- Inter Milan had ambitions of winning the Major League Soccer title with Lionel Messi, but were eliminated by Atlanta United FC in the first round of the playoffs.
- Gerardo “Tata” Martino resigned as head coach on November 22, 2024.
- Javier Mascherano takes the role as he rejoins former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suárez, and Jordi Alba.
Inter Miami was the story of the Major League Soccer season, rolling to first place in the league. But they couldn’t stop an upset in the first round of the playoffs, where they fell to Atlanta United FC.
Now, David Beckham’s club has a new manager as Javier Mascherano takes over for the departed Gerardo “Tata” Martino. It’ll be Mascherano’s first club head-coaching job. But he’ll see some familiar faces as the Argentine reunites with former Barcelona teammates, notably, Lionel Messi.
Martino Out, Mascherano In to Continue Miami’s Barça Foundation
Inter Miami had a league-high 74 points to lead MLS by 10 points, and were definitely the favorites at win the MLS Cup at soccer betting sites. However, it was not to be as the club were dumped in round one by ninth-seeded Atlanta United, who won the best of three-series 2-1. That led to Martino leaving Inter Miami last week for “personal reasons”.
It was then announced on November 26 that Mascherano would take over the role, and it’s not shocking, even considering that Mascherano has never coached a club team before. His previous experience came from the Argentina U-20 and U-23 teams. Mascherano also managed the Argentina Olympic team this past summer, where they lost to the hosts from France 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The 40-year-old played with Inter Miami star Lionel Messi at Barcelona, as well as midfielder Sergio Busquets, striker Luis Suárez, and defender Jordi Alba. Mascherano won the 2011 and 2015 Champions Leagues with Barcelona, as well as five La Liga titles in Spain. He also spent five seasons at Liverpool before moving to Barça. He was a fantastic defender and defensive midfielder, known for this feisty play. “El Jefecito” never met a tackle he didn’t like.
Mascherano also had 140 appearances for Argentina, which is second only to Messi’s 191 (and counting) appearances.
Will Mascherano Get Inter Miami Over the Hump Next Season?
It will be fascinating to see how Mascherano handles the expectations of this club. Once Inter Miami signed Messi and a slew of others in July 2023, it was expected that they would dominate MLS, and they did in the regular season. Suarez led the team in all competitions with 25 goals, while Messi had 23 goals and also added 16 assists in the league.
However, it wasn’t enough in the playoffs. Inter Miami also crashed out in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League against Mexican team Monterrey, and in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup against the Columbus Crew. The club expected to walk away this with some sort of silverware.
Alba has a club option for the 2025 season, while Suarez is a free agent and has claimed he would like to return to Miami next season. With Mascherano on board, it’s likely that Suarez will be back as Inter Miami looks to cash in on Messi’s greatness before the 37-year-old starts to decline, if that happens anytime soon.
All eyes will be on Inter Miami once again in 2025, and another season without a trophy will be a massive disappointment to Beckham and the other owners of the team.
