Former Inter Miami standout puts Montreal back on MLS radar
With Lionel Messi on the bench due to a shin injury, Inter Miami suffered its first loss of the season to Montreal, 3-2, on Sunday.
Montreal's victory skyrocketed it into second in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference, extending its unbeaten record across three regular-season games. It's a massive improvement for the team, which spent much of last season languishing at the bottom of the table after the departure of its coach, Wilfried Nancy.
New coach Laurent Courtois invested heavily during the preseason to change Montreal's fortunes, and his investment has paid off in spades. His biggest purchase? Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, an ex-Miami player.
Martinez is something of an MLS legend. He joined Atlanta United for its inaugural season in 2017 and spent six years with the club, winning the MLS Cup and Golden Boot, awarded to the league's top regular-season scorer. When Inter Miami traded for Martinez in 2023, it intended to build the club around him — he's one of the league's best strikers after all — but it was not to be.
After the unexpected arrival of Messi for Inter Miami, Martinez found himself adrift four months into the season. The Argentinian unseated Martinez in the starting lineup and pushed him to the team's periphery. He was let go during the offseason with little fanfare.
When Martinez joined Montreal in January, it was a team in rebuilding mode.
"I just think we really had a really good preseason, getting everybody on board, on the same page," Montreal midfielder Samuel Piette said, per MLS.com. "We knew last year, our points, our away record was pretty bad, and we needed to change that."
Montreal needed to change quickly with a 2024 schedule that kicked off with six straight away games. And it did, using set pieces, counterattacks and a malleable 3-4-2-1 formation to take its road opponents by surprise. With three games down in the season, Montreal — once owners of one of the worst away records in MLS — has yet to lose.
Martinez is the key to Montreal's shift. He has entered all three games as a substitute, bringing fresh legs, energy and physicality to matches that might otherwise slip out of Montreal's grip. It was his link-up play that beat Miami.
"I want to be a part of the club," he said, per MLS.com. "I want to try to help. Obviously it's a team, but I want to try and win a trophy and win the games, to conquer a playoff and win everything."
With an undefeated record and a big win over the league's most famous team, Martinez and Montreal appear to be a force. They continue their MLS season on Saturday at the Chicago Fire.
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