Like a Hollywood script, Lionel Messi made his Inter Miami debut scoring the winning goal on the last play, a magical performance that triggered the already enormous expectations of his arrival in American soccer.
The spectacular goal from a free kick in the 94th minute of Friday’s match against Cruz Azul, which gave Inter a 2-1 victory on the opening day of the Leagues Cup, had a global impact that the highly-priced and ultra-competitive sports market in the United States did not escape.
The collective madness that the DRV PNK stadium in Fort Lauderdale experienced began to materialize the vision of the owners of Inter and MLS to attract the biggest star in the world to give soccer the definitive boost ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States will organize together with Canada and Mexico.
As much as his providential left-footed shot, over the barrier and directly into the angle of the Mexican goal, the media and social networks amplified the disbelief of the celebrities who witnessed the prodigy from the front row.
NBA superstar LeBron James, who embraced Messi before the game, snapped photos on his phone of the moment La Pulga came on as a second-half substitute and tennis giant Serena Williams gaped alongside Kim Kardashian as she watched the decisive goal.
“Incredible!!!!” wrote LeBron James, who won two rings for the Miami Heat in the past decade, retweeting Messi’s great goal.
Media impact. There is a long way to go for soccer to compete in popularity with sports like American football, baseball or basketball in the United States, but Friday’s game was a great starting point.
The debut of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner managed to gain a foothold on the front pages of national media such as The New York Times, which headlined: “Messi makes a difference.”
“As he begins his career at Inter Miami, the enormous impact of the soccer star is already being felt in a city known as the unofficial capital of Latin America,” the Florida soccer fever newspaper said.
The front page of the Miami Herald newspaper reserved its biggest photograph for the celebration of Messi’s goal, with his new pink Inter kit, his recovered number 10 on his back and the captain’s armband that he was immediately given upon entering the field.
On television, the most followed sports newscasts, such as the one on ESPN, also dedicated unusual slots to soccer to report on the Miami debut of the Albiceleste captain.