This is not a drill: Inter Miami are officially in crisis mode.

Since welcoming the arrivals of manager Tata Martino and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi in the summer of 2023, Inter Miami have grown accustomed to blowing the competition out of the water. They won the first-ever Leagues Cup in 2023 and reached the U.S. Open Cup Final that same year, whilst 2024 would see them finish with the most regular season points in the history of Major League Soccer, only to lose to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite losing midfield warrior Diego Gomez to Brighton in the offseason, many pundits like Derek Rae and Taylor Twellman considered Miami the team to beat going into the 2025 MLS season. However, there was nevertheless a healthy dose of skepticism for their coaching choice: Javier Mascherano.

After a glorious 17-year playing career that saw him win the Champions League with Barcelona and reach the World Cup Final with Argentina, Mascherano hung up his boots in 2020 and moved into coaching. He struggled to convince in his first position as manager of Argentina’s U20 side, with the Albiceleste failing to qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup only to be given a reprieve after previously selected hosts Indonesia were kicked out after refusing to host Israel. They were given hosting privileges but nevertheless lost 2-0 to Nigeria in the Round of 16, whilst the following year would see Argentina lose to hosts France in the quarterfinals of the Summer Olympics.

It was far from the most auspicious start to his coaching career, but it didn’t stop Inter Miami from giving him the first-team manager role on November 26, 2024. On the face of it, it seemed to be rooted in favoritism, solely to appease Messi, who played with Mascherano at Barcelona and Miami, as well as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez, who also suited up alongside him in a Blaugrana kit. Nevertheless, Miami kicked off the Mascherano era on a strong note, escaping their league opener vs. New York City FC with a 2-2 draw despite playing down a man for 90 minutes, brushing past Sporting Kansas City and Jamaican side Cavalier in the first rounds of the Concacaf Champions Cup, and beating Houston Dynamo, Charlotte FC, Atlanta United and Philadelphia Union. Miami would suffer their first defeat of 2025 on April 2, with Nathan Ordaz’s goal giving Los Angeles FC a 1-0 win, but they would erase the first-leg deficit and win 3-1 at home to advance to the next round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

However, the cracks started to appear for the Herons, who drew to Toronto FC and Chicago Fire before eking out a 1-0 win at Columbus Crew. The final week of April brought a dismal run of affairs for Miami, who relinquished a 3-1 lead and lost 4-3 at home vs. FC Dallas in league play, and who were eviscerated 5-1 in the Concacaf Champions Cup over two legs. They bounced back by thrashing New York Red Bulls 4-1 at home – the very next game, Minnesota United gave them a taste of their own medicine by winning 4-1 at home. Despite taking the lead within a minute at San Jose, they coughed up the equalizer immediately and succumbed to a 3-3 draw, before being caught on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat to Florida rivals Orlando City. Miami’s defensive woes continued on Saturday, going into halftime down 2-0 at Philadelphia Union, only for Tadeo Allende to pull one back at the hour-mark. Tai Baribo restored the hosts’ advantage, but Messi would cut the deficit to one in the 87th minute, whilst Telasco Segovia snatched a point at the death for the visitors.

The reigning MLS Supporters’ Shield champions currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, and unless they can find some form in their next two matches vs. Montreal and Columbus Crew, they could end the month outside of the playoff positions. For all their attacking firepower, it is evident that Miami are severely lacking in the defensive department – they don’t have a single elite defender in their squad like Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman or Vancouver’s Tristan Blackmon or D.C.’s Lucas Bartlett. Whilst Miami have been linked with a move to Luka Modric, who is out of contract after departing Real Madrid, they might be better served going for a fullback or center back. As one of the 32 teams that will be participating in the FIFA Club World Cup, Miami will be able to sign up to six new players exclusively for the tournament between June 1 and June 10, although they’ll need to also remain wary of the current MLS salary cap rules and regulations as well. Above all, they’ll need to focus on which holes are most noticeable in their squad – not which available players have the highest profile.

“You could see it in that game versus Vancouver, there are definite holes in this team… if you can frustrate and eliminate Messi and his impact on the game, if you can force the other players to be the difference-makers, that’s where you can win,” stated Herculez Gomez, who won the MLS Cup with Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders. “Messi is the greatest of all time, but he’s still human, and he’s going to have moments where he needs help from other players. They don’t have those other playmakers: it’’s Messi and friends. And at the expense of Messi and friends, it’s not a situation like Argentina where 10 guys work for Messi, where they have legs for Messi. You’ve got some big holes here for other guys who need legs like Suarez, Busquets and Alba.”

“It’s more than just running for Messi, it’s other needs that must be addressed,” added Gomez. “Unless they address those, I don’t see this team lifting a lot of hardware this season. Why is Mascherano the coach? Because he’s Messi’s friend. There are no fundamental merits about his hiring that make you say, ‘Okay, this is something that could be productive.’ They’ll be a team that entertains and wins some games, because that’s Major League Soccer, but we’ve seen it in the past with the Concacaf Champions Cup two years in a row and in the MLS Cup playoffs vs. Atlanta. If this team doesn’t get its act together in terms of construction, it’s gonna be another long season.”

Miami have just two games to get back to top form before hosting Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the first match of the FIFA Club World Cup on June 14. If they fail to turn things around in the upcoming international tournament, Mascherano could be bidding farewell to his Miami job after just a couple of months in South Florida.