Inter Miami, a team hoping to attract Lionel Messi, has taken steps to improve its MLS performance by hiring a young Argentine coach. David Beckham, co-owner of the club, announced the dismissal of his friend and former teammate Phil Neville, who left Inter in last place in the Eastern Conference, and his interim replacement by his assistant Javier Morales.
Morales, a 43-year-old Argentine, had a playing career with Real Salt Lake and MLS side FC Dallas before retiring in 2017. He then became a training coach and assistant coach to Neville. Although the more experienced Jason Kreis was also Neville’s assistant, Inter opted to appoint Morales as interim coach. He will also be supported by goalkeeping coach Sebastián Saja, who played for the Argentine national team and San Lorenzo.
Former Argentine midfielder Federico Higuain, whose brother Gonzalo retired from soccer with Inter last year, is the coach of the reserve team in Miami, assisted by his compatriot Cristian Raul Ledesma. Spanish is widely spoken in the team, and the South American players include Argentine defender Franco Negri and striker Nicolas Stefanelli. In addition, Miami-born youngster Benjamin Cremaschi has been called up for a training camp for Argentina’s U-20 team.
Neville’s dismissal followed Inter’s fourth consecutive defeat, which left them in last place in the conference with 15 points from 15 games. All this comes as rumors about Lionel Messi’s future in MLS capture worldwide attention. Despite interest from other teams, such as Saudi Arabia and FC Barcelona, Inter Miami is not ruling out the possibility of convincing Messi to join the team before the 2024 Copa America.
Inter Miami has struggled both on and off the field. Since joining MLS in 2020, Beckham’s team has only qualified for the playoffs once and was eliminated in the first round in 2022. Despite investments in big-name signings such as Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain, the team has failed to be competitive. The latest defeat against the New York Red Bulls and booing towards the dugout led the management, which includes Beckham, to make the decision to fire Neville.
Inter Miami is looking to improve its on-field performance and show Messi that it can offer him a competitive team. MLS has also shown a willingness to get creative and offer an attractive deal to the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.