[ad_1]
That MLS and Inter Miami CF allowed a version of the Hope Diamond from their vault to play a soccer match under such troubling conditions speaks volumes about the very high esteem in which they hold Messi. There is.
(After reading some puns so bad that Carrie from “Sex and the City” wouldn’t like them, feel free to throw some.)
On Monday night, in a Cotton Bowl that looked like something out of a horror movie, the world’s most famous football player made his second tri-state/regional/metropolitan appearance since August.
In the rain, fog and cold, Inter Miami CF’s “friendly match” against FC Dallas was held in the League Cup in Frisco in the first week of August, when Lionel Andres Messi Cuccini scored the winning goal. It wasn’t quite the same as the last time these teams played each other. Debut here.
That night was the best in FC Dallas history and for soccer in the region since the 1994 World Cup. It was an epic summer party all night long, hotter than the center of the earth.
Even if you believed football didn’t exist, or that the beautiful game was an ugly pig, we still had a good time on the tractor beam that night.
Monday night’s game in the Cotton Bowl, FC Dallas’ first since 2009, felt more like a perfect excuse to run and jump into the fire. We would like to express our gratitude and respect to the 32,000 or so fans who ignored the Grim Reaper’s bluff and came here to watch a prelude to the 2024 MLS season.
Messi played around 64 minutes and showed some nice touches. He almost scored a goal on a corner kick.
Basically, this was a gym workout in bad weather.
As he left the pitch, the spectators tried to make as much noise as possible through their gloves and scarves. As he climbed the tunnel with about two minutes left in the game, the crowd moved in his direction like a swarm of bugs with cell phones.
There is currently no one comparable to Messi in sports. His best work is definitely Taylor Swift.
The challenge for MLS, and for soccer in this country, is not just how to maintain Messimania, but how to build on it.
How does MLS do that? MLS can’t build Messi. Whether God created Messi is debatable.
Hosting the World Cup in North America in 2026 would be a great restart for the momentum his arrival created, but all MLS needs to do is get a new Messi.
“This means a lot. It was key and helped a lot,” FC Dallas forward Paul Arriola said of Messi’s addition to the league after his team’s 1-0 win. “You can tell by the number of reporters here. It’s very unusual to see others have that kind of effect.”
The next step for this league would be to “buy” a talented player like Messi in his prime.
When Messi came here last year, he was 36 years old. He’s still a great player, but 36 isn’t 26.
Not long after Messi landed in Miami last year and his arrival sent MLS into a shock unlike anything it had ever experienced, there were rumors that “something else” was coming.
It was one of those seemingly automatically generated, unsubstantiated Internet “reports,” but the idea that French soccer player Mbappe would come to the United States was convincing thanks to Messi.
The lottery is an endorsement deal and a chance for players to live in America, where they enjoy a level of privacy not available in Europe.
After all, the rumors of Kylian Mbappé coming to America meant nothing, but that’s the goal.
To bring such a player, who is only 25 years old, to one of the 29 MLS franchises in North America, perhaps New York or Los Angeles.
Messi is selling tickets, jerseys and kits and promoting subscriptions to MLS’ broadcast partner Apple TV. Mbappe would justify the MLS name beyond the lower-level professional leagues, which are perfect for older stars who aren’t well-known in the United States and don’t want to retire just yet.
Before Monday night’s game, FC Dallas president Dan Hunt made it clear that the club would like to add a player like Messi if possible. they are ready to do it. they want to do it.
MLS has a tight salary cap, so acquiring world-class players would require lavish contracts, but it’s possible.
FC Dallas coach Nico Estevez said, “We have a lot of good players coming our way.” “From what I have seen from Europe and visited various clubs in the Premier League (England) and La Liga (Italy), they have scouts who watch MLS.
“MLS is another important league that they are looking at. They know that MLS has great potential.”
That’s possible because of America and the 331 million people who live here. and corporate partners who can’t wait to put money into professional sports. And gambling.
The evolution of soccer in the United States was inevitable, from a children’s sport to a viable professional league. It also takes time.
His presence here in the United States and in MLS is great, but we need one more. I’m young.
And you can’t make him. I have to buy him.
©2024 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit star-telegram.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
[ad_2]
Source link
