Messi and Inter Miami will take on Atlanta United in an MLS Cup playoff opener

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami's Lionel Messi played successful only 1 Major League Soccer nonaccomplishment successful 2024. It was successful May, at home, against Atlanta United.

Messi makes his MLS playoff debut Friday night — astatine home, against Atlanta United.

Inter Miami, which group nan MLS records for astir points and champion winning percent successful nan regular season, gets a large situation correct retired of nan gross successful nan playoffs by facing an Atlanta squad successful a best-of-three Eastern Conference first-round series. Messi is coming disconnected a chapeau trick successful nan regular-season finale, a 6-2 romp past New England.

And moreover though he missed astir half nan MLS play because of wounded and commitments to Argentina's nationalist team, Messi is still a superior contender for convention MVP aft 20 goals and 16 assists successful 19 appearances.

“If I could ballot for him, I would person voted for him," Inter Miami defender Julian Gressel said. “Yes, because for me, nan MVP stands for nan champion subordinate successful nan league. And Leo, is that, by far. You know, there’s different group retired location that person nan meaning of an MVP that possibly makes nan squad amended aliases that a squad can’t unrecorded without. In a sense, to me, Leo is that, too.”

MVP aliases not, Messi is evidently nan cardinal to Inter Miami's MLS Cup hopes.

Friday nighttime will beryllium nan first location playoff lucifer successful nine history. If Inter Miami wins this series, it would enactment location for nan remainder of nan play — with home-field edge for nan single-game convention semifinals, convention last and MLS Cup, provided it keeps winning.

“This was ever astir creating history for Miami,” said shot icon David Beckham, portion of Inter Miami’s ownership group — and nan personification who primitively announced plans to bring an MLS squad backmost to Miami much than a decade ago. “This was ever astir our family, La Familia, nan group successful this stadium, nan group successful this city.”

Messi's presence midway done 2023 was nan large measurement toward Inter Miami getting to nan world stage. The squad won nan Leagues Cup past twelvemonth soon aft Messi arrived, won nan Supporters Shield this twelvemonth arsenic nan champion MLS regular-season squad and now goes aft nan MLS playoff title.

There are immoderate ties that hindrance these franchises. Among them: Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino was pinch Atlanta successful 2018 erstwhile that squad won nan MLS Cup, and Gressel played for that Atlanta squad arsenic well.

Atlanta sewage to this bid by beating Montreal successful a wild-card lucifer Tuesday. Its reward: Messi, again.

“He's arguably nan champion subordinate that's ever played,” Atlanta United interim coach Rob Valentino said. “We've faced him a fewer times and we cognize evidently his qualities, but besides astatine nan aforesaid time, they person different players that are good, too. There has to beryllium a attraction connected him — and his teammates astir him.”

The stadium almost surely will beryllium sold retired connected Friday nighttime and Miami has known for weeks that it would beryllium opening nan playoff march connected its location field. It mightiness not beryllium nan biggest infinitesimal successful squad history — Messi's debut would person to beryllium that — but it's nan astir important lucifer of this season, astatine slightest successful nan consciousness that a best-of-three bid doesn't time off overmuch room for error.

“We’re kicking disconnected our playoff run, truthful I deliberation we’ll consciousness it," Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said. “I deliberation everyone will consciousness it. And I deliberation there’s a logic why we've travel this far. We besides didn't travel this acold conscionable to get this far. So, we’re going to really conscionable compete and, yeah, Friday, 8:30, it’s spell clip for us.”

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