Inter Miami simply gave themselves too much ground to make up. Lionel Messi’s arrival, along with the signing of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba and the appointment of Tata Martino, certainly gave the South Florida team a shot at making the playoffs, but they fell just short of the post-season line in the end.
Next season, Inter Miami will be expected to make the playoffs comfortably. In fact, many have already tipped them as Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup favourites. This is the territory that comes with having the GOAT on your team. If Messi can maintain his fitness over the course of the 2024 campaign, Inter Miami will be hard to stop.
Messi might have another friend close by in Miami by the time the next season starts. Recent reports claim Inter Miami are interested in signing Luis Suarez who will be out of contract at Gremio in Brazil at the end of the year. Many expect Suarez to make the move to Major League Soccer where he would be reunited with his former Barcelona teammate.
Suarez and Messi were on the same wavelength when they played together over six seasons at Barcelona. The Uruguayan striker proved himself as one of the most dangerous finishers in world soccer, scoring an incredible 198 goals in 283 appearances for the Catalan club. At his peak, Suarez was one of the best players on the planet.
2022, however, was a tough year for the striker. He suffered injury troubles at Nacional and only managed to make 16 appearances in all competitions over the course of the season. 2023 has been a different story, though. Suarez has found form and fitness again and has scored 26 times in 49 games for Gremio.
A recent Suarez hat trick for Gremio against Botafogo highlighted the quality still possessed by the 36-year-old and surely got Martino thinking about how the Uruguayan could fit into his Inter Miami team next season. Suarez could give Inter Miami an even sharper cutting edge in front of goal in 2024.
“Within our analysis of the upcoming season, and the needs we may have, we have an analysis with Luis and an analysis without Luis,” Martino candidly admitted when asked about his interest in Suarez. “When the moment arrives to make Suarez’s situation with respect to Inter Miami official, we’ll be prepared to go in the corresponding direction.”
Inter Miami have done a lot to remould their team over the last six months. Messi was the marquee addition with Busquets and Alba also noteworthy new additions, but the likes of Diego Gomez, Facundo Farias and Tomas Aviles also gave Martino some youthful exuberance to worth with.
This allowed Inter Miami to balance their team in the second half of the season. Martino couldn’t count on Messi, Busquets and Alba to track back and help out much on the defensive side of the game, but he had younger players to do a lot of the dirty work. Adding another ageing star to the equation, though, risks upsetting this balance.
With Messi and Suarez as the attacking hub, Inter Miami could be the most entertaining team in MLS next season, but they mustn’t neglect the need to build a structure that can sustain them over the course of the regular season and into the playoffs – assuming they make it into the post-season in 2024.
The likes of FC Cincinnati, St Louis City and the Columbus Crew have set a precedent Inter Miami should attempt to follow, even with all their star power. Gone are the days when a single star player could push a team to success in MLS. Now, a clear identity and style of play is a prerequisite – as it is across world soccer in the modern age.
July’s signing of Messi had the potential to change the landscape for Inter Miami, and it has already make a big impact in South Florida. However, the club – and MLS as a whole – must do more to ensure they capitalise on this once-in-a-generation opportunity they have been given. The signing of Suarez might edge Inter Miami closer to this, but it still may not be enough.
