Argentinian Cristian “Kily” González was presented on Tuesday as the new coach of Inter Miami, in an arrival marked by his relationship with Lionel Messi and by the backing he, according to the coach himself, received from the Argentine captain to assume the position.
“Las Garzas” made their incorporation official after the visa needed to work in the United States was validated.The agreement envisages their stay at the club until June 2028.
González, 52, will face his fourth experience as a coach after directing Rosario Central, Unión de Santa Fe and Platense.
Ready to work. ??? Welcome to Miami, Cristian ‘Kily’ González.? https://t.co/IuDVDwXLPC pic.twitter.com/LCcHafUDHB
During his first press conference as Inter Miami coach, González spoke about the relationship heins with Messi and highlighted the importance that the Argentine forward had in his arrival at the club.
“I’m excited that he wanted me to lead him,” said the coach, who shared clothes with Messi during his early years in the Argentine national team.
Gonzalez also described the link he retains with the footballer of Inter Miami.
“There are things in football that cannot be described with words. These are unique sensations. I feel a privileged person and blessed to have this opportunity and the relationship I have with Leo, which is fantastic. I love him, he knows it and that makes this moment even more special,” he added.
The Argentinian will now have the challenge of working directly with Messi, in addition to coinciding in the dressing room with other references such as his compatriot Rodrigo de Paul and Uruguay’s Luis Suárez.
The first test for the new coach of Inter Miami will arrive just a day after his presentation.
González will debut this Wednesday against Cruz Azul in the Champions Cup, a tournament that faces the MLS champion with the winner of the MX League Champion.
Get your tickets: https://t.co/cNLI5ihggW pic.twitter.com/KnveYKykJ1
The match will be played at Nu Stadium in Miami from 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
The Argentinian already headed his first training on Tuesday, after problems related to his work permit delayed for almost three weeks the start of his roles with the team.
One of the main goals of the new coach will be to improve the defensive functioning of the Miami set.
The team has only managed to keep their goal in zero in one of their last 14 matches, a situation that González intends to correct from his first meetings.
“I’m looking for a shorter, more compact, much more aggressive and playing team,” he said.
The Argentinian also spoke of the way he intends to manage Messi’s presence within his scheme. For González, having the world champion implies finding a balance so that the forward can make differences without charging all the responsibility of the team.
“We have the best player in the world and we have to protect him, not make him so burdensome, but naturalize him; we know what he is.”
González arrives at Inter Miami after running for several years in Argentine football.
His first experience as a coach was with the reserve team of Rosario Central.After two seasons he was promoted to the first team, to which he directed for 68 games between 2020 and 2022.
He later took the reins of Union of Santa Fe, where he was at the forefront for 78 matches between 2023 and 2025.
As a footballer, González had an extensive international career, playing for clubs such as Rosario Central, Boca Juniors, Zaragoza, Valencia and Inter Milan, as well as representing Argentina.
With the Argentine national team, he won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the club level, he won the league and the Supercopa of Spain with Valencia, while with the Inter he won a league, two Copas and a Supercopa of Italy.
Now he will have the most recent challenge of his career: to drive Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and start his stage in the United States with a title at stake.
