2021 Inter Miami CF season
Inter Miami CF 2021 soccer season
The 2021 Inter Miami CF season was the second season in the history of Inter Miami CF and the 18th season of first-division club soccer in South Florida . In addition to playing in Major League Soccer , the club was scheduled to participate in the U.S. Open Cup but the competition was cancelled for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Background
Inter Miami is coming off their inaugural campaign, which marked the first time since 2001, with the Miami Fusion , that a soccer club in Greater Miami played in the first tier of American soccer.[ 1] Ahead of and during the season, Miami signed several high-profile players including Argentine international, Gonzalo Higuaín , from Juventus ;[ 2] Mexican international, Rodolfo Pizarro , from Monterrey ;[ 3] and French international, Blaise Matuidi , from Juventus.[ 4] The club also signed several notable young players including Matías Pellegrini , Lewis Morgan , and David Norman . Additionally, in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft , Miami drafted Clemson standout, Robbie Robinson with the first overall pick .[ 5]
The club's first season was significantly altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic , which saw the season suspended on March 12[ 6] and not resume until July 8 with the MLS is Back Tournament .[ 7] Miami lost their first two league matches before the season was suspended and subsequently lost their three group stage matches (which counted towards the regular season standings) at the MLS is Back Tournament. On August 22 against Floridian rivals, Orlando City SC , Miami won their first league match. Inter had better form following the MLS is Back Tournament, ultimately going 7–8–3, and finished the 2020 regular season with a 7–13–3 record, after 23 league matches, a reduction of the original 34 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, the size of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs was increased from eight teams in the Eastern Conference qualifying to 10 teams qualifying. Miami earned the 10th and final seed in the playoffs, where they played at fellow expansion side, Nashville SC in the Play-In Round on November 20.[ 8] Miami lost the match 0–3, with several of their starters missing the match due to an outbreak of coronavirus on the team.[ 9]
At the conclusion of the 2020 season, the club declined options on eight players. Notable players who did not have their contract renewed for the 2021 season included starting goalkeeper, Luis Robles , as well as Juan Agudelo , and Andres Reyes .[ 10]
Review
Offseason
On January 7, 2021, Inter Miami and first year head coach, Diego Alonso mutually agreed to part ways.[ 11] Several names were rumored as Alonso's successor including Phil Neville .[ 12] [ 13] On January 18, 2021, Neville was confirmed as head coach.[ 14]
Management
Roster
Squad No.
Name
Nationality
Position
Date of birth (Age)
Signed From
Goalkeepers
1
John McCarthy
GK
(1992-07-04 ) July 4, 1992 (aged 28)
Tampa Bay Rowdies
18
Dylan Castanheira
GK
(1995-05-23 ) May 23, 1995 (aged 25)
Fort Lauderdale CF
27
Drake Callender
GK
(1997-10-07 ) October 7, 1997 (aged 23)
San Jose Earthquakes
32
Nick Marsman
GK
(1990-10-01 ) October 1, 1990 (aged 30)
Feyenoord
Defenders
2
Ventura Alvarado
DF
(1992-08-16 ) August 16, 1992 (aged 28)
Atlético San Luis
3
Kieran Gibbs
DF
(1989-09-26 ) September 26, 1989 (aged 31)
West Bromwich Albion
4
Christian Makoun
DF
(2000-03-05 ) March 5, 2000 (aged 21)
Juventus
5
Nicolás Figal
DF
(1994-04-03 ) April 3, 1994 (aged 27)
Independiente
15
Patrick Seagrist
DF
(1998-02-21 ) February 21, 1998 (aged 23)
New York Red Bulls
17
Ryan Shawcross
DF
(1987-10-04 ) October 4, 1987 (aged 33)
Stoke City
24
Ian Fray
DF
(2002-08-31 ) August 31, 2002 (aged 18)
Fort Lauderdale CF
26
Leandro González Pírez
DF
(1992-02-26 ) February 26, 1992 (aged 29)
Tijuana
28
Brek Shea
DF
(1990-02-28 ) February 28, 1990 (aged 31)
Atlanta United FC
31
Kelvin Leerdam
DF
(1990-06-24 ) June 24, 1990 (aged 30)
Seattle Sounders FC
33
Joevin Jones
DF
(1991-08-03 ) August 3, 1991 (aged 29)
Seattle Sounders FC
35
Sami Guediri
DF
(1997-08-16 ) August 16, 1997 (aged 23)
Fort Lauderdale CF
Midfielders
7
Lewis Morgan
MF
(1996-09-30 ) September 30, 1996 (aged 24)
Celtic
8
Blaise Matuidi
MF
(1987-04-09 ) April 9, 1987 (aged 34)
Juventus
10
Rodolfo Pizarro
MF
(1994-02-15 ) February 15, 1994 (aged 27)
Monterrey
13
Víctor Ulloa
MF
(1992-03-04 ) March 4, 1992 (aged 29)
FC Cincinnati
14
Jay Chapman
MF
(1994-01-01 ) January 1, 1994 (aged 27)
Toronto FC
22
Federico Higuaín
MF
(1984-10-25 ) October 25, 1984 (aged 36)
D.C. United
25
Felipe Valencia
MF
(2005-03-01 ) March 1, 2005 (aged 16)
Fort Lauderdale CF
26
Gregore
MF
(1994-03-02 ) March 2, 1994 (aged 27)
Bahia
28
Edison Azcona
MF
(2003-11-21 ) November 21, 2003 (aged 17)
Fort Lauderdale CF
30
George Acosta
MF
(2000-01-19 ) January 19, 2000 (aged 21)
Austin Bold
Forwards
9
Gonzalo Higuaín
FW
(1987-12-10 ) December 10, 1987 (aged 33)
Juventus
16
Josh Penn
FW
(2000-11-25 ) November 25, 2000 (aged 20)
Indy Eleven
19
Robbie Robinson
FW
(1998-12-17 ) December 17, 1998 (aged 22)
Clemson University
21
Julián Carranza
FW
(2000-05-22 ) May 22, 2000 (aged 20)
Banfield
29
Indiana Vassilev
FW
(2001-02-16 ) February 16, 2001 (aged 20)
Aston Villa
Transfers
Transfers in
Date
Position
No.
Name
From
Fee
Ref.
Winter 2020–21
December 18, 2020
MF
25
Felipe Valencia
Fort Lauderdale CF
Homegrown player
[ 15]
December 23, 2020
DF
15
Patrick Seagrist
New York Red Bulls
Trade
[ 16]
January 26, 2021
DF
24
Ian Fray
Fort Lauderdale CF
Homegrown player
[ 17]
MF
28
Edison Azcona
Fort Lauderdale CF
Homegrown player
[ 17]
January 27, 2021
GK
18
Dylan Castanheira
Fort Lauderdale CF
Free
[ 18]
February 12, 2021
MF
16
Josh Penn
Indy Eleven
SuperDraft
[ 19]
February 20, 2021
DF
17
Ryan Shawcross
Stoke City
Free
[ 20]
February 24, 2021
MF
26
Gregore
Bahia
$4,000,000
[ 21]
March 11, 2021
DF
33
Joevin Jones
Seattle Sounders FC
Free
[ 22]
March 23, 2021
DF
31
Kelvin Leerdam
Seattle Sounders FC
$75,000 GAM
[ 23]
April 16, 2021
DF
35
Sami Guediri
Fort Lauderdale CF
Free
[ 24]
Summer 2021
July 1, 2021
DF
3
Kieran Gibbs
West Bromwich Albion
Free
[ 25]
GK
32
Nick Marsman
Feyenoord
Free
[ 26]
July 7, 2021
FW
29
Indiana Vassilev
Aston Villa
Loan
[ 27]
July 29, 2021
DF
2
Ventura Alvarado
Atlético San Luis
Free
[ 28]
Transfers out
MLS SuperDraft
Non-competitive
Preseason
Competitive
Major League Soccer
Standings
Source:
MLS Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
Notes:
Overall table
Source:
MLS Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
(V) Canadian Championship winner
Notes:
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
Pts
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
34
41
12
17
5
36
53
−17
7
8
2
26
35
−9
5
9
3
10
18
−8
Source: MLS
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
Results by round
Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Stadium H A A H H A A H A H A H H H A H A H H A A H A H H A A A A H H A H A Result L W D D L W L L L L L L D W D W L W W D W W W L L L L L L W W L L W
Source:
IMCF schedule A = Away;
H = Home;
W = Win;
D = Draw;
L = Loss
Match results
U.S. Open Cup
On July 20, US Soccer finally announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.[ 33]
Statistics
Overall
Games played
34
Games won
12
Games drawn
5
Games lost
17
Goals scored
36
Goals conceded
53
Goal difference
-17
Clean sheets
7
Yellow cards
55
Red cards
3
Worst discipline
Best result(s)
5-1(FC Cincinnati)
Worst result(s)
0-5(New England Revolution)
Most appearances
26 games (Lewis Morgan)
Top scorer
12 goals(Gonzalo Higuaín)
Points
Overall:41
Appearances and goals
Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute .
No.
Pos
Nat
Player
Total
MLS
MLS Cup
USOC
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Last updated: November 22, 2020
Source: TBD
Top scorers
As of 8 November 2021.
Top assists
Disciplinary record
Awards and honors
To be announced during the 2021 season.
References
^ Panizo, Franco (August 21, 2020). "From Miami Fusion to Inter Miami: MLS set to return to South Florida after two decades away" . SBI Soccer . Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Forward Gonzalo Higuaín as Designated Player" . September 18, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Mexican International Midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro as Designated Player" . Inter Miami CF . February 17, 2020.
^ Price, Khobi (September 1, 2020). "Blaise Matuidi arrives in South Florida, could join Inter Miami next week" . South Florida Sun-Sentinel . Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ Parks, Chris (January 9, 2020). "Clemson's Robbie Robinson drafted 1st overall into the 2020 MLS Superdraft" . WBTW-TV . Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ "MLS extends season suspension in accordance with CDC guidance on COVID-19" . MLSSoccer.com . March 19, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ Schuster, Blake (June 10, 2020). "2020 MLS Is Back Tournament: Key Dates, Format, Rules, More Announced" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
^ Liljenwall, Ari (November 20, 2020). "Nashville SC 3, Inter Miami CF 0 - 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Match Recap" . MLSSoccer.com . Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020 .
^ Panizo, Franco (November 19, 2020). "Sources: Five players to miss Inter Miami's playoff match vs. Nashville SC due to COVID-19" . SBI Soccer . Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020 .
^ a b Price, Khobi (December 3, 2020). "Inter Miami's Luis Robles among 8 players whose contract options were declined as part of roster overhaul" . South Florida Sun Sentinel . Retrieved December 5, 2020 .
^ "Inter Miami, head coach Diego Alonso mutually agree to part ways" . MLSSoccer.com . January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021 .
^ "Beckham holds Inter Miami talks with former Man United teammate Phil Neville" . ESPN . January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021 .
^ Kaufman, Michelle. "Inter Miami expected to name coach, front office hires next week. Here's what we know" . Miami Herald . Retrieved January 11, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Names Phil Neville as Head Coach" . www.intermiamicf.com . January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs First Academy Product Felipe Valencia as a Homegrown Player | Inter Miami CF" . intermiamicf .
^ "Inter Miami acquire fullback Patrick Seagrist in trade with New York Red Bulls | MLSSoccer.com" . mlssoccer .
^ a b "Inter Miami CF Signs Academy Products Edison Azcona and Ian Fray as Homegrown Players | Inter Miami CF" .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira from Fort Lauderdale CF | Inter Miami CF" .
^ "Inter Miami, first round SuperDraft pick Josh Penn agree to deal | MLSSoccer.com" . mlssoccer .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Ryan Shawcross | Inter Miami CF" . intermiamicf .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Brazilian Midfielder Gregore" . Inter Miami CF . February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Joevin Jones" . Inter Miami CF . March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Kelvin Leerdam" . Inter Miami CF . March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Sami Guediri From Fort Lauderdale CF" . Inter Miami CF . July 19, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Kieran Gibbs | Inter Miami CF" . intermiamicf .
^ mlssoccer. "Inter Miami CF signs Dutch goalkeeper Nick Marsman | MLSSoccer.com" . mlssoccer . Retrieved July 22, 2021 .
^ "Vassilev joins Inter Miami on loan" . Aston Villa Football Club . July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Signs Defender Ventura Alvarado" . Inter Miami CF . July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022 .
^ "Inter Miami CF Announces Roster Decisions Following Inaugural Season | Inter Miami CF" .
^ "Austin FC make moves to build inaugural roster in half-day trade window | Inter Miami CF" .
^ "Nashville SC acquire defender Dylan Nealis in trade with Inter Miami" . mlssoccer.com/ . Retrieved January 19, 2023 .
^ "Inter Miami send Matias Pellegrini on loan to Estudiantes" . mlssoccer.com/ . Retrieved August 19, 2022 .
^ "Schedule Announced for Next Edition of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2022" . ussoccer.com . July 20, 2021.
Club Stadiums Key people Affiliated clubs Seasons Matches
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Amateur Collegiate
Cup competitions
Domestic International Friendly
Youth competitions