Tiny Yankee Stadium field, NYCFC forward Castellanos to test Inter Miami on Saturday
Yankee Stadium is one of the iconic venues in all of sports and the $2.3 billion rebuild included vast improvements to the baseball fan experience. But when it comes to soccer, it is one of the most dreaded places to play.
The field is 70 yards wide by 110 yards long, making it the smallest in Major League Soccer and just short of the FIFA minimum allowable size for professional soccer. New York City FC plays its home games there, and Inter Miami makes its first visit to the awkward, cramped site on Saturday (7 p.m., My33).
“It’s almost like an 8v8 or like an Under-12 sized pitch,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said. “You’re not going to have the space, so we’re training in tighter areas and making sure players are aware that when they receive a ball they’re not going to have as much time as what they have at DRV PNK or other stadiums.”
The tight dimensions limit teams from spreading as wide, which will be an adjustment for an Inter Miami team that likes to rely on its wingers racing up and down the sidelines and crossing balls in.
The DRV PNK Stadium field is 5 yards longer and 5 yards wider than Yankee Stadium’s. There are other adjustments MLS teams must make playing in a baseball venue.
“The supporters are far away from the pitch, you’ve got a baseball mound on the touchline, you can see the lines, it just doesn’t strike you as football,” Neville said. “In a way, it’s totally wrong. The size is totally wrong, and I don’t think it’s a great look, but it is what it is, and we’re honored to play in an iconic stadium.”
Defender Ryan Sailor added: “We’re training in a smaller pitch to replicate it. Every team that goes there has to deal with it. We’re both playing on the same field, so at the end of the day, it’s going to be even and we’re going to have to do what we do. But it’s Yankee Stadium, can’t complain, it’s a cool place to play.”
Miami will be up against a formidable opponent with an extra-motivated prolific forward.
NYCFC is in second place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points on 11 wins, five ties and four losses. Argentine forward Valentin “Taty” Castellanos, who won the 2021 Golden Boot for most goals, leads the league again with 13 goals and is reportedly close to a move to newly promoted La Liga club Girona. Saturday’s game may be his New York send-off.
“Of course, we’re aware of the interest in Taty,” NYC interim coach Nick Cushing said on Thursday. “He’s here, he’s played this morning, he’s in the squad for Miami. He’s as motivated as ever and a real important player for us. … I think it’s fair to say it could be his last game because everyone’s talking about the interest.”
Castellanos has scored 50 goals and recorded 19 assists in 108 MLS matches. He has scored in four straight matches heading into the weekend, and NYCFC has won three in a row.
Inter Miami sits in ninth place, two spots shy of the playoff line, with 25 points in seven wins, four ties and nine losses. The team is coming off a 6-0 exhibition loss to FC Barcelona on Tuesday. Its last MLS game was a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win over Charlotte FC in which Miami scored three second-half goals.
Miami winger Ariel Lassiter will miss the game with a calf injury and Leo Campana is doubtful with a right knee injury he sustained during the first half of the Charlotte game. Midfielder Bryce Duke and defender Damion Lowe are both suspended with an accumulation of yellow cards.
Neville said he had not decided whether Drake Callender or Nick Marsman would start at goalkeeper. Marsman was the starter early in the season, injured his back, and Callender played well in Marsman’s absence. Marsman is now fit and started against Barcelona.
“It was important for Nick to get minutes so he could smell what game time is like,” Neville said. “His distribution was really good and we’ll need that in the next few weeks. Drake needed the rest. Mentally, it’s been a real tough stretch for him, and I think just stepping away, watching the game with his family, enabled him to breathe for a few days. Now we have a big decision to make on Saturday.”
Gonzalo Higuain, who scored for Miami in the past two MLS games, is expected to start in what will be a battle of Argentine forwards.
“No doubt, they have the best center forward in the league, Castellanos,” Neville said. “He’s prolific, and his movement, his strength … he’s a real throwback to the old type of center forward that looks to dominate the center backs. The hope is he’s transferred before this game, and I wish him all the best in Gerona or wherever he’s going.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 12:18 PM.