MIAMI – 2021 is underway for Inter Miami CF but preseason training got started this week with a big shadow. Major League Soccer announced last week that it was investigating the club for irregularities in the signing of French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi.
Preseason getting officially underway this week was a milestone for the club as it was the first chance players got to impress new Head Coach Phil Neville taking in the training and meeting his players.
“They want to be better and they’re a hungry set of players. Even though [Monday] was officially the first start, for me I’ve been watching them for a while now. We’re ahead of the curve physically, tactically and technically. The boys are ready. As a coach, preseason is probably the most enjoyable. You can get to connect with your players. The sooner we can connect as a team, the sooner they understand my philosophy, the better we’ll be as a team.”
Inter Miami CF Head Coach Phil Neville
Questions came in at the first media availability about Matuidi but Neville didn’t have much insight into the matter. That makes sense, it happened before he was even thought of as being connected to the team but he confirmed that the club is hoping to have the matter sorted within a week.
The investigation around Matuidi’s signing comes from the unique contract rules that Major League Soccer has. Matuidi is signed to a targeted contracted position, thus meaning he counts against the league salary cap. When the signing happened it was surprising that he took a contract of under $1.6 million but that was what the contract stated and all contracts are public per the MLS Union rules.
MLS is concerned that Matuidi is getting paid outside of the contract, if that turns out to be the case it’s not clear what sanctions will be handed down. At the very least it will put Miami in a cap crunch, moving Matuidi to a designated player spot would then lead to the team having too many such players in the team.
Gonzalo Higuain, Rodolfo Pizarro and Matias Pellegrini are all designated players so a change will have to happen. Pellegrini is the most likely since he is only 20, so could be moved to the new Under-22 program that MLS is starting this season. Although it’s unclear if non-American players count for this.
Pellegrini has certainly caught the eye of his head coach in the opening days of camp, a good sign for the Herron’s chances after he struggled last year.
“What I said to him on Day One is he has to start enjoying his football again — playing with freedom, like he used to do as a kid. When you’re relaxed, you’re happy, you play your best football. Ultimately, he didn’t play his best last year. He was new to the country. He was a boy coming to a new country, new culture and to MLS, which is a different style of football. What he said to me was that he wants to work as hard as he can. And I’ve seen a boy that’s shown all those qualities. He’s still young and needs time to develop.”
Neville
Miami will train in its own complex for the next 17 days before beginning a tour of the state for training and friendlies. This will be a vital time to prepare after a disappointing 2020 season.
Photo courtesy Inter Miami CF
Florida Soccer Report 