Lionel Messi needs more help. Who will step up and score for Inter Miami?
When things were getting desperate, when it looked like Inter Miami’s much-hyped housewarming party at Nu Stadium Saturday night might end with a loss to Austin FC, coach Javier Mascherano surveyed his bench and called over a familiar face: 39-year-old Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez.
He delivered. Suarez entered the game in the 73rd minute, and nine minutes later scored the equalizing goal, volleying in a rebound from close range after a head flick by German Berterame off a corner kick.
Suarez unleashed a loud roar, pumped both fists, and was swarmed by his jubilant (and relieved) teammates.
Then, in the 90th minute, with the score tied 2-2, Suarez and Lionel Messi nearly combined on what would have been the game-winner. Messi’s free kick clanked off the crossbar and Suarez put in the rebound, but it was ruled offside.
Miami had to settle for the draw, its fourth in the past five games.
Asked about the decision to bring in Suarez at that point in the game, Mascherano explained: “We wanted to give Telasco [Segovia] a rest and needed more players in the area rather than in the midfield, so we brought in Luis and you see what he did. Two balls fell to him, and he scored on both, though unfortunately one was offside. He has scored 600 goals in his career. We needed to create chances and decided to have Luis up there with German.”
Messi’s close friend and longtime FC Barcelona teammate, Suarez was relegated to the bench during the playoff run to the 2025 MLS Cup title and has remained there for much of this season so far.
Mascherano opted to play without a natural striker at the end of last season and utilize Messi as a deep-lying forward (false nine) who could also create, flanked by young, speedy, energetic Mateo Silvetti and Tadeo Allende.
That style of attack worked great and was expected to continue, and be enhanced, with the addition this year of $15 million striker Berterame.
Berterame scored 68 goals in 153 games across four years with Mexican club Monterrey. He remains scoreless through six games and 332 minutes with Miami. He started three games and came off the bench for the past three league games.
Although he has not yet found the back of the net, Berterame has been heavily involved in the attack and has his coach’s full vote of confidence.
“German is a hard worker, a true team player, and arrived here humble, eager to earn his spot,” Mascherano said. “It’s on me to find a way to make him feel comfortable and put him in the best situations to succeed. I have complete faith he will break through.
“We didn’t bring him here for five or six games. We brought him for three or four years, and there’s going to be an adjustment period. Other players on our team are familiar with our style of doing things, which is why we had such success last year, and he is still adapting.”
One clue that Miami’s offense is not as synchronized as it was during the MLS Cup run is that Messi has no assists to go with the five goals that he has scored over six games. The retirement of Spanish legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba left Messi without two teammates who knew him and his tendencies so well after so many years together at Barcelona.
The team is learning to play without them and needs to figure out who links best with Messi, whom he trusts to find in tight spaces and who will make moves and runs for him.
Heading into this season, Inter Miami aspired to win three trophies: Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and defend its MLS Cup. The team was already knocked out of the Champions Cup. Now, the men in pink are in a sparkling new stadium and expected to shine at home.
They fell short last Saturday. Another home game against New York Red Bulls is coming up on Saturday.
Will Berterame finally score? Will Suarez return to the starting lineup? Mascherano has important decisions to make.