Phil Neville
Manager leaves England women to reunite with team-mate David Beckham at Inter Miami
Phil Neville launched his career as head coach of Inter Miami by stating: “One thing that really excites me is to prove people wrong.” The former Manchester United, Everton and England player will get plenty of opportunity to do that in Florida, with most observers suspecting he only got the job because of his long-time friendship with co-owner and club president David Beckham. Others query whether a foreign coach can succeed in winning MLS. The only one to do so in the last decade, Gerardo Martinez with Atlanta United in 2018, had two decades’ experience behind him and came to MLS after roles at Barcelona and Argentina.
Neville’s CV consists of three years in charge of England women following brief coaching spells at Manchester United and Valencia, and a match co-managing Salford City.
This is a fairly thin resume for the demanding task awaiting him in Fort Lauderdale – where Inter Miami actually play while their planned $996m stadium continues to inch towards fruition (ground is yet to be broken on a site contaminated with arsenic). In their debut MLS season Inter Miami finished tenth of 14 clubs in the Eastern Conference, winning seven games out of 23. They failed to make the play-offs after being knocked out in an elimination round by fellow expansion team Nashville 3-0.
For a team featuring Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi, this was underwhelming. Thus the exit of Uruguayan coach Diego Alonso, who came to the club after winning the CONCACAF Champions League with Mexican clubs Pachuca and Monterrey.
Neville would not appear an obvious upgrade but Beckham insisted: “We don’t just employ our friends. We employ the best people. We’re running a serious soccer club here and we hire people we think are best suited. Phil is a natural leader, and I believe now is the right time for him to join.”
Co-owner Jorge Mas added: “The fact that he’s David’s friend is a reality that we don’t hide from, we embrace it. But he wasn’t handed this job because of that. He earned it.”
For his own part Neville, 44, said of Beckham: “He is my friend, but from two to three weeks ago he has been my boss. There will be times when we have difficult conversations. To build something here that can be bigger than anything we have done in our careers or our lives is something that excites.”
Both men spoke of bringing through young players, but at most clubs staying around to achieve such long-term goals requires short-term success. Mas suggested Miami will be no different when he said: “We won’t settle for mediocrity.”
To that end, while Neville talked of winning cultures, hard work and immersing himself in the job and city, perhaps as important is the simultaneous hiring of Chris Henderson, previously of Seattle Sounders, to be chief soccer officer and sporting director. Neville faces a steep learning curve. Henderson’s contacts and experience may help him climb it. If not Neville and Beckham could be having one of those difficult conversations.
“We don’t just employ our friends. We employ the best people. We’re running a serious soccer club here and we hire people we think are best suited” Inter Miami owner David Beckham