Lionel Messi creates ‘obligation’ for Miami to win MLS Cup

Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo Martino said the team faces a “clear obligation” to win MLS Cup with figures like Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on the roster.

Though Martino led Atlanta United FC to the title in 2018, he maintained that the current pressure to win is unparalleled.

“The fact that we have them in this team obviously creates a clear obligation for us to win,” he said in an interview with ESPN. “I have never seen teams in the MLS in the time I have been here that have any kind of pressure to win. I have rarely seen teams that are forced to win. I had never seen it, but I do with Inter Miami.

“I had the possibility of playing two tournaments with Atlanta and I never read, nor watched, nor listened to any demands of winning. At the time, there were no headlines saying ‘the great candidate to win the MLS is this or that team.’ However, now that great candidate was Miami from the beginning of the season.”

Despite lifting the Leagues Cup trophy in the 2023 campaign, the Herons were unable to secure a spot in the MLS playoffs due to prior results. Now, Inter Miami, which has the best record in MLS and leads the Eastern Conference table, has punched a ticket to the post-season by defeating FC Cincinnati on Aug. 24, meaning Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba will have the opportunity to play for the league trophy for the first time since joining.

But the 2024 playoffs may be Suarez’s only opportunity to secure the title for Inter Miami, as his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

The Herons have built momentum heading into the last stretch of the season, breaking several team records including most points recorded in the regular season with 56 in 26 games, most goals scored with 58 and most victories at 17.

Beyond the pressure and headlines, Martino said trophies and results is not how he measures whether or not a team is successful.

“Seeing a team on the field that plays as one trains, that plays as one thinks and imagines, I think that is the essential part of success,” he said.

“Then there are circumstances that lead you to victory or defeat, but when you identify your team on the field, you are closer to thinking that the job is well done. Now, this is also exempt from the results, because I saw one of my teams with Columbus, but we lost. Then it can also be interpreted that since I like to analyze the path that is followed, I detach myself from the results but the results are what maintain us or not in office. But, I actually like to see a team of mine that plays like we train, that plays like we prepare for games and in that sense.”

Inter Miami will continue to build momentum ahead of the playoffs when facing the Chicago Fire on Aug. 31 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Though Messi will continue to watch from the sidelines as he recovers from the right ankle injury he sustained in the final of Argentina’s winning run at the Copa América, his return to the field draws closer every day.

Messi finally returned to team training the week of Aug..26, gaining reps alongside his Inter Miami teammates, though no return date has been set.