Beckham turns to a friend to turn Inter Miami’s fortunes around

It was a case of United friends reunited when Inter Miami finally unveiled Phil Neville as their new head coach on a two-year deal. The former Manchester United and Everton utility player cut short his tenure as England women's boss to join the sophomore franchise, replacing Diego Alonso. Alonso had led Inter Miami to a disappointing tenth place in the 14-team Eastern Conference, prompting co-owner David Beckham to take a more hands-on approach with the Herons.

Neville, who has held coaching roles at Manchester United and Valencia, led England to SheBelieves Cup victory in 2019 and the semifinals of the World Cup. However, he failed to build on the early promise in the role and enjoyed a somewhat fractious relationship with the media as the Lionesses embarked on a poor run of form which has seen them lose seven of their last 11 games. Neville leaves England ranked sixth in the world, having been third when he succeeded Mark Sampson.

The 43-year-old was expected to lead Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics later this year and despite having no previous MLS experience, Beckham insists his appointment is no favour for a friend. "We share a footballing DNA having been trained by some of the best leaders in the game, and it's those values that I have always wanted running through our club," said Beckham.

"Phil has deep experience in football, as a player and as a coach at both club and international level, and over his career he has worked with many of the finest managers and players in the game. I know his qualities as a person, his decency, loyalty and honesty - and his incredible energy and work ethic. Anyone who has played or worked with Phil knows he is a natural leader, and I believe now is the right time for him to join."

Beckham's brand suffered a massive hit from an inconsistent rookie season.

Launched amid much fanfare and blessed with high-profile players including Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín and French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi, Inter Miami only scraped into the postseason playoffs before bowing out with a 3-0 defeat to Nashville.

Lessons have been learned and Neville arrives with the franchise looking to implement something of a reboot following their underwhelming 2020 campaign. "We have a clean slate to build something that's bigger and better than anything else in America and not just America but even world renowned," said Neville. "I think when we talk about the unbelievable facilities, the fantastic stage that we're in at this moment in time you can have all those things but without the people inside those buildings, without the culture and the values that David and the ownership want to instil into this football club you have nothing.

"So I think we have a blank canvas, we have a fresh start and we want to build the values that actually make everyone successful and success in football is no different than success in other walks of life; you've got to work so hard, you've got to be together you've got to have people supporting you all the time and I think that's the most exciting thing. We are at the start of a journey, the foundations are being built at this moment in time and I hope to play a small part."

Despite coming into the role with no working knowledge of the MLS, Neville will be able to call upon the considerable know-how of Chris Henderson whose switch from Seattle Sounders was arguably the more eye-catching appointment.

Henderson joined as chief soccer officer and sporting director after 13 years in a similar role at the Sounders where he helped turn them into one of the most dominant sides in North America.

During his tenure, the Sounders won two MLS Cups (2016, 2019), four Lamar Hunt US Open Cups (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014), one MLS Supporters' Shield (2014) and four Western Conference titles (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), and became the first MLS expansion
 team since 2005 to reach the postseason in each of its first seven campaigns. The 50-year-old also enjoyed a successful playing career, featuring for five MLS clubs in 11 seasons, including a campaign with the Miami Fusion in 2001.

Henderson, who represented the USA on 79 occasions called the opportunity "incredible" and left Seattle with a glowing tribute from his former employers. "It is with great pride that we send Chris off to Miami. This is an opportunity both richly deserved and long overdue," said Sounders FC general manager and president of soccer Garth Lagerwey. "Sounders FC's track record of success over 12 years is due to Chris as much as any other person in the organization. He picked so many outstanding players it is impossible to recount them all here."

Henderson will manage soccer operations and on-field developments, from the first team to the youth levels and Neville's hand will be strengthened if he replicates the recruitment success he had at Seattle.

Under Henderson's watch since 2009, Sounders players have been selected to the MLS All-Star team 24 times, including DeAndre Yedlin in 2013. Henderson was instrumental in signing forward Obafemi Martins in 2013, who went on to become the club's second all-time leading goal-scorer. He also helped bring some of the world's top talent to the MLS including USMNT captain Clint Dempsey, MLS Newcomers of the Year Fredy Montero (2009), Mauro Rosales (2011) and Nicolás Lodeiro (2016) and developed local talent including Swansea City's recent signing and USA forward Jordan Morris.