“Inter Miami Choked”: Taylor Twellman on Lionel Messi’s Team Early Playoff Exit

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami dribbles the ball against Tristan Muyumba #8 of Atlanta United (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

On July 21, 2023, the eyes of the footballing world were firmly cast upon Fort Lauderdale, as Lionel Messi prepared to make his Inter Miami debut against Liga MX side Cruz Azul in their opening match of their Leagues Cup campaign. It was a defining moment not just for Messi, who had won his first World Cup just seven months prior, but for Apple TV, who were broadcasting the match. Having penned a ten-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS a few months earlier, this was their chance to announce themselves with a riveting spectacle in Southern Florida.

Messi’s Introduction to MLS

“It was Messi’s introduction to Major League Soccer, but because of the global audience and the ability of Apple to broadcast in over 100 countries, it was also the introduction of MLS to those countries and a lot of people who had never watched an MLS game before,” said Taylor Twellman in an exclusive two-part interview series with RG. Twellman scored six goals in 30 caps for the US Men’s National Team and won the 2007 Gold Cup, while he also took home the MLS Golden Boot in 2002 and 2005 and was awarded the MLS MVP for the 2005 season, before heading into broadcasting. After spending 11 years at ESPN, Twellman switched over to Apple TV in January 2023 to join their MLS coverage.

“It was a real culmination of two forces coming together, and it’s fair to say that Apple TV and MLS looked at that broadcast as the beginning of this 10-year partnership, even though Apple had already been broadcasting MLS for a few months. That was a different introduction and the fans saw certain aspects that were different from other networks with MLS games.”

Inter Miami and Cruz Azul looked headed for a draw until the final seconds of the game, when Messi was hauled down outside the box. The entire stadium, which featured a star-studded cast including Lebron James, Serena Williams and Derek Jeter, watched with bated breath as Messi stepped up and delivered an immaculate free kick to snatch the win for Miami at the death. The Argentinean would score nine goals in his next six games to lead his new side to the Leagues Cup trophy. Still, he was unable to guide Inter Miami from the bottom of the table to the playoffs after a torrid end to their campaign which saw them lose to Houston in the US Open Cup Final and take just two points from their final five games.  

“I think the last-placed team makes the playoffs if the Leagues Cup isn’t part of that equation,” argues Twellman.

“It was a sprint at first and they hit the ground running and ended up winning the Leagues Cup right away, which took its toll on the group both physically and mentally, and they just couldn’t get over that hurdle. If they’re playing one game a week, they’d have made the playoffs, no doubt in my mind. I didn’t look at it as a failure – I was never going to judge Messi’s Inter Miami until 2024 when they actually had a full preseason.”

Building the Squad

Having previously signed Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Inter Miami headed to the transfer window and added another Blaugrana legend in Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan striker didn’t take long to make his presence felt with 29-goal contributions in 27 regular season appearances, finishing level with Messi and Denis Bouanga with 21 goals and second only to Christian Benteke (23) in the Golden Boot race. Messi and Suárez became the first pair of teammates to rack up 20+ goals in the same MLS season, helping Miami overpower the competition and lead them to a stellar 22 wins, eight draws and four defeats. These defeats all had one thing in common – Messi was missing from the team, with the exception of a 2-1 defeat in Atlanta in May.

Although Miami continued to bolster their squad with big-name veteran stars, they also built for the long-term with four U-21 South American players arriving in 2023, while Paraguayan center-back David Martínez (26) joined on loan from River Plate the following year. The prospect of playing with Messi proved enticing for quite a few of the biggest young talents in Argentina, allowing Miami to attain a stellar mix of youth and experience.

“You always have to look at signing a player like Messi,” stated Twellman.

“He’s one of one, he’s a player who moves the needle. But when you do that, it also opens up the ability to go young and find young players. They kind of did both – you’re not getting Diego Gómez, Federico Redondo, Facundo Farías or Tomás Avilés if you don’t have Messi. It wasn’t one or the other – they did both at the exact same time.”

Lack of Defense

Following a humiliating 6-1 defeat in Cincinnati, Miami would win eight and draw three of their final 11 regular season games, good enough to see them finish with 74 points – the highest tally in MLS history. However, while their attacking unit was second to none with 72 goals scored in 34 games, their backline left plenty to be desired, conceding 49 goals, the most by any Supporters’ Shield champion (given to the team with the best regular season record in MLS) in a decade.  

“[Miami] could not defend in transition,” said Twellman. “This is a league built on athleticism, that’s played at a high pace and played in transition more often than not…you knew that if they didn’t have possession, they were going to struggle. They didn’t have a great understanding in defense and I think that falls on manager Tata Martino. It certainly wasn’t a personnel issue: 10 years from now, we’re going to be talking about them in the top 2-3 rosters ever in the history of MLS.”

The Playoff Fiasco

After closing out the regular season with a 6-2 win vs. New England, Inter Miami had a bye going into the Round of 16, where they would face off against Atlanta United. Despite barely edging CF Montréal on penalties in the previous phase, Atlanta’s recent head-to-head record proved worrisome for Messi and co. Having lost three of their last five league meetings and failing to win in their last three encounters with the Five Stripes, this was Miami’s chance to overcome their bogey team. They prevailed 2-1 in the first leg thanks to goals from Suárez and Alba. They looked set for a fifth straight win after taking an early lead in Georgia, only for Derrick Williams to draw level. At the same time, Xande Silva completed the comeback in the final second to avoid a do-or-die penalty shootout for the hosts. It would all come down to the tiebreaker in Florida: Matías Rojas broke the deadlock for Miami within 17 minutes, only for Jamal Thiaré to respond with two goals in four minutes. Messi would equalize in the 65th minute, but Bartosz Slisz would restore Atlanta’s advantage shortly after. And while Miami pushed for a late equalizer, Brad Guzan proved indomitable between the pipes with seven saves to ensure Atlanta’s passage to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

No matter how you slice it, Inter Miami’s defeat is a damning blow to one of the most stacked rosters in the competition’s history and yet another reminder of MLS’ unpredictable playoff format: no team has won back-to-back MLS Cup titles since LA Galaxy 12 years ago, and with Columbus Crew suffering an early exit, that streak will continue. But as far as the people who have used Miami’s elimination to denounce MLS’ best-of-three Round of 16 format, which was introduced in 2023, Twellman isn’t overly concerned.

“The formula didn’t work because Miami choked. We can talk about formula and everything, but the fact is, you cannot lose two out of three games to a team that finished 34 points behind you. Jordi Alba can talk about playoff format but that’s just excuses, you had three opportunities to beat them, and you lost two, including a tiebreaker at home. Inter Miami choked.”

What’s next for Inter Miami? Read more in Part Two, which will be posted on December 2.