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Inter Miami coach Tata Martino blames Messi-inspired success for their failing to make the playoffs.
Inter Miami are out of MLS playoff contention after their most recent loss to Cincinnati made it mathematically impossible to finish in qualification places.
Prior to Lionel Messi’s arrival at the club, finishing in a playoff spot was not even on the cards, as the Miami-based team were dead last on the log. However, the Argentine’s presence breathed fresh air into them as they went on a run in which they avoided defeats.
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04:39 - 08.10.2023
Messi facing four months out of action as Inter Miami officially eliminated from MLS playoffs
Messi's first loss with Inter Miami came with huge repercussions as the Argentine and his side were dumped out of the running for the MLS playoffs
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20:10 - 06.10.2023
Lionel Messi with only one goal and Sergio Busquets nominated for MLS Player of the Year award
Despite a paltry four and eight appearances respectively, Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets have been nominated for the MLS Player of the Year Award.
They seemed invincible with the former Barcelona man on their side; however, they eventually failed to achieve their main objective, qualifying for the post-season, and coach Tata Martino has blamed the successes they had with Messi.
Inter Miami struggles
Messi led Inter Miami to their first-ever piece of silverware, the Leagues Cup, but according to the Argentine manager, going deep in the competition was not envisaged, and the extra five games borne out of their run of wins in the cup affected their plans on player fitness level.
Tata Martino was unable to call on his Talisman Messi for six of their last eight games due to injury, and in the two in which he played, he was only in action for half an hour. Inter Miami never lost any game in which Messi started, but in the period of his absence, they were beaten six times, including the US Open Cup final.
What Tata Martino said
“The season, really, I thought it was going to be completely different from what happened,” the Argentine tactician said, per Goal.
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“My expectations were to create the group, train them in our style of soccer, don't go too deep in Leagues Cup, and compete very well—because we only had two games in the cup—and to be classified [for the playoffs].”
“We had our most wonderful moments until the [September] FIFA dates. And we had problems after that because of an accumulation of games and injuries. Up to that point, we had an idea—it wasn't trained very well, but it was very clear in the players’ heads.
“I believe that with the losses we started to have, the modifications we started to make, so many variables in the team changed from one game to the next—because we had to modify it to be able to take care of our players—we deteriorated our idea. In the last 20 days, we had our worst time of the year, of course, when we had the most need to have the team as healthy as possible.”
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