Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Home at last
Inter Miami set to play its long-awaited home opener against rival Orlando City
When David Beckham announced his plans to launch a Major League Soccer expansion club in Miami six years ago, this couldn’t have been what he imagined for the team’s home-opener.
Beckham, the club’s co-owner and president of soccer operations, is in England and not in attendance for the match due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The game is not taking place in the yet-to-be constructed Miami Freedom Park, but over 30 miles away from its proposed location in a quickly reconstructed stadium at the former site of Lockhart Stadium — where the Miami Fusion, South Florida’s original MLS team, played — in Fort Lauderdale.
There won’t be a fan of the team in sight, with the only “fans” in attendance being those who decided to take part in the club’s $50 “fan cutout program” at all Inter Miami closed-door home games — leaving the remainder of the 18,000-seat stadium empty.
And Inter Miami comes into the matchup against their in-state rival, Orlando City SC, 0-5-0 — the worst start by an MLS expansion team in league history.
Despite the continuous bumps in the road that’s led them to this point, Inter Miami enters their first home game eager to step on the field against competition beside themselves. And motivated to get the first win of their inaugural MLS season.
“Home advantage is something you always have to make sure counts,” midfielder Lewis Morgan said. “Our real home opener will be in front of fans, but it’s important now to build a fortress at home and put that home advantage to good use early on. We’re certainly looking to do that on Saturday.”
Inter Miami’s home opener will not only provide them the chance to record their first points of the season, but also another opportunity to pick up a victory versus their in-state rival.
Orlando City beat Inter Miami 2-1 in the MLS is Back tournament’s opening match July 8 after Nani scored a game-deciding goal in the 97th minute. Orlando, which is 2-1-2 on the season under new coach Oscar Pareja, was the surprise team of the tournament — going 2-0-1 in the tournament’s group stage and reaching the finals before falling to the Portland Timbers.
Multiple Inter Miami players said throughout the week that they feel close to a breakthrough in the win column and believe they’re better than their record suggests.
“We’re a very competitive team, as we showed against Orlando,” Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso said. “Either team could’ve won that night. We’re short steps away from where we want to be.”
While Inter Miami’s latest signing, Blaise Mutuidi, won’t be playing, 2019 MLS All-Star defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez is set to make his debut for the team and continue his strong streak of play against Orlando City. Gonzalez Pirez didn’t lose a game to Orlando while he played for Atlanta United FC from 2017-19.
Even though Saturday is a moment the team has been longing for all year, players expressed bittersweet feelings since the club won’t be able to play in front of the fans who’ve waited nearly two decades for MLS to be played in South Florida again after the Fusion’s last game in 2001.
“It is our home opener, but it’s never really going to feel like that debut at our home stadium until it’s full of fans,” Inter Miami captain and goalkeeper Luis Robles said. “If you can remember way back to March 14, which feels like years ago, we were about to play LA Galaxy, and there was so much anticipation, not just in our organization, but all of South Florida for the home opener.
“It’s going to be great for us to be back on the field and start the third part of our season, which is just mind-blowing. But when we look at our home opener, it’s not the home opener we envisioned. We’ll miss all the fans. Until you’re there and it’s rocking full of fans — the type of fans who’ve waited a long time for that game — it’s not truly going to be the home opener.”