FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has one lasting memory from Lionel Messi’s debut: the image of Messi running to embrace his family after delivering the game-winning free kick and cementing a new era for the club and Major League Soccer.
“That was for the fans. This community is hungry,” Mas said.
Messi’s follow-up performance Tuesday night against Atlanta United in the Leagues Cup showed the impact that one player — the right player — can have on an entire club.
Messi scored twice and had an assist in his first start for Miami, bringing his total to three goals in two games. Inter Miami had a 3-0 lead by halftime, the first such lead in club history.
“There’s going to be a before and after Messi in football for this country,” Mas said.
Miami went on to win 4-0. Messi exited in the 78th minute to a standing ovation, with many in the crowd wearing his No. 10 jersey. Many also headed for the exits themselves once Messi was on the bench.
“With the type of player that he is, it’s justified that this happens,” Miami coach Tata Martino said. “I would have preferred that the public stayed and pay tribute to the entire team, but I can also understand it.”
Miami swept its group and moved on to the round of 32 in the Leagues Cup, in which it will host a to-be-determined opponent.
In the eighth minute, Messi took a pass from his longtime Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, surged forward and sent a strike off the right post before tapping in his own rebound. Then, in the 22nd minute, Messi put Miami ahead 2-0 off a pass from Robert Taylor.
“Since those two have gotten here, the spirit has changed,” Miami’s DeAndre Yedlin said, referring to Messi and Busquets. “Obviously, guys are really excited. But I think just their presence gives everybody more confidence. And I think also the teams that we’re playing against now have a bit of fear in their eyes. When those two are on the field, you know you’re in for a tough game.”
Messi came off the bench in the 54th minute Friday night in Miami’s first Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Cruz Azul. And he provided a moment fans had hoped for when the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup champion for Argentina decided to take his talents to MLS. Messi converted the game-winning free kick in stoppage time in front of a crowd estimated at 21,000.
Yedlin had placed the skipper’s armband on Messi when he checked in on Friday, but Messi entered Tuesday’s match wearing the armband just below his right shoulder.
“He’s my teammate now. He’s our teammate,” Yedlin said. “He’s part of this team and he wants to win like everybody else. And he’s been a joy to be around, obviously not just on the field. He’s obviously an amazing talent but off the field he really helps a lot of the younger guys, even older guys like myself.”
Brazilian midfielder Gregore had been the club’s captain before suffering a foot injury in March.
With Messi rightly commanding much of the attention from Atlanta’s defenders, opportunities opened for other Miami players. Taylor scored in the 44th minute, then made it 4-0 in the 53rd after being set up by Messi.
“There’s times when the coach prepares a certain game in a certain way, but these two players are so good at what they do that they create space,” Martino said about Messi and Busquets.
Goalkeeper Drake Callender preserved the shutout when he stopped a penalty shot by Thiago Almada in the 86th minute.
“There are things that of course after review of the game that we can do way better,” Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said. “I think we also had some chances to score. … We couldn’t capitalize.”
Messi had entered holding hands with the son of hip-hop artist DJ Khaled.
A fan got onto the field as Messi was exiting. The fan sprinted all the way toward Miami’s bench where Messi stood before Martino grabbed the attention of security. The fan was then escorted off the field.
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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
