LEWIS MORGAN
One of the most in-form players in MLS sits down with World Soccer to discuss his shining displays at New York Red Bulls, his previous spell at Inter Miami and his international aspirations with Scotland
"You left Celtic in 2020 to join Inter Miami for their inaugural season in Major League Soccer. How did that transfer come about?
I hadn’t really thought about moving to MLS. It wasn’t something that was at the forefront of my mind. It was just something that my agent brought to me and said that there was interest from Miami’s side in bringing me over for their inaugural season. I’d heard about interest pretty early, then it got to our Christmas break when I was in Dubai with Celtic at a training camp, and then it just went from 0-100 really quickly.
What’s it like joining a brand-new football club? How do you build team spirit with a completely new set of players?
I joined MLS at a weird time because of COVID. We had the MLS Is Back tournament and everything was a little bit strange and out of the ordinary. But I loved my time there. One of the obstacles, especially with COVID, was that it was quite hard to cultivate that team spirit and culture. That takes time and it takes being able to interact with the guys, both on and off the pitch, and that was something we weren’t really afforded the luxury of, so we did really feel like a new group. By the time we got to the second year, it felt a bit different and it felt like we were able to really establish a culture there.
The 2020 season was a really positive one for you personally, ending as Inter Miami’s MVP. Did you expect to settle so quickly?
I always have confidence in myself. I’d had a rough couple of years at Celtic, I had a knee injury that set me back a little bit and I never really got going. I really did want a fresh start. I wanted to go somewhere and get back to being myself. Miami gave me the platform to do that. I enjoyed it; the first year especially was a good year for myself to be a regular starter again.
You arrived in the same year as marquee signings Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain. Was there an excitement within the club around their arrivals?
Obviously they were big signings for us and it was good for me to learn things off them and share a changing room with them. They were great with me. But at the end of the day they’re just team-mates once they walk in the door. There’s that bit of excitement at the start, but then as soon as you’re training they’re part of the team and they never felt like they were anything other than that.
Since you left, Inter have signed Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez…
There’s actually not too many of my old team-mates still there. There’s been quite a lot of transition at the club. They’re a ver
