Javier Mascherano’s explosive announcement about Lionel Messi

Inter Miami announced on Friday that the team will travel to Peru and Panama to play two pre-season matches, during a special major tour organized in North, South and Central America before the start of the campaign MLS 2025. The Herons are scheduled to begin the tour on January 18 by taking on Club América in Las Vegas, Nevada, before traveling to Peru to play the reigning Peruvian First Division champions, Club Universitario de Deportes, in Lima on January 29. A few days later, Inter Miami will face Sporting San Miguelito in Panama City, Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez on February 2. Javier Mascherano, new coach of Inter Miami, spoke in an exclusive conversation with ESPN from his first experience as a club head coach, showing his enthusiasm to manage Lionel Messi and his former friends at FC Barcelona. On the eve of the Herons’ first training sessions, the Argentine coach also spoke about the transfer market.

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Between direct messages sent to his players, striking announcements about the transfer window and golden promises for the coming season, the man who replaced Tata Martino on the Chase Stadium bench did not mince his words: “We are concerned about being able to build a squad and not an eleven, because we are going to need everyone, it will be a very long season, where we suffer losses due to injuries or suspensions, and whoever has to step on the field has to show that he is capable of being part of this team. Being able to build a great team is the big goal. We will try to arrive at the Club World Cup in the best way, but our goal today is not to think about that. We have the start of the CONCACAF Champions League and MLS, which is the most urgent. That’s the most important thing. We must not look beyond the next match. In football, the most important thing is the next match“, first summed up the Argentine coach. It is true that the season promises to be crucial for the Florida franchise, competing in four competitions.

No gifts for his friends

Javier Mascherano also spoke at a press conference organized by MLS and was consulted on the management of Messi, with whom he shared many years at Barcelona and in the Argentine national team: “We take it naturally, obviously knowing that everyone has their role, but I am not one of those who try to force things or demonstrate something that does not need to be demonstrated. In the end, not only my relationship with Leo, but also with Luis (Suárez), with Jordi (Alba), with Busi (Busquets), we have been experiencing extraordinary things for a long time and nothing is going to change that. Yes, obviously, I am clear that they and I have common goals and we will try to help each other achieve them. Our relationship outside the club will remain the same, in that sense I don’t like mixing things up“, declared the former FC Barcelona and Liverpool player. If the formalization of his arrival in Miami gave rise to certain bad jokes linked to Lionel Messi’s supposed influence on the team due to the tactician’s proximity to the Pulga, the former coach of the Argentine U17s and U20s wants prove why David Beckham and Jorge Mas have set their sights on his profile.

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Already knowing the locker room executives personally is a good thing, but Mascherano does not want any special treatment. Indeed, the 40-year-old Argentinian emphasized the importance of establishing a relationship with all the elements of his workforce, in order to move forward collectively without inequality between each member: “I want to start training and get to know the players. Ultimately, for a coach, the best thing happens in that hour and a half where you get to spend time with the players and learn from them. Contrary to what everyone believes, players teach you much more than a coach can teach them. We will try to start in the best way, with enthusiasm, creating a very good climate that allows us to enjoy every day, because this will allow us to arrive in the best possible way to the different competitions“, he detailed. Inter Miami’s season begins on February 18 with a Concacaf Champions Cup series against Sporting Kansas City, just days before MLS kicks off on February 22.

Details of his project

During the big annual media day, Javier Mascherano also presented his tactical system and his playing philosophy: “I feel very comfortable when the team controls the game through possession of the ball, trying to play as much time as possible in the rival’s field and being the owner. of the game in that sense, also trying to be intense when we don’t have the ball, I am convinced that with the players we have and those who can arrive, they will adapt in our way, or our idea will adapt to the situation. We seek to form a team that is hungry, that they always play the same way, regardless of the opponent, with the nuances of each match, but that the style of the team does not vary“. With the departures of certain key players including Leonardo Campana, Sergiy Kryvtsov, Matías Rojas but especially Diego Gómez, Miami management must work to give the necessary weapons to Javier Mascherano and his staff. In the direction of arrivals, Inter Miami strengthened its defense with David Martínez from River Plate. Fafà Picault set down his bags to provide offensive help to Lionel Messi:

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«Regarding the formation of the team, we have had several losses, because of loans that ended, because of some sales, because of people that we could not renew, and we are trying to finish the transfer window with some incorporations. I have faith and I have almost certainty that in these days they will finish locking in some reinforcements that we have requested, and from there we will start to form the team to be able to start the pre-season. We are looking for competitive players, with the ambition to come here to win things. We know that beyond the fact that we have players who can attract many others, the responsibility must be placed on our shoulders, and that is not for everyone. We are therefore looking for players with mentality, personality and hierarchy, which in the end is what ends up making the difference», concluded Javier Mascherano. Note that Inter Miami will conclude the international portion of the tour with a friendly match against Deportivo Olimpia at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on February 8, before returning to Florida to face Orlando City in Tampa on February 14.