Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino and captain Lionel Messi have been named to the Team of the Matchday presented by Audi for week 36 of the 2024 regular season. The tactician and star attacker earn TOTM honors after helping Inter Miami defeat the Columbus Crew 2-3 on the road on Wednesday night to win a historic first Supporters’ Shield title for the Club.
‘Tata’ Martino leads the Team of the Matchday for a third time this season after guiding Inter Miami to the road win against the Crew to clinch a historic second title in Club history. Martino has led Inter Miami CF to a record-breaking season in which the Club recorded historic stats. The impressive achievements include becoming the third-fastest club to earn a playoffs berth and dominating the league by recording the most wins, goals and points in Club history (with matches to spare).
In his second year at the helm, Martino has orchestrated a historic turnaround for the team, going from 27th in the Supporters’ Shield race in 2023 to first in 2024. He has led Inter Miami to a 20W-4L-8D record with a +25 goal differential with two regular season matches remaining.
Messi, meanwhile, features in the starting XI following another brilliant performance and racks up his 11tth TOTM selection this regular season. The Argentine maestro was key in the team’s 2-3 win, breaking the deadlock with a brace right before the half for Inter Miami to enter the break leading 0-2 on the scoreline. First, he masterfully brought down a long-ball delivered by Jordi Alba with his chest in between two defenders before dribbling into space and sending the ball to the back of the net with a tidy left-footed finish in the 45th minute.
Shortly after, Messi secured his brace with a sublime left-footed strike around the wall from a free kick opportunity in the fifth minute of added time.
The two goals on Wednesday evening added to our captain’s invaluable contributions throughout the regular season, who has tallied a stellar 17 goals and a team-high 15 assists in just 17 matches.
2024 Inter Miami Team of the Matchday Honorees:
- Matchday 26: Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino and Lionel Messi
