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Much regarding the midweek contest in South Florida was familiar. Conditions was sticky and humid. Supporters at their home ground was lively. And during play, Messi along with Alba linked up for setup plays in a 3-1 victory for Miami. That the victory topped the Seattle Sounders – that very opponent that topped Miami in a contentious Leagues Cup final only a fortnight prior – provided a measure of satisfaction. However, larger elements are in motion.

“It was crucial to restore winning vibes,” Inter Miami’s manager Javier Mascherano told the media following the game.

Indeed, after the Seattle match and a following defeat to Charlotte, Miami experienced not just two straight scoreless defeats, and they were depleted because of injuries and bans. Suárez was unavailable over his antics in the cup final, and the defender was suspended due to a sending off versus Charlotte. The team fielded just six substitutes on the bench that night; a pair came from 18-year-old youth players, and another being young the newcomer, recently signed from Newell’s Old Boys.

Despite this, Inter Miami’s win pushed them into 5th place in the East on forty-nine points – eight behind the front-runners, Philadelphia. With three games in hand, the team retain a opportunity at matching the previous campaign’s achievement: finishing in first place of the East and winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the top season-long record.

The main aim, though, is completely distinct: capture the MLS Cup.

The postseason championship remains the most desired objective for the club. One could make a case that winning the Concacaf Champions Cup is perhaps of higher stature due to its regional reach, or that the Supporters’ Shield is the trophy that closest mirrors league titles in the majority of other leagues worldwide. But the MLS championship is the prize that means the most to the crucial people: the followers. Starting with Atlanta United’s memorable victory in 2018 featuring Almirón and Martínez to Carlos Vela, Bale and the binational euphoria surrounding LAFC in 2022, and even looking back to DC United’s inaugural victory in 1996, winning the championship is an achievement that permeates across a club’s community and story.

Of course, each MLS team craves that title. The difference for Miami is that the expectations are so much more intense simply because they have Messi. With 46 titles on his resume, no one in the world of soccer holds a greater number of honors, and the expectation for him to capture the Cup is not so much his to bear and more on the club as a whole to deliver a championship to append to that record.

Thanks to his arrival and everything that has unfolded since, they are among the largest commercial draws in the MLS, second in valuation to LAFC, per the business publication. According to analytics company the firm, subscriptions to the league’s Season Pass on Apple’s service over increased twofold since his came the MLS, and commercial income increased 13% last year to over half a billion dollars. Additional clubs have likewise benefited. Kansas City, for example, hosted Miami at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium in 2024, drawing a club record attendance of over seventy-two thousand. In addition, the team’s new venue, Miami Freedom Park, is set to debut the coming year and exists hope that the superstar will still be with the team to guide them into their new home.

“Earlier I stated that my wish, my dream would be for the number ten to open our new stadium in the spring,” club co-owner Jorge Mas told ESPN recently. “This is a decision that rests with him. Our desire for Lionel to finish his career in Miami.”

But as of now, there has been little formal confirmation about the extension. The prospect of opening the venue as league champions will no doubt be enticing to him, though. He experienced a similar scenario following eventually capturing the 2022 world championship, when he might have stepped away from the national team at 34 years old but opted to continue playing for his country in order to achieve that as a titleholder.

They have achieved a great deal in the era of Messi, including a season points high in a Supporters’ Shield season in 2024 and a advance to the round of 16 in the global tournament, which included a narrow win over the Portuguese side, establishing them the first Concacaf club to defeat a Uefa side in official play.

The championship, though, is an completely separate type of competition – the capstone to playoffs that are a season unto themselves, where outcomes from the league phase don’t mean much beyond determining the pairings. Miami know that just like anyone, having lost in the opening stage last year in among the most shocking underdog victories in league history.

This time around, Mascherano will understand that the superstar, now 38, is nearing the end of his playing days. The need to triumph with Inter Miami is growing pressing. And certain aspects will have to be addressed.

To maximize their chances of winning, Miami must showcase a steadier tone, equally in the execution of the {game