NEW YORK.- At No. 420 Fifth Avenue, seventh floor, Mahonry Mendoza – press officer – arrives from the left wing of the company offices. Multilateral. Each division of the North American Soccer League has its own block and region, so that business communications flow with surgical precision.
Among the horns and sirens coming through the windows, you can hear the sounds of keyboards. It’s Thursday at noon and in Headquarters League employees Work in advance For next season. most Deadlines By 2025 they have already passed.
“We are always moving and thinking about our next step. We have achieved extraordinary goals in recent years, e.g Lionel Messi arrives And more stars, but our way of working is to always think about more. This forces us to continue, even when… We know we have the best in the world In our league.”
Whoever utters those words is him Nelson Rodriguez60-year-old New Yorker, Son of ArgentinaAnd when he talks to LA NACION he does so with a combination of Porteño slang With an American accent that generates sympathy. His role is crucial within the vast machinery of Major League Soccer: it is Executive Vice President of Sports Products and Competition in the League.
In other words, Rodriguez has it in his hands The innovation and planning of the structure in which Messi plays. His parents came from Caballito, Buenos Aires, and he was born in the Big Apple. As a good son of Argentines, he fell in love with football as a child and then turned it into his lifestyle: he trained as a speaker and coach, until he was called to join the organization of the 1994 World Cup, which was held in the United States. From that moment on he didn’t stop. “I lived it all Modern history Football in this country.
Nelson Rodriguez sits in one of the main offices, and knows better than anyone that Messi serves as president Mid engine of Major League Soccer in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, in which the United States will be the protagonist. He will be one of the organizers alongside Mexico and Canada, and the North American League recognizes that this is another historic moment.
“Messi renewing his contract with Inter Miami until the end of the 2028 season is very important for us. He is a champion, a winner, An athlete wants to eat everything. The impact he had on Major League Soccer and North American soccer is indisputable.
He added: “Every year he shows that he is capable of breaking records. One assumes he will retire as a member of Inter Miami. We are very grateful to him, his family and the club. This league has been around for 30 years and we’re finally showing the world that We belong to the global game“, he adds, then relaxes his arms and taps the table slightly, a gesture that shows the emotion with which he speaks. He’s an Argentinian in an American body.
“To be an American is to want Always be the best in the world In any little thing. Although the league is young, soccer has been around in the United States for more than 100 years. It arrived before Spain and Germany, for example. But in the past ten years everything has changed. Messi is the magnet that attracts us and at the same time pushes us for more.“, explains about the role of the Argentine captain. “Messi -says- He came to conquerHe didn’t come on vacation. “I said that on the first day and today everything became clear.”
Major League Soccer is thriving with foreign talent. Within hours of the conference finals, a total of 37 latin soccer players They will share both keys. “Both the Latino fans and players They give it spice, sauce, passion and love To our league. Latin brings something different, something interesting, Something that cannot be explained in words“.
“Messi’s influence will last for years, even when he retires. In the parks, American kids They are already playing in the number 10 jersey for Inter Miami or Argentina. “This is happening today, and you can see it every day.”
Nelson Rodriguez is right: on the artificial turf fields built by New York’s mayor across the city for public use, every weekend Hundreds of children and young people gather to play football.
Where American football was once played, Today many lean towards what the Americans call soccer. Statistics show that it is one of the most popular team sports among girls and boys. “It has already happened: football has entered the blood of Americans.”Rodriguez says before returning to work.