Sergio Busquets's swan song keeps Inter Miami's trophy dreams alive

How Sergio Busquets led Inter Miami to win over New York City FC

In an Inter Miami team stacked with superstar talent, it's Busquets who brings the most unique skill set to the table. He's able to collect balls deep in his own half and pivot in space to thread them into attack. When people talk about how quickly Miami can transition from defense to offense, they're talking about how great Busquets is at making it happen. His through-balls are downright miraculous. No one in the league can replicate them.

When Spain prepared for the 2022 World Cup, then-coach Luis Enrique brought Busquets into a lineup that was otherwise packed with young talent. When questioned about this decision, Enrique had news for the global press: he'd run the numbers, and despite his age, a healthy Busquets was still a far more productive midfielder for Spain than any fast young prospect could ever be. 

"People have been trying to retire Busquets for years, but I want to convince him to play another World Cup," Enrique laughed. "I'm not kidding. I don't see a better pivot in the world for our system."

It's unlikely that Busquets will cave to Enrique's wishes; rumors are swirling about his potential retirement at the end of the 2025 MLS season. But in the meantime, Busquets is delivering on everything Enrique saw in him. He's the engine behind Miami's late Supporters' Shield charge, the one piece of the system that cannot be replaced, even when Miami is playing multiple games per week and struggling under the weight of history and expectation. If he does retire, what a way this will be for him to go out.

The race for the MLS Supporters' Shield is perilously tight. Philadelphia leads it with 60 points to its name, but there are five other teams—Cincinnati, San Diego, Vancouver, Miami and Minnesota—within six points of that figure. Miami, crucially, has an advantage over the pack: it has two games in hand (against bottom feeders Chicago and Atlanta) in which it can make up those six points no matter how well its peers perform. 

This win against NYCFC was a crucial first step—and, as always, it was Busquets's decisive, precise passing that made it possible. Messi will get Miami the headlines, but Busquets will get Miami the Supporters' Shield.

Miami will continue its MLS run on Saturday against Toronto FC.