Pizarro to miss matches due to obligations withMexico team
Inter Miami CF is about to be without Rodolfo Pizarro for the next three weeks. And his absence couldn’t come at aworse time.
Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso revealed Saturday after the team’s 3-2 loss toNewYork CityFCat Inter Miami CF Stadium that the midfielder will join Mexico’s national team in the Netherlands during FIFA’s upcoming international window.
Mexico plays the Netherlands on Oct. 13.
“We were unable to keep him,” Alonsosaid. “I think that if legallyhe needs to go, we have to accept it and he will have to go.”
Pizarro is one of three players in Major League Soccerwhoare being called up toMexico’s national team for the friendlies, along with Sporting Kansas City’s Alan Pulido and Los Angeles Galaxy’s Jonathan dos Santos.
FIFA — the highest governing body of soccer in the world — normally demands that clubs around the world, including the ones in MLS, make their players available for national teams during the internationalwindows. Theorganization has the power to suspend players from playing with their clubs for five days after the end of an international window if a call-up is declined.
After a period of uncertainty, FIFA announced Thursday that it amended its release of players rules. friendlies against on Oct. 7 and Algeria
Per the amendment, the release of players rules to national teams are remaining the same except if there’s amandatory period of quarantineor self-isolation of at least five days uponarrival in the “location of the club which has an obligation to release the player to an association team; or the location where a representative team match is scheduled to take place.”
It appears the amendment only applies to government-sanctioned quarantine periods and not leaguesanctioned quarantine periods, too. MLS’sCOVID-19 protocol institutes a mandatory 10-day quarantine period once individuals return to the U.S. after international travel.
“If you ask me, I disagree with this,” Alonso said. “He will have to quarantine upon return per MLS but since that isn’t the required case for the government, then FIFA approves that he needs to go and we will, unfortunately, miss him for many games— I believe it is four or five gameswewill miss him.”
The Inter Miami games Pizarro is expected to miss are:
■ New York Red Bulls, Wednesday atRed BullArena;
■ Houston Dynamo, Sunday Miami CF Stadium;
■ AtlantaUnited FC, Oct. 14 at Inter Miami CF Stadium;
Montreal Impact,
Bull Arena;
Orlando City SC, Oct. 24 Miami CF Stadium.
“We wish Rodolfo well and are proud to have him represent Inter Miami on the international stage,”
Oct. 17 at at at
Inter
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Inter said PaulMcDonough, Inter Miami COO and sporting director said in a statement. “We knew Rodolfo was an important player for Mexico when we signed him, and we support him and his goals with the national team.”
Pizarro’s recorded three goals andfive assists throughInterMiami’s first 15 games.
His departure comes at a time when Inter Miami (3-10-2, 11 points) are struggling to make a push for a spot in theMLSCup playoffs.
Their defeat toNYCFCwas their third consecutive loss, with Inter Miami being outscored 10-3 in their past three matches. While they’re still13th in the14-teamEasternConference standings since D.C. United lost on Saturday, too, the separation between Inter Miami and a playoff continues to growlarger.
Inter Miami is now six points outside of a playoff spot, with fellow expansion teamNashvilleSC(4-5-5, 16 points) currently in 10th place (the last playoff position in the conference), with eightgamesleft in the regular season. They entered Saturday four points outside of 10th place.
Pizarro’s started 13 of Inter Miami’s 15 games, with Matias Pellegrini most recently starting in Pizarro’s place when he played as a substitute versus theNewYork Red Bulls Sept. 23.
Depending on the formation Alonso starts with, Pellegrini, Juan Agudelo, Julian Carranza, Robbie Robinson and Brek Shea are all candidates to start in Pizarro’s absence.