It was the season finale for Inter Miami that few expected as Lionel Messi and the former Barca boys fell at the first hurdle in their bid for MLS Cup glory.
The script seemed written for Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets after Miami secured top spot in the Eastern Conference – finishing eight points clear of second-placed Columbus Crew – and the first Supporters' Shield in the club's history.
In a spectacular end to the regular season, Miami smashed New England Revolution 6-2 at Chase Stadium with Messi coming off the bench to score a rapid hat-trick in just 11 minutes while Suarez bagged a brace, ensuring that the club co-owned by former England captain David Beckham had broken the MLS record with 74 points for the campaign.
“This gives our team an injection of confidence,” said coach Tata Martino. “These 74 points is not something we aimed for at the start of the year, but as soon as it was within reach, we tried to get it and we did it.”
The New England demolition also saw both Messi and Suarez reach the 20-goal mark, making Miami the first club in MLS history to achieve that feat. Only DC United's Christian Bentenke (23) scored more than the veteran South American duo.
Messi also registered 16 assists in a season – including an MLS record five in one game during Miami's 6-2 win over New York Red Bulls in May – that had seen his game time restricted by injury. The Argentine's 36 goal contributions came from just 19 games. Suarez also provided nine assists in his 27 appearances.
“Leo makes it easier for all of us,” Suarez said after the New York match. “We know each other long enough. When we are on the pitch, we know how to spot each other without looking.”
Next up was a best-of-three clash with Atlanta United, who had scraped into the play-offs after a ninth-placed finish, 34 points shy of Miami, and a wild-card match – the No 9 seeds were taking on No 1.
Game 1 went to script, with Miami winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Suarez and Alba, only for Atlanta to hit back, winning by the same scoreline in Game 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium thanks to Xande Silva's injury-time goal.
And so it was back to Chase Stadium for the decider. Paraguay forward Matias Rojas put the home side ahead only for a quick-fire double from Jamal Thiare to stun Miami with less than 22 minutes on the clock.
Messi levelled in the second half with a powerful header but the expected Miami surge to victory never happened. Polish midfielder Bartosz Slisz scored in the 76th minute to send the league's biggest spenders crashing out of the competition.
“This season has had good and bad things. If you think about where we were in November last year, there has obviously been progress in terms of the club, not just the team. If you think about the expectations we had for this play-offs, obviously we came up a little short,” admitted Martino.
“You can look back and say you had a great year, but … this is a hard one to take, knowing the opportunity we had to get an MLS Cup,” added goalkeeper Drake Callender. “Hopefully that feeling sticks with guys and we learn from it.”
But the silver lining to Miami's season had actually already arrived courtesy of Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who announced in October that the club had already guaranteed their spot in next year's 32-team Club World Cup. They will also host the opening game of the June 15-July 13 tournament being held across the United States.
“Congratulations on your wonderful 2024 Supporters' Shield success. You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play,” Infantino said in a news release, after deciding that Miami's regular-season exploits were more worthy of a place than the MLS Cup final winners on December 7.
The determination to have eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi play a part was not exactly subtle with a TV rights deal yet to be signed and sealed for Fifa's revamped tournament. Even at 37, Messi guarantees much-needed stardust. Infantino knows full well the benefits of “the Messi effect”.
The MLS announced last month an attendance record of more than 11 million fans across the regular season, while Apple TV – who signed an exclusive 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement to stream games in 2022 – claimed that Messi's play-off debut against Atlanta was its most-streamed sporting event ever.
New US national team manager Maurcio Pochettino described his impact on the MLS as “impossible to measure” in an interview with CNN Mexico last month. “It is incredible,” said the Argentine, who coached Messi when the pair were at Paris Saint-Germain.
“Not only on the fans, but on everything. The ability to motivate everyone, the entire structure around him … It will have an impact not only in the present, but over time, in the medium and long term.”
As for Inter Miami, the holy grail of winning the MLS Cup remains the No 1 target and the frustration of falling short against Atlanta will fester for a while yet.
“A season ended in which we continued to grow as a club and, although we achieved some goals, we wanted more,” Messi wrote on Instagram. “Now let's get ready to come back stronger next year.”
