MLS
Federico Redondo shines early on for Inter Miami
The young midfielder has performed well in the few minutes he has had for the MLS side.
One of Inter Miami’s reinforcements for the challenging 2024 season was Federico Redondo, who arrived at the end of February to join the team led by Lionel Messi. In addition to having the World Cup winning attacker as a teammate, the son of former Real Madrid player Fernando Redondo has a huge chance to grow as a midfielder alongside Sergio Busquets.
This Saturday, against DC United, he had his best game since his arrival; under the orders of Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino Redondo will be given the freedom to flourish. The Argentine manager’s decision to rest some players and rotate the squad left Fede as an attractive option to form the double pivot alongside Busquets: he did not disappoint.
Along with Campana and Callender, Redondo was one of the highest rated players who started the match for Inter Miami on their visit to Audi Field. According to Sofascore, he managed a total of 8.1/10 and was one of the players who allowed Luis Suárez to achieve his 8.3 rating. The 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes and had an 85% pass efficiency, as well as completing 3/5 long balls, winning 7/9 duels and completing all of his 3 dribbles.
Busquets and Redondo ‘complement each other and it’s good for us’
In addition to this, the number 55 got his first assist on his account, as he was in charge of putting Leo Campana in front of goal to give Miami a goal on the scoreboard. To round off his MLS performance, Fede was also the player who led the counterattack in which Suárez scored the goal to put his side in the driving seat.
In a match where Busquets and Redondo looked to be playing a similar position in front of the central defenders and behind Diego Gomez to provide balance, ‘Tata’ Martino mentioned that “we are talking about a veteran and a youngster of enormous talent. They understand each other well, they talk a lot. Today the important thing was for them to play as a double-five.”
“(Mateusz) Klich could play in front of the holding midfielder with two strikers inside” he continued. “The idea was that one would play against Klich and the other would play long balls for Benteke. When it’s time to play they switch positions without any problem. Busi (Busquets) is more positional and Fede is more of a two-way player. They complement each other and it’s good for us, because it gives Diego (Gomez) freedom,” Martino concluded.
The Argentinos Juniors graduate has gone two consecutive matches without receiving a yellow card, something that stands out given he was carded in his first two games, against Nashville and CF Montréal. In the return leg against Nashville and this Saturday in the capital, Redondo was disciplined and did well in cutting out this aspect of his game.
The next stop for the Madrid-born player will be the FIFA international break in March, where he is considered by Javier Mascherano a part of the Argentina U-23 National Team as they prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Argentina national team will play a series of friendlies against Mexico in Mazatlán (22/03) and Puebla (25/03).