"First in, last out" - Inter Miami's head of strength and conditioning lauds Lionel Messi's professionalism 

Ben Young, Inter Miami's head of strength and conditioning, has hailed club captain Lionel Messi for his exemplary professionalism. The 36-year-old arrived at the Herons last summer on a free transfer.

Having led them to their first title in their short five-year history, Messi has made an impressive start to his first full season in American football in South Florida. Meanwhile, Young - a sport and exercise science graduate from the University of Gloustershire - has worked with many professional teams across sports.

Having moved to the Herons in January last year, Young spoke eloquently about Messi's focus on strength and conditioning, even when he's travelling (as per Mirror):

“Messi is first in, last out, a true professional. He does his own individual activation and strength sessions, he will even be in training the next day after being away in an international camp in Argentina.

"He’s in his rhythm, his routine, and that is why he’s at the top and has stayed there. He ticks all the boxes, he pushes himself but also does all his recovery work.

H‌e concluded:

“We are also continually educating the players on the importance of recovery, nutrition and make sure your recovery is good and sleep in that process to make sure they can keep training and playing at that intensity.‌ Messi is getting individual treatment, massage and recovery, which shows the importance of having people close to you who you can rely on.”

Messi is set to join the Argentina camp this week ahead of their Copa America title defence.

---

How Lionel Messi has fared for Inter Miami this season?

Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi

Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game. Even at the age of 36, he has shown little signs of slowing down anytime soon.

He has had an injury-plagued start to his first full season in American football with the Herons, missing five games across competitions due to injury. Nevertheless, he has returned impressive numbers of 14 assists and 11 goals in 15 games across competitions.

Most of those goal contributions - 12 goals and nine assists in 12 games - have come in MLS - where Tata Martino's side are atop the Easten Conference after 18 games.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has also scored twice and assisted as many times in three outings in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where the Herons crashed out in the quarterfinals to Monterrey following a 5-2 aggregate defeat.