Crowd of 50,000 expected for FC Barcelona vs. Napoli in Miami on Wednesday
Lionel Messi will be missing from the FC Barcelona lineup, but the rest of the starters are expected to play when the Spanish power takes on Italian club Napoli on Wednesday night in an exhibition match at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Argentine megastar, who had just rejoined the team after playing in Copa America, injured his calf in training Monday morning, hours before the team flew to Miami.
Despite his absence, a crowd of more than 50,000 is expected. The audience will include the entire Orlando Pride team from the National Women’s Soccer League, which features U.S. star Alex Morgan, Brazilian legend Marta and seven other players from the recent Women’s World Cup. The Pride will be on the field during warmups and watch the game from the suite level.
“So many of us love watching this sport, so to be able to see the best of the best up close is going to be amazing,” said Pride defender Shelina Zadorsky, who played for Canada in the World Cup. “I’m going to be freaking out. It was great to have the MLS All-Star Game in our city, and now, to be able to take a trip down to Miami to see Barcelona and Napoli ... well, we’re just a tad excited.”
Pride midfielder Joanna Boyles, a 23-year-old North Carolina native, is especially excited to see Sergio Busquets.
“To see the players we grew up watching, live, is incredible,” she said. “It’s a dream for me. I can’t wait. I’ve always been a huge Busquets fan. To see him control the midfield with his passes in person, his first touch, to see how truly clean it is is the most exciting for me. I know it’s kind of nerdy, but it’s something I’m really, really looking forward to.”
Boyles has been a Barca fan for years.
“I loved Barcelona when they went through the tear in the Champions League and the trebels,” she said. I loved watching Xavi and Busquets and tried to emulate a mesh of them. To be on the field watching that team warm up is a little girl’s dream.”
Both teams are in the final stages of preparation for the European regular season, which begins at the end of August. After the Miami game, they will play again Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before heading home.
Napoli, which finished second in Serie A last season under coach Carlo Ancelotti, has won three of five friendlies this summer. Barcelona is coming off back-to-back wins after losing 2-1 to Chelsea to start the preseason.
Ancelotti said he will miss seeing his team play against Messi. “All sports people like to see a player like Messi, whether he is on your team or the opponent,” he said. “I think we would have liked to have faced him. Barca has other strong players with quality. It is a chance for Ernesto to use others.”
On Sunday, Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 to win the Joan Gamper Trophy, an annual exhibition held every August before the start of Barcelona’s La Liga season. It is hosted by Barca at its Camp Nou stadium. Uruguayan star Luis Suarez scored one of the two goals on Sunday.
Messi, who last played on July 6 in Copa America, sat out Sunday’s game and it is unknown whether he will be in top form when the season starts in two weeks against Athletic Bilbao. Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde was hoping to use the U.S. games to integrate new players Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong with Messi, but that will have to wait.
The likely Barcelona starting lineup Wednesday will be: goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, defender Nelson Semedo, defender Gerard Pique, defender Samuel Umtiti, defender Jordi Alba, midfielder Ivan Rakitic, midfielder de Jong, midfielder Riqui Puig, forward Ousmane Dembele, forward Suarez and forward Griezmann.
Napoli will probably go with: goalkeeper Alex Meret, defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo, defender Kostas Manolas, defender Nikola Maksimovic, defender Mario Rui, winger Jose Callejon, midfielder Fabian Ruiz, forward Simone Verdi, forward Amin Younes; forward Lorenzo Insigne, and forward Arkadiusz Milik.
Barcelona and SSC Napoli are two of the most successful franchises in their respective leagues. A 26-time La Liga and five-time UEFA Champions League champions, FC Barcelona holds the league record for the most Copa del Rey (30) and Supercopade Espana (13) titles, as well as European records for the most UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (4) and UEFA Super Cup (5) wins.
SSC Napoli has won two league titles, five Coppa Italias, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and one UEFA Cup. The club placed second overall in Serie A this year. This will be Napoli’s first trip to the United States in 30 years.
Tickets are available through TicketMaster and at https://www.releventsportsgroup.com/en/events
This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 3:35 PM.