Update from the secluded training site where Inter Miami is spending Super Bowl week
Far away from the Super Bowl madness of Miami this week, two hours up the turnpike, down a long windy road that dead ends at the Port Saint Lucie River, Inter Miami players have been training twice a day and bonding over card games, mini-golf, meals and singing at the secluded Club Med Sandpiper resort.
The picturesque grounds include a sandy beach, marina, golf course, tennis courts, beach volleyball courts, two soccer fields, a spa and even circus-style trapeze training facilities. It is the perfect place, Inter Miami players said, for a soccer team — especially an expansion team — to hold preseason training.
Mexican club Pachuca and Uruguayan club Penarol did preseason training at the same resort last summer, and the women’s Washington Spirit team is coming in March.
“We’ve had a lot of two-a-days, so it’s been pretty tiring, but the team’s getting ready for the season, getting our fitness in, coming together, getting chemistry going, so it’s really good,” said defender Mikey Ambrose, who is on his third expansion team after playing at Orlando City and Atlanta United.
“We have nothing else to do here but hang out with each other, so you really get to know each other quickly and it’s a good plan for preseason, brings everyone together, no cliques or anything. We’re all one big group and doing team building stuff.”
As part of team bonding, players have had to sing in front of the group. Some sing in English, some in Spanish, and Haitian defender Denso Ulysse serenaded the group in French.
Dylan Nealis, a rookie defender from Georgetown, said the young players and veterans are blending. And he is getting to practice his Spanish, which he hadn’t used much since high school.
“We get a lot of free time here, so a lot of the guys have been playing cards together, getting to know each other,” Nealis said. “We’ve been playing the card game 22. It gets intense. It’s a good mix of guys. I think this team is doing a really good job of not creating groups. Everyone has been liking each other so far. On the field it’s different, you could have your battles, but off the field we’re all brothers.”
Ambrose has been impressed with the skill of the 22 players in camp. Christian Makoun, the Venezuelan 19-year-old who was signed last summer, joined the team on Tuesday and began training Wednesday. Nico Figal, the Argentine center back who played at Independiente, continues to train with the team as the two clubs work out details for his transfer.
Inter Miami sporting director Paul McDonough said six more players will be signed to complete the roster, including two long-awaited Designated Players. On Wednesday night, the team traded goalkeeper Bryan Meredith to Vancouver for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft. The three remaining keepers are Luis Robles, John McCarthy and Drake Callender.
Ambrose and Nealis have been impressed with the talent on the squad so far.
“Everybody’s skillful, everyone can keep the ball, so I think that’s going to be our identity going forward, possessing the ball,” Ambrose said.
“The biggest difference from college to here is there’s no weakness at this level,” Nealis said. “At the college level, you could maybe expose someone. Everyone’s a special player here. You have to be strong mentally. You know you’re going to mess up at this level, so it’s how quickly can you recover from those mistakes.”
Ambrose is familiar with new coach Diego Alonso because he played against Alonso’s Monterrey team when he was with Atlanta United.
“I played against him twice last year when we played Monterrey and he’s a great coach, won everywhere he’s been,” Ambrose said. “That team he had last year was very good, had a very distinguished style of play, and I’m looking forward to continuing to learn from him.”
Inter Miami will train here until Friday and then head to Bradenton until Feb. 6 before returning to Fort Lauderdale to train for the first time at their newly-constructed facility. They open the season Mar. 1 on the road at Los Angeles FC.
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 7:50 PM.