Inter Miami Playing for Something Bigger Than Trophies

On September 13, 2008, Sergio Busquets’ life changed forever. He made his LaLiga debut, playing the full 90 in a 1-1 draw vs. Racing Santander. The rest, as they say, is history; Busquets emerged as a vital cog in midfield for Spain and Barcelona, winning the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros with the former, as well as nine league titles and three Champions League titles with the latter.

One year later, Jordi Alba made his LaLiga debut for Valencia in a 4-2 win vs. Real Valladolid on September 13, 2009. After guiding Spain to glory in the 2012 Euros in Poland Ukraine, Alba made the move to Barcelona, where he would win six championships and one Champions League title. Whilst Busquets has emerged as one of the greatest holding midfielders to ever play the game, Alba has made his mark as one of the best left backs ever, with leading pundits like Nico Cantor and Taylor Twellman placing him in the pantheon of the game’s greats. But all good things come to an end, and in the summer of 2023, Busquets and Alba decided to make the move across the Atlantic Ocean and depart Catalunya. Shortly after retiring from international duty with Spain, Alba and Busquets called it quits on European football and joined their former teammate Lionel Messi and former manager Tata Martino at Inter Miami.

Together, these four ex-Barcelona employees proved instrumental as Miami immediately went from one of the worst teams in the USA to a force to be reckoned with, winning the first-ever version of the expanded Leagues Cup before reaching the U.S. Open Cup Final. And after adding another ex-Blaugrana in Luis Suárez, the Herons went up a notch in 2024 and finished with the best regular-season points tally in MLS history with 74. However, the Supporters’ Shield champions were unable to make inroads in the playoffs, beating Atlanta United in the first leg before relinquishing an early lead and conceding a last-second winner in the second leg. Game Three would see Miami go ahead early on, only to concede two quickfire goals and end up losing 3-2 at home.

After suffering an early postseason exit, Miami hired a former teammate of Suárez, Messi, Busquets and Alba in Javier Mascherano. Under the Argentine manager, Miami have been able to reach the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup and the final of the Leagues Cup, whilst they were the only MLS team out of three to reach the knockout round of the FIFA Club World Cup. However, they were unable to defend their Supporters’ Shield crown following a dismal September that saw them lose to Charlotte and Chicago and draw at Toronto, with Philadelphia Union claiming the award instead, and that also saw Busquets announce his retirement from professional football following the end of the 2025 season.

Two weeks later, Alba did the same despite recently signing a contract extension through 2027. All things considered, it seems that these two announcements have struck a chord with the Miami team. After winning each of their four matches in October, Miami kicked off November with a 2-1 loss at Nashville, setting up another Game Three in South Florida. This time, Miami made no mistake, taking the lead within 10 minutes via Messi and paving the way for a 4-0 win. They’ll be resuming their action on Sunday as they travel to Ohio to face off against FC Cincinnati in what will be the first Eastern Conference Semifinal in Miami’s entire history, and what could in all likelihood be the swan song for Miami’s two legendary Spanish talisman.

Whereas Alba has played 798 senior matches for club and country, Busquets has played 978, and both players will enter Sunday’s match under the knowledge that it could be the final one of their epic careers. Miami have won just one of their last eight league matches vs. Cincinnati, with their last win at TQL Stadium coming on September 4, 2021. Since then, they’ve lost each of their last four trips to Cincinnati. It could also be the final Miami match for Suárez, whose 2025 has been marred with a goal-scoring decline and a run of indiscipline, with the Uruguayan being suspended vs. Nashville after kicking out vs. Andy Najar. If he fails to deliver in Ohio, Miami will have no hesitation whatsoever to move on from their veteran striker and go for a proven MLS forward like Adam Buksa or Taty Castellanos or a young, up-and-coming #9. This is Suárez’s last chance to prove he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Will Inter Miami’s season come to an end in Ohio? Or will they live to die another day and set up a Conference Final showdown vs. Philadelphia or New York City FC? Stay tuned for what promises to be an emotional match on Sunday.