Lionel Messi’s Mission Impossible: Carrying lowly Inter Miami to the playoffs would be an MLS miracle
The No.10 has worked his magic in the cups but Tata Martino’s side may be in a hole so big that even the GOAT won’t be able to dig them out of it
Lionel Messi has only been with Inter Miami for a little over a month but he’s already established himself as Miami’s miracle man. Since he arrived, it’s been moment after moment. He already has a trophy in hand and, after yet another display of late-game heroics, Messi has Miami in position to compete for a second piece of silverware in the very near future after a U.S. Open Cup semifinal triumph over FC Cincinnati.
However, for now, the cup competitions are in the past. Messi has dominated those competitions, creating at least one goal in each game so far. This weekend, though, Messi begins life in MLS, and the situation he’s walking into isn’t pretty.
Messi may be Miami’s miracle man, but, even for him, salvaging the club’s MLS season may just be mission impossible.
As they prepare to face the New York Red Bulls this weekend, Inter Miami sit dead last in MLS. With just 18 points and 22 goals from 22 games, Inter Miami have looked nothing like a team capable of earning a playoff spot throughout the MLS season.
Much has changed since they last played in MLS, obviously. Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Tata Martino, among others, have arrived, rebuilding this team almost instantly. The team that existed before the Leagues Cup break is long gone, and the one built in its place seems like a juggernaut ready to be unleashed on the rest of MLS.
But time might be against Miami for this MLS season, and getting them into the postseason looks like it might be Messi’s most impossible challenge yet.
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