No show: Inter Miami will face the Dynamo tonight without iconic captain Lionel Messi | OneFootball

‘It is what it is.’ Mascherano playing for ALL the marbles

Once again, the Messi Effect transcends the game he plays. Lionel Messi is both a wildly popular international celebrity and a professional athlete, one of the most marketable personalities on Earth and captain of Club Internacional de Futbol Miami’s soccer team. Sometimes, the two are incompatible.

Miami Herald soccer writer Michele Kaufman reported Saturday that Messi did not travel with the Herons to Texas and would not play in the team’s second MLS regular match of the season today. The Argentine icon isn’t injured but, at 37, needs more time to recover than he once did. With Inter Miami hosting Cavalier FC of Jamaica in a Concacaf Champions Cup match Thursday, first-year coach Javier Mascherano decided to give him the match off.

Since Messi came to South Florida and brought several of his legendary former teammates with him (including former center Javier Mascherano), Inter Miami’s profile has sky-rocketed. While Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez don the Pink & Black, the Herons are in demand. But success can be a challenge as well as a blessing.

On Friday, Mascherano told Kaufman that Messi is fine and is training with the team (Messi came out of the Herons’ match against Kansas City early last week, causing speculation he may have suffered an injury. Mascherano did not say anything about Messi missing tonight’s match, but he did talk about managing his roster with such a congested schedule.

“Look, every situation and season is different and you have to put everything in context…when we talk about being able to rotate and rest the players, we must see the context….It is what it is, we adapt to the circumstances,” Mascherano said.

When it learned Messi would not play, the Dynamo announced it would offer free tickets to a match later this season to people who bought tickets for the Miami match. According to an Athlon Sports story published in the Kansas City Star, the announcement created a social media stir. Ian Quillen of Inter Heron’s FanSided sister site MLS Multiplex filed this report.