Nguyen traded to Revs ahead of Atlanta matchup
After less than a year with Inter Miami CF, Lee Nguyen will return to the team that he started his Major League Soccer career with.
The club announced Tuesday afternoon it traded Nguyen to the New England Revolution ahead of its matchup versus Atlanta United at Inter Miami CF Stadium on Wednesday.
“Just want to thank all the owners, coaching staff, players and fans for the experience to be apart of La Familia in its first year,” Nguyen tweeted. “This club has a bright future and I can’t wait to see it grow. Wishing my [Inter Miami] family all the best going forward!”
Paul McDonough, the club’s COO and sporting director, said in a statement that the trade provides the club with “salary flexibility for this and next year,” as it continues to solidify its team with three open roster spots remaining.
“We want to thank Lee for his contributions to the team during our inaugural season and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” McDonough said.
Inter Miami could use the extra cap space on Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain, who the team is reportedly nearing a deal for.
Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano reported Higuain’s agent arrived in Italy on Monday to negotiate an agreement for Higuain to leave Juventus, adding Higuain will make his final decision about which team he’ll play for next when his departure from Juventus is official.
Inter Miami are receiving a 2021 fourth-round draft pick and up to $50,000 in general allocation money (GAM) in exchange for Nguyen.
Nguyen, 33, started his MLS career with the Revolution in 2012, scoring 51 goals in 191 regular-season appearances with New England before being traded in March 2018 to Los Angeles FC, where he helped the club win the 2019 Supporters’ Shield.
The attacking midfielder was Inter Miami’s third selection in the 2019 MLS Expansion draft. He provided significant contributions to the team’s attack when on the field, but played infrequently in the past couple weeks.
Nguyen was an unused substitute in three of Inter Miami’s past four games after playing in four of their first five games. His last appearance for the team came when he had 15 minutes of action in their 1-0 loss to Nashville SC on Aug. 30, recording two shots (one shot on goal), in his lone playing time since Inter Miami resumed play after the MLS is Back tournament.
Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso said Nguyen was in consideration to start, but he started Jay Chapman when he shook up the starting unit against Atlanta United Sept. 2 and decided to use Chapman as the substitute in the midfield for the debuting Blaise Matuidi versus Nashville Sunday.
Nguyen played 92 minutes and appeared in five of Inter Miami’s games as a substitute.
“[Nguyen] had a few opportunities here with the team,” Alonso said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday, “but [Nguyen] was looking for more minutes in another place so we made the trade.”
Inter Miami looking to improve scoring vs. Atlanta
Inter Miami’s match versus Atlanta United on Wednesday makes up for the Aug. 26 matchup that was postponed after players in multiple sports leagues around the country boycotted games to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisc., which Blake’s family said left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The league postponed five of the six matches that took place that day, saying in joint a statement with Black Players for Change — Major League Soccer’s Black players’ coalition — that the players and the league are working together to “create long-term change both inside and outside of MLS” in regards to racial equality and human rights.
“We’ve been working on social justice for a bit of time now,” forward/midfielder Juan Agudelo said. We tried to make a statement and we hope we did. We hope we got the positive attention we wanted. We’re in hopes that this can encourage more investments into the community. Hopefully, it comes with positive meetings and positive ways we can help out our community.”
Inter Miami (1-6-2), who are last in the Eastern Conference standings, enter the match coming off three consecutive scoreless offensive showings — two draws and a loss. They’ve haven’t scored in five of their nine matches and have recorded six goals, tied for the second-fewest in the league, so far during their inaugural season.
Alonso said after Sunday’s game that the scoring struggles have affected the team’s confidence. Inter Miami took 42 shots in their past three games but didn’t put the ball in the back of their opponents’ net on any of their chances.
“As an experienced player, you see these things happen with other teams,” Agudelo said. “Once you get that first or second goal, then the flood gates really start to open. What’s encouraging is that we’re creating those opportunities.”
Pizarro, who leads the team in goals with three, has been a fixture of Inter Miami’s attack. Matuidi’s off-ball movement, instincts and passing allowed Inter Miami, which usually attacks through the flanks, to build offense through the middle of the field.
Agudelo, who started at left wing against Nashville after moving from forward, helped create one of Inter Miami’s best scoring chances during an attacking sequence with Matuidi and defender Ben Sweat on the left side of the field, calling that sequence in the eighth minute, “something that can be extremely dangerous.”
Alonso said the team’s looking to give Robbie Robinson more minutes. The No. 1 pick in the 2020 MLS draft showed his potential with the team before his sixweek personal leave from early July to mid-August. He played as a substitute against Atlanta Sept. 2 and had 11 touches, four passes and three shots (two on target) in 36 minutes versus Nashville Sunday.
“We’ve depended on Pizarro, who’s leading the team in goals but we want to make sure we can share those goals among different players,” Alonso said. “We’ve been able to generate many chances and what’s hurt us is the fact we’re not lethal in front of the goal. We’re focusing on being able to finish out chances.”