"El Pulga" is not enough

This year he is 37 years old, so Messi is not always at the peak of his form. However, the influence of the Argentine star on the playing style of the entire Inter Miami team is huge. In the 8th round of the MLS Eastern Region, with the victory over Columbus Crew, Inter Miami became the only team in MLS 2025 to this point that is still undefeated, with 5 wins and 3 draws. With Messi in hand, after 9 rounds, Inter Miami has 18 points, ranked 3rd on the MLS Eastern Region rankings, only 1 point behind the 2 leading teams Charlotte FC and FC Cincinnati (18 compared to 19). The team chaired and co-owned by David Beckham still has 1 match left in hand, if they win, they will continue to rise to the top. It can be affirmed that with Messi in the squad, it is not difficult for Inter Miami.

Not only shining on the field, the Argentine star's appeal to American audiences is growing. For example, when facing Chicago Fire FC, the Messi effect helped the home team welcome a record number of spectators in the club's history at Soldier Field with 62,358 people coming to watch. The next away match against Columbus Crew, once again "El Pulga" helped the opponent break the viewership record. In response to the huge audience demand, the home team had to borrow Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, which has a capacity of up to 67,431 people, to serve the need to watch Messi play. And with Messi's appeal, the stands were full to witness "El Pulga" and his teammates' triumphant song.

It can be seen that, as soon as he joined Inter Miami, Messi immediately helped this "young" team win its first titles. However, Messi alone is not enough. With a style of play that relies too much on "El Pulga"'s individual talent, Inter Miami has not been able to become "Invincible". The clearest evidence is that Inter Miami lost 0-1 to Los Angeles FC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. Although Inter Miami turned the tables in the second leg to reach the semi-finals. However, in the first leg of the semi-finals, Inter Miami lost 0-2 to the Whitecaps away. And in the second leg of the semi-finals at home, "El Pulga" could not help Inter Miami come back. Inter Miami continued to fall 1-3 at home, thereby stopping at the Concacaf Champions Cup playground.

Inter Miami’s last 3 defeats, from MLS to the Concacaf Champions Cup, show that Inter Miami cannot rely on “El Pulga” forever. However, Inter Miami fans can only put all their faith in the “divine” legs of the best player on the planet, with all the hope that Inter Miami will repeat last season’s feat and even win the MLS championship this year. But perhaps “El Pulga” alone is not enough to bring an “upstart” team to the top.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/minh-el-pulga-la-khong-du-129903.html