Whitecaps to face Inter Miami in key CONCACAF Champions Cup semi. Will Lionel Messi make the trip?
CBC
The Vancouver Whitecaps are set to host Inter Miami CF in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal on April 24.
The B.C. Major League Soccer team earned a place in the match after a 2-2 draw in Mexico City against Liga MX club Pumas UNAM.
Whitecaps fans expressed joy after the team advanced in the tournament that features the top clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with some optimistic that the first leg will see Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi take the pitch at B.C. Place for the first time.
The Argentine star bowed out of Miami's MLS regular season match in Vancouver last year, two days before kickoff.
Whitecaps fan Tony Gabriel says he was among thousands of fans disappointed that Messi failed to suit up for Miami's last scheduled game in Vancouver, but he's hopeful the captain will come this time around, given the stakes.
"I'm 99 per cent sure he's going to come," Gabriel said. "He's going to come. He will play, we will win in Vancouver."
Vancouver-based ticket broker Kingsley Bailey says he's heard from soccer fans who are taking a wait-and-see approach to buying tickets for the April 24 match at B.C. Place given Messi's previous no-show.
"The sentiment to me is, we're not going to go until we actually know he's actually landed, he's in Vancouver, there's sightings," Bailey said.
Following the decision last May to have Messi miss the club's game in Vancouver, then-Miami coach Gerardo (Tata) Martino said the artificial turf at B.C. Place did not play a role in the decision. The Argentine star has said he is willing to play on synthetic playing surfaces.
Peter Schaad, a soccer podcaster and former Whitecaps broadcaster, says the circumstances around this year's game are different than last year's match.
The two teams met last season in a regular season MLS game while this month's game is the first leg of a semifinal of a prestigious competition that will see the champion automatically qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
"I think the significance of this particular tournament and the stage that it's at is going to heavily influence whether [Messi] plays or not," Schaad said. "If you win this series of two games, you're now in the final, and that's really important to Inter Miami. They want to be in the best competitions that are available to them."
The decision to rest Messi last year was based on the club's schedule, which included three games between May 25 and June 1. Miami is scheduled to play an MLS home game just two days after the April 24 match at B.C. Place.
Schaad notes that new Miami coach Javier Mascherano may not want to chance resting Messi and other veteran players in a key semifinal match against the Whitecaps, who currently sit atop the MLS standings.
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