Club co-owner David Beckham affirmed that Inter Miami has made continuous progress,
even almost turning a new page in history with the Leagues Cup championship thanks to the great contribution of Lionel Messi.
On the evening of August 19, Inter Miami played the final with Nashville. Messi continued to shine, scoring a wonderful left-footed curler to open the score.
Despite being tied 1-1 after 90 minutes of play, he and his teammates still won 10-9 in the penalty shootout to win the 2023 Leagues Cup.
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Beckham admitted that he felt nervous when watching the 11m penalty shootout – which lasted 11 times, forcing two goalkeepers to directly take the kicks.
“It’s not easy to watch a match end like that,” the former England player said in the tunnel of Geodis Park. “Nashville fought hard, but this was Inter Miami’s night.”
Beckham then praised the summer arrivals Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba: “It’s like a movie, every time Messi scores, Busquets passes, Alba runs. People say it’s programmed, and that’s the biggest compliment to these players. You watch them play and you feel emotional. Everything about their style of play is beautiful.”
Inter Miami were founded in 2018. They joined MLS two years later, finishing 19th, 20th and sixth in three seasons. Beckham’s team are currently bottom of the table after 22 games in the 2023 season, with five wins, three draws and 14 losses. Before Messi’s signing, Inter Miami had gone 11 games without a win.
But with the Argentine superstar joining, the team won all seven games on the way to winning the Leagues Cup. Messi himself contributed 10 goals. “A lot can happen in five weeks,” Beckham admitted. “Inter Miami is like a new team, with a lot of new things. We’re going to enjoy this victory and then look to the future and continue to develop. We have the best players in the world and a lot of potential academy players and that’s important. It’s an emotional moment and a long journey for me.”
While waiting to receive the Cup, Messi surprised everyone by removing the captain’s armband and handing it over to defender DeAndre Yedlin. When presenting the award, he also called Yedlin to lift the Cup to where his teammates were waiting. Yedlin is a 30-year-old right-back who joined Miami in February 2022 and was soon given the captain’s armband. But when Messi arrived, he had to give up the captaincy role to the 36-year-old superstar.
Yedlin said he was surprised by Messi’s actions, and affirmed that it was his senior who helped Inter Miami improve their mentality to always enter the match with a winning mentality. “I can’t say that was the team’s goal every time I played,” he said. “This is only Messi’s seventh game with Inter Miami. It’s unbelievable that I can lift a trophy with Messi, and that says everything about his character.”
With Inter Miami beating Nashville in the Leagues Cup final, Messi has won 44 trophies, surpassing former teammate Dani Alves to become the player with the most collective trophies in football history. He will soon have the chance to add to his record, when Inter Miami play Cincinnati in the 2023 US Open semi-final in Ohio at 6am on August 24, Hanoi time. If they reach the final, they will face Houston Dynamo or Real Salt Lake.
