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Inter Miami newcomer Federico Redondo has poise, pedigree to make immediate impact

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald on

Published in Soccer

MIAMI — Federico Redondo is just 21 years old and has spent barely a week with Inter Miami since leaving Argentinos Juniors, but the midfielder has poise beyond his years and a soccer pedigree that helped prepare him to handle the spotlight that comes with playing alongside Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba.

He has been around famous soccer players since he was born.

Redondo is the son of former Real Madrid and AC Milan great Fernando Redondo, who played defensive midfield, the same position as Federico. The maternal side of his family tree, led by patriarchs Jorge and Eduardo Solari, produced 12 professional soccer players and coaches over three generations.

The younger Redondo is already making a name for himself, having helped the Argentina U23 team qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. Several European clubs were interested in signing him, including Bayern Munich, but Inter Miami offered a chance to play with his boyhood idol Messi, other big names and he was intrigued by the club’s plans.

“The MLS has been growing a lot and will keep growing, and Inter Miami is very ambitious, trying to win championships; and, of course, I fulfill a dream by playing with players such as Leo, Jordi, Luis and Sergio,” he told the Miami Herald Tuesday after his introductory news conference.

Miami paid Argentinos Juniors a transfer fee of more than $5 million to get him, according to a league source, and with performance incentives it could go up to the $7 million range. He joins the team under the U22 Initiative, replacing fellow Argentine Facundo Farias, who sustained a season-ending ACL injury during Miami’s first preseason game.

 

Like Busquets, the 6-2 Redondo is lanky, deep-lying midfielder known for his field vision. He is always “looking for the best option” and is equally comfortable defending and sending the ball forward to attackers.

Although he grew up as a Real Madrid fan because of his father, he is delighted to have four former Barcelona stars as his new teammates.

“Aside from being a fan of Real Madrid, I am a fan of great futbol,” Redondo said. “That Barca team played very well, and I can learn a lot from them.”

Although he grew up admiring Messi, it was usually from a distance. Redondo said he trained against him once with the youth national team and took a photo with him. He said Messi and the other marquee players gave him a warm welcome.

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