The former Barcelona player has settled into his role early on, but there will undoubtedly be more tests to come
It took Javier Mascherano 10 minutes, back to front. The new Inter Miami manager strolled into a conference room at the Miami Convention Center, adjusted the microphone for MLS's Media Day, and sat up, relaxed, in his chair. Club tracksuit on, an anticipatory air about him. , it all said.
The Spanish chatter in the room quietened. Attention was piqued. And then Mascherano glided through a press conference: he spoke in English and Spanish. He brushed off questions about Neymar, previewed an upcoming friendly with Club America, and batted away anything that seemed to imply he might struggle at the helm.
A “gracias,” a nod, and that was it. Mission accomplished. Nothing to see here. The only real soundbite was an admittance that signing Neymar would be “impossible” due to MLS’s strict financial regulations (something he is very much correct about – and led to only a few retweets and the odd raised eyebrow in the room).
And so continued the public-facing part of Macherano’s Inter Miami tenure. That was just his second presser, and he navigated it as if it was his 500th. There was no drama to be found here. He didn’t misspeak, misstep, or say anything particularly wrong. Much like Mascherano the footballer, who played 147 times for Argentina and 224 for Barcelona, he kept it unbelievably tidy.
This is admittedly just half of the job. Managing Inter Miami is the second highest profile position in American men’s soccer – only Mauricio Pochettino, his fellow countryman, will face more scrutiny in the coming months. But as starts go, it wasn’t a bad one for a head coach who is taking his first job at a club level. And if the other early indicators are anything to go by, there is certainly promise to be found in South Florida.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGettyCoaching his former teammates
The headlines here, of course, center around the fact that Mascherano is reuniting with his old Barcelona teammates, and friends: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets. For the first time in Messi’s 21-year career, he will be coached by a former companion on the pitch.
But Mascherano has emphasized that friendships are irrelevant, at least in a competitive sense.
“I’m not one to try and force things or prove something that doesn’t need to be proven. In the end, it’s not just my relationship with Leo but also with Luis, Jordi, and Busi… Outside of the club, our relationship will remain the same — I don’t like to mix things,” Mascherano said.
Either way, the relationships are hard to ignore. There is, presumably, a real connection to be found here. Mascherano was vice-captain at Barcelona from 2015 to 2018. He wore the armband for from 2008-2011 (before handing it over to Messi.) He had the respect of Suarez, who was quick to voice his support for the new manager – even if it is a bit of a change.
“It’s a bit strange to have him as a coach now, but we respect him for the role he has. We’ve talked – it’s about understanding that he is the one making the decisions now,” Suarez said at MLS media day. “He’s no longer just a former teammate; he’s the one in charge, and we have to respect that.”
AdvertisementAFPManagerial credentials
It’s also worth examining Mascherano’s credentials. On results alone, they’re not excellent. Mascherano, the footballer, was not only a serial winner but also immensely adaptable. He started his career as a center midfielder. Then he dropped deeper into a No.6 role. In his final four campaigns at Barcelona, he was a center back. Versatility was key.
Mascherano, the manager, though, has shown little such willingness to change. As a coach of Argentina’s youth sides, he was a stern disciplinarian. Reportedly, his players were told to adhere to a strict code of conduct: tidy the dressing room, clear your plates, clean your cleats. Get off your phone, do your homework, learn English, and, crucially, take a communication workshop to learn how to deal with the media.
Those principles might have instilled some discipline into young men, but they hardly translated to good performances on the pitch. In two years in charge of various youth sides for Argentina, his biggest achievement was a quarterfinal exit at the 2024 Olympics.
Mascherano, tactically, is caught between two minds. He has admitted that he is a staunch admirer of Pep Guardiola’s game-changing positional play, but his teams look a lot more like the high pressing and rapid transitions of another former Barca coach in Luis Enrique. It seems to be a struggle to implement either in the slog of an MLS season — especially with four aging stars to account for.
Suarez, for his part, suggested that he is ready for whatever challenges may arise.
“Physically, I feel great, eager to start a new season, get to know the coaching staff, and find my rhythm,” he said. “As the years go by, you become more aware of the need to take care of yourself even during vacations. Even though we had some time off, you prepare yourself physically to be in top shape for the entire year.”
AFPExpectations – and managing them
The issue is Mascherano will have to adapt quickly. It is one thing to ask someone to switch from international to club management (there are very few examples of that leading to success.) It is another entirely to do it in a league that has rarely been kind to foreign managers with no apparent connection to the league.
Mascherano said all of the right things at his presser but admitted that he had never attended a Miami match.
“I haven’t had the chance to attend an Inter Miami match as a spectator yet, but I’ve heard that there are some compatriots in the stands who make a lot of noise,” he said.
Co-owner Jorge Mas has only piled on the pressure of late, claiming before Mascherano’s unveiling in late November that his team would be MLS’s great entertainers.
“It’s going to take a manager to play the style of football that Inter Miami wants to play, and we’re going to play an attacking style,” Mas said. “That’s what our teams are going to do, pressure other teams. We’re going to score goals. We’re going to push. This is a team that’s not going to sit back and wait for pressure, and play for 0-0 or 1-0 results with the talent we have."
Miami is haunted by a first-round playoff loss last year. After winning the first of the best-of-three series against Atlanta United, it lost the next two. were easily cut through by a side that had 34 fewer points than them in the regular season and tactically outdone across the trio of games. Three months on, Suarez knows it.
“Even though we were the best team in the regular season, we had to show that in the match against Atlanta, and we didn’t. We weren’t up to the challenge. We have to learn from that experience – nothing is given to you in football,” he said.
The expectation is that they will go three rounds further next year. They are supposed to win the MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, and Concacaf Champions Cup. A Club World Cup run wouldn’t hurt, either. Of course, that is hardly realistic. Only one MLS club has ever completed a treble. Doing so in Mascherano’s first season in club management would be a remarkable achievement.
“We have to improve a lot,” Suarez said. With a new coach, a new staff, and new teammates coming in, we need to adapt quickly and aim to be at the level of teams that win the league.
Getty Images SportEarly results show promise
So far, though, the results look good. An away fixture Club America to open the season was always going to be a tough assignment. But Miami grabbed a late goal, sent the game to penalties, and won on spot kicks. Messi found the back of the net, and exchanged some gestures with Club America fans.
That led to some controversy – any time Messi does anything but get his head down and play this sport there will be talk. But Mascherano defended him with aplomb.
“I think that we have more important issues to deal with, yes and logically I have had to play against Mexican teams and against the Mexican national team, we know that they are usually hostile towards us Argentines and well I think that also after the World Cup that wound is still open,” he said after the game.
Tactically, Miami was hardly mindblowing. But they kept it tidy. Messi played just behind Suarez. Fafa Picault and Robert Taylor offered legs on either wing. Busquets was supported by the hard work of Federico Redondo in the engine room. Miami didn’t have much of the ball (they completed half of the number of passes as their opponents, and ended the day with 35 percent of the possession).
But there was also encouragement to be found here. They allowed just three shots on target and defended diligently without the ball. This attacking juggernaut showed it could hold opponents away from home, too.
