Inter Miami are used to having a target on their back by now, but no opponent has hit them harder than Minnesota United did on Saturday in a 4-1 rout. As if inflicting Lionel Messi’s heaviest-ever defeat in Major League Soccer wasn’t enough, the Loons took the opportunity to rub it in on social media, labelling South Florida’s Galacticos a “Pink Phony Club” –a jibe that irked David Beckham.
Beckham’s frustration, along with everyone else’s at Inter Miami, has built over a number of weeks. The Herons are experiencing an early-season reckoning. Their Concacaf Champions Cup challengewas ended by a rampant Vancouver Whitecapswho ran up a 5-1 aggregate scoreline to make the final despite Inter Miami making the competition a big priority.
At least Vancouver are good – they currently lead the MLS standings. FC Dallas are a middling side in the Western Conference, yet they still put four pastInter Miamiat the end of April. Inter Miami have developed a bad habit for conceding goals. Lots of them.
Messi might be feeling a sense of deja vu. This isn’t the first top-heavy, structurally unsound team of superstars he has played for. Indeed, the more matches Inter Miami play this season, the more they look like the Paris Saint-Germain side that had Messi for two seasons. They had many of the same problems.
Like Inter Miami, PSG struggled to balance their best-in-class forward line with the rest of the team. Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were capable of incredible moments, but PSG’s lack of structure through the midfield and into the defence cost them in the biggest matches. A similar pattern is emerging for Inter Miami who have struck out on everyMLSCup and CONCACAF Champions League they have gone for with Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in the team.
Mascherano has attempted to balance his midfield by deploying Yannick Bright as a destroyer in the centre of the pitch. The Italian product of the college soccer system ranks highly for tackles, interceptions, blocks… all the dirty work Messi and co. aren’t willing or able to do. Too often, though, it’s Busquets tracking opposition runs in behind a defensive line that falls apart far too easily. At 36 years old, this isn’t the former Barcelona anchor’s game.
Going into the off-season after the shocking playoff loss to Atlanta United, it was clear Inter Miami needed more recovery pace in defence. They also required more physicality at the back. Maxi Falcón and Gonzalo Luján arrived and have addressed those issues to a degree, but it has still proved too easy for opponents to find space in behind in quick transition. There is a disconnect between the midfield and defensive units.
A lot of Inter Miami’s problems go beyond tactics, though. It wasn’t tactics that caused right back Marcelo Weigandt to bizarrely head a cross into his own net against Minnesota. Nor was it the reason Jordi Alba inexplicably vacated his position to chase a ball in the corner, leaving Bongokuhle Hlongwane free to open the scoring in the same game. Inter Miami just haven’t been tuned in for many of their recent matches, just like the back linefalling asleepdoomed them against Atlanta United in last year’s season-ender.
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“If the players drop their levels, clearly the responsibility falls on me – all on me,” Mascherano told reporters (via Franco Panizo) when asked about his team’s recent performances. “If the coach does not convince them or transmit what he is looking for, all the responsibility falls on the coach.”
With another run of results like Inter Miami’s recent slump, Mascherano could feel the weight of responsibility in the form of scrutiny over his position.
Of course, it’s not so long ago that Inter Miami were basking in the glow of an unbeaten start. They went eight games without losing, a streak that peaked with an impressive away win over the Columbus Crew. At that point, Mascherano looked to have forged a team that could grind out results as well as blow away opponents.
Since then, some fundamental flaws have been exposed. Vancouver overloaded Inter Miami in central areas to force them wide and starve their best players of possession. Without a natural winger, the South Floridians were stunted in the final third. Minnesota moved the ball quickly and directly to put Inter Miami’s defenders under pressure as frequently as possible. They couldn’t cope.
Most expect Inter Miami to make moves in the summer. Kevin De Bruynehas been linked. Angel Di Maria’s name regularly surfaces in the gossip column. The transfer market could offer a solution or two to Inter Miami’s problems, but not before the Club World Cup when Messi and co. will be the tournament’s opening act. With the world watching, the pressure will be on to perform.
Inter Miami might still have the star quality to be in Supporters’ Shield contention. They are only four points off the top of the Eastern Conference. It wasn’t until the summer that the Herons truly hit their stride last year. In fact, Inter Miami have won more games this season than they had at the same stage of last season when they would go on to set a regular season points record.
However, 2025 for Inter Miami won’t be defined by what happens in the regular season. Instead it’ll be judged on the trophies they win, and another Leagues Cup won’t be enough. Messi never won the Champions League as a PSG player and he might never win MLS Cup or the Concacaf Champions Cup in pink either. History could be repeating itself.