Down two goals against CF Montreal over the weekend, Inter Miami were awarded a free-kick in the 44th minute. It proved to be the turning point of the match. Despite being 35-40 yards out from goal, that set-piece was absolutely buried with a Goal of the Year-level finish, igniting a furious comeback that ended in a 3-2 Miami win.
Lionel Messi is normally the man for those moments, but he wasn’t this time. Sidelined briefly to receive treatment, Messi could only watch on like the rest of us. Instead, the man doing his best Messi impression was the superstar’s newest teammate, Matias Rojas, who has almost immediately made himself a top-tier running mate for the Argentine. His transition to life at Miami has been seamless, and Rojas is now positioned to be the club’s next cult hero, much like Robert Taylor before him.
Rojas’ rise is coming at the perfect time, too. All season long, Miami has been decimated by injuries, leaving Messi and Luis Suarez to do the heavy lifting at a pace that is almost certainly unsustainable for two veterans, regardless of their abilities. If Miami could get something, anything, out of someone else… well, that would make life much easier for the two Barcelona icons.
Rojas is that someone and, just a few weeks into his Inter Miami career, he’s proven he can be a real difference-maker for Tata Martino’s team.
Under-the-radar arrival
Just a few months into the MLS season, it was already clear that Inter Miami needed reinforcements. Federico Redondo, Diego Gomez, Facundo Farias, Jordi Alba… the list of injured players went on. At one point, nine first-teamers were out of action, and that didn’t include Messi’s month-long absence.
In a bid to bolster numbers, Miami announced Rojas’ arrival on April 23, signing him to a deal that runs through 2026 with club options. The attacking midfielder most recently played for Corinthians in Brazil, but had not featured since February due to a reported dispute over image rights payments.
He arrived with a strong pedigree in South American soccer, having played for Paraguayan giants Cerro Porteno before heading to Argentina to feature for Lanus, Defensa y Justicia and Racing. Internationally, the 28-year-old has been on the fringes of the Paraguay national team, earning 11 caps while being named to the 2019 Copa America squad.
All that is to say that Rojas was brought in at least partially due to his experience. He’s a player that has played at a high level and, at 28, is in his prime. He was also a free agent, making this a relatively simple deal to get over the line.
Strong first impression
Rojas wasted little time in making his mark, either, even if Messi, as he often does, stole the show against New York Red Bulls, with his MLS-record six goal contributions, including five assists, ensuring all the headlines after the 6-2 win focused on the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
That meant Rojas first telling contribution in MLS was a bit overshadowed, but make no mistake, his performance was picture-perfect. Having previously made his debut with a 15-minute cameo in a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution, Rojas was introduced at half-time against the Red Bulls with Miami 1-0 down.
Within three minutes, he had had netted the equaliser, and he quickly made it 3-1 after Messi had given Miami the lead with a goal of his own.
BANGERS ONLY 💥
What a hit from Matias Rojas for the @InterMiamiCF goal! 🇵🇾 pic.twitter.com/OxrQBjxR4T
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 5, 2024
Both of Rojas’ goals were assisted by Messi, but the Paraguayan deserves the bulk of the credit. His long-range opener was the best goal of Miami’s six on the night, but it was no fluke or one-off, as Rojas showcased in his first start for the Herons.
Fabulous free-kick
With Messi sidelined having received treatment for an injury – something he was less than pleased with – someone else needed to step up take a free-kick for Miami against Montreal. That person was Rojas, and he hit it in a way that even his superstar teammate may not have been able to.
Messi has scored his share of free-kick stunners, and Rojas’ was right up there with any of them. Down 2-0 and in need of a spark, Miami got it from the Paraguayan star, who kickstarted a furious comeback.
BANGERS ONLY 🤯 An absolute stunner from Matias Rojas 🇵🇾 💥 pic.twitter.com/Byn6C8Sj2o
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) May 12, 2024
Miami went on to win 3-2, with Rojas setting up Benjamin Cremaschi for the match-winner. That makes it three goals and an assist for Rojas in just 131 minutes of MLS action since his arrival.
Easing the burden
If MLS MVP voting finished today, there’s a legitimate chance that Messi and Suarez would finish as the top two. Real Salt Lake’s Chicho Arango may have something to say about that, but, realistically, there aren’t two players in this league dominating in the way that Miami’s big-name attackers are.
Messi leads the league in assists with 12, four more than anyone else. He also has 10 goals to his name, despite missing about a month of games. Suarez, meanwhile, has one more goal than Messi, giving him the co-lead in the Golden Boot race alongside Arango and D.C. United’s Christian Benteke.
Miami have scored 35 goals this season, with Messi and Suarez together having 38 goal contributions. That stat shows one thing: this team runs through the pair of South Americans. That will, on most occasions, be sustainable, simply because those two are that good.
There will be times, though, that the Herons will be without Messi, Suarez or both. Who will they rely on in those moments? Well, maybe it’s Rojas. He appears to be more than ready to join the likes of Taylor, Leonardo Campana and Cremaschi as difference-makers in this team.
‘Sink or swim’
From the day he arrived, Rojas seemingly embraced everything – both the positives and negatives – that come with playing alongside Messi. The positives are obvious: you get to play alongside arguably the best of all time. He opens up spaces and chances that no player can and, as his teammate, you benefit from that. The negatives? The pressure. The moment you suit up alongside Messi, you are expected to do whatever it takes to aid his pursuits. There’s no room to adjust or learn; you must instantly step in and help Messi out.
Rojas has embraced that pressure and, so far, he’s thrived in it, too. “It’s a big responsibility,” he told Deporte Total USA. “There are two ways to approach playing with him, you can either sink or you can swim. In my opinion, he is the best in history. You can either play with the fact he will not understand your pressure or you let it go, and he solves all that with what he does.
“That pass to me for my second goal (against the Red Bulls) was something I didn’t expect, but it makes it easier for you. You need to take advantage of that chemistry, and me and the team did just that.”
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Looking ahead
Rojas’ status as Miami’s newest goal contributor will be put to the test on Wednesday, as Miami could head into another match without Messi. The Argentine is doubtful for Wednesday’s match against Orlando City due to a knock, and it could very well be in Martino’s interest to rest the superstar attacker given the short turnaround before Saturday’s clash with D.C. United.
If Messi doesn’t play, much of the pressure will pass onto the shoulders of Suarez to lead the way. Some of it, though, should now fall on Rojas as he looks to continue this hot start.
Is that all this is, though: a hot start? Or could this be the start of a run that solidifies Rojas’ spot as a key contributor? We’ll find out soon enough, and Messi will certainly be watching closely as he may just have a teammate ready to help him take Miami to the next level.
