Rodolfo Pizarro opens up about issues plaguing him after game-winning performance
The Inter Miami midfielder talked about a dip in confidence after scoring the decisive goal in the 3-2 win vs. the Chicago Fire
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If Rodolfo Pizarro has been feeling more confident and like himself over the last three weeks, Wednesday night provided evidence of it.
Pizarro donned the hero’s cape for Inter Miami in midweek action, delivering a stoppage-time goal to push Inter Miami to a 3-2 home victory over the Chicago Fire at Drv Pnk Stadium. The Mexican midfielder not only proved decisive with his clinical finish in the 93rd minute, but ended a personal scoring drought for club and country that dated back to Oct. 29, 2020.
Afterwards, Pizarro for the first time opened up in some detail about a few of the things that have hindered him and not allowed him to play more like himself on a consistent basis this year.
“I think any person has problems, I think any person suffers from a loss in confidence,” said Pizarro in Spanish. “Not having my family and friends nearby affected me a lot. Like I said in terms of my confidence, I did not believe in myself 100 percent, I did not feel important. I think that is one of the things.
“I think a player works through confidence. If he feels important, he performs better. I think that is basically what I was feeling, but I have flipped the switch and am focused and know who I am. I have had three weeks now in which I have changed and am another player once again.”
Pizarro, 27, probably could not be blamed for having been low on confidence. He had injury issues earlier this season that limited his participation, has been criticized plenty due to his poor form, and has been dropped from Inter Miami’s starting lineup on multiple occasions. This despite his standing as one of the team’s three Designated Players.
The star attacker reminded everyone vs. the Fire, however, that he can still make a difference. Pizarro came off the bench in the 62nd minute, provided some different attacking ideas in a tilt that was deadlocked at 2-2 upon his entry, and ultimately came up with his match-winning goal near the death with a right-footed effort to the bottom far corner before pulling off his trademark Joker celebration.
"Rodolfo won us the game,’ said Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville, “and what we said in the dressing room after the game is that that boy suffered more than probably any other player in this football club in terms of not scoring, not assisting, probably not being totally 100 percent happy with his form or his fitness or myself or whatever.
“But the team believes in him and I believe in him. I have never wavered on my belief for that boy, and his finish was world class. His finish is what we see probably for Mexico, that kind of confidence and strut, and I think if I could have picked anyone to score tonight it would have been Rodolfo with the fact that he has been through the mill.”
Pizarro might be starting to turn a corner with his confidence and form, but there is still plenty of work for him to do. He has only one goal and two assists in nine starts and 14 appearances this year, and will need to come up with more big plays in order to force his way back into the lineup on a more regular basis.
Still, there are now signs that point to him being able to do just that. He has begun to rediscover some of his belief, and the game-winning goal should only provide a further boost in a campaign that has challenged him plenty.
“For me, confidence is everything,” said Pizarro. “I had been without confidence for two or three months in which I did not believe in myself. I have now had three weeks in which I have worked on that a lot. I have worked physically, too, but a lot on my confidence and believing in myself again and knowing who I am.
“I think that is a basic principle, not only in soccer but in any profession."