Here is a look back at Inter Miami’s first season, the highlights and the lowlights
One by one the Inter Miami players filed out of the St. Peterburg Hilton lobby on a gloriously sunny February afternoon, broke into smiles and pulled out their cell phones to record what awaited them in the parking lot:
Fans from all three of the club’s supporter groups, decked in pink and black, were banging drums, and singing their hearts out, mostly in Spanish. The MLS expansion team was about to play a preseason game across the street at Al Lang Stadium and those diehard fans had driven across the state to make some noise for their beloved “rosa y negra”.
Within minutes, the players had joined the party, linking arms with fans, and clapping along to the drumbeats. Anybody lucky enough to be there surely was thinking: “This is going to be a fun season!”
No one would have suspected that 17 days later, after the team showed great promise in a pair of season-opening road games, that MLS would suspend the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league came to a screeching halt two days before Miami’s long-awaited home opener.
The interrupted season did not go as the club or fans had hoped. Despite the late-season signings of World Cup veterans Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain, and a thrilling playoff-spot-clinching win during a tropical storm, the team did not live up to its preseason hype.
Miami’s season ended Nov. 20 with a dismal performance in a 3-0 playoff loss to Nashville SC. Players and coaches trudged off the field, headed into the off-season with lots of questions and work to do.
Here is a look back at Inter Miami’s roller coaster first season.
Highlight: Inaugural game at Los Angeles FC. David Beckham and co-team owner Jorge Mas, wearing custom Ralph Lauren blazers with the team crest, sat in a luxury box and looked proudly over the Bank of California field as Inter Miami went toe-to-toe with Los Angeles FC, the team with the league’s best record last season. Captain and veteran goalkeeper Luis Robles made eight saves, rookie Robbie Robinson, Nico Figal, Lewis Morgan, and Rodolfo Pizarro stood out.
Highlight: A week later, on the road against D.C. United, Pizarro scored Miami’s historic first goal in the first two minutes of the game and celebrated with his trademark Joker face.
Lowlight: Miami held that lead over D.C. through halftime and seemed to make it 2-0 on a shot by Morgan. That’s when everything turned sour. Morgan’s goal was disallowed, Roman Torres was sent off for a hand ball, Victor Ulloa was called for a foul in the box, D.C. converted, and two minutes later scored again for a 2-1 victory.
Highlight: Inter Miami CF Stadium opened its gates for the first time on March 10, as more than 3,000 season-ticket holders attended an open training session to watch the team prepare for the home opener. “Welcome to your home!” said coach Diego Alonso. “Everything is possible. A championship is possible. We can do this together.”
Lowlight: MLS suspended its season on March 12, two days before Inter Miami was scheduled to play its nationally televised, sold-out home debut against Los Angeles Galaxy. On the day of the canceled game, Beckham took his parents, wife and four children to the empty stadium for photos and a kickaround.
Highlight: The league announced it would resume the season the first week of July with the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex outside Orlando.
Lowlight: Miami started the tournament on a high with a Juan Agudelo goal, but the mood changed when defender Andres Reyes convulsed on the field and was carted off on a stretcher after being elbowed in the throat by Orlando’s Dom Dwyer during a 2-1 loss.
Highlight: Miami finally got to play its home opener in an empty stadium on Aug. 22 and won 3-2 against Orlando City. Two goals by Julian Carranza, one from Pizarro, who celebrated by running into the stands and hugging a cardboard cutout fan. Meanwhile, in the parking lot, Miami fans banged drums and set off pink smoke bombs.
Highlight: Miami beat Atlanta United 2-1 on heroic goalkeeping by Robles (back-to-back penalty kick saves) and a pair of goals by Morgan, who dedicated the win to his father in Scotland, who was celebrating a birthday.
Lowlight: 4-1 home loss to New York Red Bulls.
Highlight: Inter Miami made international headlines after signing Argentine/Juventus forward Higuain for a league-high $7 million a year.
Lowlight: Higuain missed a penalty kick in his debut on the road at Philadelphia, was taunted by Union players, and Miami lost 3-0.
Lowlight: In the closing minutes of a 3-2 loss to New York City FC, Robles collided with Gary Mackay-Steven, broke his arm and was lost for the rest of the season.
Highlight: Higuain’s first MLS goal, a spectacular free kick, lifted Miami to a 2-1 road win at the New York Red Bulls. Matias Pellegrini scored the other, and Matuidi made a sliding clearance off the line to preserve the win.
Highlight: Brek Shea came off the bench and scored the 80th-minute equalizer against his former team, Atlanta United. He would score again three nights later against Montreal.
Lowlight: Higuain got slapped with a red card for arguing with a referee after the Montreal game, and had to sit out the next game.
Highlight: Miami beat Orlando City 2-1 without Higuain on an 89th-minute goal by Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and a fantastic save by goalkeeper John McCarthy.
Highlight: Inter Miami overcame Tropical Storm Eta and FC Cincinnati 2-1 to earn the 10th and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Seldom-used Mikey Ambrose got the start and scored a highlight-reel of a goal. Gonzalez Pirez scored the other. The game was played in torrential rain and 40 mph wind gusts. Fans and players were soaked to the bone by the end, but they celebrated in the stands and on the field.
Lowlight: Gonzalo Higuain, Federico Higuain, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez tested positive for COVID-19 days before Miami’s playoff opener on the road against Nashville SC. The team went into lockdown, practices were limited and the trio would miss the game.
Lowlight: After hopeful talk of “anything can happen in the playoffs”, Miami looked disorganized and lacked energy at Nashville, and lost 3-0, only the second time all season they lost by that margin. It was not the ending, or the season, most expected back in February.