Pizarro scores historic goal for Inter Miami in 2-1 preseason loss to Philadelphia
ST. PETERSBURG -- Six years ago, almost to the day, David Beckham stood alongside Biscayne Bay and declared his vision to bring Major League Soccer back to Miami. He dreamed of the team playing at a waterfront stadium.
Saturday afternoon, under a glorious blue sky, the Inter Miami team Beckham co-owns made its official preseason debut at cozy waterfront Al Lang Stadium. It wasn’t in Miami, and it wasn’t at the team’s home field, but Beckham surely would have been proud had he been there.
Less than a month since opening its inaugural training camp, Inter Miami proved it is ready to compete in the league with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to a veteran Philadelphia Union squad in the first public game in team history. The score was tied until the 86th minute.
One of the highlights of the game was the debut of Mexican national team star Rodolfo Pizarro, who celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring Inter Miami’s historic first goal a day after joining the team. Pizarro had not even participated in a full practice since arriving from Mexico, and he had not yet been formally introduced as a member of the team.
Pizarro came off the bench in the 31st minute and immediately showed why Inter Miami paid a reported $12 million to get him from Monterrey. On his fourth touch in a pink Miami jersey, the crafty midfielder gathered a nice pass from Lee Nguyen in front of the goal and calmly put it between the legs of Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.
Pizarro making impact
“I don’t think we’re trying to focus on one player right now, but you can clearly see he’s got qualities and he’s going to help the team for sure,” said Nguyen. “I saw him coming and he was going to have a better look at it than me, and I had confidence if I give it to him, he’d put it away.”
The spirited Inter Miami fans who made the trek across the state went wild, including Michael and Barbara Featherstone of Pompano Beach, and the members of the Vice City supporters’ group, who sang in Spanish the entire game, banged drums and waved giant flags.
“Coming from a person who saw the Fusion succeed in the last year and see it die out, this is a wish come true, especially now that I have a 2-year-old and I want to pass my passion for soccer onto him,” said Luis Carrizo, a member of Vice City.
A few minutes later, Pizarro showed off his vision and passing skills. He lofted a perfectly-placed pass to newly-signed Wil Trapp, who cranked a shot, which was saved by Blake. Inter Miami defender Nico Figal got the rebound and took another shot, which Blake also saved.
In addition to the goal, the game featured other team firsts:
First Starting 11: Luis Robles (GK), Dylan Nealis (D), Ramon Torres (D), Nico Figal (D), Ben Sweat (D), Wil Trapp (MF), Victor Ulloa (MF), Matias Pellegrini (MF), Luis Argudo (MF), Lee Nguyen (MF), Juan Agudelo (F).
First corner kick: Nguyen, eighth minute. First shot: Victor Ulloa, ninth minute
Inter Miami dominated possession much of the game, keeping the ball on the ground with short passes, which is what coach Diego Alonso demands. There were moments, however, when the group made ill-timed passes and looked disjointed.
Inter Miami has work to do
“This was our first game as a group that we went 60-plus minutes, some went 90, it’s still preseason, so we need some work,” said Nguyen. “This is a whole new group of guys trying to gel together we’re trying to play proper football, and that doesn’t happen in two or three weeks. It was a good test for us. We showed our resilience to come back after going 1-nil down. We showed some good spells of football in the first half and some good combinations in getting that goal back. And then, some growing pains we need to work on.”
Alonso said he was pleased overall with his team’s performance, but the group has plenty of improving to do before the season opener Mar. 1 at Los Angeles FC.
“It was our first time going 90 minutes, we did some things very well, other things we need to work on,” Alonso said. “It doesn’t happen one day to the next. We need more depth up top and mobility to create more scoring chances. We are coming out of the back well, good midfield, we get advantage, but we need to improve in the final third and know when to change the game’s rhythm.”
Kreis named USL coach
Earlier in the day, Inter Miami announced that U.S. Under-23 national coach Jason Kreis will be the coach of the club’s USL League One team Ft. Lauderdale CF.
Kreis made over 300 appearances over 12 years as a player in MLS. After his playing career coached at Real Salt Lake, New York City FC and Orlando City SC between 2007 and 2018.
Ten players have been signed for the USL team, including four Cuban immigrants – midfielder Rivaldo Ibarra and defenders Modesto Mendez, Frank Nodarse, Brian Rosales. The others are: Dylan Castanheira (GK), Daniel Gagliardi (GK), Ian Fray (D), Blaine Ferri (MF), Eduardo Sosa (MF), and Ricky Lopez-Espin (F).
