Last Updated: February 07, 2024, 18:50 IST
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo (AP)
Lionel Messi came on in the 60th minute in Inter Miami’s friendly loss to J-League side Vissel Kobe in Tokyo.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi pleased Tokyo fans on Wednesday in a friendly match that ended in a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Vissel Kobe after the game ended goalless.
It came days after his absence on the pitch in a recent Hong Kong friendly had angered fans there.
He started on the bench in Inter Miami’s pre-season game against J-League side Kobe, worrying 28,614 spectators at Tokyo’s National Stadium, who chanted “Messi, Messi” in sporadic attempts to bring out the star.
The silence at the Tokyo stadium was deafening at times during the mostly uninspiring match between the J-League champions and th MLS side.
They however began to sense their good fortune early in the second half, when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and other substitutes began warming up, pleasing hundreds of fans who were seated just behind the Inter Miami bench.
The moment came around 15 minutes into the second half, when the World Cup-winning Argentine replaced David Ruiz, sending the ecstatic crowd into a moment of roaring frenzy that was followed by passionate cheers at his every touch.
In the 79th minute, he dribbled solo into the Kobe box and fired in a close-range shot that was saved by goalkeeper Shota Arai.
Vissel had also showed promise especially early in the match with former Japan international striker Yuya Osako hitting the post 15 minutes into the game.
A minute later, Osako struck the woodwork again.
Kobe won the penalty shootout, with Messi no taking part.
This was in stark contrast, the match in Hong Kong drew 40,000 fans, with spectators paying up to nearly HK$5000 ($640) per ticket. In Tokyo, entire blocks of seating at the Japan National Stadium remained unoccupied, with just 28,614 tickets sold.
Miami’s win in Hong Kong was their first in five pre-season matches.
They drew 0-0 in El Salvador, lost to fellow MLS side FC Dallas and then twice to club sides in Saudi Arabia.
Messi came on as a substitute six minutes from the end of the game in Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
They have one more friendly, at home to Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys next week, before the new MLS season starts on February 21.
(With inputs from Agencies)
