Gerardo Martinotechnician Inter Miamihe explained after the defeat against Striped 1-2 the absence of the injured player in this match Leo Messi, despite having trained the day before, and did not want to give a specific date for his return to the team.
“It goes game by game, we understood that this was not the game. That’s how it will happen with Colorado and with the turn in Monterrey. He is feeling better but today we were taking too big a risk,” said the Argentine coach in a press conference.
Doubt until the last minute, Messiwho has been suffering from a muscle injury since mid-March, was finally not included in the squad for the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup, which Monterrey won 1-2 against an Inter Miami that suffered the expulsion of David Ruíz in the second half.
It is not just about the genius of Rosary beads: There are many casualties due to injury that the team has Inter Miami and Martino He pointed to the preparation and the numerous trips made.
“What we do not have, unfortunately, is the complete ‘roster’, between 20 and 22 players. Having any reduction in the team is not indicated. I don’t know whether to attribute it exclusively to the wear and tear of the preseason trips,” he said.
About the first leg against Monterey, The coach knew how to draw positive conclusions.
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“We did well, in the first half we were even able to convert the second. When you have such a high-ranking team in front of you, with players from the Chilean team, the Mexican team… you have to be very solid, not make mistakes. Unfortunately we didn’t make them in the game but in an unfortunate action,” he argued.
In this sense, Martino He indicated that physical appearance was a factor that influenced performance at the end of the crash.
“We lacked the legs to play the last twenty minutes in the same way as the rest of the game. Monterey It demands a lot from you and playing with one less man forced us to rearrange the line of five. It was logical that we were going to have dominated moments, it seems to me that we were going to suffer more and it wasn’t so much. But it demanded so much of us that playing the last minutes with one less player was more noticeable,” he explained.
Regarding favoritism in this tournament, the Argentine coach is clear that the Inter Miami He is not among the main candidates.
“I think that these types of competitions, if we have the possibility of moving on to Montereywill come Tigers or the champion of the MLSand maybe later Americawhich is the big favorite,” he said.
Fernando Ortiz wants Messi to return
The technician Rayados, Fernando Ortizdoes not hide his admiration for Messi and their desire to see him on the field again, even against them in the return match.
“I admire Leo, I have said it and I say it again, I continue to watch him and I continue to admire him. I would like to face him but I am interested in my team winning”
“I admire Leo, I have said it and I say it again, I continue to observe it and I continue to admire it. I would like to face him but I am interested in my team winning. We expected him to play today, he is the best player in the world of all times. I hope I can be back and enjoy it,” he said.
The favoritism to be champion in some way also affects Striped but this does not put pressure on those of Monterrey.
“These are judgments that journalists make. Behind closed doors we know the responsibility of wearing this shirt and what it represents in our country. There is still nothing decided to move on to the next round. It will depend on us, but being favorites, with this shirt and the institution in which we are, is something normal,” he responded forcefully.
What the Argentine coach stood out most was the ability of his players to react and turn the result around.
“I think we did reach desperation at times, we lost the axis of the game. I told them at halftime, I wanted them to return to what we are as a team and they understood it perfectly. In the changes I am fortunate to have a squad with a lot of hierarchy: those who entered made a difference, they understood where the game was going. Their intelligence carried out the result,” he indicated.
For next week’s return duel, Ortiz He acknowledged that there may be changes in the approach but does not want relaxations: “By having a positive result the forms could change a little, but if we think that the phase is already concluded we will make a tremendous mistake.”
