Phil Neville fired as Inter Miami coach after skid, Javi Morales named interim coach

A day after a group of Inter Miami fans booed and raised a banner that read: “Neville Out!” during a 1-0 home loss to the New York Red Bulls, team owners fired third-year coach Phil Neville.

The team also announced that it parted ways with assistant coach Jason Kreis. Assistant coach Javier Morales will assume the role as Interim Head Coach effective immediately. Assistant coach Darren Powell, goalkeeper coach Sebastián Saja, and assistant coach and performance analyst Alec Scott will remain in their current roles.

“We are and always have been an ambitious club. Sometimes the path to growth involves difficult decisions and today is one of those moments,” said Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas. “We are grateful to Phil for the dedication and tenacity he brought to Inter Miami. His positive contributions are embedded in our team culture and he represented our club with class and dignity. I would like to welcome Javi Morales to his new role. Javi has been a key member of our organization since day one and understands our goals.”

Co-owner David Beckham, a teammate of Neville’s at Manchester United and the England national team, added:

“When we appointed Phil we knew he would give Inter Miami his all and I have watched him work incredibly hard and with real commitment towards the ambitions we set out for the club. He and his family embraced Miami and he has devoted himself to the drive to bring success to the city and to our fans. Phil has made a real contribution to the culture of our club with his qualities as a leader and knowledge as a coach. Sometimes in this game we have to make the toughest decisions and sadly we feel the time is right to make a change. I want to personally thank Phil for his hard work, his passion for our club and for his integrity as a person.”

Neville, who was hired before the 2021 season, said: “I would like to thank the Inter Miami CF ownership group for their trust and making me a part of this project; the players and staff for their impressive commitment, dedication and hard work; and the fans for their unwavering support for the Club since day one. I’m grateful to have played a part in the growth of this Club and wish Inter Miami CF all the best in the future.”

The search for a new coach will begin immediately. One possible candidate is Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the Argentine coach who led Atlanta (with current Inter Miami forward Josef Martinez) to the MLS Cup in 2018 before taking over the Mexico national team job.

He was let go by Mexico after the 2022 World Cup and has said he would like to return to MLS.

Inter Miami has had a roller-coaster season thus far, lost four league games in a row and is mired in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-10-0 record heading into a home game Saturday against D.C. United.

The entire club and its fans have been in limbo all year awaiting word on whether Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and/or his former FC Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets will join the roster this summer and that has restricted management’s ability to invest in other players.

The season started off on a high with a pair of wins against Montreal and Philadelphia, two of the best teams in the league last season. But a six-game losing streak followed. Miami rebounded and won three league games in a row, including a victory over then-first-place New England. The team also advanced to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, which are being held next week.

But the recent four-game slide led to criticism of Neville by some fans on social media, and the volume of those critics was amplified Wednesday night. Pressure was mounting on owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham, who was Neville’s teammate at Manchester United and with the England national team.

After New York scored in the 52nd minute, the “Neville Out!” banner was raised. Some boos could be heard when Neville’s 20-year-old son Harvey came off the bench in the 88th minute and each time he touched the ball.

“In moments of real adversity, you learn a lot about yourself and the players you have, and I was incredibly proud ..... of the young boy they were booing,” Neville said about his son. “It showed great courage. It hurt. It hurt. But I understand, and I think he understands. Do I agree with it? Probably not.”

Neville said his father was his hero and he recalled one instance when he was playing Under-12 and one of the parents was shouting at him, and his father said: “Hit me.”

“That’s what I’d say. Hit me guys, I can handle that. I can take that. I’ve had it all my career. We have the best fans. I understand their frustration, the banners and all that because it comes with the territory being a professional football manager. I would say to the supporters, ‘Just come for me.’ Support the team and the young boys. … Don’t knock one of our own. Just come for me. If you’re unhappy, hit the manager. Don’t go for one of my young kids. That hurts and that’s personal.”

Miami dominated possession 62 percent to 38 percent against New York but managed just one shot on goal and six shots total while the Red Bulls had 18 shots, nine on target. Leo Campana missed a penalty shot in the eighth minute and squandered a point-blank chance later in the half.

Neville said the result was “unacceptable” and conceded that his team had not risen to the occasion at the biggest moments. He said he believed this group of players could turn things around and challenged them to pick up their performances.

“This was a difficult decision but one we feel is the best for the Club at this moment,” said sporting director Chris Henderson. “Phil and I started together in 2021 and since then I saw firsthand the hard work, strong foundation and culture he has helped instill at Inter Miami. We are thankful for his and Jason’s contributions, highlighted by the empowerment of the Club’s next generation of Homegrown talents, and wish them nothing but the best in the future. We’re excited about this opportunity for Javi and look forward to continuing to see his growth at Inter Miami.”

Neville, 46, was hired as head coach before the 2021 season and in November 2022 received a one-year contract extension through the end of this season. His overall MLS record was 31-41-11.

Inter Miami finished 12-7-5 his first season for 11th place in the 14-team Eastern Conference. The team improved to sixth place last season and made the playoffs before a 3-0 loss on the road to New York City FC in the first round.

Leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain retired at the end of last season, and playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo was not re-signed, leaving two gaping holes in the team’s offense.

Pozuelo was out of contract, and Miami made him an offer to stay, but he got more (reportedly $1 million) from Turkish club Konyaspor. Miami had its hands tied financially partly because it is saving money for Messi/Busquets, partly because of salary sanctions for previous management’s improper deal with Blaise Matiudi, and partly because Mexican midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro has a guaranteed contract of $3.3 million.

Pizarro was on loan to Mexican team Monterrey last season, but they did not want him back, so he returned to Miami. He has missed a good chunk of the season with a calf injury. Team captain Gregore, a defensive midfielder, is out for six months after foot surgery and his Brazilian compatriot Jean Mota is out four to six months after knee surgery in early May.

Neville has had to lean on teenagers Benjamin Cremaschi and David Ruiz, local academy products who make $67,500, and Dixon Arroyo, a Honduran who was brought in as a stop gap.

Campana missed the first six games with an injury. Josef Martinez, the 2018 MLS MVP, was brought in from Atlanta to replace Higuain and despite his team-high $4 million salary (Miami is paying about a third, Atlanta the rest), he has three goals and one assist in 13 games.

Neville arrived at Inter Miami with an impressive resume, having won six Premier League titles in 10 years as a player with Manchester United, three FA Cups, and the Champions League. He spent the final eight years of his playing career with Everton and played 59 games for the English national between 1996 and 2007.

He went on to work as an assistant coach to his brother Gary at Valencia in Spain and then coached the England women’s national team to a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.