FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Javier Mascherano's first game as Inter Miami's new coach is this weekend. His first night at his new home remains unscheduled.
Mascherano — Lionel Messi's former teammate and now his coach — was hired by Inter Miami a few weeks ago, yet he still hasn't had time to get to know much about South Florida or even look for a home. He's living in a hotel for now, simply because he's had too much work on his plate to get ready for his new job and a new Major League Soccer season.
“Maybe in two or three weeks, I'll try to find a house,” Mascherano said.
His priority right now is clearly the new job. His second official training session as Inter Miami's coach was Monday, with Messi — the reigning MLS MVP — and most of the rest of the team on the field to continue working out in advance of Saturday's preseason opener in Las Vegas.
“I like my teams to play with intensity and courage,” Mascherano said. “But we know we are just starting and we need to stay calm. We’re happy with the players. They’re working hard and doing very well.”
Mascherano — Messi's teammate with both Barcelona and the Argentina national team — plans to coach the way he played, with a mind on tactics and with aggression when needed.
Midfielder Yannick Bright said he could see a clear difference Monday in Mascherano's approach compared to what the first few voluntary workouts of the year were like.
“It was more intense for sure," Bright said. "It gives you a little, I'll say, flashes of what he’s going to be like, expectations and his character and everything. It’s exciting. Yeah, it’s exciting.”
Mascherano takes over a team that posted the best regular-season record in MLS history last season under coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who stepped down citing personal reasons. Martino said he made that decision before Inter Miami fell in the first round of the playoffs to Atlanta United, losing in a best-of-three series.
The expectations for this team — and any team with Messi, really — are to win trophies. That might be one of the reasons why Mascherano is spending hour after hour at work, and not any time looking for a place to live yet.
Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi — an American born to Argentine parents — said Mascherano's approach is one he understands, given what the game means in his parents' homeland.
“I think Argentinians, you know, play with a lot of passion and they’ve shown it around the world,” said Cremaschi, who, along with Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, was at the team facility on Monday but are currently working out with the U.S. national team for upcoming games against Venezuela and Costa Rica and not yet training with their club team.
“That's something that they definitely bring to the table,” Cremaschi said. “I think just the passion, the way they live the game. I feel like that’s something that a lot of players could learn from.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
