Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Seconds after the final whistle, “La Gozadera” by Gente De Zona immediately began echoing throughout the speakers at Chase Stadium. inter miami Victory 3-1 Above vancouver whitecaps in 2025 of MLS Cup on Saturday.
Team captains, filling the air with pink smoke and multicolored confetti Lionel Messi Hoisted the MLS Cup with Miami players making club history.
Tears streamed down most of the players’ faces, each player had a different story behind the universal emotion. For some, it represented coming back from a difficult injury to earn a place in the starting 11, while for others the tears signaled a new chapter in their careers.
Then, a familiar moment emerged on the pitch later, when longtime teammate Messi, Luis Suarez, sergio busquets And Jordi Alba They hugged each other with the excitement of becoming champions together for the last time.
, Lionel Messi leads Miami past Vancouver to first MLS Cup title
– O’Hanlon: MLS is getting better thanks to the magic of Messi, but does anyone care?
– 2026 World Cup Predictions: Group-by-group takeaways, must-watch games
The four danced together in a circle, jumping up and down as teammates slowly joined in a huge celebration. The players sang, danced and played down the expectations of a 58-game season.
With a happy ending that could only have been portrayed by Walt Disney before, Inter Miami now say goodbye to Alba and Busquets as the two Spaniards head into the sunset of retirement with one last trophy in hand.
Miami’s victory on Saturday serves as a reward for a team that head coach Javier Mascherano previously described as “resilient”, as every member of the club made the necessary sacrifices and stepped up to reach the Cup. As a unified front, each member played their part to achieve the ultimate goal.
“I think the players have the strength to bounce back from every difficult moment we have experienced this season. We are going into the final match on Saturday, it’s not all or nothing. I think this is a great reward for the work the players have done throughout the year, what they have achieved as a group. And well, the main course is on Saturday. It will all depend on how badly we want to win it. So let’s hope we wake up very hungry on Saturday, ” Mascherano said Thursday.
And Inter Miami feasted.
A season that started with doubt, but fixed itself
The 2025 season began with massive expectations and criticism in Miami after the team hired Mascherano as head coach, a manager with no prior club experience. Mascherano was successful in identifying young players argentina Youth national teams will harness the power of some of the sport’s greatest personalities at Inter Miami to win previously unattainable trophies.
Taking upon himself the burden of coaching his former teammates and longtime friends, Mascherano set out to prove himself and bring glory to Fort Lauderdale.
Years ago Mascherano said, “One learns more from defeat than from victory. Victory distorts the situation.”
And he started learning from A Concacaf Champions Cup Were eliminated after losing in the semi-finals against Whitecaps league cup final against seattle sounders and falling in the round of 16 fifa club world cup,
1:39
Messi’s 2 assists help Inter Miami win first MLS Cup title
Lionel Messi had two assists as Inter Miami defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 to win the MLS Cup.
With one trophy left to play for, Mascherano made sure to apply each lesson from the previous defeat. But the most significant setback of the season was a one-game suspension in the decisive final game of the Round 1 series against Suárez. Nashville SCThroughout the year, his starting trident rarely changed, There may be variety in the wingers as players undergo injury, but the dynamic duo of Suarez and Messi have stood out as the staple of the 2025 season throughout every tournament,
But Mascherano was forced to adapt as his experienced forwards had to sit out one of the most important games of the year. With Messi on the roster and trophy hopes the team was trying to avoid the ridicule of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive time, Mascherano included the newly signed matteo silvetti In the lineup.
The initial change came due to suspension, but subsequent games taught Mascherano a lesson. After the final Round 1 match, the coach put Suárez on the bench and played against him in a 4–0 win fc cincinnati and win 5-1 New York City FC To win the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in club history.
“Obviously, for me, it’s not an easy decision when you have to remove a player like Luis, with his track record, given his importance to the team and the club,” the coach said.
Despite the difficulty of the decision, Mascherano came forward and stuck to his word. Suárez, like the previous two knockout matches, started the MLS Cup on the bench and did not see time on the pitch. Instead, Mascherano prioritizes the needs of the game by including Yannick Bright And others, replacing Suarez in a game he didn’t feel needed his skill set to win.
Mascherano, who communicated with his players from the sidelines with instructions and encouragement, evolved from a nervous, newly hired coach surrounded by expectations into an essential leader, willing to do whatever was necessary to reach success.
And he wasn’t the only one making sacrifices at Inter Miami. The players followed their coach’s path by learning and developing from each passing game, understanding that it takes everyone to win.
The depth of the team proves important.
Suárez, a world-renowned player, went from an undoubted starter to a bench player in the span of a week during the most important part of the season.
But the player took the decision decently, no matter how difficult it was internally.
He told ESPN, “I’ve always wanted to play. Throughout my career, I’ve almost always had a chance to play, but with the maturity I have now, you understand the situation, you understand the reasons and the coach’s plan for a match like the match against FC Cincinnati, and you do it well without any problems.”
“It was about sending the message to the guys who were on the field to give their maximum, and then there were seven or eight of us waiting with the same energy as them because we are a group. Obviously, you want to play more than you want to play, but that’s how it is. It’s about training, giving more and showing the coach that you can play more than 10 or 15 minutes, as I am doing.”
According to Mascherano, his reaction proved crucial.
“He showed his greatness as a player and a person because we know that sometimes you have to make these decisions,” Mascherano said. “It can be difficult for the other person to understand, and the truth is that he has been a clear example of his commitment to what he wants for the team, for the group, and he has sent a great message to his teammates above all.”
Messi proved his commitment to the team by prioritizing Inter Miami’s schedule, even if it meant missing the Argentina national team’s friendly match in Miami. The MLS schedule did not pause for the October international window, which coincided with a friendly match against Argentina Venezuela At Hard Rock Stadium.
By that point in the season, Inter Miami had already qualified for the postseason due to the Eastern Conference standings and home advantage at stake. Nevertheless, Messi failed to feature against Venezuela and wore the Pink Herons jersey a day later. atlanta united,
“Clearly Leo had a habit of playing [with Miami] Even though he trained with the national team all week,” Mascherano said in October. “We know he is a player who is completely special and unique. Apart from not training with us, we saw what he did today. He helped us win. It was an important win because it gave us third place [in the Eastern Conference table.],
Without that win, Inter Miami would have finished the season with 62 points, one point behind the Whitecaps, which would have given the Canadian team home-field advantage for the MLS Cup.
Messi continued to prove his leadership through sacrifices on and off the field at various points in the season, even playing through injuries and fatigue.
players like oscar ustari Played roles ranging from starting goalkeeper to support Rocco Rios Novo As Miami’s new goalie. The experienced keeper took a good decision in encouraging his young counterpart in this new phase.
Mascherano consistently repeated the same message throughout the year: It takes all of us.
“It’s not just the starting 11 that is important, but the rest of the team is also important. Especially at these types of stages, the most important thing is that everyone has to be alert because we will need everyone,” he said.
And the team together lifted the cup.
