Why is Messi's Inter Miami against Orlando City considered a classic match?

Although the football atmosphere in the US is very different from that in South America, the fans of Inter Miami and Orlando City are considered to be the most passionate in the country and their rivalry is more like traditional classics than any other. other confrontations in both the South and the continent.

At 7:00 a.m. next Thursday, Inter Miami and Orlando City will meet in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup at DRV PNK Stadium. The rivalry between these two Florida teams is known as the “Clásico del Sol” (Southern classic), one of the most exciting matches in the MLS.

Inter Miami completely changed the game with the arrival of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets, now Jordi Alba, Diego Gomez and Facundo Farias also joined the team, winning 2 consecutive victories (against Cruz Azul and Atlanta United in the Leagues) Cup), which was very rare a few months ago. Meanwhile, Orlando City won on penalties against Houston Dynamo and Santos Laguna in the same tournament.

The Inter Miami squad in addition to Messi has a series of other Argentine players such as Benjamin Cremaschi (Argentine born in the US), Nicolas Stefanelli, Franco Negri, Facundo Farias and coach Tata Martino. On the Orlando City side, there are also Argentine players such as Rodrigo Schlegel, Gaston Gonzalez, Martin Ojeda and Ramiro Enrique - son of Hector, world champion with Argentina in 1986.

While Inter Miami fans sang a mockery of their state rival, the tension at the "Clásico del Sol" game was heightened with Orlando City fans vandalizing the Vice City mural in Wynwood. with Lionel Messi's face by throwing purple paint on (Orlando's shirt). A few days later, Inter Miami fans regrouped and restored the mural, but for this reason the hostile atmosphere did not abate.

Before Messi's arrival, Inter Miami used to not fill the DRV PNK Stadium despite its affordable ticket prices (from 10 USD), but everything changed with the arrival of the Argentinian star, tickets sold out quickly and cheaply. more than 100 USD.

On the other hand, Orlando City fans often fill up nearly the entire Explora Stadium, which has a capacity of 24,000 and an average count of nearly 20,000.

In terms of confrontation history, with only 11 meetings in the MLS and US Open Cup, Orlando City leads Inter Miami with 5 wins, 3 draws and 3 wins for the black pink team.

On July 8, 2020, the first match between Orlando City and Inter Miami is remembered. It is within the framework of the MLS is Back tournament, the opening event for American football after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 2-1 victory for the purple team. The last clash of this classic match also ended with a 3-1 win for Orlando City at DRV PNK.

With the above numbers, Messi and his teammates will have the difficult task of turning the balance of the "Clásico del Sol" match towards Inter Miami.