Messi puts Miami in the pink

Lionel Messi's legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He'd won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies and was generally considered the greatest player in the sport's history.

He didn't need an MLS Cup.

But, he wanted one — and got it.

Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final for the franchise's first championship. It came two-and-a-half years after the Argentine legend arrived in South Florida, a move that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.

He led the team to a Leagues Cup trophy in 2023, the MLS Supporters' Shield last year, before a first-round playoff loss — and now, he's grabbed MLS' biggest prize.

"Last year we went out early in the league and were eliminated in the first round," Messi said in Spanish after the final. "This year, winning the MLS was one of our main objectives. The team made a huge effort — it was a very long year, with many matches — and we were up to the task all season."

Messi set up the title-clinching goal with a 72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, a play where Messi stole the ball and threaded a pass through a tiny gap in a wall of Vancouver defenders. De Paul took it in his stride, pushed it into the far corner of the net — and Messi went airborne to hop into his arms a few seconds later, all smiles.

And, as the final minutes ticked away, Inter Miami's pink-clad fans — most wearing Messi's No 10 on their backs — stood and stomped and cheered. South Florida has seen NFL and NBA and Major League Baseball and NHL titles in the past.

It's a soccer town now, too. Messi made that happen.

Tadeo Allende scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time — off another Messi assist, of course — to make it 3-1. And when Messi lifted the trophy surrounded by his teammates, confetti rained down and fireworks boomed.

"This was the dream," Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said. "A spectacular day."

Inter Miami became the 16th franchise in the league's 30-year history to win an MLS title. And this extends a run of parity for MLS, which has seen five different franchises win championships in the last five years, and eight franchises claim a title in the last nine seasons — only Columbus has won twice in that span.

"They said soccer would never make it in America," MLS commissioner Don Garber said during the trophy ceremony. "Inter Miami fans, has soccer made it?"

It has, and the moment is also the culmination of a 12-year odyssey for David Beckham, part of Inter Miami's ownership group.

He retired as a player in 2013 and his MLS contract said he could start a franchise at a discounted rate when his career ended. Beckham chose Miami, and it took him years to finally make it happen; it wasn't until January 2018 when the franchise was formally born, after he partnered with Miami businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas, and, even then, the team didn't have a stadium plan.

The team started playing in 2020, and Messi arrived halfway through the 2023 season. Inter Miami was in last place in MLS at the time.

And then Messi arrived.

The last-place team then, now runs the league.

"It's been an incredible journey," Beckham said.

The trophy is Messi's 47th for club and country, extending his global men's soccer record.

Some say it's actually 48 because MLS awards a trophy for winning conference titles as well. He's now won at least 21 titles in one-match final situations, many of them with the core of this team — Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano, his longtime Barcelona teammates.

Busquets and Alba are retiring and get to step away as champions. Suarez's future is uncertain. Mascherano is the coach now, one who changed Inter Miami's lineup and tactics halfway through the season — his first one leading the club — with this moment in mind.

And the 38-year-old Messi, the 2024 MLS MVP, who seems like a lock to win the award again this season, still is like none other in the biggest moments, with a contract that could have him playing with Miami into his early 40s. When next season starts, the team will be playing in a new stadium near Miami International Airport with back-to-back titles in mind.

"He's not just here to enjoy living in Miami," Beckham said. "His wife and kids love Miami, but he's come here to win, and that's really what Leo is all about. He wants to win. He's got that dedication, the loyalty that he shows to his teammates, to the city, to the club. Leo is a winner. It's simple as that."

Inter Miami went 1-0 up on an own goal in the eighth minute, before Vancouver tied it in the 60th on a score by Ali Ahmed. Another Vancouver shot hit both posts about two minutes later, but stayed out — a huge moment in the game.

"It was very close, and I think it could have been different," Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen said.

"But that is football."

Mascherano recognized the moment of fortune, noting: "Maybe that was the luck we needed to be champions."

Not long after the final whistle, Messi went over to the Inter Miami supporters section and threw both his hands in the air. It was a moment two-and-a-half years in the making. The team stayed on the field for more than an hour afterward, taking pictures with friends and family.

"This is the moment I had been waiting for, and that we, as a team, were waiting for," Messi said. "It's very beautiful for all of us. They deserved it."

Agencies Via Xinhua