Orlando City fell on the wrong end of a 3-1 matchup against Inter Miami FC on Wednesday night down in Fort Lauderdale. Lionel Messi stared once again, scoring his fourth and fifth goals in just three games since joining the MLS. If you want to hear Brandon and I's thoughts, click the podcast below for the full segment from Thursday's show.
In simple terms: Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player to ever play in the MLS. I come to this conclusion based on previous success in domestic leagues, FIFA World Cup, and the superior play through his first three games in the MLS. He has scored or assisted in every game since joining the club, scoring five of the clubs nine goals while assisting on another. To compare his greatness to maybe the biggest star the MLS has ever had in David Beckham, Messi has almost four times the amount of goals, an extended list of career accolades, and almost 100 more assists in his career.
I saw and heard a lot of banter about the officiating last night. The superstar whistle is very much a real thing, just like the rookie whistle is. Whether it intentional or not, it happens. However, officiating will not be the most important deciding factor in a win or a loss in 99% of games by Caron's Calculations.
Over 90 minutes of soccer are played in every match. The refs are going to miss calls. It's apart of the game. It sure does make it a whole lot tougher to win a game in every sport if it seems they are showing favoritism to a particular player, but don't be so quick to jump straight to the refs for the reasoning your team loss. Just like the refs miss plays, so does the team. Messi's first goal was a total breakdown by the Orlando City defense. I guarantee most of the players involved in the play would tell you it was a total brain fart.
Messi is great, the refs weren't great, and our hometown team lost. Hold your team accountable, and hope that the team can learn from these mistakes to turn them into positives down the line. Check out Brandon and I's full segment on the game from 'In The Zone' earlier today.