Led by Darwin Quintero, Minnesota United FC are ready to compete for a playoff spot in MLS after an offseason overhaul. The bandwagon starts here.
Welcome to The Bandwagon Starts Here. TBSH is a feature that gives you the opportunity to get in on the bandwagon at the ground floor. The teams featured in the TBSH are destined to outperform their 2018 seasons. In a few months every expert and fan will be jumping on the bandwagon, but remember, it started here. This is the second edition of TBSH, after featuring the New England Revolution in the inaugural article. Next up is a representative from the Western Conference: Minnesota United FC.
Last season, Minnesota United finished in 10th place in their conference. Their points total at the end of 2018 was 36, which was a whopping 13 points shy of sixth place and a playoff spot. They had 11 wins, three draws, and 20 losses. Those 20 losses were the second most in the West.
No MLS team was worse on the road than Minnesota in 2018. They recorded just a single win away from home and only added two draws, which made for a dismal total of five points. The Loons were significantly better at home. They were the seventh best team in the West at home with a record of 10 wins, one draw, and six losses. There is reason to believe Minnesota could be even better at home this season. They are, finally, moving into a stadium of their own, Allianz Field, in April.
Minnesota United scored 49 goals in 2018, which was a little more than five goals below the league average. But that was not the problem. It was their defense that was truly horrid. They allowed 71 goals. That’s 2.1 per match and was tied for second-worst in the league. Minnesota United needs to improve at both ends of the pitch, but the defense needs a massive boost if the Loons wish to gain momentum this year.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Minnesota have invested in improving the backline. The biggest addition is former MLS Defender of the Year and Sporting Kansas City center-back, Ike Opara. Opara was acquired for at least 900k TAM. Whoscored.com only had six center-backs with a higher average match-rating than Opara last season — Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Laurent Ciman, Tim Parker, and Maxime Chanot. Opara will soon be 30 years old, but I believe he can still be a top-five center-half in MLS. His combination of athleticism, experience, and size will help fortify the center of Minnesota United’s defense.
Minnesota will have Michael Boxall line up beside Opara. Boxall is entering his third year in MLS, all three coming in Minnesota. Last season, he started 32 of the team’s 34 matches. Boxall is not more than a league average center-back. However, he should improve beside Opara. Boxall had to play beside error-prone Francisco Calvo last year. With Boxall and Opara, the center will be well defended, especially on crosses into the box. The pairing is certainly better than that of Boxall and Calvo.
In addition to improving at center-back, Minnesota United have upgraded at full-back as well. Captain Francisco Calvo was shifted from center-back to full-back. That is where he’s deployed for the Costa Rican national team. Calvo is a good defender. He is a good tackler. However, he was beginning to draw the ire of Minnesota fans. He will be a plus defender on the left side, even if he lacks high-end quality going forward. Opposite Calvo will be newly added right-back, Romain Metanire. E Pluribus Loomis have been very high on the addition, they say Metanire is strong on the defensive end and excels at containing wingers (even the likes of Memphis Depay, Nicholas Pepe, and Florian Thauvin). Metanire and Calvo guarding the flanks beside Boxall and Opara should reduce the number of goals allowed this season.
The goalkeeper will be either Bobby Shuttleworth or Vito Mannone. Shuttleworth is the incumbent. He started over Matt Lampson last year but is little more than a fringe-average keeper. Mannone is coming stateside from Reading in the Championship. He has Premier League experience with Arsenal and Sunderland and started 41 matches with Reading last season in the Championship. But he had been demoted this year and has played just six times. Mannone has shown glimpses of being a very good goalkeeper in the past; specifically, he was outstanding during the 2013/14 season with Sunderland. We will have to see what version of Mannone we get in MLS. However, regardless of who starts in goal, they’ll be aided by an improved defense.
The greatest additions to Minnesota United’s squad came in the form of two holding midfielders. Minnesota United signed Seattle Sounders legend, Osvaldo Alonso, using TAM, while making Slovakian, Jan Gregus, their third Designated Player. The pair replaces a revolving-door of midfielders that have not gained traction with the Loons the last two years. Alonso, obviously, is a known commodity in MLS. At his best, he’s one of the absolute elite defensive midfielders in the league. However, now 33 years old and having suffered injuries in the last couple of years, there are questions as to whether he can still be an elite player.
Gregus is a bit of an unknown, coming from Denmark. He’s played in four Europa league matches this season though. Gregus is an eight rather than a six. Although, he has improved his defensive numbers the past couple of seasons, it his range of passing, dead-ball delivery and propensity for a long-range corker that make him the complete midfielder. Gregus also looks monstrous in midfield, standing at 6-foot-3. All-in-all, he seems like a good compliment to Alonso.
Rasmus Schuller is a rare midfield holdover from last season. Schuller was one of Minnesota United’s best players a year ago and can do a bit of everything. He is a very nice depth piece and the Loons should be happy to turn to him to start a few games when necessary.
Minnesota United’s MVP in 2018 was unquestionably Darwin Quintero. The 31-year-old returns to lead the attack in 2019. Quintero had 11 goals and 15 assists. He will play behind the central striker, but can attack in a variety of ways. He is good on the ball, is pacy, can drift wide, and is capable of the occasional screamer. Last season, Quintero had to win games on his own. However, this season he will have more help, both in the attack and with an improved and more stable defense behind him.
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The Loons have a collection of quality attackers accompanying Quintero. Romario and Miguel Ibarra (not related) have been getting the most time with the first team in preseason. Miguel had a very productive season last year with seven goals and eight assists in 33 total appearances. Romario joined the team later, but had three goals in just nine appearances, with seven of those appearances coming off the bench. There may, however, be two even better options coming off of injury. Kevin Molino and Ethan Finlay are two MLS veterans who have proven to be quality starters in the past. Both will return in 2019.
At center-forward, Minnesota United will start another Designated Player, Angelo Rodriguez. In 11 appearances last season (10 starts), Rodriguez had four goals and one assist. That goal production is far from terrible. However, Minnesota fans still expect more from him. The primary complaint is that he is not a high-level finisher, and has not, and will not, score as much as a DP striker should. That may be true; Rodriguez is probably never going to be much more than an above average forward. His ceiling might be15 goals over the course of a full season. But he is a good compliment to Quintero. He can hold up play, connect, and draw attention from Quintero. I am not convinced Rodriguez is a significant improvement over Christian Ramirez, but Minnesota and Adrian Heath must believe he is.
A weakness of this Minnesota United team is depth. Nowhere is that more true than at the forward position. Minnesota United spent their first two first-round draft picks in franchise history on Generation Adidas talents, Abu Danladi in 2017 and Mason Toye in 2018. Danladi showed a lot of promise in his first season. He scored eight goals with three assists and was second in the MLS Rookie of the Year voting — Julian Gressel, of course, won. However, he struggled to stay fit last season. Danladi has talent, and I would love to see him break out, but there is something keeping him from seeing the field and being productive. Right now, Toye is the back-up striker. He has a ton of potential as a 6’3″ striker with some ability on the ball. He played just 341 minutes last year, though, and may not be ready for a regular role.
Minnesota United made some big additions. Ike Opara, Ozzie Alonso, and Jan Gregus could all be transformative signings. The Loons will also benefit from an attack that should be healthier than it was a year ago and has one of the most dynamic players in the league, Darwin Quintero, who will be an MVP candidate this season. Minnesota United looks primed to take a big step forward, and compete for a playoff spot. So, hop on the bandwagon while there is still plenty of room.