David Beckham’s Inter Miami want to become one of the world’s top clubs on the field and a globally-recognised brand like the New York Yankees away from it.
The Manchester United and England great has been a gamechanger for the ever-evolving Major League Soccer since swapping Real Madrid for the LA Galaxy in 2007.
That unique deal gave Beckham the option to purchase an expansion club at a discounted price, leading to the foundation of Inter Miami six years ago.
There have been bumps in the road since the team’s first season in 2020 but the arrival of Lionel Messi – arguably the greatest player of all time – last summer has taken them to a new level.
Former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez have followed the Argentina skipper to a team that co-owner Beckham wants to aim for the stars.
Inter Miami assistant manager Javier Morales said: “I’m the fifth employee of this club so I know this club from the bottom.
“When I first spoke to David, he said he thinks this could be a big club. Obviously he came from Man Utd and he used to play for big teams. That is his idea.
“He wants Inter Miami to be a top team not just in the country but also in the world.”
View this post on Instagram
Ambitious Miami’s quality saw them installed as the overwhelming bookmakers’ favourites to end 2024 as MLS Cup champions ahead of Wednesday’s curtain raiser.
They opened with a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake and their favourites tag marks quite the turnaround from last term, when their memorable Leagues Cup triumph came during a dreadful MLS campaign.
“Right now the mentality is different and they (the former Barcelona players) used to win everything, they used to win a lot,” said Morales, who has risen from academy coach to his current role as assistant to Tata Martino.
“They arrived last June with the club and the expectations for us here are high. For them it’s not going to be an issue.
“For the kids and the young players in the team it could be a little bit different but to have those players guide them is going to be a good mix.”
Beckham’s grand plans for Miami are bearing fruit off the field as well as on it.
The Florida outfit was the most-searched sports team on Google in 2023 and recently returned from a pre-season tour of Hong Kong, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Their eye-catching pink shirts are flying off the shelves as Messi’s arrival and the draw of Miami combine to help transform the team into a growing global brand.
Chief business officer Xavier Asensi believes that the unique combination creates an aura around a club that means “the sky is the limit”.
“Do you like baseball? I don’t,” Barcelona’s former chief commercial officer said. “But do you have a cap with the NY of the Yankees? How cool is that? So, imagine if you like baseball… for me, that is the potential we have.
“We have the potential of the sexiness, the brand that can be a fashion. People are wearing it and they know what it is.
“Sometimes people wearing the Yankees cap think it is New York and they like New York. But it is the baseball team. We have that potential.
“In order to unlock that, only the best are enough. We need to surround ourselves with the best people to unlock the potential that we have as a brand. This is not just football, we can go bigger and better.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
