Here is what Inter Miami players have to say about newly-hired coach Diego Alonso
Diego Alonso, Inter Miami’s newly-hired coach, knew from the early days in his playing career that he would probably wind up coaching someday, so he began taking copious notes of each practice session. He also paid close attention to his coaches’ game strategies and how they interacted with players and staff.
Over the years, the 44-year-old Uruguayan has drawn upon those lessons from his mentors — Uruguayan Julio Ribas, Spaniard Juande Ramos and Argentine Hector Cuper. After a successful coaching career in Mexico’s Liga MX with Pachuca and Monterrey, he hopes to lead expansion club Inter Miami to the top of Major League Soccer.
His resume indicates he has what it takes.
Alonso won a Liga MX title and CONCACAF Champions League title with a young Pachuca team that was not favored to get that far; and he won another Champions League trophy with Monterrey after beating archrival Tigres at home. Several of the players he groomed wound up rising through the league.
Although the Miami players just met him last Saturday, and they are only three days into preseason training camp, they have already gotten a clear idea of his approach and his style of play. He is big on hard work. He is direct and doesn’t tolerate drama. He listens to players. He wants to contend for the MLS Cup right out of the gate, and he wants to score lots of goals.
“You see his energy, his passion for the game,” said midfielder Victor Ulloa. “You see a guy who wants to win. He told us he hates losing. He’s a winner, you’ve seen his resume with Pachuca and Monterrey in Mexico. Hopefully, he brings that over here to Miami and we can win a lot of things here.
“From what I can tell, he likes to keep the ball. He wants to be with a step forward in the game, dominating teams and he wants us to attack a lot and score a lot of goals.”
Goalkeeper Luis Robles said after hearing Alonso’s introductory speech at a team dinner, he wanted to lace up his boots and start training.
“He wants to play exciting, free-flowing soccer,” Robles said. “He wants to constantly put teams under pressure, be attack-minded. When guys hear that, they get excited. They want to play the beautiful game. As a goalkeeper, it made me happy to hear he’s not going to run us all day long.”
Inter Miami’s coaching search dragged on for much of 2019 and sparked rumors and headlines all over the world. Among the high-profile names linked to the job were former Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari, Everton coach Carlo Ancelotti, Patrick Vieira of Nice and Marcelo Gallardo of River Plate. But the team decided to go with Alonso, and sporting director Paul McDonough believes in the end, he will be the perfect fit.
“He understands this region, he understands the type of players we’re going to have and he’s been successful everywhere he’s been,” McDonough said of Alonso. “He’s coached at two big clubs in Pachuca and Monterrey. He has very clear ideas in what he expects from players and how he expects them to work and carry themselves. I think he’s a really, really good guy. He’s someone I can work really well with.”
Alonso’s familiarity with Major League Soccer and the Americas was an important factor in the decision to hire him.
“He’s competed against MLS teams in the CONCACAF Champions League, and I paid close attention when his team was beating Atlanta United,” McDonough said. “All the MLS teams aspire to win that and we just signed a guy who has won it twice with two different clubs.”
Alonso was being formally introduced to the South Florida media at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. He doesn’t speak much English, but is determined to learn quickly.
Alonso’s young Pachuca team played the attacking style Inter Miami management – and Miami fans – are looking for. He led the team to the 2016 Liga MX Clausura league title and a 2017 Copa MX Apertura runner-up finish. He also led Pachuca to the 2016/17 Concacaf Champions League title, which qualified the team for the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup. Los Tuzos achieved a historic third-place finish.
Asked what tactics Alonso plans to use, midfielder Lee Nguyen smiled and said, “I can’t share too much...but a lot of it was attacking. He’s got a great mentality and is already instilling his ideas on the first day of how he wants to play. A lot of guys are buying into that, loving the idea of how he wants to play.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 1:49 PM.