Inter Miami Schedules Preseason Date With Lionel Messi’s Hometown Club, Newell's Old Boys

A Little About Newell’s and Inter Miami’s Preseason

Newell’s Old Boys play in the Argentine Primera Division — the first division of Argentina’s football system.

They also compete in the Copa Sudamericana — the South American championship tournament.

The way the Argentine Primera Division works is it starts with a first phase where all 28 teams compete in a traditional schedule. The winner of the first phase also qualifies for the Copa Libertadores group stage.

Newell’s finished 14th overall, 26 points back of first-phase champion River Plate.

The second phase of the league breaks the 28 teams into two groups of 14 with the top four teams in each group advancing to the next stage.

Newell’s is currently in sixth in Group B — six points back of group leader Racing Club — and tied with fellow Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors.

For what it’s worth, Newell’s home stadium is the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa — named for current Uruguay and former Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa.

In terms of Inter Miami’s preseason slate, it is a busy, aggressive one.

They start on January 19 with a trip to San Salvador to take on the El Salvador Men’s National Team.

That is followed by a pair of matches in Saudi Arabia as part of the Riyadh Season Cup — with league-leading Al-Hilal on January 29 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on February 1.

Three days later, Inter Miami will travel to Asia to face a Hong Kong Premier League all-star team.

The current preseason schedule continues with a trip to Japan and a friendly with defending J-League champ, Vissel Kobe on February 7.

Now, you have the addition of a home friendly with Newell’s Old Boys in South Florida on February 15.

It’s ambitious to be sure and one where I don’t think it’s likely we’ll see Messi or fellow Barcelona compatriots Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in every match.

Whew!