Big Al Ahly crowd, tight security for Club World Cup opener vs. Messi, Inter Miami
A sea of red descended on Hard Rock Stadium Saturday night for the highly anticipated Club World Cup opening match, as fans of Egyptian power Al Ahly traveled long distances to see their beloved Red Devils take on Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates.
Although the game was being played 21 miles south of Inter Miami's home stadium, the crowd looked evenly divided. Al Ahly has 12 million Instagram followers and 30 of the 200 credentialed reporters were from Egyptian outlets.
Michael and Sherina Zekri, natives of Egypt who moved the United States seven years ago, flew to Miami from Peoria, Arizona, with a group of 11 friends and relatives for the game. They are Messi fans but were rooting for Al Ahly. Other fans wore scarves that were half Inter Miami and half Al Ahly.
The Red Devils fans roared when their starting lineup was announced: El Shenawy; Yasser, Dari, Hany; Ben Romdhane, Hamdy, Marawan, Trezeguet, Koka; Wessam.
Inter Miami's Starting XI included: goalkeeper Oscar Ustari; center back Toto Aviles, right back Ian Fray, left back Noah Allen, center back Maxi Falcon; midfielder Sergio Busquets, midfielder Telasco Segovia, midfielder Fede Redondo; winger Tadeo Allende; forward Luis Suarez; and Messi, the captain.
Jordi Alba, Gonzalo Lujan and Yannick Bright sat out with injuries.
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, fresh off his knighthood in England, got a loud ovation when he was shown on the jumbo screen.
Despite a roster that includes the Argentine eight-time Ballon d' Or winner, Inter Miami is the underdog in Group A, which includes Al Ahly, 30-time Portuguese champion Porto and Palmeiras of Brazil, a perennial regional champion that features Chelsea-bound teen phenom Estavao. The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 16.
Al Ahly is the highest-ranked African team in the world, a team that won that region's Champions League three of the past four years and has racked up 155 trophies over its 118-year history.
Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who was hired last month, makes his Al Ahly debut Saturday.
Meanwhile, there is pressure on Messi and Inter Miami to prove that an MLS team can compete with some of the most storied clubs in the world. It will not be easy, as MLS has restrictive roster and salary rules, and Miami is in its infancy, in its sixth season, while Al Ahly was founded in 1907.
Security was extremely tight for the match, which was to be expected after the dangerous gate-crashing debacle at the Copa America final between Colombia and Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium last summer.
This time, there was a double-ringed perimeter around the stadium grounds. Fans without tickets who arrived at the first checkpoint by foot or car were turned away. Once inside the first ring, fans then had to go through a second security checkpoint at the stadium gates.
The game was broadcast on TBS and livestreamed on DAZN.com
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Is Inter Miami at risk of being exposed at the Club World Cup?
The football world knows where Lionel Messi plays these days. They may not have known much more beyond that. Saturday night's Club World Cup opener, a scoreless draw between Inter Miami and Al Ahly, revealed the hard truth about Messi's new team. With more than 60,000 fans in attendance at Hard Rock Stadium, and many millions more watching from their homes around the globe, Miami looked pedestrian on the big stage. It wasn't down to a lack of effort. Both teams were aggressive physically, but on this night, it was Miami that had the big names. Advertisement Messi was omnipresent, but Sergio Busquets struggled to make a difference in his habitual holding midfield role. It was another example of the World Cup winner's steady decline as a top-flight footballer. Busquets was once connected telepathically to Messi in midfield. Today, the 36-year-old's once trademark pull-back drag is too slow to fool an opposing player. The same goes for Luis Suarez. 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Forbes
an hour ago
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