Can Inter Miami fire Guillermo Hoyos? The Messi connection makes the decision complicated

It sounded like a nice story. Guillermo Hoyos, the man who was a father figure for a teenage Lionel Messi in Barcelona, would coach the superstar Argentine at Inter Miami. But Hoyos, 63, is now spearheading one of Inter Miami’s worst stretches since it entered MLS in 2020.

Hoyos’ side is winless in five matches, including Leagues Cup, where Inter Miami failed to advance from the group stage. The team has looked inept on defense during that time, conceding 12 goals, some due to poor fundamentals and a lack of awareness, others in comical fashion.

The question now is whether a decades-long Messi ally and close family friend can be fired for poor performance. Miami has had alarming results before, but it is how this team is losing under Hoyos that should raise a red flag at the club’s Fort Lauderdale facility. Inter Miami is tactically bereft, with a style of play that relies heavily on Messi rather than a collective strategy.

Miami is currently second in the MLS Eastern Conference table, but that’s hardly a reason not to worry. The club is 10 points behind first-place Nashville SC, a team that throttled Messi and Co 4-1 on Aug. 15. And Miami’s Leagues Cup performances were forgettable. What has been memorable are Hoyos’ excuses and constant need to idolize Messi rather than coach him.

“There are no words,” Hoyos said about Messi’s goal and assist in Miami’s 4-2 win over Atletico San Luis in Leagues Cup on Aug. 5. “The boys were showing me the first goal he scored. Those of us who have played football know what it’s like. If we were talking about painting, (Messi) would be Picasso.”

Lionel Messi controls the ball during a Leagues Cup match against Atletico San Luis. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Every coach who Messi has had at the elite level has praised him unconditionally. Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and others have separated Messi from every other player on the planet. Former Miami head coach Tata Martino regularly referred to him as the best player in the world. That’s all fine. But Hoyos has taken his allegiance to new heights.

“He needs to be looked after much more,” Hoyos said after a 4-2 win over Toronto FC on May 9. “There’s only one Messi. Take care of him, because he fills stadiums. Don’t abandon him.”

Messi scored twice that day in the first of four consecutive wins before the World Cup break. It was a fairly typical Messi performance, but it came after an embarrassing 4-3 loss to Orlando City in which Miami blew a 3-0 lead. Toronto fans didn’t roll out the red carpet for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, either. Instead, they booed him like many other fan bases often do.

“Say whatever you have to say, there’s no problem with public expression,” Hoyos said. “But these players need to be protected because they’re the real protagonists.“ His condescending tone mirrored one of his more outlandish claims since taking over for Javier Mascherano, who walked away from the club in January after winning the MLS Cup.

“I believe that Inter Miami, and this is a personal opinion, is among the 10 biggest clubs in the world. Not just MLS,” he said in April.

If that were true, Hoyos wouldn’t have the job he currently holds.

Javier Mascherano stepped down in Miami in April. (Leonardo Fernandez / Getty Images)

“Trust in God” was one of Hoyos’ solutions to Miami’s current run of results. He also blamed the congested football calendar and heat and humidity of South Florida as reasons for his team’s below-average play.  Those are valid points, but the calendar and weather are two factors that Hoyos cannot control or change. He can improve Miami’s tactics or find new ways to motivate a team that includes World Cup winners and experienced internationals. But therein lies the problem.

Hoyos’ coaching resumé wouldn’t get him through the door at any of the 10 biggest clubs in the world. It wouldn’t get him a job in MLS other than the one he has in Miami. He has had 16 stints and two league titles as a head coach in Greece, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, among others. In MLS, he inherited the league’s best team and is now responsible for Miami’s steady decline. Casemiro, the Brazilian international and new designated player, has looked pedestrian since joining after the World Cup. Former Real Madrid fullback Sergio Reguilón, who replaced the retired Jordi Alba, is more hustle than polish and is nothing more than a short-term answer at left fullback.

Both center backs, Maxi Falcon and Micael, play with a nervousness that is awkward to watch. And Miami’s goalkeepers, Rocco Rios Novo and Dayne St. Clair, are a major source of anxiety for the club’s supporters. But perhaps the biggest indictment of Hoyos comes in midfield. There is no identity or semblance of structure. Miami’s spine is a problem. A Casemiro-Rodrigo De Paul midfield duo sounds good on paper, but the partnership is more of a weakness than a strength.

And there’s Yannick Bright, who under Martino emerged as one of the league’s most promising young midfielders, but hasn’t performed at that level since the Argentine left the club. He has become just as inconsistent as the team around him.

Miami’s laundry list of tactical problems appears too much for Hoyos and his staff to solve.

Messi himself, who continues to mourn the death of his father, has looked increasingly disinterested and frustrated. During Miami’s 2-2 draw against the Philadelphia Union on Aug. 22, he slapped midfielder Quinn Sullivan off the ball and was later fined an undisclosed amount for violating the MLS policy regarding hands to the face/head/neck.

There’s a fix to this, and it begins with Miami playing better. But Miami can only pray its talent outperforms the coaching as long as Hoyos, an unserious hire blessed by Messi and made official by the front office, is in charge.