Inter Miami: ‘Game-changer’ Rodolfo Pizarro needs help

Rodolfo Pizarro is a ‘game-changer’. But as Inter Miami goalkeeper Luis Robles rightly highlights, the special attacking midfielder needs help.

Every expansion team needs a face of the franchise. Atlanta United signed Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez. New York City FC had David Villa. Los Angeles FC made Carlos Vela their first-ever signing. These elite-level players are what took these expansion teams and made them immediately competitive.

This offseason, Inter Miami CF signed their ‘face of the franchise’. Moving north of the border from Liga MX giants Chivas Guadalajara, Rodolfo Pizarro arrived as Miami’s star man. Miami and MLS might only be two games into the 2020 season, but Pizarro showed plenty in those matches to suggest that he can live up to the hype.

He went toe-to-toe with LAFC in the season-opener. His touch was exquisite and his craft and creativity elevated his game to match LAFC’s level, one of the only Inter Miami players to do so. Then, a week later, he scored Miami’s first and only MLS goal in a 2-1 defeat to D.C. United, smashing a close-range finish into the roof of the net following an excellent counter in transition.

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But for some of his teammates, Pizarro’s quality has not just been discovered. Goalkeeper Luis Robles recalled the story of his first encounter with the Mexican this week.

“At that time I remember Jesse just raving about him — this guy’s a game-changer, he’s shifty, the way that he’s able to be involved in a game in so many different areas of the field because he just roams,” he told Taylor Twellman on ESPNFC. “That was the very first time his name popped onto my radar. I absolutely believe he’s going to be one of the best players in this league this season and for years to come. We’re privileged to not only have him as a teammate on our team, but I think for his league to be able to showcase his ability.”

That roaming ability that Robles highlights is what makes Pizarro a game-changer. He has such intelligence and awareness off the ball that he knows how to drift into pockets of space between the lines of the opposition. He is extremely difficult to mark as a result and can receive the ball with time to turn. At this point, the defence is in huge trouble, Pizarro’s quality shining through when he is not carefully tracked or intensely pressed.

But, for however brilliant Pizarro may be, he cannot do it on his own. LAFC were only brilliant once they provided Vela with the foundation to build off. Atlanta flourished because they had both Almiron and Martinez. Inter Miami must not be solely reliant on Pizarro, as Robles again explained.

“As we’re trying to figure out our identity, as we’re trying to figure out what sort of team we can be, we still need more pieces,” he said. “I think he’s going to be one of the, if not the most important player for us, but we still have to figure out how do we add pieces and continue to adapt to his abilities to really bring it forth.”

Inter Miami still have a third DP slot available. They are expected to use that on a centre-forward. If they are able to acquire an intelligent attacker who excels in space and makes intelligent runs off the ball, Pizarro will shine, his passing providing ample supply lines for the new piece. But when spaces get crowded and opponents can key in on the Mexican, he will become flustered, pressed. He will push the envelope and find himself crowded out.

Inter Miami have a special ‘game-changer’ in Pizarro. But they cannot rely on him alone. They must provide him with the help and offensive foils he requires. If they do that, they can be seriously competitive.