Inter Miami head coach Cristian “Kily” González said Argentina will miss Lionel Messi terribly following the captain’s international retirement before urging fans to enjoy his time with the MLS club.
“[The farewell match] was incredibly intense,” González said on Friday. “Obviously, I was very close to him, but ultimately, that moment belonged to him, it was his time.
“All that mattered was for him to enjoy it. I just told him to enjoy it, to soak up all the love, not just from Argentina, but from the whole world.
“He’ll be missed in that jersey, of course, but today we have him here, and we have to enjoy having him with us now.
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“He’s going to miss it, from the day he retires until the day he’s no longer around. I have no doubt that, for him, the national team was all about wearing that jersey; he’ll always miss the mark he left and the legacy he created there. But unfortunately, we won’t see him in that jersey anymore, so those of us here have to enjoy it. Now he’s ours, so I have to enjoy it.”
González added that Messi left a lasting legacy with Argentina due to his competitive nature, inspiring those around him to improve every day.
“Leo is someone who conveys a certain mindset every day; he demands that his teammates, and all of us, give 100% in every respect,” González said.
“He’s a born competitor. You see it in every training session, and it’s incredible. He’s 39 years old, yet he’s constantly seeking out new challenges. That’s fantastic for everyone, not just his teammates, but the staff and the club as well.
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“He pushes you to be better every single day.
“That’s why he’s such an example; as I said before, he’ll be missed on the national team because he left a legacy there, and he’s leaving a legacy here too, the club changed the day he arrived.
“He drives us to improve daily and to be prepared in every way. And he’s happy, I see him enjoying himself, and that makes me very happy, too.”
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Messi and Inter Miami now prepare to face D.C. United on Saturday night at Nu Stadium in the first game back after the international break.
“We’re in a good place. The guys who returned from their respective national teams are doing really well,” González said. “We’ve trained effectively, and we know we need to get back to winning, that’s a given. We have a few matches to settle in properly, reach the final stretch of the season in top form, and fine-tune the details so we can be the best team possible.”
Inter Miami currently sits in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 46 points in 27 games following a five-match winless streak in MLS. The Herons recorded one loss and four draws in their last five regular-season MLS games.
Inter Miami did, however, defeat Cruz Azul 2-0 in the Campeones Cup on Sept. 16.
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“We have a very clear idea of what we want and what we’re aiming for. Defensively, we need to be much better; we’re facing an opponent that relies heavily on transitions and is very dangerous in those situations, so we have to guard against that.
“At the same time, we can’t lose sight of the fact that we need to take the initiative and go out to win the match. As I just said, we need to get back to winning ways, and hopefully, we can achieve that.”
Inter Miami will then host New York City FC on Oct. 14 at Nu Stadium.
