Inter Miami’s Leo Campana became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with his 30th goal in the team’s last match. But he knows the crown might be his for just a short time longer. So is life when the most famous Leo in soccer’s history is your teammate.
Leo Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion, sits just three goals behind Campana after returning from a lengthy injury absence. But Campana, a 24-year-old Ecuadorian standout, is enjoying his spot at the top before Inter Miami faces New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
“Sincerely, it’s funny because with my teammates after the game, we joke and they told me, ‘Hey, enjoy it because you have one or two more weeks and then you’re gone,’” Campana said with a laugh Friday.
He passed former record-holder Gonzalo Higuain with a free kick in the 58th minute of Inter Miami’s 2-2 draw against Atlanta United last Wednesday.
“Right now, this was my week,’ he said. ‘Hopefully, I can keep scoring and I can keep doing better, but obviously they’re coming fast.”
In addition to Messi, Campana mentioned goal-scoring phenom and teammate Luis Suarez, who leads the team with 21 goals and is already in fourth-place on the club’s all-time list.
Messi and Suarez, who both came off the bench against Atlanta, could see extended minutes in Saturday’s game against NYCFC. It’s the last of three matches in a week for Inter Miami, which will not play again until Sept. 28.
Inter Miami remains atop the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings with 63 points. If Inter Miami wins the Supporters’ Shield, it will be the club’s second title of the Messi era. And it could be a catalyst for their third.
How to watch NYCFC vs. Inter Miami live stream?
The Inter Miami game against NYCFC begins Saturday at 2 p.m. ET (3 p.m. in Argentina), and will be live streamed via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Is Messi playing vs. NYCFC at Yankee Stadium?
Yes, Messi is expected to play, Inter Miami assistant coach Javi Morales confirmed Friday. This will be Messi’s third match in a week since returning from his Copa America ankle injury.
“The most important thing is that his ankle is responding well. And then physically, match by match, he is getting into rhythm,” Morales said of Messi. “We know that he is a player who always wants to be there, and we are going to use him whenever we can, because the truth is that not only he improves us a lot, but also we enjoy having him on our team and on the pitch.”
Messi played roughly 25 minutes in Atlanta, his first road match with Inter Miami since May 11 in Montreal. The shortened minutes followed his first appearance last Saturday, when he played the distance in a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Union, scoring two goals with a late assist.
Messi has 24 total goal contributions – 14 goals and 10 assists – in just 14 MLS matches this season for Inter Miami.