Zinedine Zidane’s Inter Miami trip ruined as Lionel Messi misses US Open Final defeat for David Beckham’s side
ZINEDINE ZIDANE was in the house - but his night was ruined before kick-off.
The French World Cup winning legend is an old pal of Miami co-owner David Beckham after their time together at Real Madrid.
Zidane, along with the majority of a packed house at DRV PNK stadium, came to the US Open Cup final hoping to watch Lionel Messi lift yet another trophy.
But when the news filtered through that crocked Messi wasn’t even on the bench let alone making the starting line-up, the bitter disappointment in south Florida was there for all to see.
Fans, most decked out in Messi shirts, who shelled out a small fortune - tickets were ranging from $400 to $4000 - to see the 36 year-old strut his stuff were left watching Miami torn apart by an impressive Houston side who dominated throughout.
The little Argentine maestro could only watch helplessly from the stands as Houston, cheered on by minority owner and NBA legend James Harden, eased to a deserved win thanks to first half strikes from Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi.
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Josef Martinez pulled one back for Becks’ boys late on, yet it wasn’t anywhere near enough.
With attention now turning to Miami’s desperate play-off push, boss Tata Martino will be praying his main man, and former Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba, are fit to play a significant role in the remaining five games.
“It wasn’t prudent for him to play,” said the Miami chief who waited until the day of the game before ruling Messi out. “It was too risky.”
Messi limped off in the first half of the home clash with Toronto thanks to an unspecified injury back on September 20th and missed the weekend draw in Orlando.
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Martino needs him back badly - Miami have games in hand over their rivals but need their biggest star to shine.
Triumphant Houston boss Ben Olsen knew that without Messi, Miami would struggle.
“They are different on the field without him and they missed him,” said Olsen.
