Saturday will see Inter Miami feature in their first final in club history after advancing to the Leagues Cup final where they'll travel to GEODIS park to face Nashville SC. A team that has come together quickly, the Herons have gelled around Lionel Messi and Tata Martino to make it to this final. After a six-match winless streak before Messi's arrival, the team has now won five games and drawn one scoring 21 goals in the process. The draw ended in a penalty shootout win against FC Dallas in the round of 16.
This immediate success is behind nine goals and one assist from Messi but he hasn't been alone in the performances. Robert Taylor has three goals and five assists since Messi's arrival, Drake Callender has been a force in net, and Sergio Busquets has played a large role in steadying the midfield. On Friday, Messi spoke to media ahead of the final and one thing that he touched on is the change in the team since he joined.
"From the very start of this competition, we had to start from zero with a new coach leading the team. With new players such as myself, and from day one, we're doing very well," Messi said. "Thanks to the teammates that were already part of the team, it was an opportunity to start changing things after the last result of the team and on how the team was in the league. We knew it was an opportunity to start changing that situation and, like I said before, to start setting tough objectives but we were prepared for trying to succeed."
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It was one thing to expect Messi and Miami to do well but it has been shocking to see how well they have come together in only six matches. Messi has shown durability starting five consecutive matches on short rest and playing almost 90 minutes in each start while the role players on the team have stepped up around him. While a lot of improvement is needed in defense with Callender doing a lot of heavy lifting, defense only matters so much when a team is scoring four goals per game.
Miami has led within the first 15 minutes in their last five matches, and if they can make it six, it's a good chance that the team can lift their first trophy in club history over Nashville. Even if they don't, having already qualified for Champions Cup next season and playing in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday (watch on Paramount+) before starting their challenge of making up 12 points to secure a playoff place in Major League Soccer.
The quest for a treble is still alive and becoming more realistic by the day as Miami have become a winning side overnight. That's down to Messi and Martino's influence but the entire team is pulling together when it matters most at just the right time and much earlier than expected.
