No offense to Caleb Williams, but the two most internationally famous athletes to play this year at Soldier Field will face each other Wednesday night in a soccer game.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are visiting Robert Lewandowski and the Fire at what’s expected to be a packed stadium. Both Messi and Lewandowski are truly global icons with legions of fans around the world, and their supporters will be watching the Fire and Miami in a match between two of the best teams in Major League Soccer.
The latter is what the Fire (11-6-5, 38 points) are trying to focus on. They enter the match in third place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind second-place Inter Miami (12-4-7, 43 points) but with a game in hand.
“The excitement and all the hype about the game is there. It’s there for a reason,” Fire attacker Philip Zinckernagel said Monday. “But once the ref blows the first whistle, you’re so into the game, it’s just a game like any other game.”
Yes, technically, Zinckernagel is right that Wednesday is just another match during a grueling MLS season. It would be a surprise if he said anything else, and go against the expected ethos of professional athletes concentrating on what’s in front of their eyes.
Of course, there’s much more to it when figures like Messi and Lewandowski will share an MLS field for the first time.
Messi is the consensus greatest soccer player of all time. He collected trophies in Spain with Barcelona and a World Cup title with the Argentina national team to cement his legacy as the heir to Pele and Diego Maradona. His 2023 arrival instantly turned Inter Miami into the marquee MLS franchise and a traveling road show, with fans clamoring to see the aging but still excellent star.
Then there’s Lewandowski, who has six goals in eight league games with the Fire. Though his resume lacks Messi’s World Cup medal and success in the international game, Lewandowski accomplished everything else a soccer player can during a glittering European career in Germany and Spain. He’s also the greatest Polish player ever, making him an attractive drawing card in Chicago and elsewhere.
It’s coach Gregg Berhalter’s job to figure out how to restrain Messi and make sure the Fire are focused on the game and not the 60,000 fans at Soldier Field or the people who will tune in from all over the world to watch. At least Berhalter knows his players won’t need much motivation to show up Wednesday.
“It’s pretty easy because these are the games that, if you’re a player, you can’t wait to play in. These are the games that you mark your calendar in the beginning of the year, that you’re so excited for,” Berhalter said. “So, then it’s about locking in. The adrenaline is going, and these are the games that are really easy to get up for.”
Since David Beckham joined the Galaxy in 2007, MLS teams have raced to sign their own international superstars. The Fire have done decently in that race, succeeding with Mexico’s Cuauhtémoc Blanco and German star Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Lewandowski is a bigger star than either of those players and he’ll be wearing Fire colors on the same field as Messi. Zinckernagel doesn’t expect the Fire to be distracted, noting that they’ve played in front of big crowds and hosted Messi before.
“I’m just happy that we have one of the superstars on our team this time,” Zinckernagel said. “It’s exciting, exciting times with the club and you want to play those games with a full stadium. Those are the fun games.”