Getting to know Bolivian defender Jairo Quinteros, one of many new Inter Miami players
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Loading... - Scarlett Lawrence
- 13 Jan 2022
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Most of the big Inter Miami headlines this off-season have been about the departures of well-known players -- Rodolfo Pizarro, Lewis Morgan, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Christian Makoun, Julian Carranza – and the expected exit of Blaise Matuidi.
Not getting nearly as much attention is the fact that the club has been reloading with young talent, including 20-year-old defender Jairo Quinteros, back after a two-year loan to Bolivian club Bolivar.
Quinteros, whose family moved from Bolivia to Spain when he was three, developed his game at Valencia’s youth academy from age 13 to 19, during which he briefly crossed paths with Inter Miami coach Phil Neville, who was an assistant coach with the first team.
Quinteros is one of at least 10 new players who will be on the Inter Miami roster when training camp opens Jan. 17.
The club got Brazilian midfielder Jean Mota from Santos, midfielder Bryce Duke from Los Angeles FC, midfielder/fullback Mo Adams from Atlanta United, winger/forward Ariel Lassiter (son of former MLS star Roy Lassiter) from Houston Dynamo and signed former Montreal FC goalkeeper Clement Diop, who has been training with Inter Miami since last fall.
Another half-dozen or so players are expected to be added in the coming days, according to sources. The club is finalizing contracts with Swedish-American center back Christopher McVey and Jamaican defender Damion Lowe. Also, several players from the club’s Fort Lauderdale USL team will be promoted, including 6-6 center back Aime Mabika, who played two games for Inter Miami last season.
The club is reducing its payroll partly due to MLS sanctions for roster violations in 2020, but also because Neville and chief soccer officer Chris Henderson, dissatisfied with last year’s results, want to infuse the squad with youth, speed, and hunger.
Quinteros fits the bill.
“I learned a lot the past two years as a player and a person and I come back with big ambitions,” Quinteros said by phone this week. “I want to be a good teammate and I am here to compete. The changes they are making are to improve the team and achieve big things and I want to be part of that.” Read More…
