Soccer
Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino leaves club after playoff failure
Brought in ahead of the arrival of compatriot Lionel Messi, Martino led the team to an MLS-record points total in the 2024 regular season.
Inter Miami have reportedly parted company with head coach Tata Martino after the team fell at the first hurdle in the MLS Cup playoffs, losing to unfancied Atlanta United in Round One.
GiveMeSport reports that Martino decided the leave the club due to “personal reasons” little more than a year on from his arrival in South Florida.
Martino joined the team in the summer of 2023 to work alongside Lionel Messi and the rest of the ex-Barcelona quartet. The Argentinian coach led the team to a famous Leagues Cup triumph within two months of taking charge and his team cruised to the Supporters' Shield title this season. However his side’s failure to progress in the postseason this year was a major shock.
Was 2024 a failure for Inter Miami?
For most teams, setting the single-season points record would be enough to make any campaign a success. But for Inter Miami - given their huge financial outlay and their short timeframe to take advantage of it - there was a sense that the playoffs were what really mattered. Martino said as much recently, addressing a press conference after the Atlanta loss.
“It’s not a successful season when you’re knocked out in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals,” Martino admitted. “There were good things, there were bad things. If you look at where we were last November, clearly the club has made progress, not just the team. But based on our playoff expectations, we fell way short.”
“We got used to achieving the goals we set for ourselves in the last part of the year, but the most important one slipped away,” he continued.
Martino has previously managed Barcelona and the Argentina national team, along with a number of roles with major club sides in South America. It’s not yet clear whether the 61-year-old will look for another job elsewhere or take some time away from the game.
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