Inter Miami fullback Jordi Alba made his thoughts known on the MLS Cup playoffs format after his side's Round 1 exit to Atlanta United.
Miami were expected to go the distance and win MLS Cup this season with stars like Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Alba in the squad. However, the Supporters' Shield winners, who also broke the MLS single-season points record with 74 points, couldn't get past an Atlanta team that finished the regular season with 40 points in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Alba is one of the few Miami players who can hold their heads up high after the postseason. His long-range strike in Game 1 lifted the Herons to victory and he made a an incredible recovery run in Game Three to deny Saba Lobjanidze from having a free run at Drake Callender's goal.
Despite Miami's shortcomings in the postseason, Alba still thought his team enjoyed a solid season but they were still left wanting more.
"It was a good season, but what we wanted was to win this more," the 35-year-old said in Spanish after the match. "In my opinion, I am not the one who is going to change now. This format seems a little unfair to me."
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The format Alba referred to was first introduced in 2023 after MLS appeared to constantly tinker with the playoff format, often leaving fans confused near the end of the regular season. The eighth- and ninth-placed teams in both Western and Eastern Conferences square off to decide who takes on the first overall team in each conference.
In the East, Atlanta prevailed over CF Montréal in penalty kicks to set up a Round 1 tie against Miami. The Round 1 action in MLS postseason isn't a one-off single elimination match or a two-legged tie. Instead, it's a best-of-three series with single elimination games taking place in the conference semifinals all the way through to MLS Cup.
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Alba doesn't agree that Miami should've played a wild card team after playing at a high level throughout the regular season, arguing that the best two teams from both conferences should face off in MLS Cup after the regular season.
"It is clear that it has been done this way for many years, but if you ask me, if it were up to me, I would have to be the champion of one conference against the champion of the other, to make it as fair as possible, that's how it is," Alba said.
"I repeat, congratulations to the rival team [Atlanta]. I think they competed very well against us, they knew their weapons, the goalkeeper was spectacular and good, I think that is what clearly marked the difference."
MLS fans would likely be more understanding and more supportive of a home-and-away series for Round 1, using an aggregate score that was once recently used in the UEFA Champions League after the group stage.
It remains to be seen whether MLS will budge on its postseason format after Miami and Messi were bounced in the opening stage. Alba's comments about the format were spot on but it doesn't help that the greatest regular season team in league history was eliminated against a wild card side that was running on fumes near the end of the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Was Jordi Alba Right to Criticize MLS Playoffs Format?.
