The MLS Thread, Part V

[dotmotion]

Pulisic is about to become Alphonso Davies nephew. 

[Heimdallr]

On 7/23/2018 at 8:33 AM, The Gnat said:

Great 8 days for MNUFC. Huge points grab in the western conference. The offense has been on fire as late, and Quintero just looks smooth out there.

Quintero, Rodrigeuz, Ibarra, Romario and Ramirez is a ton of talent up top. Danladi and Toye need to go out on loan. 

It'll be interesting to see if Quintero drops down into more of a #10 role in a 3-4-1-2 formation, to make room for both Ramirez and Rodriguez up top, or if Ramirez goes to the bench.

I'm also interested to see if Romario can play wingback, or if he is more of a pure attacker. He came in as a striker last game. 

 

 

[BullsandBroncos]

What do you guys think about Zlatan not playing in the All-Star game?

[SalvadorsDeli]

That Wayne Rooney play is just unbelievable. MLS will justifiably take some heat for the signings that perpetuate the 'retirement league' cracks and such, but the flip side is that once in a while you do get these incredible moment. It was just such a quintiessentially Wayne Rooney kind of way to deliver. Really special moment. 

[BullsandBroncos]

On 8/13/2018 at 3:05 PM, BaltimoreTerp said:

That Wayne Rooney play is just unbelievable. MLS will justifiably take some heat for the signings that perpetuate the 'retirement league' cracks and such, but the flip side is that once in a while you do get these incredible moment. It was just such a quintiessentially Wayne Rooney kind of way to deliver. Really special moment. 

Very true. I think Ligue 1 is similar too because  it's the "I'm still too good for MLS., but not good enough for other leagues." 

[Heimdallr]

I really like the USL restructuring. It makes things much more organized and might even set us up for a promotion/relegation system between the lower leagues. Now there are 4 different levels of Pro soccer:

Division 1 - MLS - 23 teams (26 by 2020)

Division 2 - USL Championship - 33 teams

Division 3 - USL League 1 (new league) - 10 teams (projected 20-25 by 2020)

Division 4 - USL League 2 (formerly PDL)- 74 teams

There is also the National Premier Soccer League which has 94 teams and is pretty much equal to USL League 2.

Starting up a Division 3 league that has USL support is huge. Formerly the only potential Division 3 leagues would have been NASL or NISA which are both pretty much dead.

[amac]

Impressive

 

 

[Heimdallr]

We are back tomorrow!! 

I have a 16-hour watch party planned for tomorrow. Starting with waffles, bacon and bourbon, then beer and wings, then pulled pork tacos and tequila. 

 

6:30 - Tottenham vs Arsenal

8:00 - Parma vs Empoli 

8:30 - Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hoffenheim

8:30 - Nurnberg vs RB Leipzig

9:00 - Manchester United vs Southampton

9:00 - Hull City vs Birmingham City

11:00 - Milan vs Sassuolo

11:20 - Borussia M'Gladbach vs Bayern Munchen

11:30 - West Ham vs Newcastle

12:00 - Philadelphia vs Toronto

1:30 - Lazio vs Roma

3:30 - New York Red Bulls vs Columbus

3:30 - New England vs Dallas

3:30 - USAWNT vs England

5:00 - Minnesota vs Vancouver

5:00 - Houston vs Real Salt Lake

5:00 - Colorado vs Portland

7:00 - Chicago vs LA Galaxy

9:00 - San Jose vs Montreal

9:00 - Cincinnati vs Seattle

[Heimdallr]

If anyone is interested in MNUFC, here is a rundown of the additions Minnesota made this year:

Jan Gregus

• 6'4", 28 years old, born in Czechoslovakia 
• Box-to-box central midfielder and free kick specialist
• Comes in as the team's 3rd Designate Player
• Spent last 3 seasons at FC Copenhagen
• 21 appearances for the Slovakian national team

Ozzy Alonso 

• 5'11", 33 years old, born in Cuba
• Hard-hitting defensive midfielder
• Defected to the US while in Houston with the Cuban national team
• Spent 10 seasons with Seattle Sounders (277 appearances and 20,000+ minutes)
• 5-time MLS All-Star/Best XI
• 2016 MLS Cup champion, 4x US Open Cup champion, 2014 Supporters Shield champion

Ike Opara

• 6'2", 29 years old, born in North Carolina
• Centerback, highly athletic, set piece specialist (15 goals)
• Former 3rd-overall pick, 8 seasons in MLS (last 5 with rival Sporting KC)
• 2017 MLS defender of the year + MLS Best XI
• 2013 MLS Cup Champion, 2x US Open Cup Champion

Romain Metanire

• 5'10", 28 years old, born in France
• Rightback, effective 2-way player
• Spent last 2 seasons with Reims (French Ligue 1), also 193 appearances for Metz (Ligue 1/2)
• First Malagasy national player to play in MLS

Vito Mannone

• 6'2", 30 years old, born in Italy
• Goalkeeper, 160 appearances in Premier League/Championship
• 7 years with Arsenal (23 appearances), moved to Reading in 2017 for $2M
• Comes to MN on loan from Reading (English Championship)

Dayne St. Clair

• 6'3", 21 years old, from Ontario
• Goalkeeper, likes to come out and distribute with his feet
• 2019 7th overall pick out of Maryland
• 2018 NCAA Champion, did not allow a goal in last 500 minutes

Chase Gasper

• 6'0", 23 years old, from Virginia
• Leftback, 2-way player, 2018 NCAA Champion
• 2019 15th overall pick, from Maryland (spent previous 3 years at UCLA)
• 21 appearances for USA U18/U21 teams

The theme of the offseason was DEFENSE (added 2 defensive midfielders, 3 defenders and 2 keepers). We are also getting back Kevin Molino and Ethan Finlay from season-long ACL injuries which will help the attack.

Here is the projected opening lineup: 

[EDIT: Boxall will start at CB over Kallman]

The most interesting note is that Schuller has been playing the left wing in the preseason, even though he is mainly known as a central midfielder. It is an interesting tactic because he has been drifting into the central of the field when attacking, which opens up room on the wing for Calvo to move up. When defending, it is a traditional 4-2-3-1, but when attacking it shifts almost to a 3-5-2 with Schuller acting like a 3rd central midfielder and Calvo moving up as the left wing.

If Gregus or Alonso are ever out of the lineup, Schuller will take their place inside and either Romario Ibarra or Ethan Finlay will come in as a more traditional winger. Romario Ibarra might even unseat Angelo Rodriguez as the striker. He has gotten a lot of time there in the preseason, and honestly the attack looks much better with him in. He pairs well with Quintero, while Rodriguez just hasn't yet.

Overall the lineup looks dramatically better than either of the last two seasons, and on paper Minnesota looks like it could be one of the better teams in the Western conference. It will be a huge disappointment if we aren't in the playoff hunt at the end of the season.

 

[Heimdallr]

I didn't think it was legal to win multiple road games in a row (or in a season).... I guess I still have things to learn about MLS. 

[Heimdallr]

US Open Cup Final tonight! 

Come on you Loons!

[EvilenFroggen]

So Tepper gets his team. I said if this happened I’m in as far as MLS fandom. Tried to like NYCFC due to City but it was just too much of a stretch. But now I don’t have any good excuse. 

[Heimdallr]

6 hours ago, Heimdallr said:

 

3 days until the Loons open the season in Portland!

Here is a breakdown of the team going into the season (with some preseason highlights included!):

COACH / SYSTEM

Adrian Heath is back for his 4th season at the helm of Minnesota United, having recently received a contract extension and being promoted to have full control of the roster. Heath was a renowned goalscorer, with over 120 goals across 18 seasons in the English Premier League, and managed Orlando  City for 5 years before coming to Minnesota.

Heath's preferred system is a 4-2-3-1 formation with an emphasis on using attacking fullbacks to overload the wings before sending in crosses. Last season we also saw 4-3-3 looks when more midfield presence was required, or even an occasional 5-3-2, most notably to great success against LAFC. Everyone expects Heath to keep true to his preferred system and start the year with the traditional 4-2-31 lineup. 

Overall, this is how most people are projecting the opening lineup:

 

FORWARDS

ADDITIONS - Luis Amarilla, Aaron Schoenfeld

DEPARTURES - Angelo Rodriguez, Abu Danladi

The biggest signing of the offseason was Luis Amarilla from Velez Sarsfield in Argentina to replace Angelo Rodriguez, who departed after one disappointing year. the 24 year old Paraguayan is coming off a season on loan at Universidad Catolica in Ecuador where he scored 19 goals in 24 games. He scored 4 goals in his 4 preason games since arriving in Minnesota, and promised to score 25 goals this season (only done 8 times before in MLS history). He will be the starting striker, and will definitely be the most popular player with the female (and certain male) fans. 

Behind Luis (or next to him when Adrian Heath rolls out a 2-forward formation) will be 21 year old, Mason Toye. The 2018 7th overall pick from Indiana recently has been called up to the USA U23 team, and will likely be a member of the US Olympic team if they can qualify for a spot in Tokyo this summer. Mason spent time bouncing between Madison and Minnesota looking for playing time last season, but notched 5 goals in 8 appearances when called upon. He has great speed which makes him a great option off the bench to capitalize when opposing defenders are tired late in games.

Rounding out the forwards is Aaron Schoenfeld, a former Columbus Crew member from 2012-2015, who has spent the last few seasons playing in the Israeli Premier League. At 6'4", Aaron is a great aerial threat, which brings a new dimension to the attack that was sorely lacking in 2019. The 29 year old probably won't see a ton of playing time if Toye and Amarilla stay healthy, but he will serve as the primary backup when Toye is out on international duty. Off the field, Schoenfeld is dating USWNT star Abby Dahlkemper, and his nickname is "big celery" for reasons that Abby is assuredly well aware of. 

 

ATTACKING MIDFIELD / WINGERS

ADDITIONS - Marlon Hairston, Raheem Edwards

DEPARTURES - Darwin Quintero, Miguel Ibarra

By far the biggest news of the offseason was trading Darwin Quintero to Houston. He was the team's leading goalscorer last year, and the franchise's first truly big signing. However he fell out of favor in the 2nd half of last season and was even left off the team in the US Open Cup Final against Atlanta. Longtime Minnesota fan-favorite Miguel "Batman" Ibarra also departed, choosing to sign with Seattle recently. 

The biggest additions in this group actually came midway through last season, with Robin Lod and Tomas Chacon arriving during the summer transfer window. It is well known that foreign players usually take some time to get into shape and to adjust to the league, so both players will be looking to start strong with a full offseason under their belt. Lod is a 26 year old Finnish international, who will can play on the left, right, or centrally, and has been getting most of his time on the left wing under Adrian Heath. He is currently the highest paid player on the team and the team is looking to see big things from this year.

Similarly, Chacon was brought in last season as a Young Designated Player, and Minnesota paid a club record transfer free (reportedly between $3M and $5M) to bring him in from Danubio. The 19 year old Uruguayan can play any of the 3 attacking midfield positions, but is most well known for playing centrally, or drifting out to the left. He probably will not be a starter on opening day, but will see plenty of playing time, and has a strong chance of unseating any of the 3 starters if they start to struggle.

There have been plenty of rumors that MNUFC is looking to acquire Emanuel Reynoso from Boca Juniors in Argentina, which would unquestionably be the team's biggest ever signing, but for now the starting central attacking midfielder will be MLS veteran Kevin Molino. The 29 year old known as "Hot Boy" has 21 goals in 49 appearances for the Trinidad & Tobago national team, and now has 8 years of experience playing for Adrian Heath, both in Orlando and Minnesota. He missed large parts of the last two seasons due to an ACL tear late in 2017, but now is at full strength, and Heath will rely on Kevin to orchestrate the attack.

Ethan Finlay is projected to be the opening starter at right wing, and happens to also be 29 years old, has 7 years of MLS experience, and is also coming off a 2017 ACL tear, all same as Molino. Finlay is a Duluth, MN native who played with the Columbus Crew for 6 seasons before being traded to Minnesota in 2017. He will may be the starter right now, but he will face a lot of competition from Tomas Chacon and Raheem Edwards to keep that spot.

Behind the top 4 options of Molino, Lod, Chacon and Finlay will be newcomers Marlon Hairston from Houston, and Raheem Edwards from Chicago. Hairston was acquired as part of the Darwin Quintero trade and can play anywhere on the right wing. Similarly, Edwards plays anywhere on the left side. Both could see time either as wingers or as fullbacks if needed, and add some much needed veteran depth, despite being 25 and 24 years old, respectively.

 

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD

ADDITIONS - Jacori Hayes, James Musa

DEPARTURES - Lawrence Olum, Colin Martin, Rasmus Schuller

This position is very well set. Ozzie Alonso continues his legendary MLS career and will be the team captain when in the lineup. The longtime Seattle captain is one of the best pure defensive midfielders in league history, and even scored the first ever goal at Allianz Field last year.

Next to him in Heath's 4-2-3-1  will be Slovakian international, Jan Gregus. Jan is more of a true box-to-box midfielder, and is also the primary free kick taker for Minnesota. He will play slightly in front of Ozzie when moving forward, and has been known to hit some true bangers from long range. Jan had a very strong year in 2019, and quietly emerged as one of the league's best central midfielders.

Backing up both Alonso and Gregus will be Hassani Dotson, who is coming off a rookie season where he was the runner-up Rookie Of The Year. Hassani has not yet been called up to the US U23 team, but is a possible candidate for the Olympic team. He saw time at both fullback and midfield last year, and should see plenty of playing time with Chase Gasper, Jan Gregus and Romaine Metanire all set to mess time for international duty.

4th-5th in the pecking order will be former 1st round pick Jacori Hayes, and journeyman James Musa. Hayes was traded from Dallas to MNUFC this summer for a 3rd round pick, and will look to get a fresh start after a once promising start to his career. Hayes could see sporadic playing time if Jan or Ozzie are out and Dotson is needed at fullback. While Hayes has spent the last 3 years since being drafted in Dallas, James Musa has played on 11 teams in the last 10 years, on top of his national team duties with New Zealand. Musa does not project to see much playing time, but is a solid depth piece at either defensive midfield or centerback. 

 

DEFENDERS

ADDITIONS - Jose Aja, Noah Billingsley

DEPARTURES - Wyatt Omsberg

The backline will remain unchanged from last year, and that is very much a good thing. Chase Gasper (left back), Michael Boxall (centerback), Ike Opara (centerback), and Romaine Metanire (rightback), return as arguably the strongest defensive line in the league. Opara is coming of a MLS Defender Of The Year season, Gasper become the first Loon to earn a USMNT cap since Miguel Ibarra, and Romaine Metanire has established himself as a true workhorse and one of the best fullbacks in the league. Jose Aja was signed to replace Wyatt Omsberg (who was traded to Chicago for Raheem Edwards), and will serve as the primary centerback backup. The other backup at centerback will be longtime Loon (going all the back to the NASL days) Brent Kallman, who does need to serve a 5 game suspension to start the season, due to a failed drug test last year. 

While Kallman and Aja have the centerback depth squared away, things are a bit more fluid on the outside, with no true backups on the roster. Both Hairston and Edwards can both play at fullback, but they are generally known more as midfielders or wingbacks as opposed to true fullbacks. Dotson has been known to play there, but he is also the primary backup in the midfield. This year's first round pick, Noah Billingsley (a 3rd Kiwi!) can play either fullback or centerback, but he will probably be sent out on loan to either Madison or another USL team to get some playing time while he develops. Gasper and Metanire will both miss time for international competition, so it'll be interesting to see what Heath does to replace them.

 

GOALKEEPER

ADDITIONS - Tyler Miller, Greg Ranjitsingh, Fred Emmings

DEPARTURES - Vito Mannone, Bobby Shuttleworth

One of the big questions of this last offseason was if starting keeper Vito Mannone would be returning, but he chose to return to Europe, despite being offered a contract that would have made him the highest paid keeper in the league. Replacing him will be Tyler Miller, who comes over from LAFC following their record setting, league winning 2019 campaign. Miller is regarded as one of the top keepers in the league, and should do a fine job replacing the outgoing Italian. 

Backing up Miller will be former USL standout Greg Ranjitsingh, and United's first ever homegrown academy signing, 16 year old Fred Emmings from St. Paul. Last year's first round pick Dayne St. Clair has been loaned out to San Antonio for the season to get some more playing time. It is unlikely that Greg will see any playing time unless Miller gets hurt, and Emmings will probably be loaned out get playing time in a lower league.

 

That's it! First game is on Sunday, visiting the Portland Timbers. The first home game will be March 15th against the New York Red Bulls.

[tom cody]

Guess the MLS begins tomorrow. I wonder if Toronto FC can get back to the finals again this year. 

[Heimdallr]

On 2/28/2020 at 9:12 AM, tom cody said:

Guess the MLS begins tomorrow. I wonder if Toronto FC can get back to the finals again this year. 

I love me some Pozuelo, and if Jozy stays healthy, they can do some damage. I still don't see them beating out Atlanta in the East though.