Outbound Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino has confirmed that he does not plan to work for “several months” as he cited “personal reasons” for his departure from his role.
The former Barcelona and Argentina manager reunited with Lionel Messi at Chase Stadium after taking over from Phil Neville in June, 2023. The 62-year-old etched his name into the Floridan franchise’s history, guiding the club to its first ever trophy in the form of the Leagues Cup in the infancy of his tenure.
The veteran coach then oversaw Miami’s maiden Supporters’ Shield success – leading Vice City to a league-record 74 points in the process. However, the Herons’ playoff run ran aground in the first round following a shock loss to Atlanta United – which ended any hopes of a dream inaugural MLS Cup triumph.
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In the wake of Miami’s postseason malaise, Martino announced that he would be stepping down from his role following just over a year in the hotseat. Going into detail about the reasons behind the call, he explained: “Due to strictly personal reasons, I have to leave Inter. We cannot return next year, I need to be in Rosario (Argentina) for personal reasons.
The one-time MLS Coach of the Year has also divulged that he will not be heading straight back into full-time management anytime soon either. He continued: “I am not going to work for at least several months next year.”
“I would’ve liked to remain a part of the club’s growth, which I believe will continue happening without a doubt,” the Argentine coach said, as he predicted further success for the Herons in the future, asserting: “It’s a very ambitious club with a lot of possibilities of getting better.”
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Inter Miami’s managing owner Jorge Mas embraced Tata Martino after the coach announced his departure (
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Touching on when he made the decision to walk away, he added: “I definitely made the decision before the first playoff game. Of course, no one, not even my coaching staff, knew about this final decision. We had three games to play—although we aimed for fewer with Atlanta—and I didn’t want there to be any distractions.”
Miami co-owner Jorge Mas also expressed his gratitude towards Martino for his efforts over the past year before discussing the remit of expected successor Javier Mascherano. He said: “We want to thank Tata Martino and appreciate everything he has given this club for the past year and a half. His fingerprints and success will always be part of our history.
“We have a very unique situation at Inter Miami. We have the best player in the world on our team, accompanied by generational talents like Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, accompanied by academy kids like Benja Cremaschi, Noah Allen, Ian Fray, David Ruiz, who have played significant minutes.”
He also made reference to youngsters Facundo Farias, Toto Aviles, Diego Gomez, Yannick Bright, Fede Redond as he outlined the task facing Mascherano in terms of engineering success. Mas continued: “It will take a manager to play the attacking style we want to play with that combination of players.”
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