What decisions must Inter Miami make to reset its MLS Cup defense? | OneFootball

The Pink & Black are black and blue after disappointing start

The 2026 Inter Miami season isn't over; it just feels that way. Los Garzas' Champions Cup quest ended embarrassingly quickly, they haven't won in four tries at their fancy new Miami home, and, on Saturday, they became the first team in league history to lose a home match after leading 3-0.

Adding insult to injury, the Herons blew that seemingly insurmountable cushion against Florida Derby rival Orlando City SC, a team it beat 4-2 in the Magic Kingdom and which started the season with a historically poor defense.

It feels awful, but, big picture? Miami still has a realistic chance to win multiple trophies. The Herons have 19 points (5-2-4) after 11 league matches, good enough for third in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville (7-1-2, 23 points) and New England (6-3-1, 19 points). OK, the Supporters' Shield (presented to the MLS team that finishes the regular season with the best record) is a longshot. Miami will have to leapfrog eight sides, including six Western Conference clubs -- San Jose (28 points), Vancouver (25), LAFC (21), Seattle (20), Minnesota (20) and Real Salt Lake (19) -- to earn its second shield.

But there's no reason the Herons can't regroup and challenge for its second Leagues Cup. The Liga MX-MLS competition's group stages begin in August. And the top nine of 15 clubs in each conference qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs at season's end; I can't believe Miami's expensive and talented roster could fall that far. If Los Garzas can win a best-of-three first-round test -- which isn't a given, considering their struggles in the last two seasons -- they will have a real chance to become the first back-to-back champions since the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012.

Areas concerning fans and, hopefully, the front office

COACH -- Guillermo Hoyos, whom team captain Lionel Messi has called his "soccer father," has four matches before the nearly two-month World Cup break to convince ownership he deserves to be a candidate for the job Javier Mascherano walked away from in March. His small sample size hasn't been promising (2-1-1 with a tie and terrible loss at Nu Stadium), and there is little to no support among the fanbase for Hoyos. Still, ownership will weigh his relationship with the greatest player of all time very carefully.

Inter Miami interim head coach Guillermo Hoyos will look for a better showing from the Herons today in Toronto. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Miami supporters expect a big-name signing; names like Xabi Alonso and Pep Guardiola have been proposed. Alonso -- another former Barcelona teammate of Messi's -- is an outside possibility, but Guardiola (who coached Messi and Alonso at Barcelona) has achieved near mythic status and has nothing left to prove; I can't imagine his leaving Europe.

Selecting a new coach is the most critical decision the front office must make shaping Los Garzas' on-pitch identity moving forward. The team needs a new skipper in place as soon as possible to take advantage of the World Cup break, May 25-16. The search will be interesting; the Inter Miami post may be among the most glamorous in North America if not the world, but it also has shown to be among the most demanding.