In this game of ours, there are moments when an ending is so flawlessly written that it defies belief. Analyzing it or attempting to apply logic to it serves no purpose. All that’s left to be done is to be in awe of the magic, give thanks to the football gods for allowing you to see it, and, most importantly, express appreciation to the performer who made it happen.
“It resembled a movie that will play on repeat forever,” Inter Miami CF coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino commented after witnessing Lionel Messi’s most recent incredible achievement. “Messi is always there to write these stories,” the author said. “It almost feels like it was written.”
The Leagues Cup group stage match on Friday saw Messi score an unbelievable injury-time free-kick winner to earn a 2-1 victory over Liga MX team Cruz Azul, sending the crowd at DRV PNK Stadium into an electrifying frenzy. The Argentine boss responded in the same manner the rest of us did. However, if we take this situation like a movie, as Martino correctly points out, then this plot needs a backdrop and the environment that led to this seemingly incomprehensible conclusion in the first place.
A capacity audience of 20,000 people dressed in pink and black danced, beat drums, and yelled the one name they had been eagerly anticipating under a clear, heavily humid sky. On the back of their shirts, there was only one name. The one name that could generate such a stir. The one name that was significant to them. Luis Messi. Not everyone was like them. Superstars and celebrities were also present, seeking inspiration. LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, and Marc Anthony are just a few of the famous people who sat in the VIP suites, which are located just meters from the players in classic Miami style.
