Messi Effect - Suárez, Busquets, Alba, Barca All-Stars Now Winning Everything for Inter Miami

 

Lionel Messi may have been at the center of influence in the engagement of his Argentine youth coach, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino and the transfer of his main guys from his Barcelona days: Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, now Inter Miami is winning everything. 

Inter Miami CF Wins 2024 Supporters’ Shield

For the first time in Club history, Inter Miami CF has won the Supporters’ Shield. The team clinched the best overall 2024 MLS regular season with a 2-3 win over the Columbus Crew today; a brace from captain Lionel Messi, a goal from striker Luis Suárez, and a penalty save by Drake Callender secured the historic result for the team. The trophy secures the top seed in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage throughout the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs for Inter Miami.

As the Supporters’ Shield winners, Inter Miami qualified to compete in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, marking the second-straight season the team will participate in the competition; the team reached the quarterfinals of the competition in 2024. Inter Miami can still secure a bye to the Round of 16 of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup by winning the 2024 MLS Cup.

The team will host a home playoff game for the first first time in Club history when it faces the winner of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Wild Card match between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series. Inter Miami will host the first game of the series and the third, if necessary, at Chase Stadium, and the team’s opponent will host the second game of the series. The Round One Best-of-3 Series schedule will be finalized upon the release of the full Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule.

Debuting in MLS in 2020, Inter Miami is now only the sixth active club to win Supporters’ Shield within its first five seasons in the league; it is also the 17th different club in the league’s 29 seasons to earn the Supporters’ Shield. Since expanding the regular season to 34 games in 2011, Miami is only the third team to win the Supporters’ Shield after missing the playoffs in the previous season, joining LAFC in 2022 and the San Jose Earthquakes in 2012.

Head Coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has led Inter Miami CF to a record-breaking season in which the Club recorded historic stats. The impressive achievements include becoming the third-fastest club to earn a playoffs berth and dominating the league by recording the most wins, goals and points in Club history (with matches to spare).

In his second year at the helm, Martino has orchestrated a historic turnaround for the team, going from 27th in the Supporters’ Shield race in 2023 to first in 2024. He has led Inter Miami to a 20W-4L-8D record with a +25 goal differential with two regular season matches remaining. The Supporters’ Shield marks Martino’s ninth trophy as a manager in club soccer and fourth as an MLS head coach.

The team has also been guided by contributions from its varied group of players, including global superstars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba; local Academy products Benjamin Cremaschi, David Ruiz, Ian Fray, and Noah Allen; MLS SuperDraft picks Yannick Bright and Leo Afonso; young up-and-comers from across the world like Diego Gómez, Federico Redondo, and Tomás Avilés; prime-aged veterans with winning experience like Julian Gressel and Matías Rojas; stalwart goalkeeper and team leader Drake Callender; and everything in between.

Notably, Messi has starred throughout the regular season, tallying a stellar 17 goals and a team-high 15 assists in just 17 matches. Suárez has also played a pivotal role for the side in his first season with the Club, leading the team in goals with 18 this regular season, and adding six assists. The duo produced several individual standout moments en route to the Supporters’ Shield as they became the first pair of teammates in MLS history to win MLS Player of the Matchday honors at least three times each in a single season.

With two regular season matches remaining, Inter Miami is chasing the MLS single-season points record. The team will need to win both of its remaining games to break the New England Revolution’s total of 73 points from 2021, concluding with a Decision Day matchup against New England