FC Cincinnati dominated 2023, but Messi’s Inter Miami CF has blown up 2024

The wonders never seem to cease with Major League Soccer. An ever-expanding league, the competitiveness is becoming so tight that some of the same teams ridiculed a couple of seasons ago are fighting for some of the most coveted titles. FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami are clear examples of that, having gone from the bottom of the league standings to contending at the top in record time. Once stuck to the bottom of the table, both now are contenders, and their performances demand attention.

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FC Cincinnati Rise: From Last Place to the Top

FC Cincinnati's journey has been quite the rollercoaster. Since coming into the MLS in 2019, it has been tormented with the worst outcomes, finding the team at the tail of the classification. During its inaugural season, Cincinnati came in 24th place-the worst in the league-with only 24 points conceded to 75 goals and scoring just 31. It was such a disastrous performance that one could hardly envision how things could change.

That nightmare continued in 2020, finding the Orange and Blue again dead last but with an even worse performance: only 16 points in 23 games, 36 goals conceded, a mere 12 goals scored. In 2021, it was more of the same story: dead last again, just 20 points, 74 goals conceded, and only four wins. It felt like a never-ending script that was pushing the team slowly and irreversibly toward long-term irrelevance.

But everything changed in 2022 when Cincinnati finished the season 10th with 49 points, finally reversing its fortunes on the back of consistent performances by Brandon Vázquez, Brenner, and Lucho Acosta. That then set up what would occur in 2023: a proper soccer miracle. FC Cincinnati won the Supporters' Shield-the prize given to the team with the best regular season record-completing an incredible turn of fortunes.

Without Brenner, the leadership of Lucho Acosta and Álvaro Barreal kept the team on course. From a team that could not win to the most consistent squad in the league, pulling off one of the rarest comebacks in MLS history.

Inter Miami: From Disappointment to Messi and the Fantastic Four

On the other hand, Inter Miami was having equally turbulent times. During its inaugural season, it managed to be 19th-the worst outcome you could imagine for a club co-founded by none other than David Beckham himself. The numbers didn't lie: 13 losses, 35 goals conceded, and a team that looked lost on the pitch.

In 2021, Inter Miami tried to regroup, but again, results didn't come. A 20th-place finish and 53 conceded goals showed that the team still had major issues, while the attack was a bit better, scoring 36 goals. During 2022, the club pulled off one of the boldest moves in their existence to date by signing former Real Madrid, Milan, and Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuaín, a man who ended the year as the standout of the team with 16 goals in 28 games. Even so, Inter Miami finished 12th place.

But the real turning point came in 2023 when Inter Miami signed no less than Lionel Messi, along with Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets. Messi himself, despite an injury to his leg, with 15 goals in 16 games, transformed Inter Miami from an average team into a true title contender. The influence of the Argentine was immediate: assists, decisive goals, technical leadership in the field. Messi's arrival saw Miami leap from 27th position into one of the favorites for the Supporters' Shield, moving up to 19 wins and as many as 65 points so far.

With Suárez showing his talent, too, with 17 goals scored, and Messi leading the league with 15 assists, Miami became undisputedly strong in the MLS. A team that barely survived at the bottom of the table then transformed into the team everyone wanted to beat and one highly likely to be headed to the Club World Cup.

Two Paths, One Objective: To MLS's Summit

While FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami share stories of meteoric rise, their journeys have been quite different. Cincinnati was more patient. After years of finishing at the bottom, the club finally found its winning formula in 2022 with a well-constructed squad and a solid tactical plan. Success for the team was not driven by a global superstar, but by cohesive teamwork and consistent effort.

Then there's Inter Miami, who chose the high-risk route: after years of frustration, they finally decided that their solution lay in bringing in international stars. The dicey move panned out-the atmosphere on and off the pitch completely flipped with Messi, Suárez, and company-and pulled in some good results.

Now, Who Takes the Crown?

In contrast, FC Cincinnati's 2023 and Inter Miami's 2024 seasons combine to create some necessary questions about the future of MLS: on one hand, a team that had rebuilt through long-term planning; on the other, a club betting on proven players to bring in quick success. Which works better?

Honestly, with a league as unpredictable as MLS, both methods seem valid. Where Cincinnati's success evidences that a club can rise from the ashes with patience and consistency, Inter Miami suggests that sometimes those big-name signings do change everything.