Lionel Messi needed just 10 minutes to score Inter Miami’s first goal in their long-awaited new stadium, in front of a stand that bears his name, as his team played to an entertaining 2-2 draw with visiting Austin FC on Saturday.
Messi didn’t score the first goal at Nu Stadium; that distinction went to Austin defender Guilherme Biro. The Argentine great soon made his mark, though, scoring a header four minutes after Biro’s goal.
But Austin, who also hit post twice and had strong penalty appeal denied in the first half, looked set to spoil the party when it scored again early in the second half. In a rare sight, Messi was dispossessed on the edge of the opposition box and just over 10 seconds later Austin had the ball in the back of the Miami net, through Jayden Nelson.
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Messi looked desperate to atone as Miami increased the pressure on Austin but after some sumptuous footwork had an effort repelled by goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
Instead it was another South American star who ensured that what Miami coach Javier Mascherano had called a “dream day” did not end on a somber note. With nine minutes of regulation time remaining and just a few minutes after Mascherano brought him off the substitutes’ bench, 39-year-old Luis Suárez volleyed in from close range following a corner.
Still Messi came close to delivering a perfect finale for those fans watching on in the newly christened Leo Messi Stand and around the 26,700-capacity stadium, only to see one of his trademark free kicks come back off the post in the dying minutes.
Inter Miami (3-1-2) is now unbeaten in its last five MLS matches, and Austin (1-2-3) is now winless in its last four contests.
“This is a spectacular stadium, clearly world-class,” Mascherano said after. “The crowd was incredible; the place was absolutely packed.”
Saturday’s game was Inter Miami’s first “home” match since winning last season’s MLS Cup and its first ever in its namesake city after more than six years of calling Fort Lauderdale its home.
For Miami co-owner David Beckham the wait went back even longer. It was in 2013 that Beckham picked Miami as the spot for his team, as part of the the deal that brought him to MLS with the LA Galaxy six years earlier. The league made it official in 2014 when he formally exercised his option for an expansion franchise.
“When I came to America and the MLS 20 years ago, my dream was to win championships, help raise the game of soccer that I love so much and to build my own team,” Beckham said ahead of Saturday’s game.
“Thirteen years ago, I announced Miami was my choice. We had no name. We had no fans. We had no stadium. Today, I stand in our new home. We are champions of the MLS. We have the best player in the history of the game playing in Miami. Dreams really can come true.”
By the time Messi came onto the field for warmups, most of the seats were filled. Beckham and the rest of Inter Miami’s ownership group came out to applaud the fans moments earlier, even mingling with some in the most ardent supporters’ section behind one of the goals. It was an event, with pink glow sticks being waved in the stands and music icon Marc Anthony performing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
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Inter Miami CF vs. Austin FC – Game Highlights
Inter Miami CF vs. Austin FC – Game Highlights
Watching on from the stands was another soccer legend, Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo — a former teammate of Beckham’s at Real Madrid.
MLS commissioner Don Garber was there for the ribbon-cutting of Miami Freedom Park, a complex with construction still very much in progress and one that needed temporary approvals from civic officials just so Saturday’s match could be held.
“We made a commitment to him that he would have an option on the team, and he exercised that in Miami,” Garber said. “And it was a journey. And that journey, in many ways, didn’t end when Leo Messi joined the club. The journey really came to its conclusion today with the opening of this building.”
Beckham’s celebrity level got things started. Messi put the team onto a global stage. And others now will try to replicate it — including Austin, which has actor and producer Matthew McConaughey as part of its ownership group.
McConaughey wrote an open letter of sorts to Beckham on Saturday.
“As Austin visits Miami today for a little shindig on your new pitch, I want to first shout out a sincere ‘thank you’ — you didn’t create soccer over here in the US, but you damn sure supercharged it,” McConaughey wrote. “When you came to the Galaxy you gave MLS fresh legitimacy, you turned games into events, and essentially changed MLS from a proving ground to a premier destination. THANK YOU.”
MLS gave Inter Miami several road matches to start the season, buying the team time to get closer to finishing construction, and it has yet to hit the heights it reached in lifting its first MLS championship at the end of last year.
And Mascherano said the team’s performance in the first half was a particular disappointment after a win at New York City FC last time out.
“We leave with a sense of disappointment, feeling we deserved more, especially considering we created 18 scoring chances,” he said. “But football isn’t like pushing a button — you can’t just switch yourself on whenever you feel like it and then switch yourself off just as easily. It doesn’t work that way, and we simply cannot afford to squander a first half the way we did today.
“So the feeling is bitter — it’s a sad feeling — because I feel that, after the strong performance we delivered in New York, today we took a step backward.”
Miami will be back at its new home in a week’s time to take on the New York Red Bulls.
Information from ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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