When Lionel Messi debuted for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup in 2023, he came off the bench against Cruz Azul to see the Liga MX side equalize 10 minutes into his first showing for the Herons. Then, with the final touch of the game, the Argentine drilled home a stupendous free kick to lift Miami to victory in the Group Stage of the competition.
Afterward? He gave his first MLS interview with Apple TV to reporter Antonella Gonzalez, who recalls the moment as "life-changing."
"For me, that interview that I did, the first one with Messi was the first interview that he was doing for the media. In the first interview after his debut in Major League Soccer," Gonzalez told GOAL. "Having the opportunity to interview him in the best way possible, because it was like a Hollywood movie that day for me, it was life-changing, and I understood that he is just a guy who wants to keep playing and enjoying the game, and he's really happy right now."
Since then Gonzalez has had a chance to interview the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner multiple times.
"What I can see from right by his side," she says, "is that he doesn't suffer from the ego of being so popular. He just wants to keep playing, and he's just a really good guy."
Watching him grow with the South Beach club has been a joy, but his influence on the league and Latin-American culture in MLS may be what his true legacy.
"I have to say that he's a little kid playing and enjoying the game," she says. "That is what I can see when I am right by his side as a sideline reporter. When he's on the bench, when he's not In the starting XI, he's just watching the game like he is as excited as a little kid."
As a reporter for MLS 360 en Espanol, Gonzalez has experience covering the game through a unique lens, both in South American and Spanish soccer. With MLS, she's embarked on a new task: to make Latin American communities across the United States get excited about the league.
Gonzalez spoke on the Messi's influence on the league, the growth of the Latin American game within MLS and more in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
