FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — One of the most highly anticipated U.S. sporting debuts in recent memory lived up to expectations and more Friday.
Lionel Messi, the World Cup champion and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, came off the bench to score one of his trademark free kicks in second-half stoppage time as Inter Miami defeated Cruz Azul 2-1 in the Leagues Cup opener for both teams.
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It was 9:26 p.m. ET when Messi stopped warming up in front of the packed south stands at DRV PNK Stadium, grabbed his pink jersey and jogged to the halfway line before replacing 18-year-old midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi, himself of Argentine descent, in the 54th minute.
Up until that point, fans had only seen Messi on the bench, as the Miami substitutes strangely did their pregame and first-half warmups out of sight, presumably back by the locker room.
Messi’s first historic touch came with 55:30 on the clock, but it was his touch past the 90-minute mark that was the only one that mattered.
When the visitors committed a foul 25 yards out with five seconds left in the two minutes extra, everyone knew what could potentially happen next.
And it did.
Messi curled the resulting free kick into the top corner with his legendary left foot, sending the sellout crowd of around 21,000 into a frenzy.
“It was a very good game for us. We were looking for a match like this one and to give a win to these fans,” Messi told Apple TV.
“I want to thanks all these people. They are making me feel very welcomed here so I’m very happy to gave this victory back to them.”
For Miami, which has the worst record in MLS, the goal was the perfect start to the team’s new era.
“I knew it was the last chance,” Messi added of his free kick. “I just tried like always do and fortunately the goalkeeper couldn’t get the ball.
“It is important for this team to get wins because we are not in a good position in the league. I know this is another tournament but it will help our morale.”
