NEW YORK – Nearly three years after Lionel Messi’s stateside move, Inter Miami have completed the quick transition from troubled MLS newcomer to the region’s most relevant team, but as they entered Sunday’s game at New York City FC, they reckoned with a new but guaranteed variety of being the team with the target on their back. They were four days removed from a surprise Concacaf Champions Cup elimination by Nashville SC in the round of 16, keeping them away from the next title they targeted as they assume regional dominance, the next question an inevitable one — with that season-defining aspiration gone and a full calendar of games ahead, how would Miami respond?
It would take them no time at all to come up with an answer.
As hordes of people filled New York City’s subways, many clad in NYCFC’s light blue but more in Miami’s pink and Argentina’s blue and white stripes, team news rolled in. Messi would start despite his midweek participation, the crowd set to get their money’s worth. It was also a statement of intent from head coach Javier Mascherano — the best way to correct course was by getting back in the saddle.
“I try to send a message that this is football,” Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said post-match. “It’s a game. Obviously, it’s important for us. We need to compete. We need to win games and when you cannot progress in a competition that we wanted [to] progress [in], it’s difficult. We need to live the moment and try to show the personality [that is needed], for me, in this kind of club … The only way to keep my job is winning games but to win games, you have to fight.”
The onslaught was quick, if complicated. Gonzalo Lujan scored from a corner three minutes in, Miami taking three cracks at the ball before the defender’s powerful strike from inside the box opened the scoring. Nicolas Fernandez’s free kick to level the score 15 minutes later, while impressive, was not enough to disrupt their momentum. Miami had taken 15 shots by halftime, their best tally before the break in MLS this season, some opportunities better than others as they climbed to 0.99 expected goals before heading into the locker room at the half. Unsurprisingly, one player stood out from the crowd – Messi, who had six shots and 0.33 expected goals all on his own, even if he had not scored yet.
In a second 90-minute match in four days, it is always a little unclear which version of Messi will show up. It is hard to fault him for a bad day since a player’s fitness levels can only be so high when they are three months shy of their 39th birthday. In a more reserved second half from Miami, though, Messi reminded onlookers that he is an everlasting cheat code. NYCFC may have had a go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, finished off expertly by Agustin Ojeda, but it was irrelevant just two minutes later when the hosts gave up a free kick. The ball may have been roughly 30 yards from goal but for Messi, the distance was no matter – the ball may have bounced on the way in but it still found the back of the net, NYCFC’s wall penetrated easily and goalkeeper Matt Freese’s efforts were ultimately futile. It paved the way for Micael’s game-winner off an impressive header in the 74th minute from Micael.
Even in this final chapter of Messi’s career, the wait for the hype train to come off track still has to wait because his brilliance was not reserved for dead-ball moments. He may be the first player down the tunnel at the end of each half but he still puts together active shifts for Miami, Sunday’s match included with 64 touches and 42 passes attempted. He is as busy a body as can be, at times managing quick sprints even in the latter stages of the second half. The World Cup winner still refuses to fade into the background; the hype somehow always warranted amidst a sea of players in their prime.
These days, Messi mania comes with undertones of ennui as familiarity sets in. It is not the first time around 40,000 people filled Yankee Stadium to see the Argentina international and it will be far from the last as Messi continues to tour North America, a welcoming crowd greeting him much to the hosts’ chagrin.
“It was great,” NYCFC defender Kevin O’Toole said of the pro-Miami atmosphere, almost joking. “It’d be nice to have that every week. Hopefully, we can just get someone on the other team with a Messi jersey each time so we can get 45,000.”
As wrong as the phenomenon would feel in other parts of the world, Messi continues to reward the masses who hope to catch a glimpse of a generational talent whose profile transcends the sport’s popularity. As dominant as NYCFC had been heading into the match, they seemed unsettled on their own uniquely narrow field when Miami hit the pitch alongside them, even if it is hard to say the visitors were the reason for their lack of self-assuredness.
“The start of the game was a little nervous from our side,” NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen noted. “I don’t know why ’cause that’s not something that happens a lot in our games.”
Months away from what will likely be his final World Cup, one where he is unlikely to be the main character as a generation of younger players fight for the spotlight he will leave behind, he is certain to be one of the main attractions. His greatest days may be behind him but he still offers far too much to be cast aside – not that anyone is trying to do so. There is simply no counting out Messi, be it in Miami’s color or Argentina’s, the player’s inherent quality able to creep out on his worst days but unmistakable on the other days.
“The details will make the difference and unfortunately,” Jansen said, “today is a good reflection of that as well.”
