Messi and Inter Miami stars prepare to face former coach Luis Enrique and PSG in Club World Cup

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and their Inter Miami teammates took the field at their practice facility Thursday for another training session.

There wasn’t much different about what they did. Dribbling drills. Some laughs. Interactions with coaches.

But this training was more important than most.

In a few days, Inter Miami will play one of the biggest matches of its five-year club history when the Herons take on French juggernaut Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup round of 16.

The storylines will be plenty.

Inter Miami will be a heavy underdog against Paris Saint-Germain, winners of last month’s Champions League final in a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan. It will be uncharted territory for Messi, who rarely has in his decorated career entered a match as anything other than the favorite.

It will be the first time Messi faces his former club since his exit from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 after two seasons.

He also will be facing his former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, now the coach of PSG, who has had a big influence on Messi and several Inter Miami stars.

Messi was coached by Enrique for three of his 17 seasons with Barcelona. The Spanish coach led Barcelona from 2014 to 2017. He won nine titles, including two La Liga trophies, three from Copa del Rey and one Champions League.

Messi, Suarez and Brazilian star Neymar played together under Enrique for three memorable seasons, forming the famed “MSN” trio that combined for 364 goals and 173 assists.

“He has been very important to my career,” Suarez said of Enrique, “what I learned from him and just being around him. I had a competitive DNA before I played for him, but he upgraded it even more.”

Miami’s Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets also played for Enrique, and coach Javier Mascherano considers him a great friend.

“I have said this many times, but Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world,” Alba said after Miami’s draw with Palmeiras on Monday, “not only just as a soccer coach, but also in the way he manages the whole group, which is spectacular. He’s a phenomenon. We’ll meet him and hug him, but when the referee blows the opening whistle, we’re going try to beat him, which is what all of us here are trying to do.”

Mascherano, 41, also played alongside Messi, Suarez & Co. when Barcelona won the treble under Enrique in 2015.

“I have a special relationship with him,” Mascherano said. “I have a special relationship with his family. Obviously, it will be very special facing him. It will be an honor for me facing a great coach. One of the greatest coaches I’ve had in my career.”

The knockout stages of the Club World Cup begin Saturday, and Inter Miami’s showdown with PSG is Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Despite entering the tournament on somewhat of a slump, Miami became the only Major League Soccer team to advance to the Club World Cup round of 16 after playing Palmeiras to a 2-2 draw earlier this week, finishing runner-up to the Brazilian club in Group A.

That was after the Herons secured a 2-1 victory over two-time European champion Porto on a trademark free kick by Messi, who along with his longtime teammates has driven Miami’s belief that it can make a statement on the global stage.

Suarez noted how important advancing to the knockout stage was for the club’s trajectory, but the Herons know the odds for Sunday’s matchup. They know they’ll be the underdogs.

They insist they’re ready for the challenge.

“Now that we are facing likely the best team in Europe – the Champions League champion – we will try to maintain the same commitment and unity and play a great match,” Mascherano said. “If there is something this sport has proven is that anything can happen in any match. And who’s to say that Sunday will (not) be our day. Sometimes, things happen.”