What you need to know as Inter Miami plays the Columbus Crew on the road Saturday
Inter Miami has lost six league games in a row and is playing away from home Saturday night for the third time in eight days. But coach Phil Neville believes his team’s penalty-shootout U.S. Open Cup win against Miami FC on Wednesday will propel the squad to turn the corner against the Columbus Crew.
It will not be easy. A sellout crowd of 20,000 is expected at Lower.com Field in Ohio for the 7:30 p.m. game (Season Pass on AppleTV). The Crew is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and Miami is 14th. Colombian forward Cucho Hernandez is back from injury. And Columbus has allowed just two goals at home, tied for lowest in MLS.
Nevertheless, Neville remains optimistic. He was encouraged by his players’ fighting spirit on Wednesday.
“We had a tough game, had to go to penalties, slug it out and suffer,” Neville said. “It was a win. We needed it. We’re not celebrating. We know we have a long way to go and have a game Saturday against one of the best teams away from home. We go there with real determination. Winning breeds confidence.”
Despite the hectic schedule and 120-minute game against Miami FC, most of the regular Inter Miami starters should be rested after being held out or coming off the bench Wednesday. Leo Campana and Serhiy Krystsov did not play. Rodolfo Pizarro, Josef Martinez, DeAndre Yedlin and Franco Negri were second-half subs.
“They’ve been training for these moments,” Neville said. “Those Heat players are playing every other night, 82 games plus playoff games.”
Inter Miami signs David Ruiz
David Ruiz never imagined, when he was growing up in Little Havana playing youth soccer at Charles Hadley Park in Allapattah, that by age 19 he would be on the Inter Miami roster playing Major League Soccer for a team co-owned by David Beckham.
But that is exactly where he finds himself.
Inter Miami announced Friday that it had signed academy product Ruiz as a “Homegrown Player” to a contract running through the 2025 MLS season, with options for 2026 and 2027. He is the sixth academy player to be promoted to the first team.
Ruiz, a Honduran American, has made two first-team appearances on short-term loans this season.
He also has had call-ups to the U.S. U19 team and the Honduras U20 team, which is preparing for the U20 World Cup this summer. He is weighing options with both national teams and does not have to choose one until he is at the senior level.
“It feels great having this opportunity with coaches that believe in me,” Ruiz said by phone. “I have developed a lot, my soccer IQ, speed of play, how sharp my passes are, how intense the game becomes. I keep growing and stay humble.”
He hopes he inspires other young Miami players to chase their dreams. Ruiz attended Riverside Elementary School, Mater Academy Middle and SLAM High School. He played club for seven years for Miami United Stars. His mother owns and runs Alba’s Café, a Honduran restaurant at 2901 S.W. 8th St.
“David is a good player who has grown a lot within our system over the last few years and has already shown he can compete at this level,” said sporting director Chris Henderson. “We’re very excited to continue to help him along his upward trajectory at the Club.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 3:41 PM.