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Inter Miami Star Loses MLS End Of Season Award

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Nov 13, 2024 4:16 PM ET

Inter Miami CF needed some good news after its stunning first-round exit in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, but that news didn't come on Wednesday.

Public favor seems to be turning on South Florida's Major League Soccer super team, which claimed the 2024 Supporters' Shield last month after completing the best regular season in MLS history.

Three of the Herons' star players — former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba — were each nominated for major individual MLS awards.

Suarez was already passed up for MLS Newcomer of the Year, losing out to LA Galaxy forward Gabriel Pec. Days later, Miami forward Diego Gomez also finished second for the MLS Young Player of the Year award to Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna.

Inter Miami lost yet another chance at MLS recognition when the league announced its latest award on Wednesday.

Jordi Alba finished second place for 2024 MLS Defender of the Year, losing the vote by a mere three percentage points.

Although Alba had the confidence of fellow MLS players and clubs, he finished behind Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira. Moreira garnered 32.4 percent of the media vote, which makes up one-third of the total.

Alba scored the game-winning goal in Inter Miami's lone playoff victory, securing a Game 1 win against Atlanta United before the Five Stripes rallied to upset No. 1 seed Inter Miami.

Moreira's Crew suffered a similar fate to Inter Miami in the playoffs. As the defending MLS Cup champions and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Columbus got upset in a 2-0 series sweep by No. 7 New York Red Bulls.

JORDI ALBA FOR THE LEAD @InterMiamiCF // Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/1TexkMpTM3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 26, 2024

Although voting closed on the final day of the regular season, the attitude Alba showed in the postseason reflected why he was not as highly-regarded by the media in the voting process.

The 35-year-old was seen confronting the match officials after Inter Miami's 3-2 loss on Saturday over claims that Atlanta United's third goal should not have counted. After the defeat, he also slammed MLS for its "unfair" three-game first-round playoff format.

Jordi Alba confronted the refs after #InterMiami's elimination #Miami #MLS #MEssi #LeoMessi #Soccer pic.twitter.com/igG68pK7P3
— MARCA in English (@MARCAinENGLISH) November 10, 2024

Suarez and Messi are both still up for the Most Valuable Player award, while head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino will have to beat out Columbus' Wilfried Nancy as finalists for MLS Coach of the Year.

Based on the way the first few announcements have gone, even the most fervent fans in Pink and Black are adjusting their expectations.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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