Messi Mania is very real. But so is Charlotte FC, headed to the MLS playoffs
Charlotte FC survived Messi Mania on Saturday night, and while doing so won the biggest game of its short franchise history.
In a must-win situation with an MLS playoff berth on the line, Charlotte FC edged Inter Miami 1-0 Saturday before a wild home crowd. In doing so, Charlotte FC qualified for the MLS playoffs in its second year of existence.
Meanwhile, Miami’s Lionel Messi played all 90 minutes and nearly scored — twice. He had one goal — a gorgeous chip over the goalkeeper — waved off because Messi was narrowly offside. Then be barely missed a goal off a free kick that got deflected off the crossbar. But ultimately he and his teammates were held scoreless on what was a magical night for Charlotte FC, which hosted a global superstar and beat him. There was no Messi magic; Charlotte FC waved its own wand instead.
The crowd was abuzz all night and just short of a sellout, with 66,101 fans in attendance at Bank of America Stadium on a crisp October night. Dressed in a mixture of Charlotte FC light blue and Inter Miami pink, together the crowd resembled the world’s largest baby nursery and yelled like one, too.
The game’s first and only goal was scored in the 13th minute, when Charlotte FC’s Kerwin Vargas rocketed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the net. That made it 1-0 for Charlotte.
“It was a very important goal,” Vargas said afterward, and that it certainly was.
After that goal came 77-plus minutes of zeroes, with Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina making several monster saves. “This is a really special moment,” Kahlina said of the playoff berth. “I think we are growing up.... It’s a really good step forward.”
This game reminded me of the time Kobe Bryant faced the Charlotte Bobcats in 2005 in the Queen City. Kobe was at the peak of his powers then, and people showed up by the thousands, wanting to see him score.
But Charlotte played an inspired game, too, and it just went on and on. Kobe scored 58 points but the Bobcats matched him shot for shot — and finally won in triple overtime. Everyone went home happy.
Messi didn’t score, so his fans didn’t get to get happy about that.
But at least they saw him play an entire game — the rumor about him not being willing to play a game on artificial turf turned out to be unfounded. Fans also witnessed No. 10 making several runs and numerous pinpoint passes and every time he touched the ball, there was something of a roar. And then Charlotte FC still won and made the playoffs.
Charlotte FC is the No. 9 seed and will travel to face the New York Red Bulls (No. 8) on Wednesday in a single-elimination wild-card matchup. The winner of that game will advance to a best-of-3 series against FC Cincinnati. Charlotte FC will need to win Wednesday to host a playoff game. If Charlotte FC can beat New York, it will be guaranteed one home playoff game against Cincinnati in the best-of-3 series.
Said Charlotte FC coach Christian Lattanzio: “I am very, very happy… To me, it was an incredible moment. I’m very proud of our boys and very happy for our city.”
As for Messi’s star power, it is undeniable.
The Messi pilgrims came from everywhere. In a way, it was similar to a big-time concert, with people coming from all over, drawn to Charlotte by a single person. Charlotte didn’t get a Taylor Swift “Eras” concert, but it did get a one-night-only appearance by Lionel Messi, which to some people was even a bigger deal.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” agreed four fans from Lynchburg, Va., who had never been to Charlotte before but made the 210-mile drive Friday night. All of the young men were between 19 and 21 years old, either working or going to community college, and they decided to splurge. They all wore Messi No. 10 jerseys.
Isaac Quishpe bought the tickets — $250 each for good lower-level seats — and the other three paid him back and went on a road-trip adventure together.
“I’m from Spain,” Quishpe said, “and I saw Messi play when I was 11 years old. When this game was announced four months ago, I straight-up bought the tickets.”
Why? “Just … Messi, man,” Quishpe said. “Like I don’t even know how to explain it. He’s just insane. I’ve loved him for so many years.”
Ashleigh Copeland and her husband gave their son, Gage, a surprise 16th birthday present. In their case, they drove 450 miles from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Charlotte. Copeland and her husband, a Marine, took Gage and three other kids to the game. All four of the teenagers wore Messi jerseys.
There were thousands of stories like that, all over the stadium. And there were lots of fans of the home team, too.
Messi started the game, but in the first half he never took a shot. I had never seen him play in person before, and in that way I would wager I was similar to the majority of the crowd. It is startling to see how often he walks when the ball is on the other side of the field; at 36, Messi is a master at conserving energy. His three gaits for this game were: unhurried walk, slow jog and flat-out massive burst of speed. There wasn’t much else in between.
Then, in the second half, Messi — who Lattanzio contended was still “the best player in the world” — was much more active. That’s when his called-off goal came, as well as the free kick, as well as another free kick that he whaled into a wall of defenders.
At the end of the game, Messi walked off quietly. Charlotte FC players celebrated, and even more so after realizing that they had gotten the help they needed to make the playoffs.
Messi Mania had turned into Messi, muted. And Charlotte FC, in a city where the pro teams rarely make the postseason, had done exactly that.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 8:43 PM.
