Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have another trophy, along with home-field advantage throughout the Major League Soccer playoffs. Lionel Messi once again hogged the spotlight as he broke the deadlock with a short chip, and then scored again with a brilliant 24-yard free kick.
Messi scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, goalie Drake Callender stopped a penalty kick in the 84th minute and Inter Miami beat the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) night, wrapping up the Supporters Shield given annually to the team with the best regular-season record.
“First goal accomplished,” the Inter Miami superstar said on Instagram. “We move forward with the desire to achieve more things together.”
Those 14 words are perhaps the perfect encapsulation of Inter Miami’s season. It was never going to be as easy as those with a cursory understanding of their star-studded roster might think. But truth be told, they were sort of expected to win at least two MLS trophies this year. They secured one Wednesday night, bringing home the Supporters’ Shield with a 3-2 victory over Columbus Crew – their presumptive biggest rivals for MLS Cup glory.
After the win, Miami co-owner David Beckham, who is also a good friend of the Argentine star, had a special message for Messi and Co. Taking to Instagram, he posted a celebratory photo and wrote, “So proud to see our players lift the Supporters Shield after a great win in Columbus. Another amazing achievement in the history of this football club and so happy to bring this trophy to the best fans in the League. Now we go again and onto the next one.”
It was Messi’s 46th major trophy won for club or country, extending his record for the most by any men’s football player in history. It is the second he has won with Inter Miami, this Supporters Shield being added to the Leagues Cup trophy the Herons claimed shortly after Messi joined the club in 2023.
For Inter Miami, this win is monumental. The locker room celebrations, filled with smiles and chants of “campeones,” say it all. Stars like Messi, Busquets, and Alba, who have won everything in football, celebrated as if it were their first trophy.
Miami, however, has struggled since its MLS debut in 2020, with a losing record and no significant playoff success. Even with Messi, they finished 14th in the Eastern Conference last season.
For the team, this trophy symbolizes the start of something bigger—a step toward long-awaited success.
[…] Miami became the penultimate club to seal a spot at the new tournament by winning the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield, confirming them as the best team throughout the MLS regular season. Their outstanding and […]