Why is Leo Messi’s American adventure with Inter Miami the best example of his greatness?

I will give a disclaimer here which is to say that this is one part ode to Lionel Messi and one part analysis of an aspect of his career that to my mind has not been discussed. I have to the best of my knowledge been accurate in quotation and the use of statistics, but this remains largely my opinion of the man I believe to be the greatest player ever to touch a football.

The Lionel Messi Story in 5 Parts

The Introduction

I can’t say that I remember clearly when I first saw him play, though many of my friends and teammates had already begun to tell me about him. At the time I was hopeful of a career in football myself and so like Lionel Messi, my Saturdays and Sundays were mostly spent playing the game for my club rather than watching it on television. I do, however, remember very clearly the first time that I saw him score. Incidentally, it was his very first Champions League goal which Google reminded me was scored on November 2nd, 2005, at the Nou Camp in Barcelona against Panathinaikos of Greece. He was 18 years old at the time and I recall the English commentator screaming, “Remember the name” just after he had deftly lobbed the ball over a helpless Greek goalkeeper with his left boot. What many may not remember, is that just a few minutes before, he had scored effectively the same goal, except with his right boot, only to have it disallowed for being off-side. ‘This boy is different’, I thought.

Yet, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t convinced. His talent was plain to see make no mistake, but I remember thinking in those early days that he held the ball too long, such that space often closed on his teammates before his pass was made. After all, this was a Barcelona team with Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and of course, the legendary Ronaldinho who was at the time the world’s best player. Then there was me, as diehard a fan of the ‘Blaugrana’ as you could find though not Catalan by birth. ‘Who is this kid that’s disrupting my beautiful Barca’, I thought, ‘Why don’t they tell him something?’ What I didn’t understand or appreciate at the time was that they were telling him something and that was, ‘Do as you like.’ You see, they all knew very early on what the rest of us took time to understand, there was truly greatness in the making.

The Indignation

While I can only speak for myself, I’d like to imagine that most of us can appreciate that human beings don’t enjoy being made to feel inadequate. Generally speaking, we react to such a feeling with animosity or outright denial of the achievement that’s occurred in front of us. A clear example of that behavior arrived on the evening of April 18th, 2007, during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal when FC Barcelona met Getafe. I won’t waste your time with a description of the legendary goal we saw that day - you can see it below - but rather I will draw your attention to what was said post-game by then-Getafe coach and German legend, Bernd Schuster. A player for both Real Madrid and Barcelona during his career, Schuster claimed at the time that he didn’t have a clear view of the Argentine’s goal, but couldn’t understand why his players hadn’t brought him down.

Of course, as mentioned before Schuster like many others who had similar things to say at the time, was not ready to accept the truth of the matter, which was that his players did try, they just simply couldn’t stop the little man. As comparisons to Maradona’s famous goal in 86′ began to pour in, the resistance became even stronger. It didn’t matter that former teammate Ludovic Giuly had given us all a hint some years before, we simply didn’t want to believe. Indeed, while speaking during the 2003-2004 season when then-coach Frank Rijkaard gave Messi his first minutes in a Barca jersey, Giuly recounted what it was like to play against Messi in training. “He destroyed us all...They were kicking him all over the place to avoid being ridiculed by this kid, he just got up and kept on playing. He would dribble past four players and score a goal. Even the team’s starting center-backs were nervous. He was an alien.”

The Glory Years

At this point, I could regale you with stories of Champions League triumphs and World Player of the Year awards, as there were several of both between 2009 and the present, and of course a whole ton of memorable goals, but I prefer to think of his performances against some of the biggest teams of Europe i.e. Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain, and arch-rivals Real Madrid, as the best examples of why Messi is who Messi is. In any sport, it’s the player who performs on the biggest stage when the pressure is truly on, that we more often than not recognize as the best there is, and when it comes to the former Barca hitman, there’s nobody who’s done that better.

Sir Alex Ferguson tussled with him twice in the Champions League finals and the legendary Manchester United coach was bested on both occasions, remarking after the second loss that there was nothing to say other than “we played against a superior team with a remarkable player.” This is curious actually as Ferguson had something else to say about ‘La Pulga’ later on, but we’ll get to that in time. There was also former Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, who remains the butt of jokes to this day, after appearing to take a nap on the job while defending against the Argentine during the 2015 Champions League semifinal first leg, which the Catalan side won 3-0. Of course, who could forget the way in which Messi in tandem with Luis Suarez and Brazilian starlet Neymar took apart PSG in a 6-1 drubbing back on March 8th, 2017? In what was a Round-of-16 second-leg match, the Catalan outfit overturned a shock 4-0 loss in the first leg to record the largest comeback in Champions League history, known to this day as ‘La Remontada.’

Yet, we’ve got to reserve a special place for that magical match that we all know and love, ‘El Clasico.’ Now while I could dedicate an entire piece to the many clashes between two of football’s greatest sides, Real Madrid and Barcelona, we’re going to stick to those in which Messi made his mark. Now, to be clear, Leo Messi is the all-time leading scorer in El Clasico with 26 goals to his name. Yep. While each and every one of those goals was special, I’d like to draw your attention to one in particular that perhaps epitomizes not just Messi’s magic, but like I said before, his ability to deliver on the biggest stage when it’s most needed. It was April 23rd, 2017, and the setting was the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. Coming into the game the Catalans were trailing Real Madrid by 3 points in what was one of the tightest title races we’d seen in years.

With the score tied at 2-2, utility man Sergi Roberto picked up the ball in the right-back position and went on a daring run into midfield. Unable to stop Roberto, Madrid’s defense started to lose shape as he approached the top of the area, at which point he slid the ball to the left where Andre Gomez was waiting. Gomez obliged with a deft flick to an overlapping Jordi Alba, who in turn cut the ball back to the penalty spot, where a late arriving Messi put paid to the side from the capital with a stoppage-time winner off of his left foot. Frustrated, outshone, and defeated, Madrid players and their fans could only watch in outrage as scenes of euphoria unfolded on their very own field. To this day, that goal and subsequent celebration remain mythical.

The Goodbye

Again, while I could give you a play-by-play of why and how Leo left Barca, there are more than enough articles and videos out there that explain how things fell apart in Catalunya. From the club’s failures to his tearful goodbye to his awkward arrival at PSG who had also broken the bank to sign his former teammate Neymar back in 2017, it was clear that an era had come to an end and the Parisians having executed their ‘If you can’t beat them acquire them.’ plan, was keen to profit off of it. So, with that Messi began what would ultimately become a terrible time in Paris. That’s not to say he didn’t perform well, not at all. Despite the criticism leveled at him, he still managed to score 32 goals in 75 total appearances across two seasons in the French capital, while producing the most assists of any player in Europe’s top leagues. Not bad I’d say.

No, it wasn’t about performance, it was about happiness or rather lack thereof. As he would later say when speaking of both he and his family, “We’d had a difficult two years, we hadn’t been well, it cost us.” It’s worth mentioning that unlike his time in Barcelona where he was the focal point of a well-oiled machine, his time in France saw him join a team that was quite frankly a not-so-subtle attempt at buying a European title, and one that didn’t work. Spearheaded by French star Kylian Mbappe and the aforementioned Neymar who had arrived some seasons before, PSG appeared to be more about the look rather than substance, and ultimately, Messi found himself in the middle of what has since become a catastrophic failure, relative to the kind of money that’s been spent. That is of course before we discuss the problems in the dressing room, but alas, I digress.

The goalpost that no longer moves

The concept of the ‘moving goalpost’ has always been funny to me. It’s again something that’s rooted in the “indignation” that I referred to before when speaking of Schuster’s belittling of that legendary goal. In the case of Messi, it has been the widely promoted idea that he could not be considered among the true contenders for the title of ‘Greatest Of All Time’ - primarily Pele and Maradona - because unlike them, he never won a World Cup. This was of course both during and after winning three Champions League titles with FC Barcelona, a Copa America with Argentina, breaking countless records with both, and picking up 7 World Player of the Year awards along the way. Yes, that’s a record too.

Yet, here’s the thing, the critics were kinda’ right. That’s not to say that most couldn’t admit that they were looking at the most phenomenal player in the history of ‘The Beautiful Game’, but rather it was the one taunt that the ‘haters’ had in their arsenal that couldn’t be answered. They knew he was the best there has ever been, but as the saying goes, ‘haters are gonna hate.’ So, therein lay the problem with that one little blemish on his unquestionable CV. This of course brings us to the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on December 18th, 2022. Wait, let’s take a brief detour first. Rewind to July 13th, 2014 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. On that day, the stage was set for Messi to claim in seat among the pantheon of football gods as he led Argentina into battle against an age-old foe, Germany. Sadly, Mario Gotze proved that the Bavarians hadn’t read the script and in the 113th minute of the match no less. Heartbreak for Messi, heartbreak for Argentina, and bitterness for those of us who wanted an end to the debate about who truly is the greatest footballer ever.

OK, so the stage has been set, now let’s get back to Christmas of last year in Qatar. To begin with, Argentina lost its Group C opener to Saudi Arabia 2-1, a shock to say the least. The media machine went into overdrive with its keyword-based angles such as ‘Will Messi stumble once again?’ and ‘Is Messi past his prime?’ while talking heads gave their opinions on why Argentina as a team wouldn’t cut it. Looking back now, one couldn’t have asked for a better script. Needless to say, the Albiceleste ‘got up and kept playing’ as Giuly had put it years before when speaking of Messi. A 2-0 win over Mexico followed by a 2-1 win over Poland was enough to qualify for the Round of 16 where they dismissed Australia 2-1. Next came a hostile encounter with the Netherlands which ended in a 4-3 victory on penalties after playing to a 2-2 draw, and that was followed by a disciplined 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinals.

Now you will notice, that I have spoken really only of the team and not the player, but that’s because we’re at the crux of this whole matter. Messi’s performance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup was stunning. Yet, not just because of the mazy runs through helpless defenses, or his Playstation-like control and finishing, it was the way in which he provided Argentina with what the team needed when it needed it, while also inspiring each of his teammates to do the exact same. Previous iterations of the national side had seen players unsure of how to work with Messi and he in turn unsure of how to give them what they needed. This, on the other hand, was perfect unison, a single brain if you will. That’s all to say that a showdown with PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and his highly touted ‘Les Bleus’ was always going to be epic. Once again, I will spare you a review of the match and instead focus on the specific play that led to Argentina’s second goal, having seen Messi score the first from the penalty spot. One of the goals of the tournament, it involved five players, five passes, and a lightning-quick counter that Angel Di María finished following a fantastic final ball from Alexis Mac Allister. Of course, Mac Allister only had the ball because of possibly one of the cheekiest flicks we’ve seen in years from the man of mischief himself. He would get a second as well, but that was simply an aside as finally, he was crowned as a world champion after Argentina went on to defeat France on penalties 4-2 following a 3-3 finish. So, what’s the crux you ask? Let’s get to that.

So, why is the Inter Miami Messi the best Messi?

Remember how I said we’d return to Sir Alex Ferguson? Well, back in 2015, when he was asked about who he thought was better between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, the Scot had this to say: “‘Who is the best player in the world?’ And plenty of people quite rightly say Messi - you can’t dispute that opinion. But Ronaldo could play for Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Doncaster Rovers...anyone, and score a hat-trick in a game. I’m not sure Messi could do it. Ronaldo’s got two feet; he’s quick, great in the air, he’s brave - Messi’s brave, of course. I think Messi’s a Barcelona player.” To be clear, I don’t think Ferguson was entirely wrong, at least relative to that time, which was when Ronaldo was fresh off of a 57-goal season with his second club, Real Madrid, after conquering both England and Europe with Ferguson’s United.

On the other hand, with all due respect, Ferguson who can be forgiven for speaking highly of a player who won him everything there was to win, had no idea what he was talking about. So, we arrive at the reason for all of my rambling up to this point, Messi in Miami, and why he’s not only disproved Ferguson’s hypothesis as seen with PSG and Argentina for example, but gone beyond it with the team he now plays for, Inter Miami. You may recall that I mentioned at the very start of all of this, that I myself once had a go at a career in football. Now football as you know is a team sport and that’s to say one is generally only as good as one’s teammates. Yet on an intimate level, most players - in any team sport really - know that is a two-way street. While it’s true that you can do nothing about your teammate making a mistake, what you can do is make it harder for them to do so. Whether it’s by taking better care of the pass you give them or moving into space sooner so they can give you the ball, the idea is the same: You can actually make your teammates play better by simply playing them to their strengths. In fact, if you’re conscious of that, then it’s practically your responsibility to do so. After all, that’s what ‘team’ means.

Some have called it the ‘Michael Jordan Effect’, the idea that playing alongside greatness inspires greatness, and while I believe that to be true, I also believe there is a distinct difference between the former NBA great’s effect and the ‘Messi Effect.’ Michael as we know was a potent mixture of incomparable talent, ability, and outright nastiness. Messi on the other hand, by all accounts appears to be the first two followed conversely by humility. He lets his feet do the talking as they say. What I mean here is, that during his time with FC Barcelona, he was surrounded by some of the best players in the world in their respective positions at that time, hence Ferguson’s assertion that he was a product of a system. With Argentina we’ve seen something similar to a point, hence why they’re now world champions. In Miami, however, it’s something completely different.

Take for a moment the now infamous comment by former Inter Miami assistant manager, Jason Kreis who said back in 2014, “I firmly believe that if you put Lionel Messi on the worst team in Major League Soccer, they would still be the worst team in Major League Soccer.” Ok, so that didn’t age well but to be fair to Kreis, like Ferguson he couldn’t truly have understood what he was talking about. What Messi has achieved in Miami is quite possibly one of the greatest and most TV sports drama-like achievements in modern history. When the Argentine arrived, Inter Miami had a record of 5-17 with a goal difference of -14. On Sunday, they were crowned Leagues Cup champions after a 10-9 slugfest of a penalty shootout following a 1-1 finish against Nashville.

Between those two points, Messi guided a team that was essentially ‘the worst team in MLS’ to its first trophy in franchise history. Now, let me be the first to say that having his two former accomplices Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets has most definitely helped. Then there is the appointment of a man who has coached him both at Barca and with the national side, Tata Martino. Yet, truthfully the names that have stood out are names many didn’t know before, certainly outside of North America. Players such as Finnish-born Robert Taylor who has scored some stunning goals off of Messi assists, 18-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi, who has formed a perfect partnership with Busquets in the middle, and of course, the Venezuelan, Josef Martinez who has been as sharp as ever in front of goal while playing some quality football. The point is, we’ve seen players who just a season ago couldn’t get it together playing the game in a way that forces you to smile and they’re winning. It is for this reason, in case it wasn’t clear that I believe his time stateside is perhaps the best example of just how far apart Lionel Messi is from all others who have played the game. It’s not just his individual ability or the longevity of his career, but rather what self-proclaimed Messi superfan and one of my favorite commentators, Ray Hudson, called the “genius” of the man back in 2017.

“Now people say that it’s because I’m an admirer of Messi. No, you’re wrong. I’m an admirer of genius in football and this man just demonstrates year after year whether Xavi is there or not, whether Iniesta is there or not, whether Pique is there or not, he can carry the team. The greatest football player in what the scope of a football player is, that I have ever seen in my life.”