Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas shares latest on coach and preseason training camp sites
Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas addressed an auditorium full of global soccer movers and shakers at the SoccerEx conference in Aventura on Thursday morning, energized them with his ambitious vision for his new Major League Soccer team, and then revealed a few bits of news:
Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine coach who was fired by Tottenham Hotspur this week and who hosted Mas and co-owner David Beckham for a game recently, will not be hired as Inter Miami’s inaugural coach. The club already has another coach lined up, is finalizing his contract, and he will be introduced in the next two weeks.
“I was with Mauricio Pochettino about a month ago with David ... [pause] ... I have to be careful what I say,” Mas said, drawing laughter from the audience. “I have huge admiration for him. He’s interested in our project and what we’re doing; but I don’t think he will be our coach in 2020. But I do think that Mauricio Pochettino and coaches like him will be part of Inter Miami project. We have made our choice for a coach, and it will be announced very soon. I’d love to have Mauricio Pochettino as coach at Inter Miami some day...He’s a tremendous coach, leader, and man and will be successful wherever he goes.”
The likeliest candidate to be named Inter Miami coach is Marcelo Gallardo, whose River Plate team plays Flamengo Saturday in the Copa Libertadores final. Gallardo is one of the most coveted coaches in South America, has drawn interest from European clubs, and has been linked with the Miami job. Other names that have come up include Santiago Solari and Carlo Ancelotti.
Mas also confirmed that the team’s training facility, under construction along with the temporary 19,000-seat stadium in Fort Lauderdale, will not be ready in time for the opening of training camp in mid-January. The club is looking at other venues, some local and some outside South Florida. Mas said the team will likely train at two locations between January and the start of the Major League Soccer season in late-February.
Mas said his first choice was the University of Miami, but UM said schedule conflicts with the women’s soccer team prevented the deal from being done. “We would have loved to have hosted Inter Miami, but it didn’t work out with our women’s soccer program and their needs for practice time flexibility,” said UM athletic director Blake James.
MLS commissioner Don Garber was among the other speakers at SoccerEx, which drew 1,800 soccer industry executives to the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort. The conference covered World Cup 2026, women’s soccer, the state of the United Soccer League, and global branding. Garber addressed a wide array of subjects. Among the highlights:
He is optimistic that negotiations between MLS and players for a new collective bargaining agreement will not delay the start of the 2020 season. Charter flights and salary cap structure are among the key issues.
Garber also said the league plans to halt expansion at 30 teams. There are 24 teams in place now with plans for another six in the coming years. There are no plans to alter the MLS calendar to match the European leagues because of weather, travel and other complicated logistics. Initiatives are in place for MLS to get more involved in the women’s game, and to aid in the development of U.S. youth players.
The commissioner also expressed his admiration for Mas and his plans for Inter Miami.
“Jorge is a force of nature,” Garber said. “I am so pleased when I watch his presentations and see the energy and ambition he has. His optimism and belief in MLS and Inter Miami and the sport of soccer in this region is almost unsurpassed. Whatever skepticism existed in the marketplace was pushed aside when he got involved.”