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Lionel Messi’s message was one of defiance. The Inter Miami forward took to social media to address Inter Miami’s 2-1 series loss to Atlanta United in the first round of MLS playoffs – the biggest upset in the history of Major League Soccer’s postseason – and said all of the right things. He referenced the growth of the club, the accomplishments during the regular season, the support of the fans.
But he also pledged to return stronger. It was all a bit cliche, but Miami, we are led to believe, will be back.
And good for them. They need to be. For the sake of MLS – if nothing else – Messi’s message was a good thing. Still, zoom out, and this loss to a team that barely edged its way into the playoffs via a wildcard, was symptomatic of a wider problem in South Beach.
Even though he missed significant time with an ankle injury, Messi still did his bit in the regular season, as did the stars around him, leading Miami to the Supporters’ Shield with a record 74 points. But so much of this side went into brand building, the acquisition of big names, and the hiring of a marquee coach.
Someone, somewhere didn’t say enough about how a roster should be pieced together for playoff success. Miami, the brand, will be fine. Messi, the GOAT, will certainly be fine. MLS, with hope that the league is actually bigger than one player or one team, will also be fine.
But Miami, the team, have some serious retooling to do if they want to exceed this performance next year.
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GettyNot enough Messi magic
For all of the good vibes from Messi, though, it must be said that he probably could have done more.
Messi was quiet for most of the Atlanta series. In truth, he has been in knockout football for a while. Yes, the Argentine got on the scoresheet, nodding home the equalizer in the game 3 loss. But when a 5-7 playmaker, with just 27 headed goals in his career – less than 5 percent of his tota – leaps to knock the ball into the net, there is little you can do but reluctantly accept it. Otherwise, though, Messi had few real chances against Atlanta. He found himself forced into deeper areas, receiving the ball far from goal.
And when he was close, Atlanta simply crowded him out. A couple of free kicks hit the wall. One of two nice dribbles were cut short by smart fouls and timely tackles. There was no magic to be found, no last-second winner, no no-look pass. More than anything, this is all due to good defending. Atlanta had a plan, executed it well, and ensured that the best player to ever kick a football didn’t have a sniff.
But we have become so used to Messi working miracles. It basically feels like a disappointment when he doesn’t.
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AFPPersonal legacy intact
Big-picture, this doesn’t mean much for Messi’s career narrative. The Argentine, in truth, could have retired after the 2022 World Cup, and few would have begrudged him. After all, with that trophy, he completed football. There is nothing more left for him to win, no further accolades needed to cement his legacy. No one seemed to care when he left PSG without a Champions League. Miami means even less, comparatively.
In a sense, that could be a bad thing. This league should be his stomping ground. With 26 goal contributions in 19 regular season games, it actually was. Messi isn’t necessarily here to just to win. Rather, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also carries the mantle of growing the game. But the implicit argument of it all, the thing that goes unsaid by the depth of his trophy cabinet, suggests that the Argentine should be lifting the MLS Cup every year.
Expectations are nothing new – and Messi has failed to meet them in his prime years – but in five years, no one will remember if Messi won the MLS Cup or not in 2024. More likely, it become a trivia night special that he didn’t.
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AFPWhat this means for Miami, the brand
For Miami, the team, meanwhile, this is all a bit embarrassing. It’s hard to spin this as anything but a massive upset for the best team in MLS. This squad, assembled by co-owner and team president David Beckham and the Miami front office, met all expectations during the regular season. They were the No. 1 seed in the East, winners of the Supporter’s Shield and statistically the most successful regular season side ever.
Yes, Atlanta executed a wonderfully constructed gameplan, and made it very difficult for the Herons. But if Miami were better managed across the three-game series, and got the most out of their stars, this really shouldn’t have been a contest.
Still, little of this has to do with the performance of the 11 men on the pitch. Miami in MLS, much like Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, are a brand. Ask anyone outside of the MLS sphere, and they would likely only know the Herons as “Messi’s team.”
They would recognize the pink kits and know that Beckham owns them, and that Luis Suarez joined Messi in this South Beach escapade. Scroll social media or ask people on the street and they are unlikely to know how Miami performed. This won’t come as comfort to the players, fans, or league itself – the passion therein is real – but team performance is irrelevant to the brands of Messi and Inter Miami in the wider sphere.
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ImagnWhere Miami go now
But the team might have some thinking to do. This is a strangely assembled roster, top heavy, and lacking in the kind of intelligent, athletic role players needed to succeed in MLS. Messi is not to blame – he’s a designated player and therefore can be paid however much the Herons want. Neither is Sergio Busquets, who is also allowed to be paid whatever Miami deems the right price within league regulations.
Financially, at least, neither Jordi Alba or Suarez are at fault, either. They are both on affordable contracts, and have taken immense pay cuts from the kind of money they might have earned elsewhere. Still, roster assembling is more than a question of how much you pay individuals. There are knock-on effects, wage structures to be pieced together.
Suarez, Alba, Busquets and Messi pretty much have to start, based on those salaries. Much like some of the best teams across other American sports, Miami needs to shrewd in how they spend the money. In abstract, they need a right back, defensive midfielder and center back. They will get some help by the fact that big-money man Diego Gomez is leaving for Brighton in January.
There remain questions elsewhere, though. Suarez is out of contract at the end of the season, and although there is talk that he wants to stay, Miami might need a new No. 9 if he elects to hang up his boots. The long-term effectiveness of Drake Callender in goal, as well as the puzzling underuse of Julian Gressel, must also be addressed. Miami have tried the expensive route. Now, it might be time to be a little smarter.
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Getty Images SportRevised expectations?
So, what now? Miami have some thinking to do if they want to win the MLS Cup next year. The loss to Atlanta will sting, and it showed that this is a far more competitive and frenetic league than they had perhaps counted on. There is jeopardy and entertainment to be found here for fans, but also fallibility for the biggest names.
From a sporting perspective, for the quality of soccer in America in general, this can only be a good thing. Want a better product? Show that the best team can quite comfortably lose to a mid-table side. It reeks of Fulham beating Manchester City at the Etihad. In the UK, and perhaps in Europe, that would be celebrated.
The difference in that case, though, is that Man City have a whole season to play, and tweaks that can be made throughout. Miami now have three months, roster uncertainty, and the distaste of having to watch someone else lift a trophy from home.
Of course, by winning the Supporters’ Shield and with the U.S. hosting the Club World Cup in 2025, Miami have already secured a spot in next summer’s tournament, as FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced last month. So losing in the first round of the playoffs to a wildcard team won’t affect that.
But if Beckham and Co. are smart football people – and presumably they are – then this next few months will be used to tweak and readjust. The big names are unlikely to be going anywhere. They can’t if this league is to continue to grow. Even the loss of Suarez could have significant implications.
Instead, the assignment is to take a winning side, and build it for success in a playoff setting. Rely on role players, find value where others might not, and retool. There is only so much Messi left. Miami simply has to take advantage of it before it’s all gone.
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