Lionel Messi stamped his mark on football in the US from his very first match – this year, the maestro’s mission is to help Inter Miami become MLS champions
WordsAndrew Murray
Bron James hollered like he’d just won a fifth NBA championship ring. Serena Williams watched on in wide-eyed disbelief as if witnessing herself triumph in a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles final. Beneath Kim Kardashian’s trowel-applied make-up, the reality royalty was probably smiling the most rictus of grins.
The acrid phosphorus smell of pink and black pyro hung in the humid, heavy South Florida air around the trio’s pitchside seats. “Inter Miami golazo scored by numero diez,” trilled the stadium announcer, “Lionel…”
“MESSI!” exploded the exultant crowd, responding to the same call twice more with ever-increasing mania.
Inter Miami’s new No.10 was barely 45 minutes into a bow that had begun with a frenzied welcome from the substitutes’ bench. There had been goals disallowed for offside and Messi-created opportunities aplenty, but in the 95th minute, the shuffling Flea had just struck a free-kick of typical deft precision to secure a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul. A script writer would have been sacked for stretching the limits of credibility.
“As soon as I saw that the free-kick had been given, I thought, ‘This is the way we’re meant to win’,” said a visibly moved Miami co-owner David Beckham at full-time. “Tonight is about the people. It’s about this. This is what we always saw as our vision.”
After scoring 10 goals in just seven games, the Argentine’s genius delivered the Herons’ first trophy within a month, Miami beating Nashville on penalties in the Leagues Cup final. In 2024, they will play in the revamped Champions Cup – the CONCACAF Champions League – for the first time and commence the upcoming MLS season later this month as overwhelming favourites.
Sullen, quiet and moody in Paris, he looks happy for the first time in more than two years in his home from home. The reigning World Cup-winning captain is the new face of the league, bringing the sort of legitimacy, prestige and billions of eyeballs that not even Beckham at LA Galaxy from 2007 to 2012 could muster.
“This is our moment to change the football landscape in this country,” Cuban-American billionaire Jorge Mas, Miami co-owner with Beckham, declared at Messi’s July unveiling.
Arguably, Messi and Miami already have inside seven months, the former’s impact gargantuan by every metric goin
