Major League Soccer side Inter Miami announced Javier Mascherano as its new head coach on Tuesday, succeeding Gerardo "Tata" Martino.
After a historic regular season in which the Herons set a new points record and lifted the Supporters' Shield, Miami crashed out of the playoffs in a best-of-three against Atlanta United. Martino parted ways with the club days later. Enter another Barcelona and Argentina legend.
Mascherano signed with Miami through the 2027 MLS season. The Argentine began his coaching career in Dec. 2021 with the Argentina U-20 national team. He coached Argentina at the 2024 Olympic Games this past summer.
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Bienvenido, Jefe 🇦🇷✍️
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) November 26, 2024
Argentina and FC Barcelona legend Javier @Mascherano has been named as our new head coach! Welcome to the Miami dream 🩷🖤.
More details: https://t.co/iICOZxaFw7 pic.twitter.com/Boc6Ix32yC
"Javier has amassed unmatched experience in his career, from playing on the world’s biggest stages, to coaching at the youth international level; he has the blend of skills and experience we were looking for, and even has had direct coaching experience with Tomás Avilés, Facundo Farías, Federico Redondo, and Benjamin Cremaschi. We believe Javier is an important addition to our Club as we continue on our quest to be among the world’s elite, setting a new standard for fútbol in North America," Jorge Mas, managing owner of Inter Miami, said in the announcement.
Mascherano's Barcelona connection with Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez runs deep winning two Champions Leagues, five La Liga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups and more for the Catalan side. He's now tasked with not only leading his former teammates, but improving a defense that was exposed in the playoffs.
Miami stated Mascherano's full coaching staff will be announced at a later date.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami Announces Javier Mascherano As Head Coach.