Kily González takes over as Inter Miami coach, debuts Wednesday against Cruz Azul

There's a new man in charge in Fort Lauderdale. Inter Miami introduced Cristian "Kily" González as its new head coach on Tuesday, and he won't even have time to unpack: on Wednesday he'll already be on the bench to face Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup.

The club made the signing official after clearing up a significant piece of paperwork: validating the visa needed to work in the United States. With that sorted out, the Herons confirmed that the 52 year old Argentine signed through June 2028. This isn't an emergency fix, then, but a medium term bet for a locker room that includes Lionel Messi, Rodrigo de Paul, Luis Suarez and Casemiro, among others.

The announcement came with a photo of the coach already wearing the club's training jersey, with the word "welcome" in large letters. Inter Miami summed it up on its X account:

Ready to work. Welcome to Miami, Cristian 'Kily' GonzalezInter Miami

Born in Rosario, "Kily" González arrives after leading his first training session with the squad on Tuesday, becoming the third coach to run the Inter Miami bench so far this season, following Javier Mascherano and Guillermo Hoyos. That fact says a lot about the unstable stretch this team is going through, even as Messi remains its clear on field focal point.

Immediate debut against Cruz Azul

There's no time to settle in. On Wednesday, at Nu Stadium in Miami, starting at 8:00 p.m. local time (12:00 a.m. GMT Thursday), "Kily" will make his coaching debut with Inter Miami against Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup, the trophy that pits the MLS champion against the winner of Liga MX's Campeon de Campeones.

As a player, González had a career that left a mark: he was a full Argentina international and won Olympic gold at Athens 2004. He wore the shirts of Valencia, with whom he won a La Liga title and a Spanish Super Cup, and Inter Milan, where he added a league title, two cups and a Super Cup. He also played for Boca Juniors, Real Zaragoza and, of course, his beloved Rosario Central.

His coaching career began right there, at Rosario Central, first with the reserve team and then, after two seasons, in charge of the first team, which he led for 68 matches between 2020 and 2022. He then took over Union de Santa Fe, where he was in charge for 78 games between 2023 and 2025, and in the most recent campaign he coached Platense. Now that experience faces a completely different test: MLS, a locker room full of stars and a near immediate debut against Cruz Azul with little room for error.