Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo Martino said the team has a “clear obligation” to win the MLS Cup with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on the roster.
Although Martino led Atlanta United FC to the title in 2018, he said the current pressure to win is unparalleled.
“Having them on this team obviously creates a clear obligation for us to win,” he said in an interview with ESPN. “I've never seen teams in MLS in my time here that have any kind of pressure to win. I've rarely seen teams that are forced to win. I've never seen it, but I do see it with Inter Miami.
“I had the chance to play two tournaments with Atlanta and I never read, watched or heard any demand to win. At that time, there were no headlines saying 'the big candidate to win the MLS is this or that team'. However, now that big candidate was Miami from the beginning of the season.”
Despite lifting the Leagues Cup trophy in the 2023 campaign, the Herons were unable to secure a spot in the MLS playoffs due to past results. Now, Inter Miami, which has the best record in MLS and tops the Eastern Conference table, has secured a postseason berth by defeating FC Cincinnati on August 24, meaning Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba will have the chance to play for the league trophy for the first time since joining.
But the 2024 playoffs may be Suarez's only chance to secure the title for Inter Miami as his contract expires at the end of the campaign.
The Herons have gained momentum heading into the final stretch of the season, breaking several team records including most points recorded in the regular season with 56 in 26 games, most goals scored with 58 and most wins with 17.
Beyond the pressure and the headlines, Martino said trophies and results are not how he measures whether a team is successful or not.
“Seeing a team on the field that plays the way you train, that plays the way you think and imagine, I think that is the essential part of success,” he said.
“Then there are circumstances that lead you to victory or defeat, but when you identify your team on the field, you are closer to thinking that the job is well done. Now, this is also exempt from the results, because I saw one of my teams with Colón, but we lost. So it can also be interpreted that since I like to analyze the path that is followed, I detach myself from the results but the results are what keep us in office or not. But, in reality I like to see a team of mine that plays as we train, that plays as we prepare for the games and in that sense.”
Inter Miami will continue to build momentum heading into the playoffs when it takes on the Chicago Fire on August 31 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Although Messi will continue to watch the game from the sidelines as he recovers from the right ankle injury he suffered in the final of Argentina's Copa America winning streak, his return to the pitch is getting closer by the day.
Messi finally returned to team training the week of August 26, earning reps alongside his Inter Miami teammates, though a return date has not been set.
