With their victory over Sporting Kansas City Tuesday to make it to the last 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Inter Miami’s competition participation for this season is set. Javier Mascherano will oversee quite a packed schedule while his Herons will also have high expectations to win or at least be competitive in all of their competitions. That could be easier said than done which is why it’s a good time to take a look at what Miami’s involved in and how they can be expected to do in each competition. Technically Major League Soccer is split into two competitions with the Supporters’ Sheild being given to the regular season champion and MLS Cup being awarded to the winner fo the playoff phase. Because of that, they’ll be split.
Let’s get to ranking:
5. Club World Cup
Facing teams like Manchester City, Juventus, Real Madrid, and Chelsea, this is a competition where the best that can be expected from Inter Miami is to give a good account of themselves. Starting off play in Miami and being drawn into a group with Porto, Palmeiras, and Al-Ahly, there is a chance for the Herons to advance out of the group stage, but once things get deeper, needing to face teams like Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and the aforementioned sides could prove to be a bit too much even for a side as talented as Inter Miami.
4. Supporters’ Shield
The Seattle Sounders are the only team that will be playing in as many competitions as Inter Miami this season and it will cause prioritization for them between what they can put their full teams into versus rotate. For Miami specifically, while they won the Supporters’ Shield last season, setting a league record for points with 74, that means there’s even less of a reason for them to go too hard for this trophy this season. It doesn’t mean that Mascherano will internally try to lose games but resting Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Messi is important when the Herons are playing so many games in quick succession. That will likely lead to fewer points which makes retaining the shield tough.
3. Leagues Cup
The top teams in Liga MX have improved by leaps and bounds with moves such as James Rodriguez to Leon and Club America keeping their hold on the top talent in the region. Monterrey have tried to capitalize on this too by signing Sergio Ramos but it’s unknown if he’ll even contribute, let alone help improve the side that has started off league play on the wrong foot so far. With fewer MLS teams participating, there’s also a better chance for Miami to win this competition than some of the ones preceding it but there are still a few that rank higher.
2. MLS Cup
Over the years, MLS Cup has been about which stars shine the brightest in big moments and in a knockout tournament, there is no one who you’d want on your side more than Messi. Of course, getting knocked out in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs will sting for Miami but it’s also something that they’ll have in the back of their minds as motivation. One of only two domestic trophies that the Herons haven’t won in their history — they won’t have a chance at winning the U.S. Open Cup this season since they aren’t taking part in it — being able to rest players during the season will go a long way to ensure that they’re fresh when it matters.
1. Concacaf Champions Cup
The easiest competition to win is the one that takes the fewest victories and that’s the Champions Cup. Already in the round of 16, Miami will be facing the Jamaican side Cavalier SC in the next round and could come up against one of the Columbus Crew or Los Angeles FC if they advance. That won’t be an easy path to the last four, but in the Champions Cup, there shouldn’t be an easy path. But all the Herons need to do is advance past four more teams and they can conquer Concacaf. Simple enough right?
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