Before there was David Beckham, the part-owner of a newly-franchised MLS team, there was Beckham the superstar footballer.
In 1997, having scaled the heights of the European game with Manchester United and Real Madrid, the midfielder headed west to a league very much in its infancy, and its fair to say that his arrival caused quite a stir.
Indeed, it’s easy now to downplay just what an incredibly big deal it was, for a globally renowned player - still relatively speaking in his prime – to go to the US.
It’s easy because we know who came next. Gerrard and Henry. Kaka and Ibrahimovic. All wound down their careers out there as the league steadily grew in strength and stature.
Beckham though was the first, and subsequently it is he who is attributed with taking a game previously ignored by so much of the American public from the inside pages of newspapers to the back.
Simply by signing for LA Galaxy, flashing that smile, and taking those trademark free-kicks it was he who helped revolutionise the MLS.
And now, after being financially and personally involved in the founding of Inter Miami right from the start, the man once coined by his own wife as ‘Goldenballs’ is looking to replicate that revolution in the sunshine state of Florida.
A mere five years old, the club has already given us more plot-twists than a schlocky ITV drama.
Before we get to all that however, and furthermore attempt to deduce if the former England captain’s grand project may eventually pay off, we must stay in the late-Nineties. Because two factors back then explain a great deal.
First off, the Beckhams loved their time in the States, viewing it as a sanctuary away from the constant pressure and attention they faced in the UK. In a recent Netflix documentary Victoria Beckham said as much, citing it as the most content the family had ever been.
Additionally – and crucially – there was also an inducement put into Beckham’s contract at the Galaxy that must be factored in.
So desperate was the MLS to lure the Real Madrid star across the Atlantic, an option was included in his deal that allowed him to purchase an expansion club at any point in the future for a knockdown $25m.
That inducement was capitalised upon in 2014, when it was revealed that Beckham – along with fellow investors Jorge and Jose Mas, Marcelo Claure and Masayoshi Son, though the latter two have since been bought out – was in the process of forming a new expansion team in South Florida.
Miami had already had MLS representation in the form of the Fusion, but that was an experiment that failed, the club folding in 2002.
Surely though, with the wealth of funds available to the latest project, Inter Miami had every chance of succeeding? After all, the location of the new club made sense, the city being vibrant, sports-mad, and blessed with a huge catchment area of potential supporters.
A badge was designed. A team was formed. A manager was appointed.
Their search for a ground took an eternity, but that’s an article in itself, and suffice to say one was eventually built and named the DRV PNK Stadium. In 2020, Inter Milan, nicknamed the Herons, began to play competitive soccer in the MLS Eastern Conference.
The signing of Gonzalo Higuain was a statement of the fledgling club’s ambitions and though the football odds understandably didn’t hold out much hope for Miami in their inaugural season they still finished a respectable tenth, 19th overall.
The following season a similar position was secured before an impressive sixth spot was attained last term. As importantly, for any club seeking to establish themselves, attendances were on the rise too.
All of which fast-forwards us to 2023, a year that began with defeats piled on defeat as Inter struggled under the soon-to-be-sacked Phil Neville, and ended with a Leagues Cup success, won in August, and a player in their ranks many believe is the greatest footballer to ever lace up a pair of boots.
The signing of Lionel Messi was substantial in meaning and substantially hard to pull off, needing the help of Adidas and Apple to get it over the line.
It was a transfer that made headlines around the world, his messianic presence enough to inspire team-mates and draw in crowds in their thousands, all paying top dollar for the privilege of watching a timeless great.
Messi can not only alter the online betting with a single drop of his shoulder, but can raise Inter to unprecedented levels, especially with the assistance of this forthcoming season’s new designated player Luis Suarez alongside him.
Add in Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets and there is a danger of this new creation becoming a retirement home for Barcelona legends, but if there is a chance of that happening what is certain is that all eyes will be on Inter Miami for the 2024 campaign.
And this, nearly as much as results, is precisely what Beckham wants and the club needs presently. A presence. Interest maintained locally and intrigue to be drummed up internationally.
Goldenballs has excelled at such promotion before in Los Angeles. Don’t discount the probability of him doing the same again.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
