Lionel Messi scores again as Inter Miami reaches Leagues Cup final
Such is Lionel Messi mania, even during an away game.
“I think if you’re even a Union fan, you should respect and love how Messi plays the game and how he is as a human being and as a teammate,” Union Coach Jim Curtin said with a knowing grin. “But certainly coming off the bridge today, when I saw the lines of real or fake Messi jerseys being sold, that did catch me off guard.”
Although most of those in attendance were pulling for the Union, a notable and noisy minority represented a collage of Messi’s career: Barcelona’s blue and garnet, Paris Saint-Germain’s navy, Argentina’s sky blue and white, and the pink and black he has donned since his momentous move to Miami last month.
“I think the sentence, ‘Lionel Messi in Chester, Pennsylvania,’ is just pretty bizarre,” said Diego Zubieta-Soto, a Union fan who draped his Philadelphia scarf over a PSG jersey sporting Messi’s name and number.
“I’ve supported the Union for a while, but I’ve known Messi my entire life,” said Alex Hernandez, who attended wearing Miami pink as his little brother and cousin wore Philadelphia jerseys. “It feels weird seeing someone so huge coming to a stadium this little.”
Yet there Messi was a few hours later, roaming Subaru Park in front of 19,778 — a stadium record for soccer — just beside the Delaware River. Above, 18-wheelers rolled across the weathered Commodore Barry Bridge, and the Philadelphia skyline glistened in the distance.
Playing stateside is nothing new to the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has traveled to the United States for many club exhibitions, international friendlies and Copa América clashes in NFL stadiums. But matches such as Miami’s 4-1 victory Tuesday in a more intimate Leagues Cup semifinal exemplified the appeal of Messi’s MLS venture.
And he didn’t disappoint. Just as Messi did as he led Argentina to the World Cup title last fall in Qatar, the fleet-footed forward was judicious in his movements Tuesday night — regularly walking off the ball, picking and choosing the moments to churn his 36-year-old legs. After 19 uneventful minutes for Messi, who didn’t play a part in teammate Josef Martínez’s third-minute opening goal, he collected the ball near midfield and accelerated. As he forged ahead and teed up from 30-plus yards, all of Subaru Park seemed to lean forward in anticipation.
For anyone else, the long-distance bid would’ve been unwisely audacious. But on Messi’s left foot? It felt like a free throw — a low drive that was destined for the far corner of the net well before it nestled there.
“I mean, we tried our best,” Union midfielder Daniel Gazdag said. “Obviously, he’s the greatest player of all time. It’s not easy to lock him down.”
“He can kind of do anything,” Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender observed. “It’s amazing to see how much he can influence a game.”
The Union played to swaths of empty seats in previous rounds of the Leagues Cup, a month-long tournament featuring every team from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, but the meeting with Messi’s Miami squad sold out in eight minutes Saturday. On Tuesday morning, the cheapest seat on Ticketmaster was a standing-room spot for $241. On StubHub, two field-level club seats were listed for $16,200 each. In second-half stoppage time, multiple pitch invaders jaunting toward Messi had to be wrangled off the field.
The Messi bump has reverberated well beyond game attendance. Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas tweeted last week that subscribers to MLS Season Pass, the league’s first-year streaming package through Apple TV Plus, had more than doubled since Messi’s signing. A Fanatics spokesperson told The Washington Post that Messi’s jersey has been the retailer’s top seller across all sports over the past month and that Miami has been the second-best-selling team overall. Inter Miami’s Instagram account has skyrocketed to nearly 14 million followers, more than any franchise in the NFL, the NHL or MLB.
Remarkably, Messi’s production has lived up to the outsize expectations. He capped his debut with a 94th-minute winner off a free kick as Miami topped Mexican club Cruz Azul. Two weeks later, he rifled home another set piece for an 85th-minute equalizer at FC Dallas. All told, he has found the net in each of his six appearances while racking up nine goals.
Messi also helped recruit a couple of his longtime Barcelona teammates: Sergio Busquets, a calming influence in central midfield Tuesday, and Jordi Alba, who notched Miami’s third goal in first-half stoppage time. (Alejandro Bedoya got Philadelphia on the board in the 73rd minute before Miami’s David Ruíz capped the scoring in the 84th.) Amid the sportswashing saga looming over soccer, Messi’s decision to spurn Saudi Arabia further endeared him to fans disillusioned by Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and others’ pursuit of oil money.
“It really validates what I think about him, as a player and a person and an athlete,” said Ben Stoltzfoos, a Messi fan who went to the game with his wife after they splurged on standing-room tickets Tuesday morning. “I was very grateful that he didn’t go in the other direction.”
After Miami visits Nashville — a 2-0 home victor against Monterrey of Liga MX in Tuesday’s other semifinal — for the Leagues Cup title Saturday and plays at FC Cincinnati in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal Aug. 23, Messi finally will make his MLS debut Aug. 26 at the New York Red Bulls. At that point, he’ll wrestle with the reality of Miami’s 5-14-3 record.
But with 12 matches remaining and the ninth and final Eastern Conference playoff slot — currently occupied by D.C. United — 12 points away, a postseason run isn’t implausible. Not for a Miami team that, since Messi’s arrival, has morphed from an embarrassment to a buzz saw.
“The whole complexion of the team has changed incredibly,” said Bedoya, the Union’s captain. “When you have guys of that caliber, I mean, they just exude confidence — and you can see everybody’s confidence just go up.”
