Miami, FL
MLS power rankings: Inter Miami’s ambitious plans are paying off
Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. Please address your complaints to the desk of Garth Lagerwey, who really has nothing else on his plate. He’ll have time to address each complaint, I’m sure, because he definitely doesn’t have a roster to retool, a manager to hire, and a brand-new front office vacancy to fill.
Now, as a reminder, these aren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things.
What to do when you have nothing to play for
29. San Jose Earthquakes
28. CF Montreal
27. New England Revolution
26. Sporting Kansas City
25. Chicago Fire
24. Nashville SC
Forgive me for being blunt, San Jose, but you have nothing to play for. You’re sitting dead last in points across both conferences. One public postseason probability model gives you less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs, which is about as close to flashing a big neon sign that says “ELIMINATED” as you can get with one number and one percent sign. When hopelessness sets in, where do you turn? In MLS, a league without any real consequences for being bad enough that you start to feel hopeless, you turn to next year.
In their final seven matches, San Jose have to sort out how club-record signing Hernán López is being used before the wheels turn towards 2025.
The Quakes splashed a reported $6m fee for the Argentine No 10 earlier this season. The issue? He doesn’t create many chances. He progresses the ball through midfield at a high level, but the guy isn’t producing in the final third. One way to tweak Lopez’s usage is to feed him more often. He takes 15.1% of his team’s touches in the final third, according to American Soccer Analysis, well below the league’s best attacking midfielders. Lucho Acosta averages 23.7%. Carles Gil averages 21.7%. Evander averages 18.7%.
Encouraging López to stay higher – and encouraging the players around him to find the Argentine more often – could be the first step towards a brighter future for the Quakes.
The West’s best bubble team
23. Toronto FC
22. DC United
21. Austin FC
20. FC Dallas
19. St. Louis City
18. Minnesota United
There are a few teams I tune into each and every week simply because they’re fun. I didn’t expect Minnesota United to be one of those teams when Emanuel Reynoso left the club earlier this year, but here we are.
Under the guidance of first-year chief soccer officer Khaled El-Ahmad and first-year manager Eric Ramsay, the Loons have become more tactically intricate than they were at any point under former boss Adrian Heath. And after adding several key pieces in the summer transfer window, they’re building quite the deep and balanced squad, too.
Ramsay has settled on a 3-5-2 shape. In that setup, Minnesota United want to move the ball quickly upfield when in possession – they have the seventh-fastest direct attacking speed in MLS, according to Opta.
Ramsay wants his team to play forward quickly, but it’s not just about spamming hopeful long balls into the opposing half. No, Minnesota almost always seem to have a sense of control in possession. With a slew of players comfortable breaking lines on the ball and forwards who love to break in behind, including new Designated Player Kelvin Yeboah, Minnesota United can carve through an opposing block at a moment’s notice:
Sitting in ninth out West, they’re still far from being a playoff lock. But make no mistake: Minnesota United are dangerous. They’re noticeably stronger now than they were before the window opened, and that’s before new DP central midfielder Joaquín Pereyra’s debut.
The Loons are the most entertaining (and the best) bubble playoff team in the West.
Change, change and more change
17. Philadelphia Union
16. Seattle Sounders
15. Orlando City
14. Charlotte FC
13. Atlanta United
12. New York City FC
Atlanta United have cleaned house this year. The latest individual to exit the club is vice-president and technical director Carlos Bocanegra. Bocanegra joined Atlanta United as their technical director way back in 2015, helping to construct their roster for the 2017 expansion season and beyond.
Though the Five Stripes were a smash-hit in the early days under the leadership of then-president Darren Eales, vice-president of soccer operations Paul McDonough, manager Tata Martino and Bocanegra, success became hard to come by after winning MLS Cup in 2018 and finishing second in the East in 2019. Since 2019, Atlanta United have finished 23rd, ninth, 23rd, and 10th in the Supporters’ Shield standings. This year, they’re in 20th.
Of that foundational leadership group, Bocanegra was the only through-line to 2024. No doubt, he deserves some credit for the initial roster builds. But things have soured since then.
Atlanta spending big-money on flops like Ezequiel Barco, Pity Martínez, and Luiz Araújo didn’t pay off. The same goes for higher-priced squad players like Jürgen Damm and Matheus Rossetto. They’ve whiffed on U22 Initiative signings. Their managerial hires haven’t worked. Bocanegra didn’t even call Marcelo Bielsa back, for Pete’s sake.
after newsletter promotion
With club president and CEO Garth Lagerwey in his second season, it’s no surprise that he wanted to erase the board and start over. Lagerwey inherited a poor roster last year, one with Bocanegra’s fingerprints all over it.
It sure looks like Bocanegra helped hold Atlanta United back in recent years. His exit, then, should help them move forward. Knowing Atlanta, they’ll take some big swings in an effort to leap back up the table as quickly as possible – Inter Miami sporting director, who worked with Lagerwey in Seattle, could end up replacing Bocanegra. But there’s growing pressure, and a growing to-do list, around Lagerwey as he amasses more control.
There’s a technical director to hire. There’s a manager to hire. There are two DPs to sign. There are multiple U22 Initiative players to land.
Atlanta United aren’t back yet. But they sure are about to be busy.
Love and hurt in Houston
11. New York Red Bulls
10. Houston Dynamo
9. Portland Timbers
8. Vancouver Whitecaps
7. Colorado Rapids
6. Real Salt Lake
Ben Olsen’s Dynamo are lighting teams on fire. Not far removed from their promising performances in Leagues Cup, Houston absolutely dominated LAFC in Los Angeles last week. Sure, there’s important context around LAFC’s performance: it was their sixth game in three weeks and came after they spent real emotional energy in the Leagues Cup final and the US Open Cup semis.
But as I watch this sequence from the 24th minute, all of that context just seems to melt away. This. Is. Gorgeous.
The Dynamo do a better job of controlling games with possession than anybody in this league not coached by Wilfried Nancy. They’re second in MLS in possession, only behind the Crew. Up until this point in the year, all of that possession has primarily acted as a defensive mechanism. Houston sit eighth in MLS in non-penalty xG allowed per 90 minutes, according to FBref.
But now? After adding a couple of key pieces and getting time off after Leagues Cup? Now they’re starting to turn their possession into chances. They dropped three goals on Real Salt Lake last month, scored two against Toluca, and just bested LAFC by a wide margin.
Things are looking up for Houston. Or, at least they were before newly signed 22-year-old winger Lawrence Ennali went down with an ACL tear over the weekend. Ennali, along with striker Ezequiel Ponce, was a crucial summer addition for the Dynamo. He scored the game-sealing goal against LAFC. His injury is a sizable blow, for the player and club.
Houston and LAFC meet again on Saturday. How the Dynamo respond to a rollercoaster of a week will tell us a lot about their status as a potential contender.
More than a flash in the pan
5. LA Galaxy
4. FC Cincinnati
3. LAFC
2. Columbus Crew
1. Inter Miami
However you, dear MLS fan, feel about Inter Miami, you can’t deny this simple truth: they’re never dull.
Inter Miami weren’t good when they joined MLS as an expansion team in 2020, but they did break a handful of roster rules by playing with five DPs, two more than you’re allowed. They were caught and sanctioned, which doesn’t sound dull to me. They sure weren’t dull when Lionel Messi and friends arrived last summer. And now even with Messi still not quite returned from injury, they still haven’t been dull. They’ve won a crazy number of games without him and have three fingers on the Supporters’ Shield.
The latest example of the constant stream of intrigue that swirls around Inter Miami is the longest-lasting of all: Miami Freedom Park.
The Herons ditching their temporary home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and moving into Miami proper has been in the works for some time now. But word circulated, along with new renderings, earlier this week that the new 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium will house the club starting in 2026.
Between Inter Miami opening a soccer-specific stadium in Miami and New York City FC doing the same thing in Queens in 2027, MLS continues to march towards an era of permanence that seemed impossible when the league first began play in 1996.
There are plenty more MLS teams in large markets with less than ideal stadium situations – New England Revolution and Chicago Fire, I’m looking at you. But to have one of the league’s most ambitious clubs sprinting closer to playing in one of the league’s best venues? That’s progress.
Even when Messi and his pals (and maybe even the man who made room for them all) are gone, Inter Miami are positioning themselves to be an attractive destination in the long term. They’re not leaving the headlines anytime soon.
Miami, FL
Patients left scrambling for care after Miami-Dade woman accused of operating an unlicensed surgery recovery center
A 38-year-old woman is behind bars after authorities say she operated an unlicensed plastic surgery recovery center out of an Airbnb in southwest Miami-Dade County, leaving several patients scrambling for care after her arrest.
Kerri Smith faces charges of operating an assisted living facility without a license and an organized scheme to defraud. Investigators say she collected more than $200,000 from clients seeking post-surgical care. Her arrest disrupted the recoveries of at least six women who were staying at the home after undergoing cosmetic procedures.
“I’m really disappointed. Extremely disappointed,” said Janell Dunn, one of the patients who traveled from Orlando for surgery and aftercare.
Dunn said that during her five-day stay, she saw about 12 women cycle through the property. She described chaos unfolding when deputies arrived to arrest a caretaker. “We were all looking at each other like, ‘What are we going to do now?’” Dunn said.
Authorities allege the operation was unsafe and poorly managed. In court, a prosecutor cited complaints of overcrowding, bug infestations, rodents, and improper handling of medical waste.
Despite those allegations, Smith told a judge she had been working to bring the business into compliance, stating, “I got educated. Hired a consultant.”
Patients, however, say they were left with little warning to find new accommodations after paying thousands of dollars for post-operative care. Dunn said she struggled physically in the aftermath, forced to move and lift items despite being in the early stages of recovery.
“I’ve been pushing, pulling, tugging, doing things I shouldn’t be doing at this point,” she said.
Some women booked hotel rooms after being forced out. Tonita Caban, a woman with experience caring for post-surgery patients, took in Dunn. Caban said she couldn’t turn Dunn away after hearing her story through a social media group for post-op patients. She calls Dunn an “angel”.
“And you’re here with me, and you’ll always be my little sister,” Caban told her. “Someone you can count on.” Caban said she is not charging Dunn for her stay, acknowledging the money she already lost to Smith’s now-shuttered operation.
Smith remained in custody at TGK on Wednesday evening.
In a city where menus can read like novellas and cocktails arrive with enough smoke, sparks and theatrics to qualify as performance art, a new Brickell restaurant is taking the opposite approach and betting that fewer choices might actually make dinner better.
At Allegro Ma Non Troppo, a new 38-seat Italian restaurant that recently opened at 1000 South Miami Avenue, you’ll find exactly 10 food items on the menu. Not 10 sections. Not 10 pages. Just 10 dishes, period.
The concept comes from a group of longtime restaurant industry colleagues who wanted to create something that feels more like an Italian grandmother’s dining room than a typical Miami restaurant. There are no reservations, no phone number and no sprawling menu. Instead, guests simply show up, grab a table and eat what the kitchen does best.
The menu follows a simple formula: four appetizers, three mains, two sides and one dessert. Among the highlights are a Caesar salad made using Caesar Cardini’s original 1924 dressing recipe from Tijuana, a Wagyu bolognese “lazy lasagna” layered with Italian sausage and slow-cooked ragù, a free-range chicken cotoletta alla Milanese and a whole branzino prepared with little more than olive oil, lemon and rosemary. And then, of course, there’s the shareable dessert course. Every main course is cooked in the restaurant’s single oven and there are no fryers anywhere in sight.
What makes Allegro Ma Non Troppo particularly personal is the story behind it. The restaurant serves as a tribute to co-owner Carlos Galan’s mother, who died earlier this year at age 102. Many of her belongings now decorate the space, helping the restaurant feel more like a family home than a polished dining concept.
“The goal was never to create a perfect luxury restaurant,” Galan said. “It was to create a place where people feel genuinely welcomed, nourished, and emotionally connected the moment they walk through the door.”
Co-owner Vanessa Velez says the team hopes diners remember more than just what was on their plates. “We always want to touch the customer emotionally, because when you touch someone’s emotions, you leave a mark,” she said. “Our goal is to leave a lasting imprint on our guests’ hearts.”
Whether the 10-item menu becomes Miami’s next dining obsession remains to be seen. But in a neighborhood packed with restaurants competing to do more, Allegro Ma Non Troppo is making a compelling case for doing less.
Miami, FL
Miami biotech executive was followed into his condo by man who allegedly threw him from 25th floor
A Miami biotech executive was followed into the skyscraper where he lived by the man, accused of pushing him off the building’s 25th floor, newly-released surveillance video shows.
Justin Zelin, 35, was seen walking into Miami Beach’s 47-story Akoya Condominium with a bearded man Corey Hutterli, 37, following behind on Feb. 12 — three days before his death, NBC6 reported.
Zelin, who was wearing a casual outfit, threw away some trash in a garbage can before walking up to the entry door in the high-rise condominium’s parking lot, unaware he would fall to his death.
Hutterli, who was wearing a bucket hat, was following closely behind, carrying bottles of alcohol.
Just three days later, Harvard graduate Zelin called 911 to report a disturbance. During the call, he ordered Hutterli to leave the apartment, WPLG reported.
Zelin, who had worked as a biotechnology equity research analyst at BTIG since January 2021, reportedly shouted, “Get away from me Sasha,” using a nickname Hutterli was known by.
There was a bust-up and cops said, “During said physical altercation defendant Hutterli caused victim Zelin to perish due to blunt force trauma.”
Zelin’s body hit a path on the ground floor, according to surveillance video recorded eight minutes after the 911 call.
Hutterli’s defense team claimed Zelin “went over the balcony” after an alleged mental episode.
They claimed Zelin, who was identified as JZ in court documents, screamed at Hutterli in “what can only be described as a complete break with reality.”
“JZ can be heard ranting, claiming that he was killed by a homeless person, and insisting that he is dead.
“During this mental break, JZ ran in and out of the apartment, and then he went over the balcony of his 25th-floor condo and fell to his death.”
But the state of Hutterli’s body suggested something more sinister had happened. He had scratches on his cheek, and a cut on his thumb.
He was also in what “appears to be an excited state, according to police.
“What’s going on?” a shoeless Hutterli asked one officer.
“Somebody, he freaked out, attacked me.”
The cop asked Hutterli if he was alone, to which he replied, “No I don’t know where he is.
“I kept telling him to relax.”
Hutterli then blurted out, “What is the situation? Did he jump?”
Cops then searched the apartment – which had items strewn inside – and they found Hutterli’s bucket hat.
There were blood spatters on the rails, and clumps of Hutterli’s beard hair were also found.
Blood was also found on Hutterli’s shirt – and they found ketamine in his bag.
Hutterli was arrested on April 8 and faces a second-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Cops were able to make an arrest after Zelin’s DNA was discovered on Hutterli’s jacket.
He also faces burglary with assault or battery, possession of a controlled substance, and drug paraphernalia charges.
Tributes, meanwhile, were paid to Zelin following his death.
“Justin was one of the best biotech analysts I have ever worked with,” friend Amit Jolly wrote on Linkedin.
“His work was rigorous, thoughtful, and deeply coordinated.
“He had a rare ability to see around corners and articulate complex ideas with clarity and conviction.
“Our field has lost an extraordinary mind, and many of us have lost a trusted voice and friend.”
-
News3 minutes agoNational Guard has done little to reduce violent crime in D.C., a new study finds
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoMan claiming to be armed robs Culver City bank, gets away with $10,000
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoFired Detroit TV anchor Taryn Asher files sex discrimination lawsuit against old station, claims new GM protected men
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSan Francisco family devastated as they face nearly 90% rent increase
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoWings’ top pick Azzi Fudd hosts clinic as Cash App donates to Dallas nonprofit
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoPatients left scrambling for care after Miami-Dade woman accused of operating an unlicensed surgery recovery center
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoClover plans to reopen some locations after sudden closure, thanks to an anonymous investor
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoNew report finds Denver metro home buyers and sellers experiencing ‘unattainability fatigue’
