Inter Miami will host Cruz Azul for Campeones Cup in rematch of Messi's MLS debut | OneFootball

Campeones Cup: It's a trophy, Inter Miami might as well win it

Inter Miami will play Cruz Azul for the second time Sept. 16 when the Liga MX and Major League Soccer champions compete for the Campeones Cup at Nu Stadium in Miami. Neither CONCACAF nor FIFA sanction the annual match between the champions of North America's biggest leagues; the winners of what is effectively a glorified friendly receive a trophy, about $340,000 prize money, and bragging rights for team and league.

This matchup, though, will be special to Inter Miami fans not for the prestige (or lack thereof); the Herons rematch against La Máquina -- the Machine -- is a reminder of the first time Messi Magic came to South Florida.

It was July 21, 2023, six days after Inter Miami officially announced it had signed Argentina, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi and six weeks since the legend shocked the soccer world by announcing that he would join the Herons in MLS.

Cruz Azul and Inter Miami were playing a group stage match in the inaugural Leagues Cup at what is now Inter Miami Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Messi and fellow newcomer Sergio Busquets had entered together in the 54th minute, their first appearances in Miami's Pink & Black. Tied 1-1 in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, Messi looped a curling shot into the top left corner of Cruz Azul's goal. The golazo would give Inter Miami the victory and announce Messi's arrival in MLS with an exclamation point; perhaps more importantly, it set the tone for Las Garzas' march to its first major title.

The stakes and circumstance of the Campeones Cup may not be as compelling, but any match between MLS and Liga MX teams is interesting. The leagues are partners in the Campeones and Leagues Cup competition, but they are still rivals. Rightly or wrongly, any interleague contest is widely considered a measure of who's "winning." That's overly simplistic, of course, but it adds drama to each match.

And, after all, it is a trophy. Inter Miami famously intends to join the world's best soccer brands; to do that, it must win trophies. Any trophies.