Report: Tata Martino Leaves Lionel Messi's Inter Miami as HC After MLS Playoff Loss
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVNovember 19, 2024
Head coach Tata Martino is reportedly leaving Inter Miami "effective immediately" for "personal reasons," according to Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami finished the MLS regular season atop the table with a league-record 74 points but were upset by No. 9 seed Atlanta United in the opening round of the playoffs, ending their season in shocking fashion.
"It's not a success when you lose in the quarterfinal round," Martino told reporters after Inter Miami was eliminated from the playoffs. "If one thinks about where we were last November, there has been progress for the club, not just the team. If one considers the expectations we had for these playoffs, we've come up very short."
Taylor Twellman @TaylorTwellmanIs it a failure like Tata Martino said?! <a href="https://twitter.com/InterMiamiCF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InterMiamiCF</a> could not figure out a team that finished 34 points behind them in the <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLS</a> standings. Messi started and played 90 minutes 18 times this year….Miami lost 3 of those games and all of those to Atlanta. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLSCupPlayoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLSCupPlayoffs</a>… <a href="https://t.co/1pddAk7f0C">pic.twitter.com/1pddAk7f0C</a>
Inter Miami has already seen changes in key positions during 2024. Raul Sanllehi was appointed as president of football operations in June, likely spelling the eventual end for current sporting director Chris Henderson.
There is also the question of how much longer the team's current core group of Messi (37), Luis Suárez (37), Sergio Busquets (36) and Jordi Alba (35) will continue to play.
The hope for Inter Miami, of course, is that Messi's presence alone has made the club a destination for other big-name talents around the globe, much as co-owner David Beckham once provided for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Messi's stardom is unrivaled, of course, but he will also be uniquely impossible to replace once he retires, whenever that may be.
For now, however, the team is left to find a replacement for the 61-year-old Martino, who in two seasons led the team to a 2023 Leagues Cup title and helped turn around what was once a cellar-dweller club.
Steve Cangialosi @CangyAppleAs shocking as this sounds, it's consistent with Martino's track record. He's managed 11 clubs, never entering a third season on the job with any of them. Only national team assignments with Paraguay and Mexico have had longer duration. The man likes new challenges. <a href="https://t.co/gs9lB5aoRr">https://t.co/gs9lB5aoRr</a>
The addition of Messi is primarily credited with inspiring that change, and for good reason—he posted an absurd 20 goals and 16 assists in just 15 league starts this season. How much credit Martino—who previously managed Barcelona and the Argentina and Mexican national teams, among other high-profile appointments—deserves for the turnaround is harder to gauge, though he certainly caught plenty of blame for the team's early playoff departure.
Whether that played into his decision to leave or not is less clear. But Inter Miami is now left to fill his position as they hope to maximize the years they have left with Messi.