Inter Miami’s season came to a premature end with the Herons losing 3-2 against Atlanta United to crash out of the MLS play-offs.
Having won the Supporters’ Shield and set a new regular-season points record, Inter Miami fell way short of expectations by losing in the first round of the play-offs to the lowest-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
With Tomas Aviles slammed by Alexis Lalas for time-wasting at a key moment for Inter Miami, it was a result that will likely lead to important lessons for the Herons, who heading into 2025 will want to be at their absolute best.
And there could now be a new manager at the helm replacing Tata Martino.
Former FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez could take over at Inter Miami
According to El Crack Deportivo, former FC Barcelona manager and club legend Xavi Hernandez could replace Martino as Inter Miami head coach, with the Argentine’s position under question after last weekend’s play-off failure.
A former teammate of Lionel Messi and one of the greatest midfielders in the history of soccer, Xavi left Barcelona last summer having failed to take the La Liga giants back to the top of the European game as manager.
Now a free-agent, Xavi joining the Inter Miami project would align with the Florida franchise’s recent trend of leaning towards Barcelona-linked figures from the playing squad in Messi and Sergio Busquets to the backroom staff in Raul Sanllehi.
And although Xavi would be a huge name for Inter Miami as Martino’s successor, the Herons could be making a big mistake in replacing a manager who this season has been arguably the best in all of MLS.
Inter Miami need to give Martino one more year as manager
Martino will no doubt view 2024 as a disappointing year for Inter Miami, with the Argentine manager aware of the expectations had on their shoulders and how disappointing it will be for the franchise to fall at the first hurdle of the play-offs.
However, Inter Miami did not crash out because of Martino’s tactics, and the Florida giants were as good as they because of the decisions made by the former Mexico national team manager when the likes of Messi and company were out injured.
Indeed, throwing Martino under the bus would be a backwards decision for Inter Miami, and the MLS Cup champion reserves another shot next year in the hot seat, with no man better equipped for the job.