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Inter Miami confirmed the appointment of former Liverpool, Barcelona and Argentina defender Javier Mascherano as coach through the 2027 MLS season. It will be his first managerial job in club football.

He replaces Gerardo Martino, who announced his departure last week due to “personal reasons” after a year-and-a-half with the Herons. Mascherano will begin his stint with Miami upon the receipt of his work documentation.

“To be able to lead a club like Inter Miami is an honor for me, and a privilege I will strive to make the most of,” Mascherano said. “I was drawn to the organization’s undeniable ambition and the infrastructure it has to support it.”

“I’m looking forward to working with the people at Inter Miami to help the club reach new heights, and to give the fans more unforgettable moments.”

Mascherano arrives in South Florida after leading the Argentina under-20 squad for the past three years. He coached the team through the 2021 U20 World Cup, reaching the round of 16 and the 2024 Summer Olympics, where they lost 1-0 to France in the quarterfinals.

Despite Mascherano’s limited managerial experience, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas revealed the team searched for a winner either as a player or coach who could “manage a roster with unlimited potential.”

“Experience in MLS would be good, but I don’t think it’s the principal criteria. I think it’s more about how you manage the roster with unlimited potential,” Mas said.

The team’s co-owner also looked for a coach who had familiarity with star forward Lionel Messi, even asking him for advice during the managerial search.

“I spoke to Leo on Saturday after he and Tata spoke. I asked him what is important to you and what is important to get the best of our roster. How do we improve? Leo shared with me his thoughts, not dissimilar to what I explained,” Mas said.

“Without a doubt a familiarity with Leo and the other stars is an advantage in every aspect. I want Leo to feel comfortable with the new trainer and coach. We went out and spearheaded that. Leo gave me what I asked him, which is input. But that was his involvement and engagement with me.”

Mascherano and Messi played together for eight seasons at Barcelona, winning the 2011 and 2015 Champions League and five LaLiga trophies. They also regularly played for the Argentina national team together, winning the 2008 gold medal at the Olympics.

He’ll assume the role of coach through the preseason before debuting for the 2025 MLS campaign.

Robert Lewandowski joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players in Champions League history with 100 or more goals.

Lewandowski’s early penalty kick started Barcelona off to a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Brest to move into second place in the new single-league format. The Poland striker added goal No. 101 in second-half stoppage time.

Ronaldo leads the all-time scoring list with 140 goals, and Messi is next with 129. But neither Ronaldo nor Messi play in the Champions League anymore following moves to the Saudi Pro League and the MLS, respectively.

“I am very happy, it’s a lovely number to bring up. Years ago I did not think I could score more than 100 goals in the Champions League. To join Messi and Ronaldo … I guess they are good, right?” Lewandowski told Movistar.

“For me the most important thing is that we try to win every game, if I can score, then that’s the perfect solution,” he added.

Lewandowski, 36, required 125 matches to reach the century mark, two more than Messi (123) and 12 fewer than Ronaldo (137).

Barça coach Hansi Flick, who also worked with Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, lauded the striker’s achievement.

“I know him also two years from Munich; there he also broke every record you can break. Now he’s also scoring. It’s important for us. But the whole team is supporting him. The other players will help him score the goals,” Flick said.

Barcelona also got a second-half score from Dani Olmo as they returned to winning ways following two winless outings in LaLiga.

“I am really happy that we won today and got three points, but also that we dominated the match and the opponent, defended well and attacked well,” Flick added.

“This was good to see. Of course, in a long season there are some situations that we don’t expect, but in the end we came back and this was very important.

“I will not say everything was perfect, but it was a really good step after the [draw against Celta] Vigo. I miss a little bit the hunger to score more goals, but at the end three points is perfect.”

The top eight finishers in the Champions League standings advance directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into a knockout playoffs round in February, while the bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

Barça’s win against Brest saw them climb to second, with Flick keen to tie up a top eight spot as soon as possible with matches to come against Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Atalanta.

“When we start the new Champions League, the new format, it was our goal to reach the top eight because then you have two weeks more [off] in February,” he said.

“But we know there are some appointments [to come]. We have to play against Dortmund the next match. It will be tough, in Dortmund they are good, but I think we are ready for that and we can show it in Dortmund.”

ESPN’s Sam Marsden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.