Offseason Outlook: Inter Miami
/By Drew Olsen (@drewjolsen)
For better or for worse, we now inevitably place modern MLS expansion teams in one of two camps. First is the Minnesota/Cincinnati Camp, which is really the “they chose poorly” category. Teams in that class mostly didn’t spend much money, wasted the cash they did spend, and found themselves among the worst teams in MLS history, expansion or otherwise. The second category of expansion side is the Atlanta/LAFC version, which consisted of wise strategic planning that led to the teams competing for trophies in their inaugural seasons.
It’s probably not fair to force each new team into one of those two boxes, but we do it anyway because it helps us frame our preconceptions of them. As the league continues to expand at a rapid rate, we will continue to get more chances to unfairly label expansion teams in one column or the other. The labels for the 2020 expansion teams are still unclear, but Nashville SC looks to be on the fast track to follow in Cincinnati’s footsteps. For Inter Miami CF, the trajectory is still unclear. Despite being linked to nearly every star player in Europe over 30, they still haven’t dropped the cash. No matter if reality ultimately meets expectations, it is clear is that Miami still has a lot of work to do before their season starts on March 1st.
Areas of Depth: Logo, Goalkeeper, Central Midfield, Fullback
Credit where credit is due, Miami already has the best logo in MLS. The white herons and quirky pink color scheme show that taking design risks works when they’re not really stupid and boring and dumb (ahem, looking at you, Chicago and Nashville). Why they still felt enough impostor syndrome to give themselves the same name as a giant club in Italy is beyond me, but they only had to change three letters so perhaps it was just convenience.
In terms of the on-field depth, Miami is working on a strong spine down the middle of the field. After he was released by the Red Bulls, they signed veteran free agent Luis Robles to be their goalkeeper. Behind him will be John McCarthy and Bryan Meredith, both of whom have plenty of experience as MLS backups.
At fullback they have a cast of forgotten toys in Mikey Ambrose, AJ DeLaGarza, Alvas Powell, and Ben Sweat. Sweat and Powell are the presumed starters, and it’s a bit of an odd couple. Both players view themselves as attacking fullbacks that can get to the corner and create, but Sweat is the only one any good at it. Sweat was decent in his first two years for NYC, but was always a defensive liability and struggled to adapt to Dome Torrent’s midseason switch to a 3-4-3 formation.
Powell has already played almost 11,000 MLS minutes, despite being only 25. He is fast and decent defender, but a poor decision maker and a worse passer. When he plays within himself Powell is an above average fullback, but when he thinks he’s Graham Zusi down the wing, he turns into a costly turnover machine. In case it wasn’t clear, I’m really not sold on Sweat and Powell’s imbalanced talents working together, but this seems to be the duo Miami are committed to.
DeLaGarza isn’t a starter anymore, but will bring much needed experience to a young defense. Ambrose is versatile depth who still has some unrealized upside.
| Season | G | xG | A | xA | G+A | xG+xA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 5 | 4.4 | 1 | 3.3 | 6 | 7.7 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 5.6 | 6 | 6.2 | 10 | 11.8 | |
| 2014 | 18 | 8.7 | 4 | 5.4 | 22 | 14.1 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 8.3 | 8 | 5.1 | 15 | 13.3 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 7.3 | 4 | 6.8 | 10 | 14.1 | |
| 2017 | 11 | 8.2 | 9 | 8.0 | 20 | 16.1 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.3 | 6 | 4.7 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 1.0 | 4 | 2.7 | 4 | 3.8 |
They also have a solid central midfield core. Lee Nguyen is one of the best MLS players of the last decade, though is approaching the end of his career. Still, after seeing a changed and reduced role in LA, Nguyen might be ready to return to the attacking role he had in New England. If he’s over the hill it might finally be time to give Jay Chapman the keys to run an offense, an event that would surely send Matt Doyle in to raptures.
Victor Ulloa, fresh off an expansion year in Cincinnati, will help in the defensive midfield. David Norman Jr. was the 2017 Whitecaps 2 Player of the Year, but still hasn’t played a minute in MLS. Boca Juniors academy player George Acosta is only 19, but struggled to find minutes with Austin Bold last season so is unlikely to see the field. They could use another league-average type defensive midfielder in case Acosta and Norman aren’t ready, but the central midfield is serviceable to begin the season.
Areas of Need: Coach, Veteran Experience, Center back (x2), Winger, Striker
They still officially don’t have a coach. Everyone expects it to be River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo, but an announcement isn’t expected until early January. I expect Gallardo’s announcement to be the first domino to fall in a series of signings.
Even once the coach is official, they still need to make a lot of additions to this very young roster. As of this writing, the average of an Inter Miami field player is 24 years old. They have four 19 year olds, and of their five players in their 30s, three are goalkeepers. Mikey Ambrose, who only made his professional debut in 2015, is the 5th oldest field-player on the roster at an elderly 26 years old.
The first area that needs help is center back. Christian Makoun is one of those aforementioned 19 year olds. He has potential, but probably won’t contribute anytime soon. There’s also Grant Lillard, whose two seasons and eight games for Chicago make him the most experienced center back on the roster. I doubt he’ll be a starter either, so look for the team to start adding starter-quality central defenders once Gallardo is announced.
Winger Matías Pellegrini, a young DP bought from Estuidantes, is the biggest unknown. His entire senior team career consists of 20 games across the last two years, so he’s far from a proven product. Still, he’s a DP who came with a hefty transfer fee, so expect him to get as much time as he needs to adjust to Miami’s harsh winters.
The winger on the other side of the field is still a mystery. As it stands, Luis Argudo would be the starter, but he’s better suited for use as cheap versatile wing depth. There are rumors Miami is on the cusp of a big DP signing or two, and my money is on that player being the starter opposite Pellegrini.
At striker they have Jerome Kiesewetter, who was once thought to have a long USMNT career ahead of him, but has fallen off the radar after his career in Germany fizzled. He had a productive season for El Paso last year in the USL Championship, scoring 12 goals in 28 appearances. At 26, it’s probably now or never for Kiesewetter. My guess is that he’s given the role of super-sub off the bench.
They also have Argentina U17 international Julian Carranza, another 19 year old who came in on a healthy transfer fee. I have him in the starting lineup, but my guess is that a true number nine is another incoming signing. Like the other teenagers on the team, there’s tons of potential here, but it’s hard to see him as an immediate contributor. Regardless, they’ll need to add more forward depth.
Outlook
Thus far, Miami’s roster doesn’t reflect the flashiness of their owner or city. The team website claims the team will be “hyperglobal.” While I have no idea what that means, l know the team sheet doesn’t reflect it... yet. The truth is that the identity of this team is yet to be decided. Early indications suggested they’re hoping to be the next Atlanta-style expansion team, but their spending and roster-building still haven’t reflected it. If we don’t see any DP signings in the next month, it might be time to demote them to the Minnesota category of expansion teams.
But first things first, it’s about time they announced Gallardo as coach.