Movin’ to SoFlo: A New Stop

Presented by Good Greek Moving

By Inter Miami CF

June 22^nd, 2020

As a new franchise, every Inter Miami player is new to the Club. Some of them, however, are veterans who bring years of experience in MLS with them to Inter Miami; Good Greek Moving presents the story of their move to South Florida.

Life as a professional athlete often involves sudden moves to new cities. For MLS veteran Victor Ulloa, though, this was an unfamiliar feeling until just recently. The midfielder grew up in the FC Dallas academy before earning a Homegrown contract with the club. He spent the first eight years of his professional career there before heading to Cincinnati for the 2019 season, uprooting his life in MLS for the first time. Then, in November 2019, he was acquired by Inter Miami, again joining an expansion side for a fresh start.

“I think getting out of Dallas the first time was interesting. The first time that I left my home, my family, my parents, my friends and everybody that I knew, and where I was comfortable, was moving to Cincinnati. It was a completely different place, the weather, the people, the city. We went from being in a huge city to a smaller town,” said Ulloa. “So I think it helped that this move down to Miami is not the first move out of state. Obviously there's that excitement of the weather and the beach, but I never thought I would live here and be playing or the Club. It didn't exist last year.”

For A.J. DeLaGarza, a fresh start in a new city was not quite as novel a concept. Though Inter Miami is just the third stop in the 32-year-old defender’s 12-year MLS career, his first move came back in 2017 when he was traded from the LA Galaxy to the Houston Dynamo.

“This is my second change. I don’t think anyone will ever get used to moving and uprooting their family,” said DeLaGarza. “It's never easy, but once your family's all together, it's all worth it in the end. And when you're in a place like we're in and with a team and organization who really, really takes care of their players, it makes life more fun and makes it a Club that you want to be a part of.”

Wil Trapp’s journey as a soccer player, however, has been very different. The midfielder’s Ohio roots were strong enough to tie him to his hometown Columbus Crew SC for the entirety of his seven-year MLS career. Before that, he attended the University of Akron to play NCAA Division I soccer. Before even that, he was born and raised in the Columbus, Ohio area and represented the Columbus Crew academy. He was just about one town until a January 2020 trade saw him head down south to join Inter Miami.

“It was unexpected, but when we found out our destination, we were very excited for the progress that we had heard about and seen from Inter Miami,” said Trapp. “South Florida is a beautiful place with a lot of culture and things that we desired as a family and that I desired as a player. It has overwhelmingly exceeded all expectations.”

A common theme among the three athletes in their move to South Florida was an appreciation for some of the area’s most famous attributes: Warm weather, beaches, food and culture.

“When you think about South Florida, you have the beach, you have amazing food, a great amalgamation of cultures that come together,” said Trapp. “I think for us, being from Ohio where not that it's devoid of culture, but it's certainly not the melting pot that South Florida is, we really wanted to dive in and learn about and also experience what South Florida has to offer.”

For DeLaGarza, all these attributes helped build a sense of familiarity with his new community as they reminded him of his previous stops.

“The culture, that diversity, the weather, the beaches, the food, the palm trees, it reminds me of LA. I was in LA for quite a long time and that's kind of where I grew up and developed as a player, as a man, as a husband and father,” said DeLaGarza. “This just feels like home and it feels like we belong here.”

As a Mexican-American, the hispanic population and mix of cultures has been a source of comfort for Ulloa as he adapts to a new home.

“It's been interesting to see the different cultures that are here. There's a lot of people who speak Spanish, which is what me and my family do. It's interesting to hear the different accents,” said Ulloa. “It's really nice to see the people of different types of cultures and different types of languages that are spoken down here, and how diverse it is.”

As MLS veterans starting on an expansion project, Trapp, Ulloa and DeLaGarza have become leaders with Inter Miami. They have helped each of the other players adapt to their new circumstances.

“My mentality was, how can I make a good impression? Not only on my teammates, but also the staff and the Club,” said Trapp. “So it was something that I jumped into with two feet and tried to find the commonalities and the things that would gel the team very quickly.”

“I think I’m a quiet leader and I just go out there and try to be consistent and do my part each and every day,” said DeLaGarza. “I'm enjoying it and embracing something new and challenging. I think that's why I wanted to come here to be a part of something new and different and be a part of an expansion team from the beginning and try to put my footprint into this team, organization and city.”

“We just try to use our experiences and our wisdom,” added Ulloa. “We have a lot of guys that have been in the league a long time and know what it takes, and know what it's like on and off and off the field. So we just try to use our experience and try to talk to the guys.”

Button Label