Guillermo Hoyos started his career in MLS with Inter Miami on the right foot, replacing Javier Mascherano. And he did it thanks mainly to Leo Messi, who invented a great goal in the final minutes to beat Colorado Rapids (2-3). The coach, a personal friend of the Argentine, was grateful.

“Messi is the best player. The best coach in the world is on the pitch. We have the best player in history who changes the course of matches and a team that gave everything football-wise. We have the magic that God gave to our number ’10’,” he told a press conference.

The triumph allows Inter Miami to breathe a sigh of relief after a very complicated week following the departure of Mascherano. Much has been said about the real reasons for the decision and the atmosphere in the Florida team’s dressing room, but Hoyos wanted to have a nod with his predecessor in front of the press.

“This result means a continuity of what was being done,” he said. “The team is the MLS champion, it is a solid team, it competes with great clubs, but it is very important to play in front of so many people.”

The explanation about Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez did not participate in Inter Miami’s victory over Colorado, and Hoyos gave an explanation for this. “There are players of enormous quality. He is the best player in history. Football is emotion. I never stopped being a player and I think like a player, but I am a coach now. Today we wanted to give Luis minutes to gain rhythm, however, the duel was complicated,” he said.

“I wanted to be able to bring on another great goalscorer in the history of football to have his minutes, but it was a case of having one less man with the physical strength of the opposing team. This result means a continuity of what had been done, the team is the champion of the MLS, it is a solid team,” he said.