Argentina’s two-time Olympic champion and FIFA World Cup runner-up on football’s growth in the USA, Lionel Messi’s influence and Inter Miami’s Club World Cup challenge.
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Javier Mascherano will lead Inter Miami CF at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025
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His side get the tournament under way against Al Ahly FC, before facing FC Porto and SE Palmeiras
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He believes Lionel Messi’s impact has made the club a household name
Javier Mascherano is no stranger to expectation and pressure. Having built a stellar playing career on rising to meet the highest of challenges, he is now about to embark on a similar mission early in his coaching adventure.
The former Argentina midfielder was coaching his country’s U-20 national side when Inter Miami came calling in December 2024 and, with the major carrot of the new FIFA Club World Cup™ later this year dangling on the horizon, the 40-year-old decided to take the plunge.
Lionel Messi is the undoubted poster boy for the highly ambitious Herons, while Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets – all, like Mascherano himself, former team-mates of Messi’s at Barcelona – have been brought in to add further sprinkles of stardust. The club part-owned by David Beckham is not just targeting trophies and development on the pitch but is out to grow its brand and establish itself as a household name. These are lofty goals indeed, but Inter Miami’s luminaries are unfazed, having lived with similar pressure for more than 15 years.
A springboard for this progression should be provided by the Club World Cup, which gets underway on 14 June with Inter Miami hosting Egyptian giants Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium in the curtain-raiser. Their other opponents in Group A are FC Porto and SE Palmeiras.
Messi and Co sealed their place at the tournament by winning the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) Supporters’ Shield, which is awarded to the team that finishes top of the overall regular-season standings. The Floridians were in fantastic form across a record-breaking campaign, in which they racked up 74 points – the highest tally in the division’s history – courtesy of 22 wins, eight draws and just four defeats.
On the back of those exploits, the Herons went into the post-season play-offs billed as heavy favourites. However, they were soon brought crashing down to earth, falling at the first hurdle after losing to Atlanta United in the final match of a best-of-three tie.
This came as a hammer blow for the club, who will be looking to make amends by capturing the MLS Cup at the end of the current season. Before then, however, is the small matter of the Club World Cup. Mascherano – who took the reins after Gerardo Martino stepped aside for personal reasons – spoke to FIFA about the challenges in store for his charges.
FIFA: Your side will face Al Ahly, Porto and Palmeiras at the tournament. What are your thoughts on the draw?
Javier Mascherano: It’s the Club World Cup, so you know that you’re going to come up against some of the best teams in the world. Our group may not look as daunting as others in terms of big names, but all the sides we’ve been drawn against will be formidable opponents. We were able to run the rule over Al Ahly during the FIFA Intercontinental Cup [in which it took penalties for CF Pachuca to get the better of the Egyptian outfit in the FIFA Challenger Cup]. We know a bit more about Porto and Palmeiras, as we’ve had more opportunities to watch them. Anyway, we can’t wait, and we’ll try to make sure that we’re in strong shape going into the competition and give the best possible account of ourselves. Taking on the best teams in the world, and clubs with such distinguished histories behind them, is a huge challenge – particularly for a club like ours, which has only been around for a few years.
Exposure to a competition of this stature could help the players here to raise their game. Likewise, clubs from all over the world will have their eyes on the Club World Cup, which could raise the profile of MLS, which is still relatively new compared to other domestic competitions. It’s only in its 30th season, but it’s growing exponentially, and we want to help it continue to do so.
What are your memories of competing on the global club stage? You took part in the precursor to the current FIFA Intercontinental Cup as a player, winning the title with Barcelona in 2011 and 2015.
That was a smaller competition than the new Club World Cup, so it was different. Still, contesting these sorts of tournaments – in which you face teams not only from other countries but from other cultures – gives you an appreciation of how difficult it is to compete. Football is the same across the globe: there may be a gulf on paper between the top leagues in the world and the rest, but matches are won and lost on the pitch. We’ll be adopting that mindset and will do our utmost to compete and try to give everyone a run for their money.
We can expect lots of positives in the year and a half to come leading up to the World Cup. There’s huge potential for growth and development, including for the league. Here’s hoping that MLS can capitalise on the momentum generated in order to keep growing and emerge as one of the most popular leagues in the world.
Last but not least, what sort of impact has Leo Messi had in the United States?
He’s made a massive mark, just as he always does. Every step that he takes in his career has a huge impact because he’s the best, and MLS has benefited. Our club and league are known all over the world, and that’s in no small part down to Leo.
