The 2021 Inter Miami CF season was the second season in the history of Inter Miami CF and the 18th season of first-division club soccer in South Florida. In addition to playing in Major League Soccer, the club was scheduled to participate in the U.S. Open Cup but the competition was cancelled for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Inter Miami is coming off their inaugural campaign, which marked the first time since 2001, with the Miami Fusion, that a soccer club in Greater Miami played in the first tier of American soccer. Ahead of and during the season, Miami signed several high-profile players including Argentine international, Gonzalo Higuaín, from Juventus; Mexican international, Rodolfo Pizarro, from Monterrey; and French international, Blaise Matuidi, from Juventus. The club also signed several notable young players including Matías Pellegrini, Lewis Morgan, and David Norman. Additionally, in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, Miami drafted Clemson standout, Robbie Robinson with the first overall pick.
The club's first season was significantly altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the season suspended on March 12 and not resume until July 8 with the MLS is Back Tournament. Miami lost their first two league matches before the season was suspended and subsequently lost their three group stage matches (which counted towards the regular season standings) at the MLS is Back Tournament. On August 22 against Floridian rivals, Orlando City SC, Miami won their first league match. Inter had better form following the MLS is Back Tournament, ultimately going 7–8–3, and finished the 2020 regular season with a 7–13–3 record, after 23 league matches, a reduction of the original 34 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, the size of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs was increased from eight teams in the Eastern Conference qualifying to 10 teams qualifying. Miami earned the 10th and final seed in the playoffs, where they played at fellow expansion side, Nashville SC in the Play-In Round on November 20. Miami lost the match 0–3, with several of their starters missing the match due to an outbreak of coronavirus on the team.
At the conclusion of the 2020 season, the club declined options on eight players. Notable players who did not have their contract renewed for the 2021 season included starting goalkeeper, Luis Robles, as well as Juan Agudelo, and Andres Reyes.
Review Offseason On January 7, 2021, Inter Miami and first year head coach, Diego Alonso mutually agreed to part ways. Several names were rumored as Alonso's successor including Phil Neville. On January 18, 2021, Neville was confirmed as head coach.
Management
!colspan="2" style="background:#F7B5CD; color:#000000; text-align:left" |Ownership
!colspan="2" style="background:#F7B5CD; color:#000000; text-align:left" |Front Office
!colspan="2" style="background:#F7B5CD; color:#000000; text-align:left" |Coaching Staff
Roster Squad No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Signed from Goalkeepers 1 John McCarthy GK Tampa Bay Rowdies18Dylan CastanheiraGK Fort Lauderdale CF27Drake CallenderGK San Jose Earthquakes32Nick MarsmanGK Feyenoord Defenders2Ventura AlvaradoDF Atlético San Luis3Kieran GibbsDF West Bromwich Albion 4 Christian Makoun DF Juventus 5 Nicolás Figal DF Independiente 15 Patrick Seagrist DF New York Red Bulls17 Ryan Shawcross DF Stoke City 24 Ian Fray DF Fort Lauderdale CF26 Leandro González Pírez DF Tijuana28 Brek Shea DF Atlanta United FC31 Kelvin Leerdam DF Seattle Sounders FC 33 Joevin Jones DF Seattle Sounders FC 35 Sami Guediri DF Fort Lauderdale CF Midfielders7 Lewis Morgan MF Celtic8 Blaise Matuidi MF Juventus10 Rodolfo Pizarro MF Monterrey13Víctor UlloaMF FC Cincinnati14 Jay Chapman MF Toronto FC 22 Federico Higuaín MF D.C. United25 Felipe Valencia MF Fort Lauderdale CF26 Gregore MF Bahia28 Edison Azcona MF Fort Lauderdale CF 30 George Acosta MF Austin Bold Forwards9 Gonzalo Higuaín FW Juventus16 Josh Penn FW Indy Eleven19 Robbie Robinson FW Clemson University 21 Julián Carranza FW Banfield 29Indiana VassilevFW Aston Villa
Transfers Transfers in Date Position No. Name From Fee Ref. Winter 2020–21 December 18, 2020 MF 25 Felipe Valencia Fort Lauderdale CF Homegrown player December 23, 2020 DF 15 Patrick Seagrist New York Red Bulls Trade January 26, 2021 DF 24 Ian Fray Fort Lauderdale CF Homegrown player MF 28 Edison Azcona Fort Lauderdale CF Homegrown player January 27, 2021 GK 18 Dylan Castanheira Fort Lauderdale CF Free February 12, 2021 MF 16 Josh Penn Indy Eleven SuperDraft February 20, 2021 DF 17 Ryan Shawcross Stoke City FreeFebruary 24, 2021 MF 26 Gregore Bahia $4,000,000 March 11, 2021 DF 33 Joevin Jones Seattle Sounders FC FreeMarch 23, 2021 DF 31 Kelvin Leerdam Seattle Sounders FC $75,000 GAM April 16, 2021 DF 35 Sami Guediri Fort Lauderdale CF Free Summer 2021 July 1, 2021 DF 3 Kieran Gibbs West Bromwich Albion FreeGK32 Nick Marsman FeyenoordFreeJuly 7, 2021FW29 Indiana Vassilev Aston VillaLoanJuly 29, 2021DF2 Ventura Alvarado Atlético San LuisFree
Transfers out Date Position No. Name To Fee Ref. Winter 2020–21 December 3, 2020 DF 33 Mikey Ambrose Atlanta United FC Option Declined FW 12 Juan Agudelo Minnesota United FC Option Declined FW 17 Jerome Kiesewetter FC Tulsa Option Declined MF 15 David Norman Jr. Cavalry FC Option Declined DF 2 Alvas Powell Al-Hilal Option Declined GK 31 Luis Robles Retired Option Declined DF 36 Denso Ulysse Richmond Kickers Option Declined MF 6 Wil Trapp Minnesota United FC Free DF 20 A. J. DeLaGarza New England Revolution Free December 13, 2020 DF 22 Ben Sweat Austin FC $100,000 GAM January 1, 2021 DF 3 Andrés Reyes Atlético Nacional End of Loan April 11, 2021 DF 18 Dylan Nealis Nashville SC $175,000 GAM Summer 2021 August 2, 2021 MF 11 Matías Pellegrini Estudiantes Loan
MLS SuperDraft
Round No. Player Pos. Team110 Josh PennFWIndy Eleven 126 Aimé MabikaDFUniversity of Kentucky237 Joe HaffertyMFOregon State University
Non-competitive Preseason
Competitive Major League Soccer
Standings Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
U.S. Open Cup
On July 20, US Soccer finally announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.
Statistics Overall {|class="wikitable" |- |Games played ||34 |- |Games won ||12 |- |Games drawn ||5
|Games lost ||17 |- |Goals scored ||36 |- |Goals conceded ||53 |- |Goal difference ||-17 |- |Clean sheets ||7 |- |Yellow cards ||55 |- |Red cards ||3 |- |Worst discipline || |- |Best result(s) ||5-1(FC Cincinnati) |- |Worst result(s) ||0-5(New England Revolution) |- |Most appearances || 26 games (Lewis Morgan) |- |Top scorer ||12 goals(Gonzalo Higuaín) |- |Points || Overall:41
Appearances and goals Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.
Top scorers RankPositionNumberNameTotal1FW9 Gonzalo Higuaín1200122FW19 Robbie Robinson40043MF10 Rodolfo Pizarro3003FW29 Indiana Vassilev3003MF22 Federico Higuaín30036DF28 Brek Shea2002MF7 Lewis Morgan2002DF4 Christian Makoun20029FW21 Julián Carranza1001DF3 Kieran Gibbs1001DF5 Nicolás Figal1001MF8 Blaise Matuidi1001Total 35 0 0 35 As of 8 November 2021.
Top assists RankPositionNumberNameTotal
Disciplinary record PlayerMLSMLS CupUSOCTotal26 MF Gregore 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 2 016 DF Leandro González Pírez 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 05 DF Nicolás Figal 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 08 MF Blaise Matuidi 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 019 FW Robbie Robinson 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0400
Awards and honors To be announced during the 2021 season.
References