Inter Miami’s Playoff Success Signals a โฃTactical โขShift forโค the Messi Era
Inter โฃMiami’s dominant 4-0 playoffโค victoriesโค over โฃNashville SC andโ FC Cincinnati have revealed a compelling โshift in the team’s approach, especially in light of Luis Suarez’s suspension and limited role. While the frontโ four hasโ generallyโ been youthful, these wins have been achieved through a more direct, transition-focused style of play – โฃa departure from the possession-based tactics employed for โmuch of the 2025 season, โand โฃperhaps a blueprint for the club’s future.
Possession numbers in the two playoff games dipped โฃtoo 50% and 51%, representing two ofโค the team’s five โคlowest figures against MLS competition all โseason.Simultaneously, Lionel Messi recorded his highestโฃ expected โprimary assists (2.1) inโข an MLS regular season or โplayoff match as joining theโ club in 2023.
This tactical โฃevolution suggests Inter Miami under Messi may increasingly resemble the modern Argentina national team. Like the Herons’ recent lineups, the Argentina squad features athletic, prime-age players supporting Messi, a 38-year-old โขveteran. Whileโข Messi remains a potent goalscorer – potentially surpassing 900 career goalsโค during the MLS Cup Playoffs – โขhisโค roleโ with Argentina prioritizes chance creation.โ Between the 2021โ Copa America, 2022 โคWorld Cup,โค and โ2024 Copa America, messi registered 8.9 expected assists compared to 7.1 non-penalty goals.His goal tally (12)โ exceededโ his assist โขcount (9) across those tournaments due to exceptional finishingโข and penalty kick opportunities.
In the current MLS postseason, Messi has already amassed six goals and six assists, settingโฃ a new MLS record for total goal contributions in a single playoff run. Notably, his recent โคperformances against FC Cincinnati marked the first time since his arrival in June 2023 that he has recorded multiple assists in consecutive games against MLSโฃ opponents.
Interestingly, this current approach echoes the tactical โฃvision of former manager Tata Martino, who attempted to implement a similar system in the latter half of โฃ2023 and โขthroughout 2024. However, key players from Martino’s system, including Leonardo Campana, Julian Gressel, and robert Taylor, were laterโ released as Inter Miami focused on โreplicatingโ theโฃ ball-dominant style of Messi’s โformerโ Barcelona teammates – Alba, Suarez, and Busquets.
now,โฃ Inter Miami appears to be reversingโข course, potentiallyโค with greater buy-in from Messi regarding the tactical direction. The initial results are promising, โคbutโค it raises questions about what might have been achieved hadโ this approach been adopted earlier in theโฃ 2025โข season, โขwhen the team hadโฃ four trophies within reach, rather than โฃduring a late-season push to secure MLS Cupโข and avoid โa trophyless campaign for โฃMessi.
