Inter Miami’s newest star has officially arrived. And he’s ready to win.
The Mexican international midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro officially became an Inter Miami player today, signing as the Club’s second-ever Designated Player. Pizarro, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday, was not shy about his ambitions in this new challenge.
“My main goal is to be champion. I want to lift a cup with this Club, make MLS history with Miami,” he said upon joining the team.
The dynamic attacking midfielder knows what it takes to achieve those goals, having built a sterling résumé in Mexico filled with too many triumphs to count. His trophy cabinet includes two Concacaf Champions Leagues, three Liga MX titles, a Concacaf Gold Cup and space reserved for the many titles he will undoubtedly hope to earn in the future.
This ambition is what attracted Pizarro to Inter Miami after spending the entirety of his career to this point in his native Mexico.
“The truth is I’m very happy, very happy to be here, to live this new experience, to leave my country,” said Pizarro. “I'm feeling very positive, looking forward to getting this started.”
“It’s a very nice challenge,” he added. “They tell me they want to do important things. They showed me the project and the truth is that I came here without having to think about it.”
The 26-year-old began his playing career in the academy systems of Mexican clubs before graduating to the professional level at C.F. Pachuca. He went on to make over 200 appearances in Liga MX across three different clubs – C.F. Pachuca, C.D. Guadalajara and C.F. Monterrey. Though he is now exiting the comfort zone of his home country, Pizarro is already building a sense of familiarity in Miami
“I’ve already seen the facilities, the uniform, the badge, and I’m really happy to be here,” he said. “It's a team that's just beginning and a city that's really beautiful. We have a coach [Diego Alonso] who already knows me, and I think he's building a very good team.”
The jump to MLS is one that is becoming common for stars of the Mexican national team, with Javier “Chicharito” Hernández also joining the league in this transfer window. Pizarro, along with Chicharito, will join the likes of Jonathan dos Santos and reigning league MVP Carlos Vela as standout representatives of El Tri in the league and it’s easy to see what attracted them.
“I think that the league has grown a lot over the last few years,” said Pizarro. “You have to know that there are many big figures, there are many important names in the league.”
As a serial winner his ambitions are clear: Rodolfo Pizarro came to Miami to win titles. How he’ll reach those goals, however, he expressed in a message to fans of his new Club.
“The message I send to you is that you support us very much and that we will respond to you. We will not stop killing ourselves working for the 90 minutes and we will give you many joys, many triumphs and we will die for you.”
