Inter Miami: Maximizing Messi & building an MLS Cup roster | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

Four of 15.

Two years and three-plus months on from Inter Miami CF’s rousing run to the 2023 Leagues Cup trophy in Lionel Messi’s delirious early days with the Herons, that’s all that remains at IMCF of the playing squad that took the field under Gerardo “Tata” Martino at GEODIS Park on that August night.

Messi, his old friends Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, and homegrown midfielder David Ruíz are the only holdovers – in the starting XI or substitutes; others were on the bench – from that memorable occasion still wearing pink as Miami host Vancouver Whitecaps FC in MLS Cup 2025 presented by Audi at Chase Stadium (2:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV; FOX, FOX Deportes; TSN, RDS). And the clock’s ticking for Alba and Busquets, who will retire after Saturday’s grand finale – while the stadium is due to be replaced by glittering Miami Freedom Park next April.

That turnover reflects the steady churn of an organization still in its infancy, with constant growth and reinvention over its first six seasons of existence. It also aptly summarizes the work of building (and rebuilding) a roster capable of best harnessing Messi’s excellence.

"Trying to talk about Leo Messi and attempting to measure his influence is truly a challenge," sporting director Guillermo Hoyos said in remarks provided to MLSsoccer.com this week.

"We are talking about the greatest player in the history of football, he is absolutely game-changing, and adjectives fall short of describing him. He is extraordinary in every aspect and at the same time so simple and humble that his image continues to transform the world through sport."

Evolve and adapt

For all the global attention the Leagues Cup glory attracted, as sweeping as the ambition of the ownership group led by the Mas brothers and David Beckham obviously was, Miami missed out on that year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and also lost the 2023 US Open Cup final on home turf.

Squad upgrades were needed, starting with the arrival of Luis Suárez to complete the “Fab Four” of FC Barcelona alums, as well as the likes of Julian Gressel, Federico Redondo, Marcelo Weigandt and SuperDraft sleeper pick Yannick Bright.

A full-throttle charge to the 2024 Supporters’ Shield ensued, setting a new MLS regular-season points record (74) along the way, despite Messi missing about half the season due to injuries and international duty with Argentina.

Yet it all crashed to a shuddering halt with a stunning upset loss to ninth-seeded Atlanta United in Round One of last year’s playoffs, swiftly followed by Martino’s resignation, the veteran Argentine coach returning to his native Rosario for personal reasons. Not long after, sporting director Chris Henderson – a key roster architect – followed him out the door. (The duo recently reunited to spearhead another rebuilding project in Atlanta.)

Thus, more change beckoned.

In walked Javier Mascherano, another former Barça teammate, as the new head coach, as did 11 new signings across the course of 2025, and an even greater number of outgoings. Maxi Falcón was recruited to shore up a defense that had too often been unreliable in the clutch, and Telasco Segovia, Tadeo Allende and Baltasar Rodríguez continued the South American pipeline.

“We are going to use every single roster mechanism given to us by the league to build the best roster we can to compete in 2025,” Miami’s managing owner Jorge Mas said after last autumn’s disappointment. “There is pressure here to win, and that pressure is going to continue. We expect it of ourselves, our coaches and players.”

Youth & experience

The Herons have constantly sought to dial in the right mix of skill sets and personalities to make the most of that elite but aging core, a process now guided by Hoyos and chief soccer officer Alberto Marrero.

“Both Tata Martino’s process and Javier Mascherano’s have been successful in terms of understanding the needs of their squads and permanently adapting to circumstances,” Hoyos said. “There is always evolution, and new knowledge is continually incorporated for the benefit of the group.”

“We work very closely with the league office, and we have built internal processes to ensure every move is compliant and optimized," said Marrero. "That learning curve has allowed us to be more strategic, especially during windows where timing and interpretation of rules are critical.”

A key through line: Surrounding the razor-sharp soccer brains of Messi & Friends with willing legs to make runs and shoulder defensive responsibilities. Much of that came in the form of rising young talent from South America, drawn to the opportunity to play with the GOAT and his longtime teammates – ‘the Messi factor,’ as it’s come to be known – while showcasing themselves to top European clubs.

“Well, we have a mix, right?” Mascherano said in a video interview earlier this year. “A sort of hybrid between young players and more experienced ones, and our goal is to integrate them.

“We know that the weight of the team is carried by the experienced players because of the names they have. But that shouldn't fool us,” he noted. “The young people have to take a step forward and they are the ones who have to pull – and take advantage of the fact that the older players bear that pressure so that they can give us that leap in quality.”

Proof of concept

Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gómez represents the best-case scenario in that sense, having earned a reported $15 million-plus move to English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion after his impressive 2024.

Homegrowns and SuperDraft picks have been similarly crucial, though, providing the meaningful minutes that are so important under MLS roster rules, which regulate salary outlays and the number of international players on a roster.

“We have a diverse roster of players with a lot of experience, some at the end of their careers, young players from other countries highly motivated to develop, and young players from our academy who are starting to prove themselves,” Mascherano told the Miami Herald in August.

“I cannot come to Inter Miami and say that all the players are equal, because they’re not. I must be very clear to each player what his role and responsibility is within the group.”

Impact arrivals

Depth and diversity would prove even more vital this year, with Miami’s involvement in both Concacaf Champions Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup adding up to a marathon campaign. It’s the sort of congested calendar that has scuppered the seasons of many MLS teams in the past.

“Once a competitive squad had been formed, I believe it was the merit of the players and the coaching staff that allowed us to compete at the highest level in all the tournaments we took part in,” said Hoyos.

“Their effort enabled us to overcome the demands of travel and the physical toll of a constant schedule of matches. We will have played 58 matches this year, including the MLS Cup, and that shows that statistically we are operating at very high levels of competitiveness.”

That makes Miami’s red-hot form down the home stretch that much more striking. La Rosanegra won six of their last eight regular-season matches, then blew the doors off their opponents in the playoffs, scoring 17 goals and conceding four. A couple of tough calls by Mascherano have proven crucial in that regard.

The oft-critiqued boss made the necessary tweaks to streamline the engine-room integration of midseason signing Rodrigo De Paul, a close friend of Messi’s from the Argentina national team who arrived from Atlético Madrid via a creative deal that starts as a loan and reportedly shifts into a Designated Player deal next year.

Mascherano also benched veteran goalkeeper Óscar Ustari in favor of the much younger Rocco Ríos Novo, who duly made some huge saves in key moments, and replaced Suárez with the youthful pace of 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti, another late-summer addition, in the attack.

“Our summer window was decisive,” said Marrero. “Bringing in Rodrigo De Paul, a truly world-class midfielder, elevated the level of our team immediately; his mentality, experience, and quality gave us exactly what we needed. We also added Mateo Silvetti, a young but highly impactful profile who adapted really well to the offensive part of the squad.

“Our decision-making model is collaborative. The sporting department works closely with the coaching staff, scouting and performance areas. In the cases of Silvetti and Ríos Novo, we had alignment across all departments, which is fundamental for us.”

Maximizing Messi

True to Mas’ words, IMCF have been as aggressive as any club in MLS with their roster work, spending lavishly and pulling every lever available to them in the work of mobilizing Messi’s genius to the fullest possible extent. It’s kept Messi onside, the Argentine icon recently signing a contract extension through 2028, and it’s pushed the Herons to the doorstep of MLS Cup glory.

In the end, all that turnover was taking Miami toward their desired destination, it seems. The organization that stands on the other side may well be nigh unrecognizable from the one that endured an up-and-down introduction to MLS as an expansion side in 2020.

“I felt called to come to Inter,” Messi told Zane Lowe in an Apple Music interview in February, “because it's a club that's growing, that's very new, with few years as a club, and I like the idea of coming and helping it to become a greater club.

"I believe this is the opportunity to show the world a change and keep growing with the league."

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