Report: Renowned Argentine coach expected to join Messi in Miami

Martino hails from Rosario, the same neighborhood of Buenos Aires that Messi called home as a child. He and Messi played for local team Newell's Old Boys to kick-start their soccer careers, albeit a generation apart. Legend has it that Martino was the favorite soccer player of Messi's father when he was young.

Messi and Martino first came together at Barcelona in the 2013-14 season. While Martino lasted less than a year at Barcelona, he and Messi became close, and Martino soon took over the top coaching position for the Argentinian national team. He led Argentina from 2014-2016, taking the albiceleste all the way to the World Cup final in Brazil.

But Martino's appointment isn't just good news for Messi. It's good news for MLS as a whole. Martino is a proven MLS winner. He was Atlanta United's first coach during its debut season and brought the team all the way to the MLS Cup in a span of just two years.

Martino's MVP during that wild Atlanta run was Josef Martinez, who signed for Inter Miami a few months before Messi did.

Miami needs all the help it can get. The team is last in the Eastern Conference with half the season already gone. But Martino — a trusted winner with deep connections to several of Miami's most important players — is perhaps the best man for the difficult months ahead. It would be a shrewd appointment by Miami and one that speaks volumes about its future MLS ambitions.