Inter Miami: Rodolfo Pizarro proves superstars like James Rodriguez obsolete

Inter Miami are being linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez. However, as Rodolfo Pizarro proves, a move for a superstar is obsolete.

There was hardly a vaguely ageing European star that Inter Miami CF were not linked with in the offseason. With David Beckham heading up the new expansion team, the club arrived in Major League Soccer with a great degree of fanfare and expectation.

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After the recent successes of Atlanta United and Los Angeles FC as big-spending expansion teams, there was a tentative hope that Inter Miami could conduct a similarly explosive start to life in MLS. They had the money, the fanbase, the high-profile owner, the glitz and glamour of living in Miami. Everything was going for them. They just, apparently, needed the star.

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LAFC had Carlos Vela. The Mexican was the perfect blend of elite talent and commercial icon. Atlanta went the South American route, hiring legendary head coach Tata Martino which in turn attracted some of the brightest young talents from across the talent, most notably Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez.

It was expected that Inter Miami would take a similar approach to their team-building: sign the big-name star that the entire team is then built around. They will put bums on seats, single-handedly win matches, and catapult a new expansion team in a previously untapped market into relevance.

Miami did not go in the fashion that many expected, or at least not to the extent that many expected. Instead of the Edinson Cavani or David Silva, they signed Rodolfo Pizarro from Monterrey. Pizarro has been a star in Liga MX, winning titles with Pachuca, Guadalajara and Monterrey, the latter two both coming under now Inter Miami head coach Diego Alonso. He has 25 caps for Mexico and was a rising star playmaker for El Tri. But he has never played in Europe and certainly does not carry the same profile as Vela, for instance.

Nevertheless, Miami were convinced they were signing an elite attacking midfielder who could become one of the premier players in all MLS. A two-game sample size is not much to go on, admittedly, but Pizarro scored Miami’s first-ever goal and has looked head and shoulders clear of every other player in a talented squad. He proves that you do not have to sign big-name, flashy players to find elite quality.

And then there is this week’s rumour linking Inter Miami with a move for Real Madrid star James Rodriguez. Per Goal, Beckham has entered into early discussions with Madrid and Rodriguez regarding a potential move to Miami in the summer upon the conclusion of the European season, whenever that may be. Given their strike-outs in the offseason, if they were even swinging in the first place, it is difficult to believe.

More than just believability, however, there is little reason for Miami to enter such a deal, as Pizarro’s success proves. Rodriguez will only be 29 in the summer and was productive in the Bundesliga during his two-year loan spell with Bayern Munich, and he still has a year remaining on his contract, one that will be extortionate and Miami will have to get close to matching. Rodriguez likely has little intentions of abandoning Europe just yet, while Miami would be better off investing in a younger, more committed alternative.

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Pizarro has been a sensational already, and he might turn out to be one of the best signings in MLS’ busiest-ever offseason. His success proves Rodriguez obsolete, and MLS is finally starting to learn that lesson.

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