The Daily Heron: No word on Messi’s status for Atlanta United

Will Messi play against Atlanta United?

Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium usually holds 42,000 fans for soccer, but the Five Stripes have made all 71,000 seats available for Saturday’s match against Inter Miami. Fans scraping together $159 for the cheapest upper deck seats or thousands to be closer to the action are gambling that Lionel Messi, the man in the eye of a soccer storm sweeping the United States, will reward their investment with his inimitable magic — or at least get on the field.

Messi left Argentina’s 1-0 win against Ecuador early Saturday, but not before he netted the winning goal on a 78th-minute free kick. There was some concern that he’d suffered an injury — Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Messi asked to come out because “he felt something,” but the World Cup hero said he was just “a little tired.” He was seen going into a medical clinic the next day, but was in no noticeable discomfort, according to witnesses.

Tuesday, he wasn’t even selected for the Albiceleste side that beat host Bolivia 3-0 in La Paz. But he traveled with the team into the thin mountain air and rooted his teammates to victory.

Tom Beattie of The Mirror said Inter Miami head coach, and former Argentina head coach — Tata Martino didn’t seem worried.

"It does not seem like anything important, some symptoms of fatigue,” Beattie reported Martino as saying. “We know that on all squads this happens. There are players that play a lot more, others that play less that have to take advantage of these types of occasions…."

"It does not seem like anything important, some symptoms of fatigue"

- Inter Miami coach Tata Martino on Messi

We pray that Martino is right; Inter Miami has played a brutal schedule since Messi arrived in July, and Martino has allowed the superstar to decide how much he plays. And he plays a lot.

Sitting against Bolivia will give Messi a full week of rest since arriving in South Florida, but the Herons have at least nine more matches to play this season — eight MLS dates and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final Sept. 27 at home against Houston. Martino needs to find a way to rest his superstar as much as possible the rest of the way.

It won’t be easy; La Rosa Negra are six points behind D.C. United for the ninth and final playoff spot in the east; they can’t afford to drop any points. The Herons also won’t shortchange a chance to add the club’s second trophy, the Open Cup, so there are no obvious “rest” games.

Hold on to your hats, Herons fans, the stretch run will be one for the ages.