Inter Miami is in pole position for the Supporters’ Shield – all with Lionel Messi appearing in just 12 of the team’s 27 regular season matches. The Herons are essentially running away with the Supporters’ Shield title with 59 points from 27 matches played. Messi last featured for Miami on June 1 in a 3-3 draw against St. Louis CITY before departing for Copa America and picking up ankle injury in the final. Messi’s absence hasn’t particularly slowed things down at Chase Stadium. Luis Suarez, Diego Gomez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have received praise, but select players stepped up this season as the Herons eye MLS Cup glory later this year.
ROBERT TAYLOR
The Finland international managed to impress MLS fans around the league after Messi joined last summer. As teams paid close attention to Messi, Robert Taylor could find space out on the wings in one-on-one situations. Taylor hasn’t quite matched his 11 goal involvements posted in the 2023 season, but he’s still managed to come up with five goals and four assists this season in 23 appearances.
LEO CAMPANA
Leo Campana has been one of Miami’s most consistent players in front of goal but has found playing time hard to come by in 2023 and 2024. Campana has scored six goals in 2024 including match-winning strikes against Columbus Crew, Vancouver Whitecaps and DC United.
YANNICK BRIGHT
Yannick Bright has continued to impress as he gets more playing time in his first season with Inter Miami after being selected 15th overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft from the University of New Hampshire. Bright was given limited minutes to start the season when Miami were in cruise control. As the team endured suspensions and injuries all season, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has chosen to give Bright more and more minutes. When Martino opted to move Busquets into the backline following injuries to Nicolas Freire and Serhiy Kryvtsov, Bright held his own in the middle of the park alongside Federico Redondo.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Miami’s Unsung Heroes in MLS This Season.
