Dayne St. Clair adapts to life with Inter Miami as team prepares for Ecuador trip
Like most Canadians who spend winters in South Florida, Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair is getting acclimated to the warmer weather (although it was unseasonably cold last week) as he goes through his first training camp with his new club.
After spending his childhood in Canada and seven years minding the nets for Minnesota United, St. Clair no longer needs to worry about shoveling snow or scraping ice off his car windshields. But the biggest adjustment has not been the climate.
Asked what he has had to adapt to through two Inter Miami preseason games, St. Clair smiled and said: “Definitely learning Spanish. Obviously, I know a little bit from before but adjusting to that.”
He already knew a few directional words that are helpful for his position on the field, such as “derecha” (right), “izquierda” (left) and “sube” (move up). But he is eager to become more conversational and said he is starting Spanish lessons this week.
With nine Argentine teammates and an Argentine coaching staff, plus two teammates from Uruguay, one from Venezuela, and one from Spain, Spanish is definitely the language of choice around the Inter Miami training grounds.
“In Minnesota we had a lot of Spanish defenders, so I was able to learn enough things on the field and feel comfortable for the most part,” St. Clair said Wednesday before training, as the team prepares to travel to Ecuador this weekend for a preseason match against Barcelona de Guayaquil (7 p.m., One Football).
“Soccer is a global language, and I’ve played with players from all over the world. [Not being fluent in Spanish] can be a little bit of a hindrance at first, but once you understand and get to know people you can figure out the communication. There are some guys who speak both and coaches that speak both to be able to help in those key moments, as well.”
St. Clair said the chance to play with Messi was “an allure, but not the sole factor” in him choosing to sign with Miami as a free agent.
“As a player you want to give yourself the best opportunity to win and when you surround yourself with the best players in the world, you give yourself an opportunity to test yourself on a daily basis, especially for me, going into a World Cup,” St. Clair said.
Another reason he chose Inter Miami is that he wanted to face the global glare and pressure that comes with being Messi’s teammate.
“I’ve had smaller scale experiences [with crowds] being with the Canadian national team but being able to see that life, in person, and see the fandom, people trying to get a quick picture or video…but for me, the eyes and attention of the fans in the stadium, on game day, was most important for me.”
Miami’s roster underwent significant changes following the team’s first MLS Cup title. Legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba retired, and the club parted ways with Oscar Ustari, Marcelo Weigandt, Tomas Aviles, Fafa Picault, Baltasar Rodriguez, and Ryan Sailor.
St. Clair, the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and a member of the Canadian national team, is one of the high-profile acquisitions the team made.
The most publicized signing came last week, when Inter Miami sealed a reported $15 million deal to get Mexican national team forward German Berterame from Monterrey. The 27-year-old, who was born in Argentina, became a naturalized Mexican citizen the summer of 2024 and is aiming for a spot on Mexico’s World Cup team.
Berterame joined Lionel Messi and his other Inter Miami teammates in Medellin, Colombia for Saturday’s preseason game against Atletico Nacional, which Miami won 2-1. Although he had not trained with the team, he came in off the bench in the 59th minute in place of Luis Suarez, who scored the first Miami goal.
“German had been physically active training and playing [with Monterrey], and that allowed us the possibility of having him for some minutes,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.
Berterame has been unable to practice with his teammates because he is awaiting his U.S. work visa. He can play in the friendlies in South America but cannot work for the team in an official capacity on U.S. soil until the visa is finalized.
Tadeo Allende is in the same situation. The Argentine winger, who set an MLS record with nine goals during the playoffs, recently signed a permanent long-term contract with Inter Miami after spending last season on loan from Spanish club Celta de Vigo. But he has not been able to rejoin the team at training camp because his new visa is not finalized.
One newcomer who did get his visa is Micael, the Brazilian center back who played for Palmeiras last season and previously did a stint with MLS club Houston Dynamo. He began full training last week and met with the media for the first time on Wednesday.
Micael noted that his time with Houston will make his adjustment back to MLS much easier because he has experience with MLS players and the league format. He said he likes the structure of the league and also was intrigued by the opportunity of playing with Messi.
“I was eager to get here and meet Messi, this was the MLS champion team, so I was looking forward to meeting everyone,” he said. “When I spoke with Messi for the first time, it was a little surprising, emotional. I felt good in my debut game in Colombia. I felt comfortable.”
After the game in Ecuador, the team will return home to train and then travel to Puerto Rico for a Feb. 13 game against Ecuadorian LigaPro Serie A champion, Independiente del Valle
Miami opens the MLS regular season February 21 on the road against LAFC and plays the first five league games on the road before its first home game in the new Miami Freedom Park stadium on April 4 against Austin FC.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 4:51 PM.