If the rumours that Lionel Messi has an offer to join Inter Miami are true, the Major League Soccer club must be hoping that the Argentine doesn’t look too closely at the team’s current state before making his choice.
With a 1-0 loss at home to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, Miami lost for the fourth time in a row. This put them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and in 27th place out of the 29 teams in the league.
When the team lost again, the fans turned on head coach Phil Neville. They put up a sign that said “Neville Out” and then booed his 20-year-old son Harvey when he came on as a sub.
Now, Neville has a home game against Wayne Rooney’s D.C. United, with whom he used to play for Manchester United and England. Neville really needs to win this game.
Neville said that he was responsible for the way the team was playing, but he was upset that his son, who had been in Miami’s youth system, was being picked on.
“The responsibility starts and ends with me,” he said.
“If you don’t like something, hit the boss. Don’t try to get one of my young children. “That hurts, and it hurts me,” Neville said.
“Hit me, you guys, I can take it. I’m good with that. I’ve had it my whole life.Our friends are the best. As a professional football boss, I can understand their anger. The banners and other things are just part of the job. I would tell the fans, “Just come for me.” Help the team, especially the young boys…Don’t pick on one of us. Just come get me, he told them.
Neville said that his son was in the team because he deserved to be there, and DeAndre Yedlin, a defender and former full-back for Newcastle United, agreed.
“We understand the fans’ frustration because we’re frustrated, too, and we haven’t done nearly enough,” Yedlin told the Miami Herald.
“We shouldn’t boo Harvey because he’s one of us. If you want to boo Harvey, you might as well boo us all. He has taken the steps he needed to take to get on the pitch and play.
“He works hard every day in training like everyone else. He isn’t just here because his dad is the coach. He’s a great player for his age. He said, “I don’t think it’s fair to go after one player, especially a young one.”
Messi has been linked to Miami for a long time, and the club hasn’t done much to stop rumours that the 35-year-old Argentine, whose contract with Paris St. Germain ends this month, will move there.
To bring the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner to MLS, the club would have to make a huge investment. However, they are hoping that the chance to end his career in the United States in a heavily Spanish-speaking area will be enough to entice him.
Inter Other sports teams in South Florida, like the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers, are doing much better. For example, the Heat are in the NBA Finals, and the Panthers are in the NHL Stanley Cup final.
Neville talked about how the Heat were able to dig deep and find a way to win when it mattered, and he will need his team to do the same against Rooney’s team.
Last season, D.C. United was the worst team in the East. This season, they are off to a good start and are in eighth place, which is close to the playoff spots.
On Saturday, the top teams in the Western Conference, the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers, meet in a rivalry game in the Pacific Northwest. The Sounders are looking to get back on track after losing to San Jose on Wednesday.
FC Cincinnati hosts the Chicago Fire, which is eight points behind them in the East.
