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Inter Miami’s Mexican star Rodolfo Pizarro believes playing for Liga MX giant Chivas can propel or sink players’ careers and is adapting to the relatively tranquil life in Southern Florida.
The 26-year-old played for Pachuca, Chivas and Monterrey, joining Inter Miami last month and before the current coronavirus pandemic, Pizarro had noticed the difference off the field in the United States.
“You get more tranquility,” Pizarro said in an interview with ESPN’s Ahora o Nunca. “In the street, nobody bothers you and you can go out to dinner in peace.”
“But you also lose because nobody is looking at you or knows what you are doing,” he added. “You win on on one side, lose on another. There are pros and cons … Here [in Miami] there are the NBA and baseball stars and you’re just one more.”
Pizarro stated that playing for all-Mexican club Chivas, where he became a fan favorite and won the CONCACAF Champions League and Liga MX, was more extreme than anything he has experienced in his career and can take its toll if players aren’t prepared.
“It’s completely different being in Chivas, for better or worse,” said Pizarro. “It can sink your career if you can’t deal with the pressure or it can catapult you to being a name, help you a lot with marketing.
“In Pachuca you score one goal, or two goals, and nobody says anything and in Chivas you score a goal in consecutive games and you are a crack,” he continued. “It’s a lot easier to get to the national team playing with Chivas or America or one of those [big] clubs.”
Pizarro was asked whether Wolverhampton Wanderers’ striker Raul Jimenez or LAFC’s Carlos Vela is the best player in the CONCACAF region right now and he agreed it is between the two.
“I think they are the best,” Pizarro stated. “It’s difficult because Raul Jimenez is scoring goals against Manchester United and Manchester City and Carlos Vela is in the MLS. In talent, everyone knows about Carlos Vela. I think it’s between those two and it’s even.”
Pizarro is living in his friend’s apartment, having moved out from the hotel at which he was staying, and is following advice about staying home during this crisis, training as best he can, but it’s not the same as being out on the field.
“After this [break] we’ll be more ready to run a marathon than to play football,” he said. “It’d be good if they could find a solution to play five a side or something so we’re aren’t going so long without playing with the ball.”
New MLS franchise Inter Miami lost its first two MLS games of the season to LAFC and D.C. United and had its much-anticipated home opener against LA Galaxy on March 14 postponed just two days before it was due to kick off.
MLS has extended its training moratorium due to the coronavirus pandemic through April 3.