Inter Miami boss Phil Neville channels inner Sir Alex Ferguson with blunt Gonzalo Higuain message

Higuain retired last October after two-and-a-half seasons playing in MLS

22:00, 31 Mar 2023

Gonzalo Higuain talks with Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville during a Major League Soccer match

Phil Neville coached Gonzalo Higuain at Inter Miami last season

Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville has revealed Gonzalo Higuain was dropped last season due to a lack of fitness and commitment to the cause at the Major League Soccer side.

The one-time Chelsea loanee was not a regular last term after initially dropping out of the side due to knee problems. Higuain featured as a substitute eight times between the end of April and mid-July, starting just once.

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Following this period, after scoring goals off the bench in back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Charlotte, the striker was reintegrated into the starting XI and helped secure Miami's playoff berth. Neville has now opened up on his decision making, showing a ruthless streak Sir Alex Ferguson often displayed during his success-laden time in charge of United.

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"He needed to be fitter," the coach told ESPN. "He needed to be committed to the journey. But more importantly, the dressing room needed him to commit to the journey because the dressing room was starting to create their own identity, their own values

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"We created a family-type culture in here, where people loved and enjoyed coming to work. Every single day they have breakfast together, lunch together. When we travel together, they go everywhere together. They are almost like a brotherhood. And they fought for each other on the pitch. That was a big thing.

"You have to have the right people in the building. When I say 'right people,' it's not necessarily the brainiest guys in the class or the most talented. You've got to have the right characters. Character is more, it adds to a culture."

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