Inter Miami vs Orlando City: David Beckham's MLS franchise set for first home game
Watch Inter Miami vs Orlando City live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event on Sunday morning; kick-off is at 1am
Sunday 23 August 2020 07:04, UK
When David Beckham mapped out his vision for bringing top-tier football back to Miami, he knew it would be a long and arduous journey.
His new franchise Inter Miami resume their inaugural MLS season in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time, live on Sky Sports, with the club's first match at Inter Miami CF Stadium against Orlando City.
The club's long-awaited home opener was poetically due to take place against LA Galaxy in March in Fort Lauderdale but the season was suspended as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Either side of lockdown, they have lost all five of their matches either away or at neutral locations, conceding eight and scoring just three goals.
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Beckham admitted in an interview earlier this year on MLS show Extra Time: "I'm not a patient person - just ask my wife. But one of the things she's always said to me and reminded me multiple times is how stubborn I am. This helped me in this project.
"I had to be stubborn to the point where people turned around to me and said, 'this is not going to happen'. I always replied, 'yes, it is' - and I knew Miami was the right city. It's been a long journey, but the rewards are coming."
Overcoming an inauspicious start
The white lines are down and the goals are up, but Beckham acknowledges the time it will take to turn his franchise into a competitive force.
It was back in January 2018 when, after lengthy delays, the former England captain's new franchise were accepted into the league. Inter then became the first team to be eliminated from the MLS re-start competition last month after stumbling to a 1-0 defeat to New York City.
It meant they now have the unwanted record of being the first MLS expansion team to register five straight defeats from their first five league matches, but Beckham is keeping things in perspective.
"Sometimes the road is long and you need to take a breather. Manchester United, Real Madrid, La Liga and the Premiership wasn't built in a day," the part-owner said after the latest setback.
Beckham helped transform football in the USA, and it was always part of his retirement plan to become a team owner. When he joined LA Galaxy in 2007, an option to set up an MLS franchise at a 25-per-cent discount was written into his contract.
The Beckham clause was exercised in 2013 for £16m - but it took four years to get off the ground. The building of the latest franchise has cost considerably more than that once the construction of a new stadium and the recruitment of players is factored in.
Having lifted the game's profile to new heights, Beckham is aware of the challenges that lie ahead in converting Miami back into a footballing city.
Harnessing a city's passion for football
It is a city that is not without its footballing history. The Miami Gatos team of 1972, renamed to the Miami Toros a year later, attracted big names to the sunshine state.
Gordon Banks, George Best, Teofilo Cubillas and Gerd Muller all enjoyed the twilight of their playing careers under the new name of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers before the club was moved to Minnesota in 1983. Fort Lauderdale briefly returned in the late 1980s and drew a little bit of attention with Ray Hudson before folding again.
Poor attendances led to Miami Fusion being shut down in 2001 three years after the club was formed, and Beckham hopes to harness the passion for the sport that has lingered in this city into leaving another legacy now as an owner that lasts for decades.
Beckham said: "When I joined in 2007, I always said to the MLS Commissioner (Don Garber) that my commitment to the league and the sport in this country goes beyond my playing career. When I came towards the end of my six years playing here, I then had to choose a city.
"People still keep turning around to me asking, 'why Miami?' Have you been to Miami? There's a lot of passion in this city."
What has been missing has been a marquee name, but to say Beckham is a hands-on owner is to understate the truth. Inter Miami will play their home games in a temporary stadium in Fort Lauderdale next door to the club's training facility before moving to a permanent 25,000-seater Freedom Park in 2022.
How are Inter different to those that have folded?
Beckham's day-to-day varies from helping with designs at the new ground to tiles in showers to the colours of kit to picking players, but he is only one part of this slick new enterprise.
Managing owner Jorge Mas brings a credibility unlike any of the city's previous clubs. The coach Diego Alonso and his players are predominantly Hispanic with training conducted in Spanish with an English translator. The club already has its Ultras - 'Vice City 1896' - a fan group that hammers the drum and hammers home the cosmopolitan lifestyle that is part of Miami's DNA.
It is a city that is built on dreams, but the league has matured exponentially over the past two decades.
MLS executive vice-president of communications Dan Courtemanche claimed Beckham "over-delivered by every measure" during his six-year spell with the Galaxy, and it is hard to quantify the league's growth during his time as a player at the Home Depot Center.
It was never a place for semi-retirement, and while his loan spells with PSG and twice with AC Milan polarised some supporters who questioned his commitment to the club's cause, the stints indicated that he still had the appetite to maintain his high levels.
In his six years as a Galaxy player between 2006 and 2012, the MLS increased from 12 to 19 teams and saw a 231 per cent increase in merchandise sales, and by honouring his commitment to setting up a new franchise, Beckham has underlined his dedication to growing the game Stateside.
Have Inter made a marquee signing?
The league's transfer dealings have been divided in two this summer, with Miami marking the start of the second window by announcing the signing of Blaise Matuidi on a free transfer from Juventus.
The 33-year-old Frenchman, who scored eight goals in 133 appearances while at the Old Lady, played alongside Beckham during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain.
Beckham labelled the marquee signing as a "proud moment" in the club's short history - but it is his energy levels as well as his pedigree that will lift the standards of the entire playing squad. Among Juventus' fittest players when he returned from the period of lockdown, Matuidi is not the sort of player who has ever played off a reputation.
Naturally, Miami fans may have to wait to see their new signing in action, however. The 2018 World Cup-winner must comply with the MLS Covid-19 testing guidelines, so the club are hoping to have Matuidi available from the first week in September - the trip to Atlanta United.
Beckham will hope to pull off another coup in the transfer market before the window closes. Having occupied an international roster slot, pending the receipt of his international transfer certificate and P-1 Visa, the expansion side's final designated player slot remains open.
Inter building from scratch
Beckham is keen to bring more than just celebrity star power back into MLS - it was the same when he was a player. His distinguished career with Manchester United and Real often neglects the two MLS Cup trophies won with LA Galaxy.
Now 45, Beckham is determined to achieve again in the sport with a team that has been built from scratch.
The on-field model would appear to follow in the success of Atlanta - taking young players from Latin America to develop into household MLS names and with the potential of being sold to some of Europe's top clubs.
But Beckham's presence has naturally led to the club being branded as the 'celebrity team' and several column inches have already been dedicated to star names from the continent who could become the face of the league's newest franchise.
"As owners we have built this for our families," Beckham continued. "We've built this for our fans' families. This is what we wanted to create, to leave a legacy for our owners, our partners and for our children. In 10 or 20 years, we want our children to walk into that stadium and say, 'daddy built that' - and that will be a proud moment."
Having been runners-up in the MLS is Back tournament, Orlando City will be tough first opponents on home soil, but Miami are ready to leave a lasting mark on a brand-new ball game. It has been a long wait.
Analysis: Five tight losses masks progress
NBC's lead football writer Joe Prince-Wright:
"There's no doubt this will be a proud moment for David Beckham, the entire ownership group and everyone involved at Inter Miami CF. They have been on a long, tough road since being granted an MLS franchise for Miami way back in February 2014. The football scene in Miami is full of passion and they've been waiting for an MLS team to return to the area for almost two decades.
"Now it's happening, there is plenty of optimism but also relief too. For a long time many wondered if Beckham and his ownership group had bitten off more than they could chew.
"But they've made it happen and stuck with the project after various ownership changes and bumps in the road along the way. The set-up at Fort Lauderdale is superb, albeit the stadium is temporary but the adjacent training ground has put the stepping stones in place for them to become one of the most attractive teams in MLS to play for.
"Their first home game as a franchise will not be in front of fans, and that is of course understandable but will be disappointing for so many of the loyal supporters who have been on this long, arduous journey with them.
"But to get this point they've done the hard yards and had so many obstacles when it came to trying to build a long-term home closer to downtown Miami. There is still plenty of debate as to whether their planned stadium at Freedom Park will ever happen but for now Diego Alonso will call Fort Lauderdale home.
"On the pitch, Inter Miami have been solid enough and their five defeats on the trot to open up their time as a franchise have all been tight losses.
"Scoring goals is an issue, and it looks like it will be until they bring in a striker who is of Designated Player calibre. Luis Robles, Wil Trapp and Ben Sweat bring experience and solidity to the team, while Rodolfo Pizarro seems to be finding his feet in MLS and big things are expected of youngster Matias Pellegrini.
"As for Orlando, the have started the season superbly with Nani proving pivotal in attack and Oscar Pareja bringing a renewed confidence and an entirely new style of play to Miami's Floridian rivals.
"Inter Miami have been on a long, tiring road to get to this point. Their first home game as a team will be a cause for celebration, no matter what happens on the pitch and even though there won't be any fans in the stands for the foreseeable future.
"Beckham's dream to bring top-level football back to Miami is actually, finally, happening."
Watch Inter Miami's first home MLS game
The 2020 Major League Soccer season resumes this weekend, with David Beckham's Inter Miami taking on Orlando City, live on Sky Sports.
Sky Sports will show two live games each weekend during the regular season across Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Mix.
You will also be able to see the MLS All-Star game, plus all play-off games and the MLS Cup final live on Sky.
