Watch: Incredible Lionel Messi goal on last trip to Nashville

Inter Miami’s 2023 campaign was defined by the mid-season signing of Lionel Messi. His mere arrival brought new focus and new audiences to the team and the league as a whole, but it was on the field that his influence was most keenly felt.

Messi began life in Miami with a spell-binding string of performances in the Leagues Cup, a revamped competition between teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

His performances drove Miami to the first trophy in team history and he ended as the competition’s top goalscorer and MVP. He struck ten goals in seven games, scoring in every one of Inter Miami’s fixtures in the competition. Most impressive of the lot, however, was the opening goal in the final against Nashville SC, played at their Geodis Park stadium.

Picking up a loose ball on the edge of the Nashville penalty box, the Argentine jinked past three defenders before bending a perfect left-footed shot into the top corner. It epitomised the very best of Lionel Messi, the deftness of movement and the ferocity of shot.

The hosts levelled the scores through Fafa Picault in the second half but the Herons were not to be denied their first piece of silverware. Messi scored in the penalty shoot-out and Miami went on to win 9-10 on penalties. On Thursday evening, in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Messi returns to Geodis Park to take on Nashville.

How many titles can Inter Miami win this year?

Inter Miami’s inaugural triumph, the 2023 Leagues Cup, served to underscore the incredible potential in this side. Messi has been joined by his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. The Herons have also strengthened with the off-season arrivals of Julian Gressel and Nicolas Freire.

They are among the favourites for every competition that they enter in 2024, but exactly how many trophies could they win?Inter Miami are in contention for three competitions this year: MLS Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup and Leagues Cup. They will not, however, be in the mix for the US Open Cup, the competition that they reached the final of in 2023.

Only eight MLS clubs have entered senior teams into the Open Cup this year and Miami are not one of them. That should ease the burden on the roster and give their aging stars greater time to rest between games, but with only three titles to compete for every single Inter Miami game will be watched closely across 2024.

Related stories

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP

Tata takes pressure off Messi and co

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP

Messi embarks on new title tilt

So which is the most important? Well, according to Herons head coach Tata Martino, the CONCACAF Champions Cup is set to be the focus in 2024.

He explained: “The ‘CONCA-Champions’ is a great challenge and is possibly the most important tournament we will play in. It is also a different tournament from the league, because the league is so long that it allows you to make the odd mistake, the short tournaments and head-to-head matches allow you few or almost no errors.”