Blaise Matuidi practices with Inter Miami, expected to make debut Sunday vs. Nashville
Help has arrived for Inter Miami just in time for Sunday’s home game against Nashville SC.
Blaise Matuidi, the dynamic French World Cup winner and former Juventus midfielder, trained for the first time with his Inter Miami teammates on Friday and is expected to make his MLS debut on Sunday, according to coach Diego Alonso.
The team needs his help. Inter Miami is 1-6-1 through eight games, in last place in the Eastern Conference, and has scored just six goals. Over the past two games – a 1-0 loss at Nashville and 0-0 tie at Atlanta – Miami was unable to find the back of the net despite taking 19 shots, eight of them on goal.
Matuidi’s signing is the big splash Inter Miami fans have been waiting for since the team was launched, a player with World Cup and Champions League experience who has played alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham at Paris Saint-Germain.
Although he is 33, he is known for his fitness and work rate. He is also a locker room leader with a positive attitude, which will serve the expansion team well.
“For me, the most important objective is to bring the experience that I gained from the top European teams to help my teammates and this new club,” Matuidi said in a video released by the team Friday. “I’m always going to give my best effort, my maximum, to improve the team and set a good example like I always did in my previous clubs.
“What excited me the most to come here is the ambition of this club to grow, and to add my stone to the structure, most importantly to contribute by giving my best effort. That’s what I am trying to do. I’m excited for this new challenge. My objective is to win trophies with this team, help the team be better and better.”
Matuidi arrived in South Florida two weeks ago but was unable to have contact with his teammates due to the league’s COVID-19 protocol, which required him to be tested and to quarantine. He trained on his own, and was cleared to join the team practice on Friday.
“The first training session was very good,” he said. “I am very happy to be with the team. It took some time and I had to work on my own, and finally I am with them. I hope to be fit and ready to play as soon as possible.”
Alonso said he and the team are excited about the addition of Matuidi, who will wear the No. 8 jersey.
“He is available to play for us this weekend, and he has had very good workouts in the time since he arrived,” Alonso said. “I am confident he will be ready to participate in the next game. The arrival of a player of his quality will undoubtedly help the team with his capabilities and he fits in perfectly with the characteristics we were looking for. I believe he will help our team improve a lot.”
Matuidi’s versatility in the midfield will help free up playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro, Alonso said, which should result in more goal production.
Inter Miami has also been in negotiations with Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, Matuidi’s former Juventus teammate, but a deal has not yet been reached. Asked about Higuain, Alonso would only say: “We have space for another player, and we continue to look for a player who will make us a better team.”
The game Sunday is at 8 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 3:57 PM.