Alejandro Pozuelo: “I can do something special” at Inter Miami CF

Thanks to his achievements at Toronto, where he led the Reds to the MLS Cup 2019 final and won the 2020 Landon Donovan MLS MVP award, Pozuelo arrives with a lofty reputation and great expectations. And he says there’s nowhere he’d rather be, noting the positive vibes and “very Latino” flavor of the Miami locker room.

“Miami approached me some time ago,” said Pozuelo in Spanish. His current contract is up at the end of the 2022 season. “I knew the club from having played against them, I knew some people at the club and we had been in touch. And my girlfriend is here in Miami, her family’s from Miami. So it was always my first option, my main option, to come here.

“During the summer I had the options of maybe going abroad, outside of the league. But when I spoke to Miami I really wanted to come here to be part of this project. I come here with a lot of enthusiasm, I’m very eager to help the team make the playoffs. We have the players to be up there in the table. And I’m trying to achieve here what I did with Toronto, which was to make the final, and win.”

Neville sounds ready to give Pozuelo his Herons debut when Charlotte FC visit DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday night (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+), perhaps even in the starting XI. The 30-year-old hasn’t seen game action since Toronto’s match vs. Seattle Sounders FC on July 2.

“He’s fit in really well with a group, I’ve got to say. And the only adaptation, I suppose, will be that he’s only had two days training in the last 10 days, and in the Florida heat,” said Neville. “But in terms of experience in this league, he knows how to play in this league. He knows how to win in this league and he knows how to perform in this league. And it’s the performance bit that is the reason we signed him.

“He’s the type of player where experience will cover up some of the physical shortcomings he might have in this next five, six days. And his connection in the training sessions over the last couple of days with Gonzalo [Higuain], with [Jean] Mota, it’s been really good. So we’ll see how he feels after the press conference. He’s trained this morning, and we’ll make a decision tomorrow whether he starts or whether he comes on and impacts the game.”