Will MLS, Inter Miami build on Beckham’s legacy with Messi?،
CARSON, Calif. — Crammed into an unceremonious corner of the press box at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber held an impromptu press briefing minutes before the start of the team's first home game. LA Galaxy's season against Inter Miami.
The topics varied, but it was clear there was one idea Garber wanted to get across from the start: the importance of Sunday's game and how it brought things full circle.
“For me, a lot of it comes down to where we were in 2007 and where we are today,” he said. “Someone, probably one of you, wrote this article or a headline that said, 'Will David Beckham Change the Course of Soccer in America?' He didn’t do it once, he did it twice.”
Garber is right. Last summer, Beckham, a former Galaxy player and current Miami co-owner, blazed the golden trail that led MLS to sign arguably the greatest player to ever play the sport: Lionel Messi. And his own high-profile introduction to the league with the Galaxy in 2007 kicked things off.
Then aged 31, Beckham's unexpected adventure in America proved a huge success, and it is no coincidence that club valuations, player salaries and media deals followed. Due to a unique clause in his contract with Galaxy, the former England captain was also given the opportunity to become part-owner of a team after his retirement, leading to the debut of his Inter Miami franchise in 2020 .Messi, with his own set of unique players. financial incentives, was attracted by the Miami project.
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Lionel Messi ties the match for Inter Miami in the 92nd minute
Lionel Messi scores from Jordi Alba's pass to tie the match at 1-1 against LA Galaxy.
In the same way that world soccer's attention turned to MLS when Beckham arrived, “Messi-mania” hit the United States at an even higher level through jersey sales, media attention and social media growth over the past eight months. And with no sign of the fervor waning, Sunday's highly anticipated game (with Beckham in attendance) marked the first time the Galaxy hosted Miami since signing the Argentine in July.
It was hard to glance anywhere without seeing the name of the World Cup winner. Near the Beckham statue outside the stadium, countless children and families sporting Messi kits milled around enthusiastically before the match. An undeniable buzz swept through the crowd of 27,642 and provided the energy usually found in a championship match or final. A fan, carrying a large sign asking for a Miami game jersey, told ESPN that he sold his car for $2,000 to pay his ticket.
Here at Dignity Health Sports Park for LA Galaxy vs Inter Miami. I met this fan who told me he sold his car for $2,000 to get tickets to the game.
(Just in case, the other side of the sign is in Spanish) pic.twitter.com/vQGrTDSRTV
– César Hernández (@cesarhfutbol) February 25, 2024
From a financial and marketing perspective, the match was another home run in a growing list of Messi-related MLS matches that are becoming soccer Super Bowls in their own right. According to a vendor working a booth at Dignity Health Sports Park, the cheapest ticket available two hours before kickoff was set at $650.
But on the pitch, it remains unclear whether Messi will be able to help Miami advance in his first full season, or whether he will mirror the problems Beckham faced in his early years with the Galaxy, where he had need time to adapt. before winning his MLS Cup titles in 2011 and 2012.
Days after Miami opened the season with a 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake that was far from comfortable, Messi & Co. were second for most of Sunday's 1-1 draw against Galaxy. Sure, they maintained their undefeated start and Messi got another highlight-reel moment with a dramatic equalizer in the 92nd minute, but Miami still ended the week with more questions than answers about its star players.
Striker Luis Suárez struggled on Sunday, without any real impact; midfielder Sergio Busquets was sensitive to counterattacks; and although Messi will be applauded for his late equalizer, the real man of the match for Miami was goalkeeper Drake Callender. Without his heroics, which included a first-half penalty save, things could have gone badly for Miami.
“It’s something similar that happened in many games last year,” coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said after the match. “He was decisive again, saved the penalty, blocked certain goal situations.”
The result could also have changed had the Galaxy not been reduced to 10 players moments before Messi's equalizer, with midfielder Marky Delgado sent off afterwards. a questionable pair of yellow cards.
“Really, really soft. I mean, really soft,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of the decisions, which included being made by a substitute referee due to the current referee lockout in MLS . “It's difficult in a match like this, where there are so many people here to watch the match and it's also a big spectacle, you have to be careful in handing out soft yellows, and that ends up changing the game.”
It was called a second yellow.. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/067n0Tnw7D
– Herculez Gomez (@herculezg) February 26, 2024
Miami's players clearly weren't happy with the way things were going for the most part either. During his 67th-minute substitution, Suarez angrily kicked an unidentified object that flew through the team's bench. Messi, unhappy with the lack of speed in the build-up play, openly reprimanded teammate Tomás Avilés for not getting him the ball in time.
Moments like these should be taken with a grain of salt, but as previously mentioned, Beckham has also encountered similar issues. Like the Argentinian, he arrived with great fanfare mid-season in his first tournament, but suffered from injury problems that limited him to only a handful of appearances in his first year. Beckham, who benefited from two loans from the Galaxy to AC Milan, took time to find his feet in MLS. Could the same thing happen to Messi?
It's premature to make sweeping judgments about how things might play out in 2024 when it comes to Messi, but while Beckham has shown it's possible to thrive in MLS, he's also shown it's not assumed that this will happen from the start. As for MLS itself, we will see how it can capitalize on Messi's presence. While the league obviously gains a lot from having the World Cup champion, it also does so with imperfections along the way.
Back in the press conference with Garber before the game, the league commissioner tried to put an optimistic spin on the league's labor dispute with the referees by emphasizing the opportunities available to their last-minute substitutions. According to Garber, another negotiation session is expected with the Professional Football Referees Association which recently rejected the ratification of a proposed collective agreement. Questions regarding the proper approach to roster rules, which may or may not lead to more Messi-style additions, have also been raised.
“I'm leaving here and going to Miami, I'm 12 [club] “The owners — this is a bit of news — spent two days working on how we should think about our roster rules going forward,” Garber said.
Behind the scenes, there is also the unresolved issue of the US Open Cup, which MLS attempted to abandon last December after announcing that only reserve teams, not first teams, would participate in the national cup. competition. Even the pre-season has become a controversial talking point after Miami managed just one win from seven friendlies this winter, while also finding a way to anger the overseas crowd in the process.
Whether it's Miami in its first full season with its new number 10 or MLS at the start of a new year, it will be interesting to see if either takes the right approach in what is now a full-fledged era of Messi. .
Sunday's game was a well-deserved celebration of when MLS has come full circle, but time will tell if Miami or MLS will find the right way to utilize the figurehead they currently have.
