InterMiami reaches uncharted territory, as Messi aims for more

For the first time in their entire history, Inter Miami have reached the final eight of the MLS postseason after demolishing Nashville 4-0 on Saturday night.

Having missed out on the playoffs in their first two seasons, Miami made it to the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2022, only to lose 3-0 in the first round to reigning champions New York City FC. Bolstered by the midseason arrivals of Lionel Messi and his ex-Barcelona colleagues Tata Martino, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, Miami enjoyed an immediate turnaround in 2023, winning the first-ever edition of the expanded Leagues Cup as well as reaching the U.S. Open Cup Final. However, they ran out of gas in the final months and ended up finishing 14th in the East and 27th overall.

After adding Luis Suarez to their ranks, Miami enjoyed an epic 2024 season that saw them win the Supporters’ Shield and finish with the best regular season point tally in MLS history (74 points), setting up a postseason clash with Atlanta United. Having finished 34 points above the Five Stripes, all signs pointed to Miami demolishing their southeastern rivals, with the Herons winning the first leg before taking an early lead in the second leg, only to end up conceding twice (including a last-second winner). And despite opening the scoring early on in Game Three, Miami would end up suffering one of the biggest upsets in MLS history after losing 3-2 to Atlanta in their own stadium.

It’s evident that Miami have learnt from this postseason collapse under new manager Javier Mascherano, who replaced his compatriot Martino after the defeat to Atlanta. Mascherano has opted to rotate against teams like D.C. United and conserve the team’s energy for all of their different competitions, with Miami reaching the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals and Leagues Cup Final as well as being the only MLS team to reach the FIFA Club World Cup knockout round. Rather than putting all of their eggs into the basket of the regular season, Miami have played the long game in order to be raring to go in the postseason. If they are to avoid their first trophyless season since 2022, they’ll need to win their first-ever MLS Cup.

Miami controlled their own destiny in terms of winning another Supporters’ Shield up until the final days of September, when they drew at Toronto and lost to Chicago, handing the award to Philadelphia. However, it seems that this has merely allowed Miami to breathe more clearly and hit their stride, with the Herons winning their next three regular season matches by a combined 13-3 scoreline before kicking off their playoffs with a 3-1 win vs. Nashville. The newly crowned U.S. Open Cup champions would respond by winning 2-1 in Tennessee, forcing a Game Three in South Florida, where Messi opened the scoring after 10 minutes before doubling the lead before the break.

Tadeo Allende would stretch Miami’s lead to three in the 73rd minute before completing his brace immediately after, proving why various pundits like Leonardo Bertozzi and Tim Vickery have proclaimed him as one of the top rising prospects in MLS. After four consecutive matches against Nashville SC, Miami will now travel to Ohio for an Eastern Conference Semifinal vs. FC Cincinnati, who pulled off a comeback 2-1 win against Columbus Crew thanks to Brenner’s brace. If they win, they will either travel to Philadelphia Union or host New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Final.

Miami have won just one of their last nine matches against Cincinnati, whilst they’ve lost each of their last four trips to TQL Stadium in MLS. Can they put an end to their struggles in Cincinnati and book their spot in the final four? Stay tuned for what promises to be an epic showdown in the Midwest.