Foreign coaches have a history of struggling to adapt to Major League Soccer.
That could be one reason the five MLS teams with the best records this season are all coached by Americans — Brian Schmetzer (Seattle Sounders), Bruce Arena (New England Revolution), Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City), Greg Vanney (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union).
So, when Englishman Phil Neville took over as Inter Miami coach in January, he reached out to Arena. They had met and become friends when David Beckham played for Arena with the Galaxy. Neville, Beckham’s former England and Manchester United teammate, spent time in L.A. during offseasons.
“Phil and I had some communication early in the year in preseason,” said Arena, whose Eastern Conference-leading team plays last-place Miami at DRV PNK Stadium on Wednesday night.
“I’ve known Phil for a number of years. Our wives have met. Phil’s a great guy. I’m very impressed with the work he’s done with England, and taking an expansion team is not easy. It’s challenging.”
One bit of advice Neville got from Arena is that what matters most in MLS is the end of the regular season and the playoffs, not the first half of the season.
“In MLS we don’t go by our table, which is what Phil was referencing,” Arena said on a media conference call Monday. “We’re not going to at the end of the year look at 34 games and determine who the champion is. There’s playoffs and all that. So, I’m sure Phil and his team feel strongly that if they if they have a good second half of the season they can qualify for the playoffs, and anything can happen.”
Neville is hanging onto that belief as his team, on a five-game losing streak, heads into the home match against the Revolution.
Inter Miami, with a full healthy roster for the first time in more than a month, is eager to get back on the field after its Saturday night road game against the New York Red Bulls was postponed due to a lightning storm.
Neville and his players were fired up for that game. It would have been the first time since Week 2 that Gonzalo Higuain, Rodolfo Pizarro, Robbie Robinson and Lewis Morgan started together in the attack. Also, three new players from Europe — goalkeeper Nick Marsman, defender Kieran Gibbs and forward/winger Indiana “Indy” Vassilev — were all ready to make their debuts.
That energy will be unleashed Wednesday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on My33, CW34, and UniMas.
“Miami will play real hard, they’re a team that needs three points,” Arena said. “They have good players and they’ve brought in some new players that they’ll be playing. We expect them to be a handful. We know some of the results haven’t gone their way, so we expect a team that’s going to come at us real hard.”
Although Miami has scored a league-low nine goals, including just one in the past five games, Arena is not taking Miami’s attack lightly.
“Let’s face it, Higuain’s a very good player. He’ll score goals if he gets the right kind of service,” Arena said. “Pizarro is a good playmaker. They’ve got good players out in the flanks. They have decent size to get some goals off set pieces. I expect a real hard game. They’ve got some quality players. They’re going to be rested not having had a game last weekend.”
Inter Miami, P&G launch Hispanic initiative
Inter Miami and Procter & Gamble announced Monday a partnership that will focus on empowering young Hispanics in the region to realize their potential on and off the field.
The two parts of the initiative are the Hispanic Star Award and Capitanes del Futuro. The Hispanic Star Award will honor South Florida individuals who give back to their communities through soccer. The winner will be determined by an open vote and will receive $10,000. Five finalists will be awarded $2,500. Nominations are open until Aug. 16 at www.intermiamicf.com/Hispanic-Star.
The winner will be announced Sept. 17 at the Inter Miami vs. New York Red Bulls game.
Inter Miami midfielder Edison Azcona, a 17-year-old Dominican Republic national team player, was named ambassador for the award program. He recognized the club’s trainer Juan Mesa, a native of Colombia, as a finalist. Mesa joined Inter Miami after seven years as a trainer with the Haitian national team. He is a mentor for the club’s youth players and first-team players.
Capitanes del Futuro will offer up to 30 youth, aged 12 to 16, a two-day sports industry career camp Oct. 23-24 to introduce them to sports-related jobs off the field. Mexican American midfielder Victor Ulloa and Azcona will be honorary coaches for an 11-on-11 game. All participants and their parents will be invited to the Oct. 23 Inter Miami-FC Cincinnati game. The participants will be selected through local organizations and schools.
“We know fútbol is a critical area of focus to help Hispanics progress in America,” said P&G Senior Marketing Director, Jeronimo Escudero. “We look forward to working with our partners at Hispanic Star and Inter Miami CF to help propel the South Florida Hispanic community through better education, better health and better jobs while cultivating their passion for fútbol.”