SOUTH FLORIDA (3/1/20) -- Today’s the day. Fútbol is finally here. It may have taken years longer than David Beckham once imagined, but Inter Miami’s inaugural season finally kicks off this evening at 5:30 ET.
It’s been a long and bumpy road to get where we are today. The vision began in 2013, when Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber suggested Miami as a city perfect for expansion. Global icon and former LA Galaxy star David Beckham quickly jumped on board, but sprouting a team out of nothing is easier said than done. Seven years and countless political battles later, fútbol is back in South Florida.
Even before their first game, Inter Miami has already run into several roadblocks on the pitch. The Herons already have two notable injuries to open the season – with forwards Julian Carranza and Juan Agudelo sidelined to start the season. Carranza’s foot injury will keep the young Argentine out until at least April, while Agudelo’s injury is considered to be shorter-term.
It is rare for expansion teams to have success right out of the gate. Only five franchises have made the playoffs in their first season, most recently Los Angeles FC in 2018. Inter Miami’s sporting director, Paul McDonough, has orchestrated each of the team’s signings so far, and he also constructed Atlanta United’s inaugural roster as their vice president in 2017. Before that, McDonough helped build expansion side Orlando City SC essentially from scratch, while securing Brazilian legend Kaká – one of the biggest signings in MLS history.
Inter Miami has not yet locked down a big name designated player. Rumors have been swirling for months, with Manchester City’s David Silva emerging as the most likely superstar name to eventually join the team. Any big signing will likely have to wait for the summer.
“I think Miami needs a star,” Beckham said two years ago, while beginning to construct the club. “Miami would expect us to bring in a star, and that’s what we plan on doing.”
Without such a player at first, there is a huge onus on the current roster to establish Inter Miami as a winning club, despite their relative lack of MLS experience across the roster. Veteran goalkeeper Luis Robles was named Inter Miami’s first ever captain earlier this week, and he will carry the burden of anchoring a team filled with newcomers to Major League Soccer. 13 out of the 28 players on Inter Miami’s roster have zero experience playing in the US, and head coach Diego Alonso is new to the league -- and country -- as well.
The team expects to be competitive right away, but most projections have Inter Miami falling just short of the playoffs in their inaugural season.
“This city is not going to accept mediocrity,” says soccer Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas, who covers Major League Soccer for FOX Sports. “They are actually going to expect that the ownership of Inter Miami go out and do big things. If your team is winning, it gives you so much more relevancy in this market, because if you don’t? You only have that one chance to make a first impression.”
That is a sentiment echoed by plenty of Miami residents, including Inter Miami season ticket holder Mauricio Maldonado.
“Only results will drive fans in the United States,” says Maldonado, whose family is from Chile. “This is not like Argentina or Brazil or other places where tradition and love of jersey is only second to love of God and country.”
That said, the core group of supporters in Miami now finally has a chance to prove themselves. The team will have a strong supporter showing on the road in Los Angeles for the inaugural game, and Fort Lauderdale is sure to be rocking on March 14th during Inter Miami’s historic home opener.
The team’s three largest supporter groups –- the Southern Legion, Vice City, and the Siege –– flew contingents of fans out to Los Angeles for the team’s first ever match. A ticket at Banc of America Stadium on Sunday is a hot commodity, with an average ticket reselling for $149, according to the Miami Herald. That is the highest number for any MLS opener since the league began keeping track of secondary market ticket sales in 2010.
Jeff Rusnak covered South Florida’s last MLS team, the now-defunct Miami Fusion, for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. He says that while the Fusion's former home, Lockhart Stadium, was not originally in the plans for Beckham and managing owner Jorge Mas, the location has grown on all of Inter Miami’s front office. A proposed stadium complex in Miami-Dade County has hit a series of roadblocks, and will likely not be ready in time for the 2022 season, as previously expected.
“Jorge Mas knows what it takes to survive in this environment, but even he doubted the location at first,” Rusnak explains.
“When Paul McDonough laid out his plan to put a training facility and complex at the old Lockhart Stadium, Mas said, ‘Why would I wanna go up there?’ Same thing with Beckham. He walked around the stadium last year, it was covered head-to-toe in weeds, and he looked shell shocked.”
One year later, almost to the day, Inter Miami will host the LA Galaxy at their beautiful facility, named Inter Miami CF Stadium (for now). There are rumors that Inter Miami has secured Qatar Airlines as their jersey sponsor, but Jorge Mas has made it clear that nothing is official on that front. There has been significant blowback from the public on that rumor.
“This team will be transformative for Broward County, especially as a minority majority region,” says Rusnak. “What [Qatar] stands for just does not represent the area, nor was it in the original bargain, so I think there will be serious political blowback if you put it on the stadium or jerseys.”
David Beckham will be front and center on Sunday for his team’s first game, with ESPN’s broadcast sure to focus on Inter Miami’s iconic owner more than any individual player. Jorge Mas will be right there alongside Beckham, and Commissioner Don Garber will sit close by. This was their vision before anyone else’s, and seven years of hard work is finally about to pay off. The dream is just hours away from becoming a reality.
The Inter Miami journey began years ago. To some, it may seem like the finish line is a few hours away. But in truth, this is just the beginning. Fútbol is here –– and this time it’s here to stay.