Inside Inter Miami: Observations on Messi, Busquets, Callender after 1-1 tie with Galaxy

Seventeen years after David Beckham brought glitz, glamour, and sellout crowds to Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy, he was back in his old stomping grounds as co-owner of Inter Miami, watching the league’s latest sensation, Argentine icon Lionel Messi, dazzle a packed stadium with late-game heroics to salvage a 1-1 tie for Miami against the Galaxy.

With the tie, Inter Miami remains in first place in the Eastern Conference after the first two games of the 2024 season.

The largest home crowd in Galaxy history paid big bucks and showed up at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, Sunday night two and a half hours before kickoff to catch every moment they could of Messi.

Actress Halle Berry, Kim Kardashian, world No. 1 tennis star Novak Djokovic, and Swedish D.J. Alesso were among the luminaries in the audience.

Finally, in the 92^nd minute, just when it seemed the Galaxy would win the game, the Messi fans got the magical moment they were hoping for. The Argentine wizard and his former FC Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba, appearing to have telepathy, strung together a sublime sequence of passes that left the crowd and Apple TV audience mesmerized.

Messi to Alba to Messi to Alba to Messi, who while falling, managed to get off a perfect shot with the outside of his left foot. It flew past Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy, who had saved two Messi shots earlier in the game.

After the game, Messi and Alba walked off the field together, as they had so many times in Barcelona. Although it wasn’t the result they wanted, it surely must have felt like a victory.

Some observations, as Inter Miami heads home to play cross-state rival Orlando City Saturday at 4:30 p.m….

Messi Looks Fit and Committed

After missing a half-dozen games due to injury late last season and being bothered by an adductor inflammation during Inter Miami’s preseason world tour, Messi seems fully fit and motivated as ever. He has been involved in all three goals the first two games of the 2024 season with a goal, an assist and a secondary assist.

Coach Tata Martino said last week that every time Messi touches the ball, there is a promise of a goal, and that was once again the case Sunday night.

The only question is whether at age 36 he will be able to play every game during a long, grueling season that includes 34 MLS games, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup and the Copa America this summer. Martino will have to manage Messi’s minutes and when he doesn’t play, the team is not the same.

Martino suggested there will be some changes after the Orlando City game, before the Champions Cup Round of 16 game.

“We will have to evaluate the players all this week, but I think the real serious evaluation will be the following week,” he said. “We have to see how they are recovering from these games, but I think our team looked fit today, as they fought until the final moment.”

Busquets has been exposed

Sergio Busquets, Messi’s former FC Barcelona teammates and one of the greatest defensive midfielders in history, has been struggling in the early going this season.

Perhaps the ankle sprain he suffered during the preseason game in Japan has slowed him down, or maybe his precision passing is not enough to compensate for lack of speed against younger, athletic MLS opponents, but whatever the reason he has looked a step behind opposing attackers in the first two games.

The Galaxy’s newly-signed winger Joseph Painstil of Ghana’s national team got past Busquets early in the game and the Spaniard pulled on Painstil’s shoulder to try to impede his progress. He was called for a foul in the box, Los Angeles got a penalty kick, and lucky for Miami, goalkeeper Drake Callender guessed right on Riqui Puig’s shot and made a spectacular save.

Busquets has high soccer IQ and has figured out how to link the defense with the attack his entire career. He and the coaching staff might need to make adjustments to highlight his strengths and cover up his lack of speed.

Redondo arriving just in time

The addition of 21-year-old Argentine Federico Redondo could help. Redondo, who signed last week from Argentinos Juniors, has been compared to a young Busquets, a deep-lying midfielder who can defend and push the ball into the attack. Maybe paired with Redondo, Busquets could do his thing and let younger legs chase down speedy wingers and forwards. He is awaiting visa paperwork and expected to be available to play in a few weeks.

Attack-minded 18-year-old midfielder Benjamin Cresmaschi is recovering from a sports hernia and is expected to return in a few months. He brings energy and youth to the lineup, which also will help provide balance with Busquets and 37-year-old forward Luis Suarez, who has chronic knee issues and has looked like he is laboring and even limping at times.

Callender a Keeper

The entire Inter Miami squad owes Callender a dinner. The goalkeeper made great back-to-back saves early to keep Miami in the game. After stopping Puig’s penalty kick, he punched a strong Puig shot off the crossbar. Miami easily could have been down 2-0 at that point were it not for Callender, who was extra motivated because he is from California and had friends and relatives at the game.

“My Mom is here, some good friends were here, and to be able to stop a PK in front of them..it’s good to have a performance like that and walk away with a point and be able to see them, too,” Callender said. “All around, it was a good day for me.”

Martino agreed: “He did the same thing he did in many games last year. He was decisive, stopped the penalty kick, prevented other scoring chances and it was largely because of him that our team was still in the game after the first half.”