Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi as the main star in the team, is preparing to face a challenging season, not only in terms of sports but also logistical and physical aspects due to the distance between destinations. When the season starts, the Florida football team will travel about 38 thousand kilometers. This trip includes stops on different continents.
The journey will begin this weekend when Las Garzas face El Salvador at Cuscatlan Stadium. This is the first test of athleticism and adaptability for a squad where Messi is the center of attention. In addition, it marked Luis Suarez’s debut in the pink shirt and a reunion with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Inter Miami then immediately returned to the US because on January 23, Gerardo Martino and his team will meet FC Dallas at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Texas in the second friendly match. The first drive to El Salvador was about 1,600 km and the next trip to Dallas added more than 2,000 km to the team in just a few hours.
Next, the team will go to the Middle East, where Messi and his teammates play 2 matches in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On January 29, Inter Miami played Al Hilal, the team leading the Saudi Pro League with 52 points, at Kingdom Arena. Just a few days later, February 1, they face Al Nassr in a match that could be a contest between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The distance traveled from the US to the Arab country is nearly 12 thousand km.
The schedule continues on the 4th of the same month in Asia, where the Hong Kong Stadium will be the venue for the match against the local team. For Inter Miami players, this trip means they have to travel another 6 thousand kilometers from Riyadh. The journey does not end here because on February 7 there is a match against Japan’s Vissel Kobe in Tokyo, with another 2900 km, before returning to the US. The long flight back to Miami was about 11,000 km.
After this intense international tour, Inter Miami will enjoy the comfort of playing at home on February 15 against Newell’s Old Boys at DRV-PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
On February 21, Inter Miami will make their Major League Soccer debut against Real Salt Lake also as the home team and on February 25 fly to Los Angeles to clash with Galaxy before playing the Clasico del Sol on March 2 against Orlando City. At that time, they will determine their opponents in the 1/8 round of Conchampions, where the winner of the clash between Nashville SC and Moca of the Dominican Republic will face Messi and his teammates in the international tournament.
