Ahead of carrying on with the team’s 2021 regular season on Sunday against Atlanta, midfielder Victor Ulloa, who donned the team’s captain’s armband for the first time over the weekend against Nashville, reflected on leading the team on the pitch.
“It meant a lot to me. It was an honor to be able to wear the captain's armband and lead the team on the field”, he said. “It was a privilege. I’m just happy to have the support from the players and the coaching staff in order to have that responsibility. It was just a lot of emotions, I’m happy to have been able to wear it and represent our team on the field as the captain.”
Ulloa, who was selected as one of the four captains for the campaign along with Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Gonzalo Higuain, and Blaise Matuidi, also spoke about the overall unity and experience within the squad and the goals the team has set for this year.
“The coach named four captains for this season, but we have a lot of leaders in the group and a lot of guys with experience. We all have the same common goal, we want to make it to the playoffs, we want to solidify the team, we want to build a culture within the team, which is important for a franchise in its second year in MLS. Ultimately, we all want to win,” he stated.
As one of the MLS veterans in the squad, the 29-year-old then expressed his delight with the youngsters that have broken into the team this season and how he can push them to continue developing as players.
“I used to be in their shoes a while ago and I remember the feelings that I had. Being able to use my experience and leadership to help them out day in and day out in training is what I can do for them,” expressed Ulloa. “They have a lot of potential and I’m happy that they’re getting playing time and they’re competing everyday in training.”
Finally, Ulloa touched upon Inter Miami’s positive start in the 2021 campaign and the work that lies ahead in the coming matches.
“Four out of nine points with two of those matches being on the road is not bad at all. We’ll take them and we need to work on getting some consistency and rhythm and facing the games coming up in the best way possible. We’re going to have two home games and we have to take advantage to make those points that we got away from home count.”
