FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Thirty minutes before Lionel Messi’s practice at Inter Miami, Apple TV had studio crews in two languages ready to broadcast live. A helicopter hovered above. And among the couple of hundred media members waiting a camera panned the field as a broadcaster said, “Where more history will be made.”
It was all the perfect emblem for the opening days of Inter Messi, where history and hype seem intoxicatingly fun and interchangeably overdone. History, on Tuesday morning, meant 15 minutes of bland team drills open to the media. A keep-away game with Messi in one of three groups. A run-and-shoot on miniature goals.
There was no Messi interview. A scheduled press conference Monday had been canceled. No coach or teammate talked of practicing with him. The only words from team officials consisted of a countdown – “Two minutes” — before the 15 ordained minutes of viewing was up.
All this continued attention says the first baby steps of Inter Messi were a rousing success. The Unveil brought thousands to watch him be introduced Sunday and talk for two minutes. The Practice on Tuesday brought live TV and a media crowd that was double, a few photographers agreed, of Donald Trump’s recent doings at Mar-a-Lago.
Now, what?
At the start of the day, what must Messi do to succeed by the end of his day?
This can’t be all about raising the Major League Soccer platform. It has to be more than selling Apple TV subscriptions or selling adidas shirts. That’s part of it, of course. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said Tuesday on CNBC that team revenues will double this year with Messi, and the franchise value could soon be valued at a cool $1.3 billion. That’s nice.
But everything starts with winning, right?
Maybe not immediately. Then again, he enters a perfect situation to mark his impact. Inter Miami hasn’t won in 11 games. It’s the worst team in the MLS, as it has been for much of four years.
Starting Friday, Messi tries to change that with the help of former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, though their minutes will be limited in their first game. This league will be a change for them, maybe even a shock, as they go from careers playing in elite leagues to working with teammates and opponents decidedly less.
MLS ranks as the 16th most talented soccer league in the world, according to GlobalFootballRankings.com. That puts it between the Danish and Scottish leagues. Enough said? It’s like if Tom Brady hadn’t left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but instead returned to play at the University of Michigan.
Messi recently won the World Cup and played in the Champion’s League for Paris-St. Germain. His first two Inter Miami games are against the Mexican club Cruz Azul on Friday and Atlanta United FC on Tuesday in the Leagues Cup, a tournament involving Mexican and MLS teams.
His best chance for a winning impact probably comes next month. Inter Miami is in the semifinals of the US Open Cup involving all professional American teams. It’s our version of England’s FA Cup. It might not mean much in the soccer world, but it would allow Messi to hold up an early trophy and Inter Miami be termed a success.
Beyond winning games, how does Messi win America? And does that matter to him? Again, he hasn’t said anything beyond a few bland Unveil comments. In Europe, players rarely talk to fans through media. In America, players talk on television a few seconds after a game. Some talk in the game. They then hold postgame news conferences to control narratives or offer insight.
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham understood the idea of mixing personality with athletic talent. If he was just a great player, Beckham never would have become the international celebrity that led to him getting a MLS franchise at a discount. Which led to him being the Inter Miami co-owner. Which led to Messi’s entrance.
If Messi wants to conquer Miami, soccer will only go so far. He has to take a page from Beckham and open his personality in a manner he never has. Can he do that? Does he have the off-field charisma to pull it off? Again, is it even important to him?
Tuesday was easy. A couple of drills. Fifteen minutes of attention. No words. The start of Inter Messi is fun. Mas even said the club has sold out of his jersey. The next step is winning and offering a public personality, neither of which are easy but necessary for him to win America.
