Which trophy is Inter Miami overlooking heading into the season's second half? | OneFootball

The CONCACAF Champions Cup is the continent's most prestigious club championship, so of course Inter Miami is determined to add it to their hardware collection. The club made winning Champions Cup its top priority heading into the 2026 season. Unfortunately, Nashville eliminated the Herons in the Round of 16 in March.

The team and fans were devastated; the Coyotes didn't BEAT Inter Miami -- they advanced on an away-goals tiebreaker after the sides played to two ties -- but the season felt like it was over.

Obviously, it's not; the Herons are second in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters' Shield race, trailing Nashville by five points after 16 matches. Los Garzas are well-positioned to make the MLS Cup playoffs and become the first repeat champions since the L.A. Galaxy won in 2011 and 2012. The Leagues Cup championship pitting teams from Major League Soccer and Liga MX against one another. That's three trophies the Herons can win to help shake their Champions Cup disappointment.

But wait, there' more. Inter Miami will host the Campeones Cup, a showdown between the MLS and Liga MX most recent champions, on Sept. 16. Who will Inter Miami play? To be determined.

Mexico plays a split season on either side of the New Year, the "apertura" and "clausura" -- opening and closing in Spanish. Toluca, the defending Campeones Cup winner and the Apertura 2025 winner, will play Clausura 2026 winner Cruz Azul in Liga MX's Campeón de Campeones this Saturday to decide who the Herons will face.

Inter Miami fans know something about the Leagues Cup; the Herons won the competition's first crown -- and the club's first major trophy -- in 2023 thanks to newcomers Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets and former goalkeeper Drake Callender.

Last year, Las Garzas lost the Leagues Cup final to Seattle, 3-0, then started a post-match brawl that transformed Miami's fortunes. Volatile superstar Luis Suárez started the fight, pushing and spitting on a Sounders' staffer. The suspension that followed spurred then coach Javier Mascherano to insert Mateo Silvetti into the starting lineup, adding a second deep threat to help Tadeo Allende stretch the pitch, and the Herons became an offensive juggernaut, steamrolling their way to the MLS Cup championship.

As far as I know, nobody tells stories about Campeones Cup, which pits the Liga MX and MLS champions in a single match for bragging rights. Toronto beat Tigres UANL in the first meeting in 2018 and Atlanta United defeated Club América 3-2 the following year. Mexican clubs hold a 4-3 edge in the series -- the 2020 match was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Toluca edging the L.A. Galaxy 3-2 last year.

OK, so the Campeones Cup isn't a prestigious trophy to anyone except its winners and their supporters. But it's a trophy, so why not win it?