Inter Miami: Plenty of reason for hope as Julian Carranza returns
Inter Miami may have lost their first two matches of the 2020 MLS season, but with Julian Carranza still to return and an open DP slot, there is plenty of reason for hope.
Inter Miami entered the 2020 Major League Soccer season with intentions of being immediately competitive. They spent money, hired an excellent coach, assembled what looked like a dangerous team, and stated quite clearly that they intended to compete from the moment they took to the pitch. Then they lost their first two games.
It is not as simple as that. They played Los Angeles FC, the best team in MLS history, before facing D.C. United, another playoff team who had invested extensively in their team in the offseason. It was never going to be an easy start to the season.
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And despite the pair of defeats, the only results of the campaign thus far given play was postponed from mid-March, there is plenty of reason to hope for the future of the team, starting with the quality already in the squad and the man leading it.
Diego Alonso is a proven, elite head coach. He is tactically astute, is a winner, and knows how to build and define a team. The players that were added are either experienced MLS veterans who provide leadership and understanding like Luis Robles and Wil Trapp, young talent like Robbie Robinson and Lewis Morgan, or high-level difference-makers like Matias Pellegrini and Rodolfo Pizarro. Collectively, it comprises a balanced and dangerous squad.
There is also the return of Julian Carranzo, who Inter Miami signed to lead the line in the offseason. He missed the first two matches of the year with a foot injury but is set to be near a return when the MLS season resumes later in the summer having initially been handed a 10-12-week timeframe of recovery.
This week, Carranza discussed his recovery with The Athletic:
"“I’ve always been someone that’s mentally strong. It [the injury] affected me. I was down for about a week. All I wanted was to play and be part of this club’s initial history. It was a hard week for me, but I adapted to what I had to do. I had to start my recovery and take care of myself. And so my recovery became my focus.”"
Miami view Carranza as an elite-level centre-forward in MLS. When supplied by Pellegrini and Pizarro, the latter of which has already impressed greatly with his performances, as well as notching Miami’s first-ever goal, he will score plentifully.
And all this is without having filled the third Designated Player slot. There was always talk of Miami adding a European superstar, with Edinson Cavani the most recent to be linked with a move to Florida. That might just put the team over the edge, forming a brilliant attacking quartet alongside Pizarro, Pellegrini and the returning Carranza.
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All this is to say that there is plenty of reason for Inter Miami to be hopeful about their future. They might have lost the first two games of the season, but David Beckham’s venture is well on it way, and it might just enjoy immense success from the off.