FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi of Inter Miami played in just one Major League Soccer loss in 2024. It was in May, at home, against Atlanta United.

Messi makes his MLS playoff debut Friday night – at home, against Atlanta United.

Inter Miami, which set the MLS records for most points and best winning percentage in the regular season, will face a major challenge in the playoffs as they take on an Atlanta team in a best-of-three Eastern Conference first round series. Messi is coming off a hat-trick in the regular season finale, a 6-2 romp past New England.

And although he missed almost half of the MLS season due to injury and commitments to the Argentina national team, Messi is still a serious contender for league MVP after 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 appearances.

“If I could have voted for him, I would have voted for him,” Inter Miami defender Julian Gressel said. “Yes, because for me the MVP represents the best player in the league. And Leo, that is by far the case. You know, there are other people who have the definition of an MVP that maybe makes the team better or that a team can’t live without. In a way, Leo is that for me too.”

MVP or not, Messi is clearly the key to Inter Miami’s MLS Cup hopes.

Friday evening will be the first home game in club history. If Inter Miami wins this series, it will stay at home for the rest of the season. with home field advantage for the single-game conference semifinals, conference finals and MLS Cup, provided it continues to win.

“This has always been about making history for Miami,” says soccer icon David Beckham, part of the Inter Miami ownership group — and the person who originally announced plans to bring an MLS team back to Miami more than a decade ago . “This has always been about our family, La Familia, the people in this stadium, the people in this city.”

Messi’s arrival in mid-2023 was the big step towards Inter Miami reaching the world stage. The team won the Leagues Cup last year shortly after Messi arrived, won the Supporters Shield this year as the top MLS team in the regular season and is now chasing the MLS playoff title.

There are some ties that bind these franchises. Among them: Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino was with Atlanta in 2018 when that team won the MLS Cup, and Gressel also played for that Atlanta team.

Atlanta clinched this series by beating Montreal in a wild-card game on Tuesday. The reward: Messi again.

“He might be the best player to ever play,” Atlanta United interim coach Rob Valentino said. “We have played against him a few times and we obviously know his qualities, but at the same time they have other players who are also good. Attention must be paid to him – and to his teammates around him.”

The stadium will almost certainly be sold out on Friday night, and Miami has known for weeks that it would open the playoff march on its home field. It may not be the biggest moment in team history – Messi’s debut should be – but it is the most important game of the season, at least in the sense that a best-of-three series doesn’t leave much room for error. .

“We’re at the beginning of our playoff run, so I think we’ll feel it,” said Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. “I think everyone will feel it. And I think there’s a reason we’ve come this far. We didn’t come this far to get this far either. So we’re really just going to compete and yeah, Friday, 8:30 PM, it’s time for us.

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