The title-winning coach died in 2014 at the age of 45 after battling cancer
Lionel Messi paid tribute to Tito Vilanova on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of the former Barcelona manager’s death.
Vilanova passed away on April 25, 2014 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 45.
Messi played under Vilanova for several seasons at Barcelona. Vilanova served as an assistant coach for four years, before taking charge as head coach after Pep Guardiola left in 2012.
Vilanova led Barcelona to the La Liga title in 2012-13, as the Blaugrana amassed 100 points to set a new league record. He was forced to announce his departure as coach in July 2013 following a relapse of his cancer.
Messi posted a tribute to the late coach on his Instagram story on Thursday, saying: “10 years already, we won’t forget you Tito.”
Vilanova’s former assistant at Barcelona, Jordi Roura, revealed in 2019 that the coach helped convince Messi to stay at the club just six days before his death.
“Tito was at a delicate stage and Leo wasn’t convinced about his continuity,” Roura told Radio Kanal Barcelona.
“They met and although I wasn’t there, I know they spent a number of hours talking. Messi decided to stay and we hope that he will for many more years.”
Messi would stay for two years after that, before joining PSG and ultimately his current side Inter Miami.
Yassine Chueko showed the speed and awareness of a lethal No. 9
If Inter Miami is ever short on players, Yassine Chueko looks like he would at least have the speed to get a job done.
Chueko, better known as Lionel Messi’s bodyguard, showed the speed and awareness of a lethal No. 9 during Inter Miami’s game against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, flying off the touchline as a pitch invader closed in on Messi for a selfie.
More than 72,000 fans were in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium as Inter Miami defeated Sporting KC 3-2 in a thrilling match.
Messi was the star of the show, notching an assist and a stunning goal as the Herons took home three points. On Monday, the Argentina legend was named the MLS player of the week.
Chueko also had a big night on Saturday, as the match was delayed multiple times due to fans charging onto the pitch.
In one instance, Chueko had a lot of ground to cover — and he did so with impressive haste.
#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes shared a moment with soccer superstar Lionel Messi after Sporting Kansas City’s loss to Inter Miami on Sunday.
For the first time in years, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ celebrity was rivaled at Arrowhead Stadium.
On Sunday night, soccer superstar Lionel Messi took the field for Inter Miami against Sporting Kansas City in an alternate venue contest that drew one of the biggest crowds in MLS history.
Mahomes was seen dapping up Messi after Sporting Kansas City’s loss, exchanging pleasantries with the Ballon d’Or winner in the locker room after the game.
Mahomes, who has proven to be an avid soccer fan, seemed at ease with Messi in the building. Despite Sporting’s 3-2 loss to Inter, no bad blood was brewed between the three-time Super Bowl MVP and Messi, who was clearly pleased to see that the Chiefs quarterback was in attendance.
Legendary meetings like this only happen once in a blue moon, and while Mahomes still has a way to go before equaling or surpassing Messi’s name recognition, this encounter is sure to have put him on the radar of many soccer fans around the world.
The Uruguayan took out his frustration on the defender’s arm, somehow getting away with it
Luis Suárez was getting frustrated in Wednesday’s game at Monterrey, so he decided to take it out on Víctor Guzmán’s arm.
The Inter Miami star was caught on camera performing a MMA move on the Monterrey defender, and somehow escaped without punishment. Almost as miraculously, Guzmán also escaped without injury.
Miami travelled to Monterrey for the second leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal, looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.
Even with Lionel Messi back from injury, things weren’t looking great for the Herons near the end of the first half. Brandon Vazquez scored the opener for Monterrey 31 minutes in, taking advantage of a Drake Callender error to make it 3-1 on aggregate.
With just minutes left in the half, Suárez took out his frustration on the unwitting Guzmán. With the ball long gone, the Uruguayan grabbed the defender’s arm and twisted him to the ground — a maneuver that wouldn’t be out of place in the octagon.
Even with plenty of quality replays available, there was no VAR review and the game continued.
Monterrey went on to win 3-1 on the night, and 5-2 on aggregate, advancing to the semifinal where it will face the Columbus Crew.
Messi’s return didn’t prevent another instance of Miami losing its composure against Los Rayados
Inter Miami’s dreams of worldwide glory will have to wait another year.
Lionel Messi’s return was not enough for Miami, who boiled over en route to a 3-1 second-leg defeat in its Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal against Monterrey.
Just like in the first leg, the Herons finished with 10 men — Jordi Alba was sent off after the damage was already done — and Los Rayados would end up strolling to a 5-2 aggregate win thanks to goals from Brandon Vazquez, Germán Berterame, and Jesús Gallardo.
Coming off of a 2-1 Monterrey win at Chase Stadium, Miami and Monterrey settled into an unsurprising pattern: the slower but technically gifted visitors looking to use possession to unlock the hosts’ defense, while Los Rayados emphasized counter-attacking play from a mid-block.
“I think that the players understood where the game was going,” Monterrey manager Fernando Ortiz told reporters after the game, explaining his use of a 4-4-2 diamond in defensive phases. “We knew that they were going to dominate the game with the ball, and we wanted them to feel desperate, close the spaces, so that they couldn’t find the internal [passes] that has damaged so many rivals.”
Drake Callender — as Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte did the night before — got it all wrong with the ball at his feet, gifting possession to the opponent’s most dangerous goalscorer.
For Monterrey, that’s Vazquez, and the U.S. men’s national team prospect quickly punished the mistake to give Monterrey a two-goal aggregate edge.
Beyond the goal, an otherwise plodding first half offered two talking points: the dreadful pitch conditions at Estadio BBVA, and Luis Suárez wrenching Víctor Guzmán’s arm to a painful angle.
The former slowed possession for both teams down to a crawl in certain areas, with divots popping up all over the field. The latter was not spotted by the officiating crew, and somehow evaded a VAR check, much less an actual punishment.
That might have been more of a flashpoint when Suárez scored shortly thereafter thanks to a flick from Messi, but the Uruguay star was correctly called offside.
In the end, Miami probably needed the lucky break that would have been an illegitimate goal. Monterrey came out of the locker room and thoroughly dominated the start of the second half. After a slew of chances, the Liga MX powers finally found a critical second on the night via a blistering strike from Berterame.
“I believe that what got us out of the game is the second goal, 15 minutes into the second half,” admitted Miami boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino. “I think at that time, we lost our way, we were [already] eliminated.”
Miami was adrift, and another giveaway at the back ended the already remote hopes of a late comeback.
This time, Diego Gómez’s attempt to switch fields was instead slammed directly into Gallardo, who just kept his run going to head home Berterame’s lob into the box.
With advancement out of reach in an acrimonious match, things only went downhill from there for Miami. Jordi Alba picked up two yellow cards in four minutes, exploding at referee Iván Barton as the Salvadoran issued the second in the 78th minute.
Before the match veered into truly embarrassing territory, Messi managed to help save some dignity for the Herons. The Argentine, booed throughout by Monterrey fans, found Gómez with an inch-perfect dead ball delivery, allowing the Paraguay midfielder to nod in a consolation goal in the 86th minute.
Still, the whole experience was chastening for Miami, who didn’t have the legs or mental strength to compete with the best of Concacaf over two legs.
“We knew Monterey is a very good team, and obviously a tough opponent. They played really well, and we made some mistakes that cost us,” said Julian Gressel in an interview with FS1 after the match. “Hopefully we’ll learn from it, and we can move on into the next competition and do well.”
The Herons are facing an extremely difficult task in Mexico, even with Lionel Messi back
Inter Miami will head to Mexico with a mountain to climb, as it gets ready to face Monterrey in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal.
With Lionel Messi sidelined, Monterrey took a huge step toward the semifinal by posting a 2-1 win at Miami in the first leg last week.
The battle between the teams continued after the final whistle, as a post-game altercation took place outside the Monterrey dressing room.
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Miami will need to win the second leg and score at least two goals to advance, a daunting prospect that has been made a little more achievable after Messi made a goalscoring return to the squad over the weekend.
The winner of this tie will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Tigres and the Columbus Crew.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Monterrey vs. Inter Miami (Concacaf Champions Cup)
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Rayados assistant Nico Sanchez claimed the Argentina legend wanted to fight him
Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sánchez has apologized following a leaked audio clip in which he said of Lionel Messi: “The dwarf was possessed. He had the face of the devil.”
Sánchez said he shared the audio clip with close friends in the aftermath of last week’s Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal first leg between Inter Miami and Monterrey.
Messi didn’t play in the match, which ended in a 2-1 win for Monterrey, but was involved in a reported post-game altercation with referees and Monterrey officials alongside teammates Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
The Miami players and coach took issue with several of the referee’s decision during the match, and were reportedly also upset with pre-match comments from Monterey head coach Fernando Ortiz suggesting Miami would receive preferential treatment from officials due to the celebrity status of some of its players.
“Messi wanted to fight me,” Sánchez said in the audio, which was leaked by Fox Sports Mexico. “I don’t think he wanted to hit me because he would have done it. He had me a centimeter away.
“The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil. He put his fist next to my face and says: ‘Who do you think you are?’
“And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me: ‘Fool, you going to cry? Fool you going to cry?’ What a dummy! All those videos, they probably erased them all because it leaves them looking bad. What they did was really serious. They want to dirty the pitch.”
In a statement on social media, Sánchez apologized for his comments, though he would only name Martino, not Messi, during his apology.
“I am present with this video to talk about this audio that went viral today. I could hide with a text or let the club act for me, but I prefer to choose this means to show my face and see the words come out of my mouth,” Sánchez said.
“I understand that when the audio is made public, many people feel offended or hurt. Since I do not know Inter coach, Gerardo Martino, and I referred to him in a disrespectful manner, I apologize. I am as Argentine as all of them and I will always defend my club. I’m here to show my face and take responsibility,” Sánchez said.
Miami and Monterrey will meet on Wednesday in Mexico for the second leg. While Messi sat out the first game, he is set to participate in the return leg after he made his return to MLS play this weekend. The Argentine scored a goal after coming on at halftime of his side’s 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids.
The Argentina legend appears ready to play his first game in a month
Lionel Messi has been named to Inter Miami’s matchday squad for Saturday’s match against the Colorado Rapids, with the Argentine legend potentially set to play his first game in a month.
Messi has been sidelined for six matches now with a hamstring issue, most recently missing out as Inter Miami fell 2-1 to Monterrey in a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal first leg on Wednesday.
Following that match, head coach Tata Martino said that Miami was evaluating Messi on a “game-to-game” basis.
Ahead of next week’s return leg in Mexico, the 36-year-old has taken his place on Miami’s 20-man matchday roster for a MLS clash with Colorado at Chase Stadium.
With nagging injuries plaguing Messi and a jam-packed schedule for Miami, the 36-year-old has played in just five of the Herons’ 10 competitive matches in 2024. This year, Miami has not lost a game that Messi has appeared in, but has just one win without him.
The club’s update on Messi’s status noted that the superstar is not listed at all on an updated injury report for the weekend. That’s welcome news, as Miami confirmed that seven players will miss out against the Rapids.
That includes winger Robert Taylor, who exited early against Monterrey on Wednesday, as well as highly-rated young midfielder Federico Redondo.
However, Messi isn’t the lone player to come off the injury report. U.S. men’s national team prospect Benjamin Cremaschi is also on the gameday roster after coming through a 25-minute appearance for Miami’s MLS Next Pro side on Tuesday. Cremaschi, 19, has yet to appear for Miami this season after suffering a sports hernia in January.
For all of Miami’s experience, a youthful mistake may have sealed its Champions Cup fate
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For all the talk of Inter Miami’s cadre of experienced superstars, a moment of youthful indiscretion may have just cost the club a shot at the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Despite the absence of Lionel Messi (hamstring), Miami spent an hour frustrating Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey, nosing out in front in the process, only to suffer a 2-1 first-leg loss in the continental competition’s quarterfinal round.
Tomás Avilés pushed the Herons out in front, only for David Ruiz’s second-half red card — the result of two bookings in a four-minute span — to set the stage for Los Rayados to claim victory.
Before Miami could sort itself out after going down a man, Maxi Meza equalized, and Jorge Rodríguez’s dramatic late winner gave Monterrey a massive edge going into Wednesday’s second leg.
Despite being at home, Tata Martino set a normally attack-minded Miami up to absorb pressure, calling to mind the Argentine coach’s successful counter-attacking run to MLS Cup glory in 2018 with Atlanta United.
The Herons’ defensive discipline and patience caught Monterrey, who seemed prepared for a more open affair, off guard. Manager Fernando Ortiz urged his fullbacks forward, often leaving just two center backs and a defensive midfielder to handle duties at the other end.
Even with Miami’s end flooded with blue-and-white striped shirts, the host’s caution was rewarded just before halftime, and by one of its least-likely scorers.
With the Herons largely deprived of the ball throughout the game’s early stages, a 19th-minute corner felt primarily like a chance to take a breath and come to grips with the task at hand.
However, Julian Gressel — Miami’s outstanding player on the night by some distance — had other ideas, driving a corner into space vacated by Nicolás Friere. 19-year-old center back Tomás Avilés, who started the match with just one professional goal to his name, belied his track record with a sharp finish from close range.
Virtually out of the blue, Miami had spotted its path out of trouble.
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) April 4, 2024
A frustrated Ortiz pulled captain Hector Moreno at halftime, and changed his formation before the hour mark, giving U.S. men’s national team striker Brandon Vazquez a strike partner in Germán Berterame at the expense of Mexico midfielder Luis Romo.
However, it turned out the help Monterrey needed would come from Miami. Young midfielder David Ruiz had been booked in the 61st minute, and four minutes later inexplicably flicked an arm out after a collision with Meza. The contact was slight, but referee Walter López had little choice but to book Ruiz again, leaving the Honduran to trudge off the Chase Stadium pitch.
Martino quickly pivoted to protecting a slender lead, bringing center back Ryan Sailor on and leaving Luis Suárez up top by his lonesome. It may have worked if Miami could defend a corner in the moments after that change, but Monterrey finally found a way to strike back.
Sergio Canales picked out Vazquez, who was denied by a brilliant Drake Callender save, but Meza had no trouble finishing the rebound.
Miami turned a hopeful look towards VAR, with Victor Guzmán lurking in an offside position. Though López was summoned to the touchline monitor, a crucial Rayados away goal stood.
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) April 4, 2024
The red card wasn’t simply a numerical problem for Miami, but an emotional one. Monterrey smelled blood, while the Herons seemed overly focused on getting a call out of López that would somehow balance things out.
Against any Liga MX side, that’s a dangerous game. Against Monterrey, the title contenders who have more Concacaf Champions Cup trophies in the last 13 years than MLS has as a league? It’s courting disaster.
Miami expending its remaining focus on two penalty shouts and some modest scuffles off the ball, and Monterrey’s moment to twist the knife came just before stoppage time began.
A long spell of pressure ended with Avilés trying to play his way out of trouble rather than simply lumping the ball into the stands. That risky approach saw a pass run away from the exhausted Diego Gómez, who then simply didn’t have the legs to close Rodríguez.
The Rayados midfielder did the rest, curling home a jaw-dropper from 22 yards.
For a stadium featuring several thousand Monterrey fans — a few dozen of whom could be seen arriving on a double-decker tour bus decked out with banners and flags — it was pure jubilation. The sight may have been new to Miami, but for anyone familiar with MLS’s long and largely frustrating history in Concacaf competition, it was a rerun.
The defeat leaves Miami in need of one of the most rare things for an MLS club: a win in Mexico. In 75 prior Concacaf Champions Cup or Champions League attempts, teams from MLS have claimed just five victories, losing 56 times in the process.
If Miami can’t push that meager total up to six, its ambitions to lean on Messi and become a regional power may well go up in smoke.
Vazquez tells Pro Soccer Wire about his early success with Monterrey, and his USMNT prospects
Whether he breaks through for the U.S. men’s national team or not, Brandon Vazquez seems to know things are going well for him.
His club, Monterrey, is very much in the running for Liga MX glory again, and Vazquez is playing a major role after finding goals and starts immediately following a $7.5 million winter transfer from FC Cincinnati.
Speaking to Pro Soccer Wire one day before a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal first leg at Inter Miami, Vazquez projects the kind of calm confidence that comes when you’re scoring on the regular for one of the continent’s best teams.
The San Diego native is even ready to get the awkward questions of the USMNT — which won the Concacaf Nations League last month without him — out of the way early.
“I’m doing all I can, you know?” reasoned Vazquez. “There’s nothing more that I could be doing that could make my chances better, I guess? There’s some stuff that’s out of my control, that I can’t let bother me.
“I just have to keep the same mindset I’ve been having, stay motivated, and keep the same work ethic and routine and when my time is called upon, I’ll be ready for it.”
In March, Vazquez told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he hadn’t heard directly from Gregg Berhalter, and that he “didn’t know” where he stood in the USMNT coach’s eyes. That situation has changed, with the 25-year-old confirming that Berhalter gave him a call just before the Nations League roster was announced.
“The day before that roster came out, Gregg Berhalter had called me,” Vazquez said, anticipating the question before it even arrived. “[He] basically told me that they were really happy with my performances, that I have been a killer in the box, that I’ve been doing great, have been killing it down here.
“He had called me to let me know and give me a heads up that I wasn’t going to be on the roster, which I respect quite a lot.”
Per Vazquez, Berhalter’s message was “to keep it up, because they’ve been watching all my games, and to not lose motivation because of it … it gives me a bit of confidence.”
Discussing the U.S. setback barely dampens Vazquez’s mood, because things are going quite well with Monterrey.
Even as he and Germán Berterame have sometimes been rotated as Los Rayados‘ starting No. 9, Vazquez has been an instant hit in Mexico. In 820 minutes across Liga MX and Concacaf Champions Cup play, Vazquez has put up eight goals, making him Monterrey’s leading scorer in a season that could end in a double.
Even with Monterrey suffering just one loss this season — Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat against Chivas snapped a 16-match unbeaten start to the campaign — and his own red-hot form in front of goal, Vazquez says he feels like he’s still trying to get used to his new surroundings.
(Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)
“It’s a little bit of a complicated one, because I still feel like I am adjusting,” Vazquez admitted, balancing the evidence of his and the team’s strong run with things he knows can improve. “Getting to know your teammates and their habits, that takes a while to adjust to, but my teammates have found me in the box. The runs that I’ve made, they are starting to get those pretty well.
“I try to make clear for the teammates around me what I like, where I like the ball, what runs I’m usually making, and they’ve been doing a great job at putting the ball there for me. All I’ve had to do is just hit the back of the net.”
Much has been made of the differences between American and Mexican soccer, whether that be training structure, tactics, or granular details like injury prevention and nutrition. For Vazquez, the job is to make “the same dish, with a different recipe.”
“Obviously with different coaches, you have different training sessions, different drills, different warm-ups,” explained Vazquez. “Everything is a bit different, but at the same time, a bit the same.”
Amid the big professional change, Vazquez is also a new father, with his wife Jessie giving birth to a son, Luca, in February. Vazquez can’t help but break into a grin at the thought, but in the short term, he’s on his own in Monterrey.
“My family and my newborn is still in Cincinnati,” said Vazquez. “We’re waiting to get some vaccines and my baby’s passport for them to travel down.”
Vazquez has made it up to visit twice, taking advantage of the Concacaf Champions Cup bracket putting Monterrey on a collision course with FC Cincinnati, as well as the international window, to make the trek.
Vazquez admitted that it’s been tough to be separated, but joked that there’s at least a silver lining: He’s getting to sleep.
“I have been missing my family for the past couple months, but from what I’ve heard, I would have no sleep if my newborn was down there.”
Vazquez talks Inter Miami clash
In the meantime, Vazquez has his work, which on Wednesday means suiting up against Inter Miami. The striker admits that Monterrey isn’t immune to the potential once-in-a-lifetime nature of a competitive game against the stars on the Herons’ roster.
“I think everybody has it in the back of their mind,” conceded Vazquez. “There’s so much hype around this team, there’s so much limelight on this team.
“We’re not only playing against a good team, but everything that goes around it — all the attention, all the media that’s around it. You just have to stay focused on the job and be able to perform on the field when you step out onto the pitch.
“I think we have we have an amazing group here. So I have no doubt that we can get the job done.”
Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Monterrey tends to do just that in the Champions Cup, winning the tournament five times in the last 13 years. Vazquez called the prospect of adding a continental trophy to his resumé “incredible,” and expressed belief in Los Rayados‘ chances of making it six trophies out of 14.
“There’s a lot of history in this club with this tournament, and a lot of trophies won here,” said Vazquez. “We know that we’re capable of doing it. We have the players to do it, and we’ve done it plenty of times before. So, we have an expectation, a high demand on ourselves to be able to get to the final, be able to win this trophy.
“We know we can do it. We’d be the only people in our way. If we just do what we know how to do, the quality of our players will just take over.”
It’s a recurring theme for Vazquez, whose attitude towards his very unusual occupation often comes across like any grounded person working in a field they enjoy.
“You just have to focus on the step in front of you,” concluded Vazquez. “We just have to take it one game at a time, one step at a time, and just focus on getting the job done 90 minutes at a time.”
