Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville has said next week’s friendly against Barcelona is the biggest match in his club’s history.
Barcelona will kick off its preseason tour of the U.S. on Tuesday at DRV PNK Stadium, with the MLS club saying the game is expected to break its attendance record.
“My team and myself think it’s the biggest match in the club’s history,” Neville said at a press conference on Friday. “First time this stadium has ever been sold out for an Inter Miami game.”
Neville will see his team face Charlotte FC on Saturday as it aims to manage two matches in a three-day span. The ex-England international said that all of his players are raring to go for both games, despite the short rest.
“I’d say categorically that every single player will want to play in that game,” Neville said of the Barcelona match. “Somebody said the other night about tiredness and I gave a little speech to the team about the best players in the world don’t get tired. The best players in the world play every single minute of every single game. And why do they do that? Because they do everything right. They do everything right in their lives to make sure that they can perform on a Tuesday and a Saturday and a Tuesday and a Saturday.”
Inter Miami joined MLS in 2020 and is currently in its third season in the league. The club reached the play-in round of the playoffs in 2020 under previous coach Diego Alonso, losing 3-0 to Nashville SC.
Last season under Neville, Inter failed to reach the postseason.
[lawrence-related id=4671,4639,4631]