surepredictzThere can be no denying that Lionel Messi’s two years with Inter Miami have been a rousing success. Ever since the mercurial Argentinian made his move to Florida from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023, the former Barcelona star has been consistently in the goals and the headlines. He has shined a brighter spotlight on the MLS than ever before, and his old comrades from the Camp Nou, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, have all joined him in the Sunshine State.
Things got off to the perfect start for the 2022 World Cup-winning captain when he led Miami to Leagues Cup glory just months into his stint on America’s Atlantic Coast, netting nine goals in just six games in the process. He then led his new team away from the doldrums of the MLS. Inter were bottom of the league when he joined the club, but they would ultimately power their way up the standings and miss out on the playoffs by a whisker.
The great Messi is, of course, no stranger to success. He won all there was to win in Catalonia before climbing his final peak in the winter of 2022 by leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, and online sports betting sites make them a contender to retain their crown next summer. The latest online sports betting at Bovada odds prices the Albiceleste as a +750 third favorite to leave MetLife Stadium with the trophy next July, narrowly behind Spain and France.
But for Messi, since that Leagues Cup triumph, silverware has been hard to come by at club level. His most recent disappointment characterizes that.
Record-Breaking Campaign Ends in Disaster
Throughout last season, Messi and Miami were the stars of the show in MLS. They ended the campaign with a record-breaking haul of 74 points, the most of any team in history. That brought the club its first-ever Supporters’ Shield, as well as spots in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, but the only thought in everyone’s mind was securing a maiden MLS Cup victory.
Last season’s journey to the MLS Cup featured a revamped playoffs system mirroring the ones in top American leagues such as the NHL and the NBA. Rather than a single knockout game, a three-match series would instead take place, and Inter Miami would meet the dangerous Atlanta United in the first round. The Georgian side had themselves been crowned champions in 2018 and knew how to get the job done under the harshest of pressure, even though they had to win a play-in game to even secure a spot in the playoffs proper.
In the first leg of the best-of-three series, the regular season table-toppers managed to secure a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Suarez and Jordi Alba. In the second, however, they succumbed to a defeat by the same scoreline courtesy of Xande Silva’s 94th-minute winner. In the third game, the two sides headed back to Florida, but it was Atlanta that shockingly emerged as the 3-2 victors, eliminating Miami at the first hurdle despite their status as favorites to win the MLS Cup.
Messi was named as the MLS MVP in his first full campaign with the club, but that did little to distract from the huge disappointment of the early elimination.
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Champions Cup Run Ends at the Semifinal Stage
With Messi at the helm, Miami were favorites for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, North America’s premier club competition equivalent to Europe’s UEFA Champions League. This time around, the Floridians set about flexing their frontrunner tag. Sporting Kansas City, Jamaican outfit Cavalier, and Los Angeles FC were all duly swept aside, setting up a semifinal berth against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
As they always seem to be with Messi leading the charge, Miami found themselves as huge favorites to progress, but they succumbed to a shocking 2-0 defeat in British Columbia after strikes from Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter. Inter needed to be on their A-game in the reverse fixture, and things got off to a perfect start when Jordi Alba gave the hosts a ninth-minute lead. But things would unravel catastrophically.
Two goals in as many second-half minutes from White and Pedro Vite extended the Whitecaps’ aggregate lead to three with just half an hour remaining. From then on, it was clear that Miami’s hopes of continental silverware were extinguished, and in the 71st minute, Berhalter added insult to injury and confirmed Vancouver’s 5-1 aggregate victory.
What’s Next?
Now, attention turns back to domestic matters. Inter Miami currently finds themselves down in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they will be just one point off first place if they win their game in hand. They are once again the favorites for the title, but they will have to get over their stagefright under the bright lights if they are to crown Messi’s tenure in the country with a title.
They also have the small matter of contesting this summer’s Club World Cup on home turf, and they will be aiming to make an impression. But they, for once, will have the tag of underdogs, with European heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich making the trip across the Atlantic.
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