With less than two weeks left until the Club’s second MLS campaign kicks off, the boys continue to work hard at Inter Miami CF Training Center in Fort Lauderdale. Ahead of the team’s final preseason training sessions and fixtures, new Inter Miami Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson shared his thoughts on the state of the roster he’s been shaping for the 2021 season.
“Things are going very well. It's really nice to see our team and see the new players and everyone working together. I feel like the group is in a really good place. The coaching staff is all together now and we’ve added everyone in, so that’s good to see,” said Henderson.
“As we see the pieces come in now, seeing them train together, you can start to get a vision of what we’re going to look like when the competition starts. I think we’ve addressed some of the major positions that we started talking about when I arrived.
I think Gregore is a great addition in the middle of midfield, [Kelvin] Leerdam and [Joevin] Jones both have championship-winning experience in this league and know how to navigate that, and Ryan [Shawcross] gives us three starting players for two spots [at center back]. I think we’re going to be a solid team all the way through, we’re going to be dangerous on the flanks and we have players like [Rodolfo] Pizarro and [Gonzalo] Higuaín up top who can be difference makers every single game. At this point I feel pretty good about the roster build in the offseason,” he added.
Henderson hopes the Club’s most recent signings help elevate the team’s overall level and help create the desired competition at every position.
“Gregore, Leerdam, Jones and Shawcross are all in camp and training with us. Now we have a bit of a different look to the group and we added competition. We always want to have competition in every spot. I think having new additions picks up the players who have been here. That’s not only going to make us better in games, raising the level is going to make us better in training every day.”
Lastly, he analyzed the Club’s preseason preparations, highlighting that the team is using time wisely to gear up and adapt to the coaching staff’s style of play in time for Inter Miami’s first regular season fixture on April 18.
“Teams throughout the league are going through the same thing we are going through with cancelled games and trying to keep everyone safe. It’s obviously challenging for us to prepare for a season this way, but we’ve tried to make the best out of the situation… I think it gives us time in these training periods with the new coaching staff to work on tactics and some of the ways that Phil [Neville] wants us to play and integrate the new players into the team. It really makes a difference to picture how we are going to look and Phil can work on details with his staff,” concluded Henderson.
