Inter Miami CF is hiring former Argentina Football defender Javier Mascherano as their new head coach, Cesar Luis Merlo reported on Friday.
Mascherano has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract to take over for fellow Argentine manager Tata Martino, who stepped down from the position for personal reasonsearlier this week.
The San Lorenzo native’s coaching career is still in its infancy, however, having only managed at the international level with the Argentinian U-20 squad. He was also the head coach of Argentina’s team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where the Albiceleste were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Mascherano began his playing career in Argentina with River Plate, after spending his youth career in the club’s academy. The 40-year-old then spent time with Corinthians in Brazil, and West Ham United and Liverpool in England before signing with FC Barcelona in 2010.
He would spend eight seasons in Catalunya as part of some of the greatest teams in football history, enjoying the prime of his career alongside current Miami stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
| Javier Mascherano – Career Stats | |
|---|---|
| Club Appearances | 638 |
| Goals | 5 |
| Assists | 29 |
| Yellow Cards | 158 |
| Red Cards | 11 |
| Titles | 24 |
| National Team Caps/Goals | 147 / 3 |
Mascherano would then move to China for one season before ending his playing career with Estudiantes in his home country in 2020. He won 24 titles during his club and international career, notably winning the UEFA Champions League on two occasions, and lifting the La Liga trophy five times.
A Lot of Work to do in Miami
Messi and Co. fall short in playoffs after record-breaking season
Mascherano will have quite the job on his hands when he officially gets to work in South Florida.
Miami dominated the MLS regular season standings in 2024, winning the Supporters’ Shield with a league-record 74 points, but the underlying numbers tell the real story behind a somewhat dysfunctional superteam.
Messi and Co. were ruthless going forward, but were fragile on defense, allowing 49 goals. While that figure placed them in the top of the table in that category, it is virtually unheard of for a Supporters’ Shield winning team — and the points record-breaking team at that — to allow so many goals.
Miami also operated out of deficits far too often, earning 31 points from losing positions this season, winning nine games in which they were trailing at some point.
The team was consistently left exposed at the back, and while the Argentinian genius and his fellow stars could paper over many of those cracks, they eventually got too big and too deep to save.