How Mascherano won over Inter Miami, their fans and MLS Cup

When Inter Miami hired Javier Mascherano to be their next manager in November 2024, there were questions.

What qualified him for the job? The then-40-year-old had no previous senior managerial experience and a limited coaching résumé that consisted of only Argentina‘s U20s and U23s.

The just-departed Gerardo “Tata” Martino had helmed Barcelona, Argentina and Mexico, and led Atlanta United to an MLS Cup before taking to the dugout with Miami. But if he couldn’t deliver the league’s holy grail, what hope did someone as inexperienced as Mascherano have?

Did his relationship with Inter superstar Lionel Messi — having played together for 13 years with both Argentina and Barcelona — help him land the gig?

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas quickly addressed the criticism.

“Why Mascherano,” he asked at Mascherano’s introductory news conference. “He brings to the club the uncommon experience of having worked with the young players and with the most important players of this club.”

Mascherano understood the concern. He embraced the doubt.

“I understood that when there is criticism, it’s often not directed at the person, it’s not a personal issue, but rather a reflection of the position you’re in,” Mascherano told ESPN ahead of the 2026 season. “I’m not one to play the victim; I don’t like that profile. I tried to understand the context, and it seemed perfectly normal to me. A new, young coach comes in after a very experienced coach, like Gerardo Martino, who hadn’t done well in terms of results or what was expected with the Argentine youth teams. It was understandable that people, the press, and public opinion might have doubts about me.

“And I think that ultimately makes you improve as a professional. In other words, if you enter a context where people doubt you, well, you have to do something to prove yourself and earn their trust.”

Mascherano did just that, leading the Herons to an MLS Cup triumph over the Vancouver Whitecaps in December. It was the happy ending for a season that, just a few months earlier, few thought possible.

His first weeks at the helm did little to quiet his critics.

Inter Miami crashed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup at the semifinal stage and had a pedestrian 6-5-3 record in MLS play. Between April 27 and May 24, the Herons had won just one of eight games played, conceding 23 goals in the process.

Despite the inconsistent start, the team’s front office expressed unwavering support. One source told ESPN that Miami received several inquiries about whether the coach’s job could soon become available given the disappointing results, but the answer to every inquiry was always a firm “no.”

Like the rest of the front office, the players backed Mascherano from the beginning. His immediate connection with the squad originated from a promise of authenticity, tapping into his experience as a player to relate to the roster.

“As a coach, the message has to be internal first,” Mascherano said. “I don’t give one message internally and then go and give a completely different message externally because I would lose all credibility. The player is very intelligent, and within two minutes, he’ll realize if you’re deceiving him or not. The best thing is to be authentic with the virtues and flaws we all have as people.

“I was a football player, and I believe 100% in the player. As a coach, because of the position I hold, I often have to take responsibility for a lot of situations. And that’s what I’ve decided to do. I truly believe in it, and I think that in one way or another, sooner or later, the player will also appreciate it.”

The squad quickly grasped his vision of the game, but more importantly, it understood that players would be prioritized on the Argentine coach’s watch.

“What is said is absolutely correct [about him being a players coach],” left back Noah Allen told ESPN. “He’s a young coach. He’s someone who’s very familiar with the modern game. … You could tell his ideas are good, his interviews are good, his mindset is good. He’s the right coach. The players back him and trust him.”

Performances and results improved in the second half of 2025, but amid disappointments in losing the Leagues Cup final and finishing third in the Supporters’ Shield standings, Mascherano kept focusing on his personal growth while continuing to hone his team’s recipe for success.

He shifted focus from numbers and tactics to game and player management. He understood that his squad could become his most important asset as the team continued to play a record-breaking number of matches.

“When you start out, you’re a young coach, and you try to emphasize the game itself, tactics and strategy,” Mascherano said. “Then, as time goes on, you realize that while it’s very important, managing personalities and emotions is also crucial. Especially nowadays, in a club, you have players of different ages and with different backgrounds, and that’s very important. The main lesson learned was our persistence and our unwavering belief in the team, in our style and in our approach.”

The team motto became, We need everyone, not just the 11 starting the game.

That proved vital this past postseason when Luis Suárez was suspended for kicking out at Nashville SC‘s Andy Nájar in Game 2 of their best-of-three Round 1 matchup. Without their star striker, Inter Miami sauntered to a 4-0 win and into the conference semifinals.

Now, Mascherano faced the most daunting challenge of his coaching career: Recognize the team’s potential without Suárez and leave him on the bench, or return to the old lineup featuring the former Uruguay international despite Miami’s success without him. It was a pivotal moment in the team’s season, and precisely the sort of selection decision that haunts managers all over the world.

Mascherano left Suárez on the bench in the next round against FC Cincinnati, resulting in a commanding 4-0 win, and again in the 5-1 thrashing of New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final.

Making gutsy selection decisions and engineering big wins on the road, Mascherano had won over his critics.

“When we appointed Mascherano a year and a couple days ago, it was Mascherano’s first high-profile job,” Mas said in December. “This is a difficult team to coach, not only because of the personalities, not only because of the world-class players we have, but the combination of young and upcoming talent. That was one of the reasons that Mascherano is here. But this is a tough team and the pressure starts from us … the evolution of watching matches from the beginning of the year, then when we’re in the semifinals of Concacaf, coming into the club World Cup, making the Leagues Cup final, and see the evolution of the team to what we’ve witnessed over the last six to eight weeks, obviously with decisions that he had to make which were difficult for him. Tactically, I think the level that our team has been playing at, specifically the last three matches, is at a level I have not seen since we’ve had this club.”

He proved doubters wrong and Mas right. Barely a year after his appointment, the young coach with no previous senior managerial experience succeeded in doing what no coach at Inter Miami could.

In 2026, Mascherano’s Miami face a new set of challenges, expectations and pressures. He navigates a brand-new roster, one without now-retired mainstays Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, and does so with the goal of qualifying for the next Club World Cup by winning the Concacaf Champions Cup.

That will be no easy feat considering the Seattle Sounders are the only MLS club to have won the competition in its current format, which dates back to 2008. After losing to Monterrey in the quarterfinals of the tournament’s 2024 edition, Martino explained why the league’s clubs have struggled in the continental tournament.

“I mentioned this earlier, if MLS doesn’t ease the various rules it has to have deeper rosters, with injuries and suspensions, Liga MX will continue to have the advantage,” he said. “MLS still cannot compete with Liga MX at the same level because of roster rules.”

Despite the strict roster rules they must abide by, Inter Miami enter the 2026 competition with the necessary squad depth to compete, having spent the offseason recruiting quality — if not necessarily famous — players across multiple positions. The Herons focused on bolstering the lineup top to bottom instead of fixating on signing one shiny new star.

Now, with a strengthened bench and permission from the front office to prioritize the tournament, Mascherano & Co. are better prepared than in years past. They’ll take their first steps in the competition on Wednesday against Nashville.

Winning MLS Cup three months ago will do little to ease the pressures and burdens placed upon Mascherano by Inter Miami’s ownership, although he can rest assured that he begins this new challenge better prepared.

“I’m much more mature now in terms of decision-making, in terms of supporting the team in a certain way,” he said. “I’m clear that the coach and we, as the coaching staff, have a job to support the players, to help them find their best form and to understand that football, as I always say, belongs to them.

“The truth is, if I’m being honest, I’m a completely different coach now.”