Inter Miami players block out distractions, focus on Saturday road game at Philadelphia
With all the buzz about Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, the coach search and the two-week international break, Inter Miami fans may have forgotten that the team embarks on the second half of the season Saturday on the road against the Philadelphia Union.
Miami is 5-0-12 at the midway point and has been stuck in last place in the Eastern Conference all month. Philadelphia is in fourth place at 9-5-3.
Fans and media have been focused almost entirely on Messi’s impending arrival and all the ripple effects of that announcement; but Inter Miami interim coach Javi Morales and his players have been training in anticipation of the Philadelphia game.
Miami beat Philadelphia 2-0 at home when the teams played in early March. So much has changed since then. Inter Miami was atop the standings after the Philadelphia game, coach Phil Neville was enjoying his best start with the team, and midfielders Gregore, Jean Mota and Coco Jean were all healthy.
Gregore, Mota and Jean have all since sustained injuries that required surgery and will keep them sidelined for quite some time. Neville was fired June 1, and assistant coach Morales was asked to lead the team while the club conducts a coaching search. There are three finalists for the job, including former Atlanta United coach Tata Martino, who also coached at Barcelona and with the Argentine national team.
Miami lost its first two games under Morales, stretching the team’s losing streak to six games.
“We’ve been working hard all week with the new coach, who obviously needs time to develop the way he wants us to play,” said midfielder David Ruiz. “All the rumors and stuff are a little distracting, but we try to keep our focus every day at practice and putting our work in.”
Ian Fray agreed the team has remained focused despite the many distractions.
“Our team focus is the next game for sure, and Javi has done a really good job, even though everything is happening all around the club, he’s kept all the players focused,” Fray said. “We haven’t won a game in six MLS games, so we’re just focused on this next game in Philly. Javi has brought a new fire and togetherness and that’s helping us a lot.”
Fray returned to the lineup last month after missing two years with back-to-back knee surgeries, said he is fully fit and eager to get on the field again against the Union.
“I’m 100 percent back, feeling confident and just starting to show it now,” Fray said.
Nine Inter Miami players were with their national teams during the past two weeks. Most are back this week, with only DeAndre Yedlin (USA) and Kamal Miller (Canada) still out for the Gold Cup. Fray and Ruiz both said that as teammates trickle back into camp after international duty, it inspires them to push harder.
“We know the good players we have; and it just confirms that with them playing for their national teams,” Fray said. “When they come back, it’s almost like a reset and now we’re overly focused on this Philly game.”
Miami’s next home game is July 1 against Austin FC at 7:30 p.m. followed by a July 4 home game against the Columbus Crew.
Gold Cup
The Gold Cup preliminaries conclude Tuesday at DRV PNK Stadium with three knockout matches between the winners of last week’s first-round games. The three winners advance to the Gold Cup group stage where they will join the other 13 teams that qualified directly. Tuesday’s games are Guadeloupe vs Guyana (4:30 p.m.), Puerto Rico vs Martinque (7 p.m.), Saint Kitts vs French Guiana (9 p.m.). Ticket are available at the stadium box office or through TicketMaster.
