days felt like a fever dream frenzy of Leopropaganda. Fans paid into the thousands to see him do his thing, while he was relentlessly marketed both online and in advertising campaigns. You couldn't avoid it.
And even things are a little calmer now, Messi is still the centerpiece of the whole league. MLS still has quite a fun identity without him, but Miami are expected to run him out whenever they can. He is, after all, what most of the fans pay for.
And perhaps most importantly, every game feels important for Miami. Unlike some of the competitions Messi would have played in during his Barcelona or PSG days, there are no fixtures that the Herons can coast through. MLS matters, but so does Leagues Cup. They clearly also took the Club World Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup seriously.
There are no off days here.
Getty Images SportHow to keep a GOAT going
So what are some solutions here? The first fortunate timing of international breaks. Messi picked up a freak adductor injury, ever so conveniently, right before Argentina's international qualifying window earlier this year. In a wonderful stroke of luck, he was back just in time to play for Miami next time out. Those windows can certainly offer some rest, and there is one in both September and October.
More broadly, it depends on where Miami stands as the season trundles along. The hard part of their schedule, in all honesty, is done. Miami sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, seven behind second-place FC Cincinnati and nine back of the leaders, Philadelphia Union. They've only had one win in their last four league matches, and have the LA Galaxy, D.C. United Chicago Fire coming up – along with a Leagues Cup match against Tigres next week.
There would certainly be scope for a night off there. The same can be said for another three game slate of Toronto, New England and Atlanta United, later on in the season. They only play one team, Nashville, higher than them in the Eastern Conference standings over the rest of the season. If they get it right, Miami can pick and choose, work Messi in and out of the side, and figure out the optimal moments to at least bench him.
Or, they just might have to accept that they might not get the full version of Messi, the best genre of his experience. Sure, the rest of the regular season might offer scope for some time off. But the playoffs won't. And once again, they will be grueling three game series against very good sides. Miami could draw one Columbus or Orlando City, based on current standings. Neither would be a fun matchup.
There is also the option to bring him off the bench. During the end of his Real Madrid tenure, Luka Modric would supposedly just tell Carlo Ancelotti roughly how many minutes he could play on any given night – and the manager would oblige. Perhaps they can figure out a similar system.
In any case, Messi's legs aren't getting any younger. Miami need to figure out how – and when – to make the most of them.