Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi has only experienced one loss in Major League Soccer this year, which was in May at home against Atlanta United. Messi will make his MLS playoff debut this Friday night at home against Atlanta United.
Inter Miami, which broke records for the most points and best winning percentage in the regular season, faces a tough challenge right away in the playoffs with a best-of-three series against Atlanta. Messi recently scored a hat trick in their last regular-season game, a 6-2 victory over New England.
Despite missing almost half of the MLS season due to injury and playing for Argentina, Messi is still a strong candidate for league MVP with 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 games.
“If I could vote for him, I would have voted for him,” said Inter Miami defender Julian Gressel. “Yes, because for me, the MVP stands for the best player in the league. And Leo is that, by far. You know, there are other people who might define an MVP differently, but to me, Leo fits that definition too.”
Regardless of whether he wins MVP, Messi is clearly crucial for Inter Miami’s chances in the MLS Cup.
Friday night will mark the first home playoff game in Inter Miami’s history. If the team wins this series, they will stay at home for the rest of the season, enjoying the home advantage for the single-game conference semifinals, conference final, and MLS Cup, as long as they keep winning.
“This was always about creating history for Miami,” said David Beckham, a famous soccer figure and part of Inter Miami’s ownership group. He was the one who first announced plans to bring an MLS team back to Miami over ten years ago. “This was always about our family, La Familia, the people in this stadium, the people in this city.”
Messi’s arrival in mid-2023 was a significant step for Inter Miami to reach the global stage. The team won the Leagues Cup last year shortly after he joined, secured the Supporters Shield this year as the best MLS regular-season team, and now aims for the MLS playoff title.
There are some connections between these teams. For instance, Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino was with Atlanta when they won the MLS Cup in 2018, and Julian Gressel played for that Atlanta team as well.
Atlanta reached this series by defeating Montreal in a wild-card match on Tuesday. Their reward: facing Messi again.
“He’s arguably the best player that’s ever played,” said Atlanta United interim coach Rob Valentino. “We’ve faced him a few times and we know his qualities, but at the same time, they have other good players too. There has to be a focus on him—and his teammates around him.”
The stadium is expected to be nearly full on Friday night, and Miami has been aware for weeks that they would start their playoff journey at home.
While it might not be the biggest moment in the team’s history—since Messi’s debut likely holds that title—it is definitely the most important match of this season, especially because a best-of-three series offers little room for mistakes.
“We’re kicking off our playoff run, so I think we’ll feel it,” said Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. “I think everyone will feel it. And I think there’s a reason why we’ve come this far. We also didn’t come this far just to get this far. So, we’re going to really just compete and, yeah, Friday, 8:30, it’s go time for us.”
