Inter Miami CF head coach Javier Mascherano labeled the conditions as “inhumane” after the team triumphed 1-0 over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup first round at Children’s Mercy Park in freezing temperatures.
“I’m very proud because I think it’s impossible to play in these conditions,” said Mascherano in the post-match press conference. “It is not human, you know, so I’m very proud because they gave me 100% with intensity, with a lot of attitude, so we are happy. We are in the halftime of the qualifiers, so now try to rest after a very difficult game for us.”
Though Concacaf originally postponed the match by 24 hours due to the multiple winter storm warnings that forecasted between five to seven inches of snowfall across Kansas City, the two teams suffered through a frigid atmosphere on Wednesday night.
When the game kicked off at 7:00 pm CT, the temperatures in Kansas City hit five degrees Fahrenheit with a feels like of negative five degrees Fahrenheit. By halftime, the conditions deteriorated to three degrees Fahrenheit with a feels like of negative eight degrees Fahrenheit.
Despite the weather, Lionel Messi managed to score his first official goal of the year after connecting with longtime teammate Sergio Busquets and finished the play with a right-footed shot into the net.
“Fantastic [goal], I think maybe for the people that know him, it’s normal because he did things like this or goals like this 1,000 times, but we are very lucky to have him in our team,” said Mascherano.
Wednesday’s result marks the first official triumph for new manager Mascherano, after he was appointed to the role last November to replace Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino. Though Mascherano led the team to several victories during the preseason, the Concacaf Champions Cup match stands as his debut in an official match.
Sporting Kansas City must now score at least twice in the second leg of the series to advance to the next round in regulation time. SKC head coach Peter Vermes applauded his players for a job well done before revealing that there is only one player currently who can change the course of the game.
“I thought we played really well, we were very organized defensively. We didn’t give anything away. There is one guy [Messi] that can turn the game over and he did,” said Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes.
“It’s not just [what he does] to us, it’s what he does to the whole world, anyone who plays against him. He can change the game himself, and there aren’t many players you can say that about in the world’s game and over generations.”
Inter Miami will now host Sporting Kansas City at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 25 for the second leg of the first round series.
