LEAGUES CUP 2023
Who is Robert Taylor, Messi’s new Inter Miami assist ally?
Leo Messi has hit the ground running at Inter Miami and his goals have propelled the Herons through to the Round of 16 of the Leagues Cup.
The chemistry between Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s Robert Taylor has been instant. The Argentine watched on in the opening Leagues Cup clash at home to Cruz Azul as the Finnish player carved out an opening to draw the Herons level on the cusp of half time with a fine solo effort. The striker from Rosario was the subsequent hero of the night as he bagged an added time debut winner with a trademark free kick to secure maximum points for the MLS side.
In Messi’s second match, the connection between the Argentine and the Finn began to emerge as Miami saw off Atlanta United with a solid 4-0 win with both Taylor and Messi bagging two goals as part of the win with each of them providing an assist to the other.
The chemistry bubbled yet again in Messi’s third game in the distinctive pink shirt as the 28-year-old produced a delightful lob into the Orlando City box for Messi to volley home in the seventh minute of the Round of 32 Florida derby that Miami went on to win 3-1.
Who is Robert Taylor?
Born in Kupio (Finland), Taylor cut his teeth at youth level with Jyvaskylan Jalkapalloklubi (JJK) and moved to England for spells with Lincoln City, Nottingham Forest and Barnet youth teams.
Barnet’s relegation from the Football League saw a promised professional contract fall-through and Taylor moved back to Finland and played for JJK in the Ykkönen (Finnish second tier) until 2015, when he joined top flight side RoPS.
The next few years the Finn moved around the Scandinavian leagues playing for Swedish outfit AIK Solna before being sent on loan to Norwegian club Tromsø the 2018 season, and then permanently for the 2019 season.
At the start of 2020, Taylor penned a three-year deal with Norwegian top flight outfit Brann and his performances with the side from Bergen were instrumental in securing a move to Inter Miami in February 2022.
Finnish international
Taylor’s father Paul was a former former footballer with the Englishman playing for Finnish top flight KuPS in the 1990s. Despite being eligible for both England and Finland at international level, Taylor Jr. made his debut for the senior Finland side in January 2017 as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Morocco.
Taylor scored his first goal for the national side in a 2–0 Nations League win over Bulgaria and his performances for Brann saw him included in the Finland squad for Euro 2020 which was eventually staged in 2021.