Hérculez Gómez: “I get that he’s Messi, but rivals shouldn’t be in awe of him”
‘Messimania’ has reached the field of play in the United States with rival players keen to exchange shirts or get an autograph - even when they are on the losing side.
ESPN commentator, Hércules Gómez has been surprised by the attitude of some of the players who have faced Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, and feels that that there is a time and a place to ask for a photo, autograph or shirt - but not after losing a semi-final.
It seems that Messimania hasn’t only affected soccer fans in the United States - most of Inter Miami’s rival players have been trying to find ways of getting a memento of the Argentine star - every game has prompted a contest between opposing players to exchange shirts. Not everyone is in agreement with such behaviour - such as former player Hérculez Gómez.
“I think this is cultural. Imagine in other parts of the world where your team blew a 2-0 lead in a semifinal and you pull out a sharpie and ask for an autograph... I get that it’s Messi, but most of the fans wouldn’t take too kindly to it. There is a time and a place. Just a bad look”, he wrote on social media.
“Worst part is Brandon Vazquez played a hell of a game, scored a golazo and here we are talking about a signed jersey. Dax was a monster vs Inter Miami. We are talking about a posted picture. Rotondi was Cruz Azul’s best player vs Miami, got crushed for posting a pic. It’s a no win situation in most cases,” he added.
Meanwhile, Messi qualified for his second final with Inter Miami after beating Cincinnati in the US Open Cup semifinals on penalties; they will face Houston Dynamo in next month’s final to contest what would be the club’s second trophy.