Beckham's Inter Miami taps Diego Alonso as first coach

David Beckham’s new MLS team finally has its first coach, with Inter Miami hiring Diego Alonso, Uruguayan, who has coached two different teams to CONCACAF Champions League titles, officially took over Monday as inaugural manr of Beckham’s club. He was an attacker as a player and prefers same style as a coach.

“We knew we would find a coach that matches our aspirations of trying to be successful right out of gate,” Inter Miami Sporting Director Paul McDough said. “What we really like about him is he’s coached at big clubs and he’s won at big tournaments. He’s won at all different levels throughout South America.”

Alonso won’t have long to get settled. Inter Miami — with Beckham a leading part of ownership and front office — will gar for its first practices in January, has preseason matches in February and makes its MLS debut on March 1 at Los Angeles FC. home opener at team’s newly constructed home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is March 14 against LA Galaxy.

Alonso was most recently coach of Mexican club Monterrey, which had success against MLS sides during its run to 2019 CONCACAF Champions League title. It beat Atlanta United by a 3-1 two-game aggregate in quarterfinals, n rolled past Sporting Kansas City by a 10-2 aggregate in semifinals.

He's only coach to win that CONCACAF tournament with two different clubs.

“ MLS has made such a focus on trying to go and make one of targets winning CONCACAF Champions League,” McDough said. “I think fact that Diego has done it twice with two different teams was super-valuable to me. He’s young. He’s got a clear idea of how he wants to play. And I think his desire to coach Miami as next step in his coaching career was super-valuable to us.”

44-year-old Alonso spent part of last two years with Monterrey before being fired in September. Before that, he was with Mexican club Pachura — also taking it to a CONCACAF Champions League crown, and again having success against MLS clubs.

He also coached in his native Uruguay as well as Paraguay. Alonso played for Uruguay’s national team, and striker also was with clubs in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and China before starting his coaching career in 2011.

“ makeup of our team right w has a lot of South American players to go with Americans,” McDough said. “I think it’s really, really important that he can relate to those players and y can understand his training philosophies.”

Alonso’s hiring comes as Inter Miami is still completing its first roster, with plenty of additional moves expected over next few weeks.

team has made two splashy player acquisitions in recent days. It signed two-time MLS Cup-winning defender Roman Torres — Panama’s captain who played in every minute of his nation’s matches at 2018 FIFA World Cup. And it struck a deal with U.S. men’s national team veteran forward Juan Agudelo, who has appeared for three or MLS clubs and made 28 appearances for USMNT.

Among or big names on Inter Miami’s roster so far: former MLS goalkeeper of year Luis Robles, three-time MLS Cup-winning defender A.J. DeLaGarza and midfielder Lee Nyguen — who was third in MLS MVP voting in 2014.