Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Midfielder Argudo a big fan of Trapp
Teammates played together 2 years with Columbus Crew
Inter Miami CF’s trade with Columbus Crew SC for Wil Trapp last week netted the club a midfielder with U.S. Men’s National Team and seven years of MLS experience.
It also brought in a familiar face for midfielder and former Columbus Crew player Luis Argudo. He was selected by Inter Miami in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft after spending two years as Trapp’s teammate.
“He was just someone who was always there for me,” Argudo said about Trapp. “If I needed advice or stay back and work on something, he would always stay back and help me get better as a player. I was excited to see that to see he got a chance to come here.”
Argudo was drafted by the Columbus Crew in the 2018 SuperDraft, two years after Trapp was named an MLS All-Star and the same year the 27-year-old became an active member of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Trapp, who joined Inter Miami for practices in Bradenton, has been described by many around MLS as a great leader on and
off the field. Coach Diego Alonso called Trapp a “great acquisition” who has “great qualities to help the team.”
“He’s a born leader and he knows how to talk to his teammates,” Argudo said. “He’s not someone who’s just going to yell at someone for no reason. He’ll get on you if you don’t work hard — he’s done that a couple of times with me — but that’s part of the reason why he’s a leader. He wants everyone to give 100 percent.”
Trapp played for Columbus Crew for seven seasons, making his professional debut for the club in 2013 at 20. He had 2 goals and 13 assists in 204 appearances for the team and helped lead the club to the playoffs four times, including the 2015 season when the team reached the MLS Cup final.
He’s made 18 appearances with the U.S. Men’s National Team and appeared in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and international friendlies. Trapp is also a Columbus native who was originally signed as a homegrown player in 2012 after playing two collegiate years at Akron.
“I was honestly extremely excited,” Trapp said about when he heard he had been traded to Inter Miami. “I’ve been in Columbus my whole life, and I think this was a step for me to not only be a part of history in a lot of ways, but a project that’s very exciting with a coach that’s very exciting and with the young group that wants to succeed and do extremely well.”
Trapp said he’s been impressed by how the expansion club’s chemistry has developed in such a short amount of time.
“It’s always unique when you have an expansion team, how it adjusts and how players are getting to know each other for the first time,” Trapp said. “I’ve been extremely impressed in the three, four days I’ve been here and how close everyone is in such a short amount of time.”
Inter Miami is training in Bradenton until Thursday before moving to its own complex in Fort Lauderdale for the first time from Feb. 7-14. The club has closeddoor scrimmages scheduled against the Charleston Battery on Feb. 7, and against New York City FC on Feb. 12 before heading back west to St. Petersburg for training from Feb. 15-23. Inter Miami will wrap up training camp at its facility during February’s final week.
The club will reveal its away kit on Wednesday at the Forward25 jersey reveal event where MLS and Adidas will unveil the league’s complete collection of 2020 jerseys in advance of New York City’s Fashion Week.
Inter Miami begins the regular season March 1 at Los Angeles FC. The home opener and coming-out party for the new Lockhart Stadium site in Fort Lauderdale, where the club plans to play for two seasons before moving into its Miami stadium, is March 14 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.