David Beckham looks on from his suite as Inter Miami makes its MLS debut in Los Angeles The referee blew his whistle On March 1 2020 Miami took the kickoff to officially begin its history The players began the match hoping to become just the fifth MLS team ever to win its first game 6
PINK ARMY It made sense that Miami fans were excited to watch their new team They had already waited 19 years Miami’s first MLS team folded in 2001 That left the area without top-level soccer It took an unlikely person to bring soccer back to South Florida David Beckham was a legendary soccer player from England He had no ties to Miami but he chose it as the location for a new team he purchased in 2013 That began a long process of finding a site for a new stadium and determining how to pay for its construction Finally in 2018 it became official Miami was coming back to MLS Excitement had been building ever since When the 2020 schedule came out and showed a road game to begin the season some fans booked flights to Los Angeles The day before the match the team held a final practice When the players returned to their hotel the fans were there to welcome them with songs and chants Nearly 100 fans were ready to cheer on their new club early on match day They waved flags as they marched to the stadium With more than an hour remaining before kickoff the supporters took their positions Beckham was also in attendance and took pictures with the crowd 7
STAR POWER David Beckham is a big star on and off the field well known even to people who aren’t big soccer fans LAFC prided itself on its home-field advantage The black-clad fans formed an intimidating match-day atmosphere Beckham’s wife Victoria rose to Miami midfielder Lee Nguyen knew fame in the 1990s as a pop singer With Inter Miami’s first game near Hollywood some celebrity fans came out to support Beckham that as well as anyone He used to play for LAFC He was impressed the visiting fans were able to make Chef Gordon Ramsay and actresses themselves heard Liv Tyler and Eva Longoria were in attendance to help cheer on Miami They were amazing to travel all the way from the East Coast to LA and be able to show that kind of support Nguyen said You could see all the pink in that corner over there and it was amazing We felt that and we hope they know we appreciate them for that SEEKING THREE POINTS Miami’s offense created some good chances In the 42nd minute star midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro was alone at the back post on a corner kick His attempt was saved but he got the ball back and played a cross to Nicolás Figal However Figal’s header was stopped too 8
Lee Nguyen holds back former teammate and reigning MLS Most Valuable Player Carlos Vela in Inter Miami’s opener In the other goal Miami keeper Luis Robles stayed busy LAFC peppered the net with 19 shots Ten were on target Only one got past the veteran keeper but it was a big one Minutes after Miami’s great chances on the offensive end its defense had a letdown It allowed skilled LAFC forward Carlos Vela too much space Vela got the ball at the top of the penalty area He looked up and saw Robles was a little too far out of the net 9
