Lionel Messi reportedly has a new coach, with ex-Argentina, Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano to take charge of the Herons in 2025.
Argentina U23 manager Javier Mascherano is reportedly set to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami as their new head coach following reports that Tata Martino is set to step down Friday and depart the South Beach club due to “personal reasons.”
Mascherano played alongside Messi at Barcelona from 2010-2018, and with the Argentina national team throughout his entire career up until 2018, as well.
However, Cesar Luis Merlo was first to report the news of Mascherano’s reported hiring.
Criticism
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Mascherano led La Albiceleste, which featured Miami’s Federico Redondo on the squad, to a quarterfinal exit in the tournament.
The manager came under heavy scrutiny due to them underperforming to large expectations in the competition as they were defeated 1-0 by eventual champions France.
The criticism also stemmed from finishing second in the Group Stage behind Morocco, despite being one of the tournament’s early favorites, which forced them to face Les Bleus immediately in the knockout stages.
Martino, meanwhile, is departing after the Herons were on the losing side of the biggest upset in MLS history in the 2024 Playoffs, being defeated by Atlanta United in MLS’ Round 1 best-of-three series.
After winning the Supporters’ Shield and claiming the regular season title by setting the league points record, there were massive postseason expectations for the South Beach club, but they exited early, and Martino’s time at the helm is over.
Mascherano will come in looking to lead the club to its first-ever MLS Cup, but it will be the 40-year-old’s first-ever senior job at the club level, and his first time managing a roster full of veterans and professionals – including Messi and his ex-teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Luis Suarez, however, is at a contract stalemate with the club at the moment and Mascherano will likely play a big role in determining if he will be re-signed or not.
Did You Know?
Mascherano was a part of Argentina’s 2018 FIFA World Cup squad that made it to the final, before falling short to Kylian Mbappe and France in the final.
During the competition, he became La Albiceleste’s most-capped player at 147 appearances, however, he’s since been passed by Messi – who now has 191.
Mascherano also played with Messi for eight seasons at Barcelona, winning two Champions League titles in 2011 and 2015 and four La Liga titles among other club trophies.
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The Herons are set to hold a press conference Friday regarding Martino’s status with the club.
Whether or not an update on Mascherano arrives, is to be determined.
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