Tickets for Messi’s next Inter Miami game vs Orlando City Wednesday starting at $140
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Lionel Messi is about to get his first taste of the Florida Derby on Wednesday night at DRV PNK Stadium, as Inter Miami will face Orlando City in one of the spiciest Leagues Cup matchups thus far.
The intra-state rivals will meet in the Round of 32 after Wilder Cartagena clinched the spot for Orlando with a 92nd minute game-winning goal over Mexican team Santos Laguna on Saturday night. Inter Miami and Orlando each won their South Region group and will now face each other for the first time since Messi and Sergio Busquets joined the Miami roster.
There is a slight chance that Jordi Alba, Messi’s and Busquets’ former FC Barcelona teammate, will join them and get into the game for his debut.
The left back, who signed with Inter Miami earlier this month, flew to South Florida from Spain on Saturday after spending time with his wife, who gave birth to their third child last week. He was getting his visa paperwork finalized, and it is unknown if he will be eligible to play Wednesday.
As if the rivalry between Miami and Orlando wasn’t heated enough, a Messi-themed mural painted last month by local artist Chris Moramarco and other members of Inter Miami’s Vice City 1896 supporters group was vandalized with purple paint early Wednesday morning.
Miami fans suspect the culprits were fans of MLS rival Orlando City, as purple is their team color and it was purple paint that was splattered across the mural, located in Wynwood at 55 N.W. 25 St. The message “FL is Purple” was written on there, as well. Thankfully, Moramarco said, the vandals spared Messi’s face.
Vice City members gathered on Wednesday night and restored the mural.
“It brought us together, and want to keep the rivalry fun,” Moramarco said on Friday. “Our way of dealing with it was to come together and be even stronger. We do hope we get to play Orlando on Wednesday. We would love to see Messi play against them.”
They will get their wish.
Orlando coach Oscar Pareja assured his team will be ready.
“We know that you can oversee things and then start thinking ahead, but it was not in our equations, we were focused on beating Santos [Laguna]. But surely after the victory, we have to face a team [Inter Miami CF] who has been playing well. Obviously, we have to mention [Lionel] Messi. It is a wave that is bringing a lot of attention [to the league] and we’re pretty proud, but we know we know who we are. We know who we are, we are going to go get that victory because our heart is prepared to do it.”
Miami is coming off back-to-back wins in the group stage, 2-1 over Cruz Azul and 4-0 over Atlanta United. Messi and Robert Taylor each scored three goals over the two matches.
Tickets are available through TicketMaster starting at $140.
