THE National Stadium was abuzz with electricity as Cavalier Football Club clashed with United States Major League Soccer (MLS) giants Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Thursday. The return leg of the Round of 16 match had all the ingredients of a thriller: a jam-packed stadium, a David vs Goliath showdown, and the tantalising prospect of witnessing greatness.

As the teams took to the field the air was thick with anticipation, though Inter Miami had a fairly comfortable 2-0 lead from the first leg in Florida on March 6. The MLS club were boasting the iconic quartet of Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Lionel Messi. Cavalier, however, were determined to make a statement on their home turf.

The stadium erupted into a frenzy of cheers and chanted the name of Messi, even though he started the game on the bench. The chanting got louder when he began to warm up on the resumption. The Argentine maestro’s mere presence seemed to electrify the atmosphere, and when he stepped onto the field the crowd’s deafening roar threatened to shake the very foundations of the stadium.

Despite the odds, Cavalier held their own against the star-studded Inter Miami line-up, with the Jamaican team’s determination and grit on full display.

In the end it was Inter Miami’s superior firepower that proved decisive, with Suárez and Messi scoring in either half to seal a 2-0 victory. Yet, despite the defeat, Cavalier’s Sporting Director Rudolph Speid beamed with pride as he thinks his side has become an international brand.

“It is a good showing from the team,” Speid told the Jamaica Observer. “People might not think about it but this Inter Miami team — with or without Messi, in MLS — they dropped 8-2, 6-2, 4-1, and so it kind of showed that we could compete.

“I thought we just made two lapses in the game: you know the penalty, and we lost the game. Cavalier is probably an international brand now, based on what happened.”

Speid’s assertion was not mere hyperbole. Cavalier’s performance against Inter Miami had sent a clear message that they are a force to be reckoned with in regional football.

“I thought that Inter Miami is a highly professional team,” he said. “I think they play more for each other, and they made less mistakes, and that was really the difference between the both of us.”

As Speid spoke, he highlighted Cavalier’s growth and ambition.

“Cavalier is not only a brand name in Jamaica, but also internationally,” he said. “If you remember, for the last three years we are the one who carried the flag for Jamaica and the Caribbean — whether it is in Caribbean competitions or Concacaf competitions. We have carried the flag with pride for Jamaica when the rest of the teams are not doing so well.”

The fact that Inter Miami had brought Messi to Jamaica, Speid said, was a testament to Cavalier’s growing reputation.

“They couldn’t disrespect us, they had to carry Messi here,” he said. “They couldn’t even not play him; even with the 1-0 lead,they had to bring him in at half-time to make sure. They didn’t want to take any chances because we were always looking dangerous and competing against Inter Miami.

“I think we are [an] international brand now. Everybody knows about us; the whole world was watching the game. And even Messi came on and scored a nice goal and so that will be his highlight — that he scored it here.”

Speid’s assertion was backed by the numbers.

“I don’t think since 1998 the National Stadium has been so full,” he said. “And so, again, that is another first. Cavalier is the first Jamaican team to carry a world-renowned number one player. You know Pele came here in 1971, but that was in a friendly game.”

As Speid reflected on the game he acknowledged that Cavalier still has room for improvement.

“I am proud of the players,” he said. “They played and they attacked Miami when they got the opportunities, it is just that we made a couple of mistakes that we shouldn’t have made — that is the same thing that happened in both games. And so I am saying that, well, the last goal really broke us down but before that, it was an even-stevens game and we made some mistakes.

“We didn’t advance in the tie to go to the round of eight of the Concacaf Champions Cup so we now have to turn our attention back to the Jamaica Premier League and give it our best effort.”