With just over two months to go until their inaugural match, Inter Miami CF are still yet to hire a head coach. But the expansion side are “confident” they can hire Patrick Vieira away from OGC Nice as the French side labor in the bottom half of the Ligue 1 standings, according to a new report from an England-based ESPN reporter.
Mark Ogden drops several noteworthy tidbits in his piece, published Friday morning, including the revelation that Miami made a pitch to respected Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti – who worked with part-owner David Beckham at AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain – to join their project after he was controversially dismissed by Napoli earlier this month.
That gambit was disrupted when English heavyweights Everton FC swooped in to offer Ancelotti “a much more lucrative contract at Goodison Park” that is expected to bring him to the blue half of Liverpool in the very near future. So Vieira, who impressed in his two and a half years in charge of New York City FC from 2015-2018, has apparently become Inter’s top target and they believe a deal could be reached with Nice by month’s end.
“Vieira is regarded to be a more obtainable target,” writes Ogden, “due to his MLS experience in New York and concerns over his position at Nice.”
Inter’s coaching search has been linked to a range of names, from Marcelo Gallardo to Santiago Solari and more. Owner Jorge Mas said at last month’s Expansion Draft that a selection had been made and would be announced soon, then reiterated as much earlier this week, with a team spokesperson telling MLSsoccer.com’s Jillian Sakovits that their choice had not changed since then.
Miami’s temporary home stadium is currently under construction on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and will be ready for the start of the 2020 season. Inter will make their MLS debut with a visit to LAFC on March 1, and their first home game takes place on March 14 against owner Beckham's former club the LA Galaxy.
