Inter Miami won Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield on Wednesday after a 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew. Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Suárez added Inter Miami’s third goal.
The Supporters’ Shield trophy is awarded annually to the team with the most regular-season points. Following last summer’s Leagues Cup title, this marks Inter Miami’s second trophy since the franchise launched in 2020. Inter Miami is still on pace to break the league’s points record of 73 points set by the New England Revolution in 2021.
Messi’s side entered Wednesday’s matchup against the Crew with an eight-point lead over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Miami needed a win to clinch the award.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino has won 11 titles as a manager. In 2018, his Atlanta United side lost a tight Supporters’ Shield race to the New York Red Bulls on the last match day of the regular season. Atlanta went on to host and win the MLS Cup that year over the Portland Timbers. The Supporters’ Shield win makes Martino the favorite to win his second MLS Coach of the Year Award.
Messi, the most decorated footballer in history, claimed his 46th title Wednesday night. Despite missing 18 of Miami’s 31 regular-season matches because of injury or national team commitments, Messi has tallied 17 goals and 15 assists. He remains a favorite to win this season’s MVP award.
MESSIIIIIIIIII!!!
Messi magic again to get his brace. 🪄 pic.twitter.com/tqT4Md1ydO
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 3, 2024
Interestingly, Inter Miami stretched their lead in the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings without Messi. Martino’s makeshift squad won eight of nine MLS matches, including a 2-1 win over the defending MLS Cup champions Crew in June, as Messi participated in the Copa America with Argentina and then recovered from a high ankle sprain.
Inter Miami lost starting central defender Nicolas Freire to a right anterior cruciate ligament tear in May. Star midfielder Diego Gomez was out for several weeks with an ankle injury before the Copa America. Most recently, new signing Hector Martinez, a left-sided central defender, suffered an adductor injury and hasn’t returned to action since mid-September. The instability in Miami’s backline has forced Martino to play Sergio Busquets at center back.
Still, the team has maintained decent form and has Messi close to full fitness as the playoffs approach. A trophy should always be celebrated, but Martino told The Athletic in September that winning the Supporters’ Shield wouldn’t outshine winning the MLS Cup.
“The thing is, when you win (MLS Cup), you earn that star above the badge,” Martino said. “The day that I’m given a star for winning the Supporters’ Shield, in that case, it’ll be worth it.”
Martino added that winning the Supporters’ Shield could qualify Inter Miami for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S., which has motivated the club to claim the award in 2024. FIFA has not decided how they will reward the host slot for the tournament.
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(Photo: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
