A Thousand Meanings of Messi's Free Kick Goal

ATLANTA, FRIDAY – The long-awaited moment at the Club World Cup has finally arrived with the match between Inter Miami and FC Porto at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States, on Friday (20/6/2025) early morning WIB. The decisive goal for Miami's 2-1 victory, scored from a free kick by Lionel Messi, carries significant meaning to be contemplated.

One of the fundamental weaknesses of the Club World Cup is the lack of many untold stories within it. Unlike the UEFA Champions League or the World Cup, which have a variety of historical narratives ranging from the history of encounters to long-standing rivalries, the Club World Cup is relatively quiet. This factor also contributes to the low public interest in following the developments of the Club World Cup.

However, Messi's stunning free kick that helped Miami defeat Porto could become a story that will always be remembered in the Club World Cup. One free kick goal from Messi carries a thousand meanings. Through this decisive free kick goal for Miami, for the first time in the history of the Club World Cup, a representative from CONCACAF was able to defeat a team from Europe.

The meaning can become more dramatic as Miami is considered a young team, only seven years old. This team was established in 2018 by David Beckham. Miami's experience cannot be compared to Porto, one of the long-established clubs in Europe with extensive experience in the Champions League. With Miami's victory over Porto, a David versus Goliath narrative is created, which often serves as a spice in European competitions such as the FA Cup.

"Today we demonstrate that we can compete with any team in the world," said Miami Coach Javier Mascherano after the match. This statement came from Mascherano, who is aware that his team was not favored to advance despite being the host.

On the other hand, Messi's free kick demonstrates that he remains a dangerous player, even as he approaches 38 years of age in a few days. While his teammate, Luis Suarez, performed below expectations in this match, Messi stood out as the heart of Miami's attack. The disparity in quality between Messi and Suarez was evident, despite them being contemporaries.

The addition of one free-kick goal brings Messi's total goal tally for Miami to 50. He achieved this milestone in just 61 matches. Messi has become a significant attraction for Major League Soccer (MLS) since joining Miami in 2023.

“Of course, having Leo (Messi) on the team makes things easier,” said Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.

After securing a 0-0 draw against Al Ahly in their opening match, Miami needs a full point to maintain their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage. This effort faced a rocky start when Porto took the lead early on with a penalty executed by Samuel Aghehowa just eight minutes into the match.

Nevertheless, the team coached by Martin Anselmi repeated the weaknesses observed during their draw against Palmeiras, namely being very slow in ball possession and careless in the final third of the field. This led to Miami gaining momentum to score the equalizing goal.

The equalizing goal for Miami was scored by Telasco Segovia, who met a cross from Marcelo Weigandt in the 47th minute. This goal boosted the confidence of the Miami players, leading them to successfully turn the situation around through a free-kick execution by Messi.

"This match, the first half was also very, very good. The players understand that they can do it. When we are together, when we are alongside our teammates, we can achieve something extraordinary," said Mascherano.

Thanks to their victory over Porto, Miami now only needs a draw against Palmeiras in the final group stage match. This match can also be considered a battle for the top position in Group A. Both Palmeiras and Miami have collected four points from two matches. Meanwhile, Porto, with only one point, needs a miracle to advance to the knockout stage. (REUTERS)