Inter Miami’s coach, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, admitted that the team’s 2024 season, led by Lionel Messi, ended in disappointment after their surprising exit against Atlanta United in the first round of the MLS playoffs.

“It’s not a successful season when you’re knocked out in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals,” he said at a press conference. “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,” he added.

Inter Miami took a hard hit, losing 2-3 to Atlanta United and getting eliminated 1-2 in the best-of-three series. Despite a season that saw Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets secure the MLS Supporters’ Shield (for the best regular season record) and set a new points record with 74, their playoff run was cut short by an Atlanta team that only managed 40 points in the regular season, made the playoffs through a wild card, and is in the middle of a rebuild with interim coach Rob Valentino.

Reflecting on the game, Martino commented, “Overall, I think we did enough to win. Even with Atlanta’s counterattacks, we created many scoring opportunities and kept the pressure close to their box.” Martino noted that the players were “down” and “heartbroken” in the locker room after the unexpected loss. “It’s how you feel when there’s so much anticipation, and the team can’t meet those expectations. 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 said.