Miami isn’t just Lionel Messi’s new home, it’s Argentinian football’s
Inter Miamis Lionel Messi can be missed Argentina will play its last match in the Copa America group on Saturday evening, but for the reigning champions an away match in Miami will feel like a home match.
The Miami Dolphins’ 65,300-seat Hard Rock Stadium has long been sold out for the match against Peru, awaiting the arrival of the world champions.
Argentina secured a place in the knockout stages of the tournament after victories over Canada and Chile and although Messi will reportedly miss Saturday’s match with a hamstring injury, it is a big event for locals of Argentine descent. The final, and hopefully Messi, will take place at the same venue on July 14.
Miami recently became a permanent home for the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA), which opened a U.S. headquarters in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood in December 2023. The association is also building a dedicated training facility for the national team in the city, establishing a new AFA youth academy and hosting a sports leadership program at Florida International University.
“It was a simple decision to choose Miami as the perfect place to start our brand expansion into the US,” Leandro Petersen, AFA’s Chief Marketing Officer, told The Guardian. “Over the past 20 years, a huge number of Argentinians have migrated to Miami, started businesses and found a lifestyle they had always wanted.
“We feel at home in Miami. And that was exactly the same feeling Messi had when he made his decision about his family life: the warmth of the city and the cultural similarity with Argentinian life.”
Plans for the Miami base began in 2019; before the 2021 Copa América victories and the 2022 World Cup victories, and certainly before Messi chose Inter Miami as the destination likely to conclude his club career. The events are quite well coordinated. After this tournament, the World Cup will pass through Miami again in 2026.
The synergy continues at club level. Messi and the squad completed their preparations for the tournament at Inter Miami’s facilities in Fort Lauderdale. The MLS side has been represented by 14 Argentine players in just four seasons in the league (the next highest nationality is three), and there are eight players in the current squad of Argentine descent – including Messi.
For the AFA, there is a secondary goal; to scout talent abroad with dual nationality and fit for the national team, similar to Manchester United striker Alejandro Garnacho, who was born in Spain. That young talent could come to the fore via the planned Miami academy, or via that of Inter Miami.
For Argentine nationals living in South Florida, the team’s presence is a source of comfort. Many have gathered in the tournament’s official fan zone in Wynwood to enjoy matches on a big screen. Others are packed into smaller Argentine eateries, looking for a piece of home.
“Having the national team here in Miami means everything. It feels like they are so close, and I feel closer to home,” says Mariano Codaro, co-owner of Loretta & The Butcher, a cozy spot in trendy Coconut Grove, where fans watched the 2-0 win over saw Canada.
The 46-year-old Buenos Aires native moved to Miami 22 years ago during a deep economic and social crisis in his home country. He opened the restaurant in 2020.
The national flag hangs from the ceiling and framed shirts of Maradona’s Napoli and Argentina hang on the wall, next to a large portrait of Messi kissing the World Cup, in a gilded frame.
“The final was crazy, I ended up crying on the ground with people on top of me who I have never seen before or after the World Cup. It was all joy.”
On the night, the Messi mural was obscured by a projection screen showing him with the ball at his feet. Diners sat around tables, eating skirt steak and grilled octopus, sipping Malbec or a locally made lager called “GOAT 10” with a can adorned in Inter Miami’s pink and black colors.
“That’s why I founded the restaurant,” he says, gesturing with his hands toward the diners. “It was to create this community. We feel everything we do; the food, the wine, the football.
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“Winning the Copa América here, in Miami, would mean so much to us Argentines. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. It could be the last tournament with Messi and it would make up for the 1994 World Cup here, which we couldn’t win with Maradona. It’s all together. That’s why we want it so much.”
Argentina’s presence in Miami could be the start of a closer relationship with the city, but onlookers are also aware that there is an end in sight.
Federico Saint Germain, an Argentine reporter based in Miami, believes the few chances left to see Messi, who turned 37 this week, play for The Albiceleste hangs in the minds of fans. Therefore, amid the excitement of the national team’s arrival, the expected absence of their star player on Saturday night will sting.
“We know that these are Leo Messi’s last games, we don’t know if he will make it to the next World Cup,” he says. “We are looking at Leo Messi’s last two, maximum three years as a professional footballer. So everyone wants to see it, everyone wants to see the Argentine team.
“There are many people who want to come to Miami to see the Argentine national team. Many people on their trip [to the US] included the option to go see Leo in an Inter Miami match.”
On Friday, fans flocked to the Fanzone Albiceleste AFA: The House of Futbol, a pop-up Argentine football museum on Biscayne Boulevard. It remains open until the final of the Copa América.
Argentina’s three World Cup trophies have been sent and more than 10,000 fans have already bought tickets for a photo opportunity. Former players will also be there to greet the fans. The traditional day before the match banderazo There was a party planned there on Friday evening.
Organisers tell the Guardian that the Argentine team will visit the Fanzone Albiceleste next week ahead of the knockout rounds. It’s another huge opportunity to connect with the area. Sports fans in Miami love a winner above all else, and Argentina does that in spades.
“We watch the new generation of kids, and we see ourselves as kids again every time the Argentina national team plays in the U.S.,” Peterson added, of the AFA’s desire to engage new fans in the United States and beyond Messi’s final years.
“The Messi effect exists, but every world champion team is an important player in their own local clubs. Children become accustomed to success, all children want to be fans of a winning team, and Argentina fills that box perfectly.”