Lawson Sunderland’s journey: From a lonely teen in Barcelona to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami teammate
Lawson Sunderland was a 15-year-old American kid from Aurora, Illinois, far away from his family, living in a dorm in Valencia, Spain, with 30 teenage boys who, like him, were training with second division club Levante and chasing a dream.
But unlike the other kids, Sunderland did not speak a word of Spanish. And none of them spoke English.
“Not having my parents was the hardest part and not speaking the language; I couldn’t talk to anyone,” Sunderland said Wednesday morning, in Spanish, with a perfect Castilian accent, before heading to training with his Inter Miami teammates. “I was very lonely. But it was for football. It was for my dream. I learned so much, and I learned a new language.”
Sunderland, the 22year-old midfielder, grew up in a soccer family. His father, Larry, is the director of Player Development at FC Cincinnati. His younger brother’s first name is Beckham, an homage to the Inter Miami co-owner.
“My Dad was a huge fan of his and loved how he was always the hardest working player on the field,” Lawson explained.
Despite his mother’s concerns, Sunderland left for Spain in 2017, at age
15, and spent five years there, playing for the youth teams of Levante, Sabadell and Damm, and for the senior team at Sant Andreu before returning to the United States in 2021 to join Inter Miami’s second team. He was signed to the senior team on Sept. 8, 2023.
Sabadell, Damm and Sant Andreu are in the Barcelona area and Sunderland spent those years keeping a close eye on FC Barcelona, whose stars included Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis
Suarez and Jordi Alba.
Never in his wildest dreams, as a teenager in Barcelona, did he imagine he’d one day share a locker room with that quartet.
“I got to watch them, I went to two different Barcelona games, so I got to watch all these guys before this was even a thought in my brain that I would get to play with them,” Sunderland said.
After spending a season with Inter Miami’s second team, coaches and club sporting director Chris Henderson felt he was ready to make the jump to the first team.
“He’s earned this opportunity with his dedication and performances over the last two seasons at the club, and we’re excited about the depth he can provide and his potential for growth,” Henderson said upon signing him. “Lawson has improved and developed into a more complete midfielder since he arrived and we’re looking forward to continuing to elevate that path with the first team.”
So far this season, he has played in five games, started twice and had one assist. He played 77 minutes against CF Montreal and 59 minutes last Saturday against the New York Red Bulls. Because of his years in Spain, Lawson is fully bilingual, which has helped his adaptation.
Inter Miami’s schedule is crowded this year with Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, the MLS season and Copa America, which will take some players away, so Sunderland and other young players need to be ready to step in.
He said he and his teammates are eager to put the 4-0 loss to the Red Bulls behind and get back on the winning track Saturday at home against New York City FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
“It was a tough loss, but it’s a sport and every day is a new day, every day is an opportunity,” he said. “So, we’ve got to move on and be ready for the next game.”
There is a chance Messi will not play Saturday, as he recovers from a hamstring injury and coach Tata Martino has said they want him fully healthy next Wednesday for the Champions Cup quarterfinal first leg against Mexican team Monterrey. Messi was at the training facility on Wednesday morning, but not working out with the rest of the team during the open media portion.
Drake Callender and Diego Gomez were back with the group after national team duty, and midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi also returned after a sports hernia injury.
Inter Miami is undefeated in five games with Messi this year and has lost two of the three without him. The team is in second place in the Eastern Conference, leads the league with 13 goals, but has given up nine.
“Obviously, he’s the best, so not having him on the field makes things a little tougher because you got 11 guys that can change the game, but with him, you know he’s going to change the game,” Sunderland said. “So it’s something that the other guys in the field, we just have to pick it up together as one.”