Minnesota United: Darwin Quintero reveals Designated Player importance

Minnesota United Designated Player Darwin Quintero is seemingly set to leave the club this offseason. His ordeal, as well as the difficulties of Angelo Rodriguez, reveal the importance of intelligent DP investment, and the pitfalls of getting it wrong.

The David Beckham rule changed the way Major League Soccer squads are assembled. While the salary cap remained in place, introducing the roster slot of a ‘Designated Player’ allowed clubs to invest significantly in specific players.

Initially, only one Designated Player (DP) was allowed per team. That figure has since risen to three and could push higher in the future as MLS continues to expand, growing in financial muscle and world footballing calibre.

This, obviously, has changed how teams see the process of roster building, especially when it comes to their assortment of resources throughout the squad, including among the high-end players. Now more than ever, it is critical that the expensive players deliver on their value. You can only have three in your team, after all.

Minnesota United’s recent issues with their roster assembly are proof of that. While the Loons enjoyed their best-ever MLS season in 2019, reaching the playoffs for the first time, they ultimately fell short in the postseason, despite hosting the Los Angeles Galaxy. The difference was the DPs, namely Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jonathan dos Santos, the latter of which scored.

Minnesota United, meanwhile, filled out their three DP slots for the first time this season also. Darwin Quintero, their first DP, was joined by Angelo Rodriguez last season, and then Jan Gregus in the offseason. The latter has been superb, forming one of the best holding midfield pivots alongside Ozzie Alonso in the league, but the former two have both failed to live up to expectations.

And now, it is expected that Quintero will leave Minnesota this winter. The Colombian thanks Minnesota on his social media for his time with the club, announcing that he would be departing in the coming weeks.

The club has a 2020 option on his contract worth $2 million and have not yet officially confirmed their failure to exercise this option. This is perhaps because they are trying to secure a trade — The Athletic reported earlier that Orlando City’s Dom Dwyer could be of interest. Either way, whether it be by trade or straight release, it seems inevitable that Quintero will not be playing in Minnesota next season.

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Given his performances in the back half of the 2019 season, that is not all that surprising. He was nothing more than a late substitute in the aforementioned playoff defeat to the Galaxy and contributed just three goals and zero assists since the start of July. On the season, he scored 10 goals and assisted five, not necessarily terrible numbers but certainly not just for his DP price tag.

Rodriguez is an even greater drain of resources. The striker played 1751 minutes last season. He scored just five goals and provided only two assists. By the end of the year, he was usurped by young forward Mason Toye, who was selected seventh overall in the 2018 SuperDraft. Toye played only 820 minutes, less than half of Rodriguez’s action, yet scored more goals and provided more assists, six and three respectively.

Conversely, the two teams in MLS Cup, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC, made the most of their DP slots. Raul Ruidiaz, Nicolas Lodeiro, Alejandro Pozuelo, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore are all some of the most effective players in MLS. Meanwhile, the teams they beat in the Conference Finals, Los Angeles FC and Atlanta United, have DPs like league MVP Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, 2018 MVP Josef Martinez, South American Footballer of the Year Gonzalo Martinez and Ezequiel Barco.

To be an elite team in modern MLS, you must allocate your resources to high-end DPs that produce at a level that justifies their wages. In Rodriguez and Quintero, Minnesota United failed in this regard. But should they get it right, the upper-echelon of MLS might not be beyond their grasp.