NEW DELHI:
Lionel Messi
and
David Beckham
faced jeers on Sunday when the Argentine superstar opted not to play in
Inter Miami
's pre-season friendly in Hong Kong.
The World Cup-winning captain, dealing with a hamstring strain, remained on the bench throughout the 4-1 friendly victory against a
Hong Kong select XI
.
The near-capacity crowd of 38,323, who had invested upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) and often more to witness their hero in action, expressed their frustration with the absence of Messi on the field.
(AFP Photo)
In the midst of the second half, chants of "We want Messi" echoed through the Hong Kong Stadium as fans eagerly anticipated the appearance of the greatest footballer of his generation in the highly anticipated exhibition game.
The intensity of the booing escalated in the final 10 minutes as it became increasingly evident that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner would not make even a brief cameo during the match.
The jeers rose to a crescendo at the final whistle after former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez also failed to take to the pitch because of a knee injury.
Miami co-owner Beckham was drowned out by booing as he tried to thank the crowd "for their incredible support" while fans signalled their anger with thumbs-down gestures.
(AFP Photo)
"We understand the disappointment of the fans for the absence of Leo (Messi) and Luis Suarez," Miami coach Gerardo Martino told reporters, explaining the club's medical team had taken the decision after an assessment on Sunday morning.
"We understand a lot of fans are very disappointed and we ask for their forgiveness.
"We wish we could have sent Leo and Luis on for at least a while but the risk was too big."
The 36-year-old Messi played just six minutes in Miami's last match, in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, and now faces a race against time to be fit for the new MLS season which starts on February 21.
It was a bitter end to days of Hong Kong "Messi mania" in the lead-up to the match.
Tens of thousands turned up just to watch him train on Saturday, where he did little more than jog and stretch.
The team hotel was besieged by hundreds of fans trying to glimpse their hero, and a traditional junk boat was cruising around Victoria harbour with Messi's face plastered across sails.
Messi shirts had been flying off the shelves after tickets for the match sold out in an hour when they went on sale in December.
Miami's starting line-up featured neither of their other former Barcelona stars, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Robert Taylor
opened the scoring for the MLS side in the 40th minute with a delightful right-foot curling shot from the left-hand edge of the box.
Two minutes later Hong Kong's Henri Anier laced a left-foot finish home to make it 1-1.
Miami regained the lead after half-time when Lawson Sunderland found the target from close range and Leonardo Campana increased the lead in the 56th minute.
Busquets and Alba finally made an appearance from the bench after 62 minutes to a smattering of cheers before Ryan Sailor rounded off the scoring for Miami in the 85th minute with a glancing header.
It was Miami's first win in five matches on their globe-trotting pre-season tour.
They now move on to Japan for a friendly against Vissel Kobe on Wednesday before flying back to the United States.
(With inputs from AFP)
English (US) ·