With the start of the playoffs in less than 24 hours, an extra dose of motivation reached Inter Miami when the finalists of the most important awards of the MLS campaign were announced Thursday.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are among five candidates for the Landon Donovan Award, which is awarded to the league’s Most Valuable Player. Messi and Suárez are up for MVP of the Season!
The Argentine star is considered the big favorite to get him after his impressive season where he scored 20 goals and distributed 16 assists in just 19 games, after being absent for almost three months for the call to the Copa América and the subsequent ankle injury he suffered in the final match of that event against Colombia, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
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The winner of eight Golden Balls was key for the rosance club to win the Supporters Shield as the best team during the regular campaign.
In his last match of this phase, Messi scored three goals against the New England Revolution last Saturday and allowed Inter Miami to close its field-racking with a golden clasp by setting a record of points (74) in an MLS contest.
That work was rewarded when FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that David Beckham’s club secured the penultimate match at the new 2025 Club World Cup.
With the triplet against the Revolution, the stellar 37-year-old striker arrived at 33 goals and beat Leonardo Campana to become the historic scorer of the sudlforidan team.
Suarez, for his part, also scored 20 goals, gave 9 assists in 27 games and was a reference in the attack when Messi was absent.
The other MVP nominees are Colombian Juan Camilo Mendez (Columbus Crew), Brazilian Evander (Portland Timbers) and Belgian Christian Benteke (D.C. United). Inter Miami was the club with the most representatives among the finalists for the awards with six nominations.
Gerardo Tata, Martino aspires as Coach of the Year along with Chris Armas (Colorado Rapids) and Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew)
Uruguayan Suarez also sneath the tern as the Best Recruitment of the Year with Argentine Luca Orellano (Cincinnati) and Brazilian Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy).
Spaniard Jordi Alba opts for the Defense of the Year plaque next to Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew) and Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders).
Paraguayan Diego Gomez seeks to prevail as Young Player of the Year along with Uruguayan Cristian Olivera (Los Angeles FC) and Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake).
Inter Miami will face Atlanta United on Friday, October 25 at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, at the start of the 2024 playoffs, in what will be the first game of a three-way series to win two.
Inter Miami’s season has been marked by the impact of Lionel Messi, who has scored 20 goals and registered 16 assists in 19 games. The presence of stars such as Messi and Luis Suarez has been key in the team’s exceptional campaign, which also won the MLS Supporters’s Shield.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place from June 15 to July 13, will feature 32 teams from around the world. With this invitation, Inter Miami joins the global elite, and now the club hopes to make history on the international stage.
