Having topped the Eastern Conference with a record points tally, Inter Miami were heavy favourites for the MLS Cup going into the postseason.
Lionel Messi‘s side racked up a thoroughly impressive 74 points in through 34 games to top the Conference for the first time in the franchise’s history, and earn the number one seed for the play-offs.
Inter Miami’s reward for that brilliant regular season was a best-of-three tie with eight seed Atlanta United – a team that accumulated 30 less points than Messi and co. throughout 2024 – in Round One of the play-offs.
Despite that contrasting form, Miami were shockingly swept by Atlanta in the series, losing 2-1 in the Merecedes-Benz Stadium before a 3-2 defeat at a packed Chase Stadium.
The upset has expectedly led to rumours beginning to circulate around the future of current Miami manager Tata Martino.
Martino has been in charge at Chase Stadium since 2023, guiding Inter Miami to a Leagues Cup triumph in his first season at the helm and a Supporters’ Shield in 2024. And while these achievements are impressive, the huge monetary outlay made by the David Beckham-owned club in 2024 – which led to Messi being joined by fellow Barcelona legends Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez – has meant that it was MLS Cup or bust this year for Martino.
Tata Martino’s decision to bench Julian Gressel for play-offs was ‘insane’
In an interview with GOAL, the Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle discussed Martino’s future at Inter Miami, and the manager’s poor tactical decisions during the play-offs.
Doyle was keen to pinpoint Martino’s decision not to start the industrious Julian Gressel as a key reason why Miami were beaten by Atlanta, saying:
“The one decision that made me scratch my head was benching Gressel in the play-offs. That was insane to me.
“Just think back to what Gressel did in the exact situation for Columbus in the Eastern Conference. He won Columbus that game against Cincinnati – so that was a big one. The rest of it he was hancuffed by the centre-backs.
“In general, I don’t think the team was structure with the ball and without the ball as well as it could have been.”
The candidates to replace Tata Martino as Inter Miami manager
Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has been linked with replacing Tata Martino recently. The legendary midfielder taking over as the new manager would certainly fit the trend of Miami hiring ex-Barca players and staff, with Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba, current boss Martino and President of Football Operations Raul Sanllehi all previously working at Camp Nou.
Along with Xavi, ex-Crystal Palace and New York City FC manager Patrick Vieira would be a shrewd option for club thanks to his previous MLS experience. Vieira has been without a job since leaving his post as Strasbourg manager. Another potential candidate for the Inter Miami managerial job is Jim Curtin. The American is widely regarded as one of the best MLS manager ever, having spent a decade in charge of Philadelphia Union.