FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Since his celebrated arrival in South Florida two-and-a-half years ago, Lionel Messi has been the face of not only Inter Miami but also Major League Soccer and perhaps the U.S. soccer scene at large. Even in the twilight of his incomparable career, the 38-year-old Argentine magician stands as the driving force behind the league’s ambitions.
What he lacked, however, was the MLS Cup trophy, but on a searing afternoon — at jam-packed, pink-splashed Chase Stadium, that all changed.
Advertisement
In a riveting match that his team very well could have – and maybe should have – lost, Messi assisted on Rodrigo De Paul’s go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and added another assist in the dying moments as Miami rallied down the stretch to defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1.
“This is the moment I had been waiting for and that we, as a team, were waiting for,” Messi, the game MVP, said through an interpreter. “It’s very beautiful for all of us. They deserved it.”
The crowning moment capped a season in which he led the league in goals (29) and tied for most assists (19) en route to a second consecutive MVP award. In six playoff appearances, he added six goals and nine assists.
Advertisement
“I am very happy for him because of the season he played,” said Miami coach Javier Mascherano, Messi’s former teammate at FC Barcelona. “He was fantastic with the numbers but also the commitment to the team. He was making a big effort the last two, three, four games that showed us how important it was for him to win. For him, it was very, very special and very important to win this trophy. He came here to win this trophy.”
Messi remains a global sensation, even after shifting from the heights of European leagues to MLS, which has gone along for the wild ride. His signing midway through the 2023 season brought fresh attention to the league and, after playoff disappointment last year, he was on top of his game throughout this campaign. Whether he could carry Miami to its first MLS Cup appearance, though, remained uncertain.
On Saturday, Messi had a set of decisive moments rather than a constant influence. He helped diffuse Vancouver’s pressure on the first goal — an own goal — then delivered passes resulting in the late goals as Miami finished its home schedule with a 22-4-4 record.
“The team made a huge effort — it was a very long year, with many matches — and we were up to the task all season,” he said.
Advertisement
Messi’s colleagues — fellow Argentines De Paul and Tadeo Allende and Spaniards Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — were up to the task. The final marked the end of storied careers for Busquets and Alba, 2010 World Cup champions with Spain who had arrived in South Florida from FC Barcelona to collaborate with Messi.
“During the whole year, we were the team that competed in the best way,” Mascherano said. “So we deserved to win today.”
Despite Messi’s involvement and Miami’s first MLS Cup, there was not much of a championship vibe in the stadium area in the few hours leading to kickoff. Streams of tanned, pink-clad home supporters – and pale visitors in Whitecaps white and blue — steadily arrived off Commercial Boulevard on the northern edge of Fort Lauderdale.
Some 35 miles north of the city the club is named for, the makeshift stadium has a small-time feel to it. The club’s temporary home – adjacent to an executive airport — has been a no-frills placeholder for six seasons until 25,000-seat Miami Freedom Park opens next spring, at a cost of $350 million, as part of a $1 billion mixed-use development next to Miami International Airport.
Advertisement
As gametime approached, the sights and sounds of a championship match took hold.
The match featured two of the three highest-scoring teams in MLS’ regular season, with Miami’s 81 goals in 34 matches leading the way. But it also featured a Vancouver defense that conceded just 38 goals, behind only Philadelphia’s 35 for stingiest in the league.
The sides did not meet in the regular season — MLS teams have only six interconference games — but did collide in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals in April. The Whitecaps breezed to the final on a 5-1 two-game aggregate score.
Miami, though, roared through the playoffs, the only hiccup coming against Nashville in Game 2 of the first round. It scored 16 goals in the previous four victories, including 12 in three home dates.
Advertisement
On Saturday, it started very well with an eighth-minute goal involving four Argentines. Messi split two challengers and pushed the ball ahead to De Paul for a one-time flick to Allende rushing onside into the open.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are MLS Cup champions at last.
(Rich Storry via Getty Images)
As Allende penetrated the penalty area, unmarked Mateo Silvetti dashed into the box for what would have been a tap-in of Allende’s cross. It never got there, however, caroming off the leg of backtracking defender Edier Ocampo and past goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka — the first MLS Cup own goal in 15 years.
The Whitecaps, however, were the better team the last 20 minutes of the half, tightening their defensive efforts and generating three quality chances.
Advertisement
Sebastian Berhalter — a set-piece specialist for his club and the U.S. national team — served a free kick from shadow into sunlight, connecting with Brian White for a 7-yard header into Rocco Rios Novo’s hands.
Moments later, Rios Novo blocked Emmanuel Sabbi’s leaping, point-blank bid, set up by German star Thomas Müller, and Müller’s header forced a high save by the California-born Argentine goalkeeper.
The Whitecaps were unhappy with the deficit but clearly optimistic about the second half.
Indeed, they kept the momentum after intermission and put Miami’s unsound defense under duress. With the most recent U.S. national team coaches in attendance — his father, Gregg, and current boss, Mauricio Pochettino — Berhalter squandered a golden chance by sailing a 25-yard free kick into the south-end stands.
Advertisement
Miami alleviated trouble briefly, and with Takaoka out of position after punching away the ball, Messi’s header floated narrowly wide.
Vancouver’s possession and pressure paid off in the 60th minute. With his back to the goal at the top of the box, White expertly laid off Sabbi’s pass to Ali Ahmed free on the left side for a 16-yard shot that came off Rios Novo’s hands and kissed the inside of the near post before tumbling into the net.
Two minutes later, the Whitecaps came agonizingly close to seizing the lead. Sabbi’s 17-yard strike hit the right post, skipped along the goal line and nicked the left upright. Sabbi then pounced on a Miami deflection and put another bid off the left post.
Advertisement
“We were very lucky the ball touched the two posts,” Mascherano said. “It’s the luck you need to be champions.”
Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen rued the missed opportunities.
“We had the game at 1-1 where we wanted it, and we just actually waited for the 2-1 goal,” he said, “then we made a mistake, and the ball dropped for Messi.”
With everything seemingly going the Whitecaps’ way, Andres Cubas gave away the ball in his own end to Messi. Instincts told De Paul to make a run. Messi’s perfectly weighted ball met the midfielder in stride for a 10-yard shot into the far corner.
“We took control of the game and we had control of the game,” Sorensen said.
Advertisement
After the goal celebration, the fans serenaded their hero, chanting, “Messi! Messi!”
Down the stretch, the Whitecaps’ desperation yielded few threats for the equalizer. Messi then helped put the result out of reach by passing the ball ahead to Allende for the breakaway clincher.
Moments later, Messi became an MLS Cup champion for the first time — the 46th trophy of an immaculate career that, even as he approaches 40, doesn’t seem ready to end anytime soon.
