The swarm of people in pink No. 10 jerseys was a sign that this was no ordinary weekday afternoon in downtown Atlanta. They were on their way to witness Lionel Messi play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Who knows how many more chances there would be to see the soccer legend in person, especially in a meaningful match against a European club?
It should be no surprise that Messi gave the people what they wanted to see. He’s in the twilight of his career now, but Messi still produces moments of brilliance. This time, it was a superb goal on a free kick that put Inter Miami ahead for good against Portugal’s FC Porto in a group play match of the FIFA Club World Cup.
“What can I say about Leo?” Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets said in Spanish following the 2-1 victory. “He shows it every game during all the years of his career and that (longevity) makes him even more special. So, it’s a luxury to have him with us and to enjoy him. ... Hopefully, he will help us decide many more games.”
An announced crowd of 31,783 spectators saw Messi’s latest magical moment. He signed with MLS club Miami with great fanfare in 2023 after a long, fruitful run with Barcelona and a brief stay with Paris Saint-Germain. Now, Messi helped Miami become the first MLS club to beat a club from Europe in an official competition.
Messi earned the free kick himself. Porto fouled him at the edge of the penalty box on a run through the middle. Anticipation grew in the stadium when Messi lined up to take the free kick. He’d scored 67 free kick goals in his career.
Messi curled the shot into the upper right corner of the goal, where Porto keeper Cláudio Ramos had little chance of stopping it. The goal set off a wild celebration among fans who’d chanted “Messi” throughout the match.
“Extraordinary,” Miami defender Marcelo Weigandt said in Spanish. “I was standing behind him and I saw the ball hit with such force and (then) it was gone. The truth is it was a great goal. We are accustomed to these types of things.”
Miami shouldn’t have had much chance to beat Porto on paper. Per Transfermarkt, the players on FC Porto’s roster have a collective market value of about $398 million. Miami’s players are worth about $76 million.
The difference on this day was that Miami had Messi, and Porto did not.
“His hunger, his resilience, his will to go on is something that guides us,” Miami manager Javier Mascherano said. “In football terms, what else can you add? He’s the best player to ever play this sport.”
There was a time when this Miami roster would be a threat to win the Club World Cup. Messi, Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba won much more important trophies with Barcelona. That was a long time ago in terms of sports, though.
All four players are at least 36-years old. They can’t carry Miami to the top of a tournament featuring top European and South American squads. Busquets acknowledged that reality in a pre-tournament interview with the streamer DANZ.
“It’s clear that we’re not at the level to compete in the Club World Cup,” Busquets said. “But we’ll try to compete in the group, take it game by game, fight, and hopefully move on to the next round, although it’s going to be tough.”
Miami’s victory greatly increased its chances of making it to the knockout round of the 32-team tournament. Miami and Palmeiras both have four points after two Group A matches, with Palmeiras holding a 2-1 edge in goal differential.
Miami opened the competition in South Florida with a scoreless draw against Egyptian side Al Ahly before an announced crowd of 61,000. Messi played in that match four days after playing in a World Cup qualifier for Argentina. Messi had some good moments against Al Ahly, including a strike that hit the goalpost in extra time, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari upstaged him with some outstanding stops in the first half.
Ustari kept Porto at bay in the first half, too (he got a hand on Porto’s only goal, a penalty shot by Samu Aghehowa in the eighth minute). Miami’s Telasco Segovia evened the score soon after halftime. Then came Messi’s go-ahead goal.
“You know what he’s capable of doing on the pitch,” Porto manager Martín Anselmi said.
That’s why all those people in pink jerseys made their way to MBS on Thursday. Messi gave them what they came to see.
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