Summer of the Season: Soccer

Minnesota United has branded this season "Summer of Soccer." It works as a slogan cause that's the current season, the sport they play, and, most importantly for them, it's an alliteration. The alliteration makes it catchy.

While some may read that and let out a yawn, or even roll their eyes (show some decency), it's a pretty accurate statement for the club. After winning the spring season of NASL, the club sponsored World Cup viewing parties across the metro, including Brit's and Nomad which had record huuuuuuge crowds. Before the start of the fall season the team played a friendly against the Mexico U-21 team in front of a sell out crowd.

Not to be outdone, United somehow managed to sell even more tickets for their friendly against EPL club Swansea City last Saturday. (I'm not exactly sure how they did, but it might have something to do with moving their fan club, the Dark Clouds, to the area behind the southern goal, and selling pitchside seats for the small fee of $125 - and yes, people did sit there).

No matter which way you cut it, it's been a successful summer for United, and that's not even including the game results. The team has started the fall season with two wins, and then beat Swansea 2-0 after only 1 day of rest. Not a bad result for a second tier American soccer team.

The cynic in me would say that Swansea themselves were playing on 2 days rest, and their best players were either recovering from the World Cup or back home waiting to get loaned or sold to bigger clubs. And any English team touring in America during the preseason cares more about making money and increasing their fan base than winning. United, on the other hand, sat deep in their own half for about 99% of the game and scored on two of their only shots of the game.

But if Swansea was in Minnesota mostly to gain more fans, that went double for United on the night. People were out in force at the game. Some 9,000 people drove out to the suburbs to watch some exhibition soccer. And if just a handful of those English soccer fans come back to watch their hometown NASL team, then United will have succeeded in their mission to win summer and claim it as their own more fans.

The guy in the Ronaldo jersey on the left is giving me the stink eye like he knows my panorama is crooked.
How did he know?

One last thought on the atmosphere. It seemed to leave quite the impression on the Welsh side who are no strangers to raucous soccer crowds:

“There was probably a better atmosphere here tonight than there was the other day back in Milwaukee, even though there were 40,000,” [Swansea's Neil] Taylor said. “So that tells you everything about the fans tonight and how loud they were. If they’re like that every home game, then that’s great.”

Everybody has loved throwing that quote around in the days since the match. In fact, just about everybody visiting the states this week has had great things to say about soccer in America, including Bayern manager Pep Guardiola. And why wouldn't they? It's much easier for Americans to support a European team and buy their jerseys when they have nice things to say about their country. Then again, maybe they mean what they say.

"America you are so great at soccer. Buy my jerseys. And T-Mobile."

A Railhawk Recap and a Swansea Preview

Thursday nights are the new Saturday! At least that's how NASL was feeling last night after Minnesota United's 1-0 win over the Carolina Railhawks:

That was fun. Maybe we need more Thursday Night Matches in the summer? #NASL #NASLAccess
— NASL Commissioner (@NASLBPeterson) July 18, 2014

It would be an intriguing development if the NASL decided that it wants all 5 weekly games to be spread across 5 different time slots. That way the throngs of rabid NASL fans would be able to watch every match in real time. On the other hand, there's a certain comfort in knowing that Minnesota United play nearly every game at 7pm on Saturdays. That consistency is comforting for me, not unlike the way Linus' ratty, blue blanket makes him feel.

Don't you go changing on me, NASL!

A few quick thoughts on last night's United victory:

1) United could use their own field.

I just want to warn all of you that the following images, highlighting the shoddy conditions of the field, aren't for the faint of heart. Scroll quickly if you're squeamish:

As if we didn't have enough reasons to be annoyed by ultimate frisbee.

It turns out that hosting daily youth soccer games just a week or so after hosting that national ultimate championship destroys a soccer field. Or maybe United have decided they play a better brand of soccer on a dirt covered field. But these quotes from the Star Tribune lead me to think that's not the case:

Another point of contention was the pitch condition, as the Schwan’s USA Cup has been using the stadium for several games a day for a week.
[Railhawks manager Colin] Clarke called the condition “awful,” and [United manager Manny] Lagos couldn’t disagree with him this time.
“It’s had better moments, for sure,” he said.

How diplomatic of you, Manny!

With the amount of money United have been charging for tickets this season, let's hope they're saving some of that for building their own stadium.

2) The Fashion Battle

The Railhawk coach may have scored a moral victory over Lagos when discussing field conditions, but he got trounced in the fashion department:

Colin Clarke is not a student of #menswear.

Reporter Eric Nordquist is in complete awe of Lagos' sartorial sense.

If you want to succeed in soccer you have to dress the part. All the great managers of today have ditched the track suit for a well-fitted dress shirt. Just look at Pep Guardiola at Munich or Roberto Martinez at Everton. Those two look good and their teams are better for it. And take a look at this World Cup champ:

If Jogi Low's fashion choices didn't inspire Germany to victory
then tell me what did!

Clarke's team lost this game the minute he put that track suit on. Lagos, on the other hand, shows how you dress if you want to win championships.

3) Omar Daley and Justin Davis are the bizarro versions of defense and offense.

Lagos gave Jamie Watson a rest after Saturday's match in Ft Lauderdale. That opened a spot for Omar Daley to start as the left midfielder in front of left back Justin Davis. Daley did a great job of tracking back to defend and took some of the pressure off of Davis on the left hand side. Going forward was another story for Daley. When he wasn't getting dispossessed in the attacking third he was taking poor shots or holding onto the ball a touch too long.

Davis, despite starting as United's left back, was their best attacker at times. Aside from Miguel Ibarra, he's maybe the only person on the team willing to dribble at the opposition, and he probably created just as many chances as the midfielder. I can't say too much for his defense. He was caught too far forward at times, and was culpable for the Railhawks best chance on goal. In the 74th minute he was in no man's land when Railhawks' forward Shipalane received a long cross and was clear on goal. In the end United were saved by the woodwork and Davis was able to recover to clear the ball from danger.

While Davis' defensive miscues can probably be forgiven as United's attack relies on him, Daley's poor offensive display is a little perplexing. What United are left with is an attacker who's greatest strength is defense and a defender who provides United with lots of offense.

United's tactics in cartoon form.

Where does this all leave United? With 6 points and sole possession of first place. And while the rest of the league will be playing their second game of the season this Saturday, the Loons will be squaring off against the EPL side Swansea City on two days rest.

There are many questions ahead of United's friendly this Saturday: Will there be any players from the Railhawks game available to play against Swansea? After drawing against Chivas Guadalajara 1-1, will the Swans look to beat United or absolutely spank them? If Garry Monk can be a player-manager for the Swans, why can't Manny Lagos do the same for United?

However, I think the biggest question is this: Why is Jonjo Shelvey wearing number 9?

Swansea's new number 9...

With Michu going on loan to Napoli, Swansea's number 9 has become available. And while the number is usually reserved for central strikers, center mid Jonjo Shelvey has decided to make it his own. Now, I don't know how things work in Wales, but here in Minnesota we have a saying: If it walks like a number 8, and talks like a number 8, and gets the ball stripped of him in dangerous areas of the field all to easily like a number 8, it's probably a number 8. Maybe Swansea are hoping to confuse their American opposition by giving their players inappropriate numbers. Or maybe Shelvey is actually confused as to what his position is. Hopefully we find out the answer sooner rather than later, but I won't hold my breath.

I'll be at the game this Saturday, and I'll be sitting in the supporters section for the first time alongside the Dark Clouds. I'm looking forward to seeing an English soccer team for the first time. Let's just hope the Swans don't spoil the moment.

A Striker Recap and a Railhawk Preview

The Ft Lauderdale Strikers mascot Hot Shot, or Knuckles from Sonic The Hedgehog?

It's certainly nice that we have the NASL season to come back to after watching the World Cup for the past 30 days. Unfortunately, because one began just a day before the other ended, it's hard not to draw comparisons between the level of soccer being played.  While Germany and Argentina had to put in flawless performance to not give up a goal for 90 minutes in the World Cup final, Minnesota United and Fort Lauderdale both committed error after error in their season opener. Fortunately for United, they were the only team able to capitalize on those errors.

I felt a little bad for the Strikers while watching Minnesota win Saturday's match 3-0. Nothing seemed to go their way. In the 13th minute United center back Tiago Calvano lost sight of Striker forward Martin Nuñez who then had an open break on goal. Only he didn't take his chance when he had it, and instead allowed United goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt to knock it off his feet. As for Hildebrandt, who had more than a few great saves on the night, he made a meal of a cross in the 25th minute, pushing the ball right to Striker forward Jenison, who also could do nothing with his opportunity. In fact the Brazilian Jenison, playing in his first game for Ft Lauderdale, had a game he'll hope to forget after being unable to capitalize on more than a few golden chances.

While the Strikers deserved one if not two goals in the first half, it was United who were up 1-0 at the break. Slovakian goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky, playing in his first game for the Strikers, lost sight of a Justin Davis corner kick in the 23rd minute. All Daniel Mendes had to do was stand on the endline and let the ball bounce off of him and into the net for the opening goal.

Contofalsky had a pretty rough debut in net for the Strikers. In the second half he let Davis cross the ball into the box for Christian Ramirez to run onto it for the easy tap in.  There wasn't much Contofalsky could do with the third goal after Striker defender Rafael Alves cleared the ball right at an oncoming Miguel Ibarra, who coolly dribbled passed Contofalsky and put the ball in the corner of the net.

United certainly played better in the second half and put the Strikers under more pressure, but the 3-0 scoreline conceals an overall poor performance by the backline who were lucky to keep a clean sheet. Tiago in particular was poor, losing his mark occasionally throughout the game. In the 80th minute he failed to track back to pick up substitute Aly Hassan who had a clear header on net that somehow hit the post. It's easy to forgive Tiago when your team is up 3-0 with 10 minutes left, but it was one in a series of mental lapses throughout the game.

On a more positive note, Ibarra's performance grew as the game went on. After a few misplaced passes at key moments in the first half, he was close to flawless in both his shot selection and distribution in the second half. It was nice to see Kevin Venegas back in the lineup at right back, after missing the end of the spring season with an injury. His performance was overshadowed by Davis' offensive dominance on the left side. Aside from Ibarra and Ramirez up top, it seems like the fullbacks will continue to be a major offensive factor for United in the fall season.

If the good news is that the team won 3-0, the bad news is that they have two fewer days of rest as the team faces the Carolina Railhawks in their fall season home opener tonight. The reason for the Thursday night game is that they play EPL side Swansea City at home this Saturday in a preseason tuneup for the Welsh side.

The Railhawks are coming off a tough 2-1 loss to Indy Eleven, the first-year NASL team that didn't record a single win in the spring season. The Railhawks scored first when Enzo Martinez fired through the legs of his defender, only for the Indy goalkeeper to let the ball go through his hands and into the goal. The game turned, however, after the Railhawks got a player sent off on a last man foul, and Indy were able to get two goals back in the remaining 30 minutes. The loss ended the Railhawks 17 game unbeaten streak in NASL competition at home. It was a tough way to open the season, especially after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup just last week by MLS side FC Dallas.

Now the Railhawks come to Minnesota looking to erase the memory of last week's 2-1 defeat. Hopefully United can focus on the task at hand and not look ahead to Saturday's match against Swansea.

United showed great mental fortitude defending this corner kick,
as they faced the prospect of great deals at the Ft Lauderdale tire sale!

Swansea Game Scarves

I'm watching the replay of the Ft Lauderdale game that United won last Saturday 3-0, and I might even have some thoughts for you on the match. But in the meantime I want to draw your attention to some sweet new scarves MN United has for sale at this Saturday's friendly against Welsh EPL side Swansea City:

Unique #SwansvLoons scarves are here! Get them at the match this Saturday. #SwansUSA pic.twitter.com/5SN67bDtfz
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUnitedFC) July 15, 2014

Now that's a good looking scarf. But this photo reminds me of something:

Nothing sells soccer scarves like Stephen King

I'm picturing manager Manny Lagos slumped over the bar while the ghost of recently-departed-from-the-Premier-League Cardiff City tries to convince him to murder the Swans.

If you want to pluck imagery from Stanley Kubrick movies to sell merchandise, pick something from Spartacus.

You could hang a scarf around those shoulders,
if you know what I mean

You've got a rag tag team of minor league soccer players trying to over throw the old British empire, who have dominated the soccer landscape for centuries. Just put Lagos on a horse and throw a scarf over him. That's how you move some scarves!

The Opponent: Ft Lauderdale Strikers

It's hard to be defense-first with a name like that.

Here are some things to know about the Strikers before United open the fall season against them this Saturday.


1) They recently had a closed-door scrimmage against Argentina side River Plate.

A "closed-door" scrimmage? What do the Strikers have to hide? Yes, they lost 3-0 to the Argentine side, but when they're own blog said the Strikers "put in a strong match," who's to argue? I, for one, would like to, but they're making it too hard for me.  A fair person would say losing 3-0 to the most successful club in Argentina is nothing to sneeze at, but what does it mean to be champions 36 times? After awhile you gotta ask yourself, "why bother?"

On the other hand, having a closed-door scrimmage means they could try out some new tactics. Maybe a move to the controversial 4-0-6 formation is in the works; a new twist on the old zero-forward classic. Or maybe they've decided to give up passing the ball. It's gonna be dribbling or nothing for this squad.

36 championships is no big deal

2) The Strikers acquired two new goalkeepers this offseason while pursuing LeBron James.

Take a look at this recent tweet from Ft Lauderdale's official Twitter account:

Hey @KingJames, you know you can also dribble a soccer ball... pic.twitter.com/y8r4Duyq5U
— FTL Strikers (@FTLStrikers) July 10, 2014

What does it all mean? It seems like there's something the front office knows about Mr. James' skills that the rest of us don't. Fortunately James decided to stick with NBA and head back home with his head held high.

The Strikers signed not one but two goalkeepers in the offseason, a Slovakian national as well as one of the best college goalies in NCAA history. Why sign two goalies? Maybe this has to do with some of the tactical changes I mentioned earlier. Maybe they'll play with one keeper in the net and the other can play just in front of him as a sort of advanced keeper/sweeper position, or a 'keeper-sweeper,' as they say. (This is not to be confused with a 'sweeper-keeper,' who plays goalkeeper in such an advanced position that he takes on some responsibilities that a sweeper might traditionally do. Instead, the less common 'keeper-sweeper' is a sweeper first, who may at times play like a second goalkeeper, in a technically illegal manner.)

With two goalkeepers the team can afford to play with 9 forwards. United need to be on the lookout.

Move two of those defenders to forward positions,
and you have the 1-6-3 Japan used in 1936. Surprisingly they dropped it
after only two matches.

3) Strikers' gonna strike.

I got a chance to watch Ft Lauderdale when they came to play United last spring. I have to say that the 3-1 scoreline flattered United just a little bit. The Strikers were coming on strong in the second half to tie the game. Then the match turned in a matter of minutes when Christian Ramirez scored on something of a wonder strike, Ibarra followed that up with a goal of his own during a controversial offside non-call, and then the Strikers found themselves a player down after a senseless challenge led to a red card.

If United find themselves in a bit of hot water again this weekend, they should look to the refs to have them replicate that performance and hope their opponents receive one or two red cards. It couldn't hurt things.

Martin Nunez lets the ref know he's doing a bang-up job!

Finally, here's Christian Ramirez tearing apart the Strikers' defense. The goals are cool and all, but the rocking jams really sell the whole thing.

The Nameless Loon

Minnesota United FC returns to NASL action this Saturday. They travel down to Ft. Lauderdale to face the Strikers in the fall season opener. This is an important season for the team, and a lot of questions will need to be answered by the spring season champions. Mainly, what’s gonna be the name of the new mascot?

All your favorites came out to unveil the Minnesota United Loon:
Crunch, Viking Man, Skating Furby, Cambi the Cambria

The short offseason saw the team unveil their brand new mascot, the samba wearing (deth)loon, and frankly there’s a lot to like about this loon: those sweet leggings, the fact that he’s sporting the right jersey, his oversized bird head won’t haunt my dreams. But the best part is that the naming rights to this bird are being handed over to you, the fans!

There's so much to consider when naming a team mascot. Specifically, we need to think of this as an opportunity to help grow the fan base. If you find the endeavor too overwhelming I am happy to present you with a few options to consider.

Below are some scenarios that can expand Minnesota United’s reach, along with a few naming proposals to get the ball rolling...

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Scenario 1: The World Cup has been so popular that we should pick a name to capitalize on the energy surrounding the tournament.

Proposal: Name the mascot “Fuleco the Loon.”

Millions of Americans gathered around their TVs to watch the festivities down in Brazil, thanks in no small part to the immense popularity of the World Cup mascot Fuleco, the soccer-playing armadillo. Unfortunately, once the World Cup ends on Sunday, he'll be set out to pasture with all of our other favorite World Cup icons of days past (we all miss you, Ciao, the lonely little soccer-headed stick figure). But what if the memory of Fuleco lived on in our loon? And, as the NASL team with the most Brazilians on the roster, it seems we have a stronger claim on the name than everyone else.

[Alternatively we could just name the loon Pele. Maybe we could steal some old school NY Cosmos fans that way. Or maybe do some cross promotions with Subway. Pele the Loon could shoot not t-shirts but six inch meatball subs into the crowd.]

"Eat up, fat Americans. Leave all the World Cups for me."

Scenario 2: There's a lot of young, seemingly hip youngsters in Minneapolis wasting their money on brewpubs. What can we name the loon to help bring them in?

Proposal: "Prince"

Not enough has been done to sell all the hip yupsters on soccer in this state. Didn't you hear? The New York Times style section says English soccer is "in." That must mean American minor league soccer is like True Detective meets quinoa liqueur, but for sports! Name the bird Prince and all sorts of collaborations open themselves up to United. The Walker Art Center could sponsor the jumbotron and show cat videos at halftime. Current DJs could emcee/ref the games.

Scenario 3: We kind of have an English thing going with the name Minnesota United FC. Let’s keep that going, shall we? Fans like consistency.

Proposal: “Loonie the Loon”

Us yanks nick all sorts of English culture: team names, footy slang, TV sitcoms. Why stop now? English teams have a proud, maybe 10-year-old tradition of creating mascots with completely unimaginative names. Here’s a small sample of some of the laziest mascot names from the British Isles:

Rammie the Ram (Derby County)

Fred the Red (Manchester United)

Hammerhead (West Ham United)

Terry the Terrier (Huddersfield Town)

Lenny the Lion (Shrewsbury Town)

Lofty the Lion (Bolton)

Roary the Lion (Middlesbrough)

Roary the Tiger (Hull City)

Roary the Lion (Guernsey)

Roar Lion (Blackburn Rovers)

Cyril the Swan (Swansea City)

That last one isn’t really lazy. It’s just extra English. And we can be extra English too. We could of course go with Louie the Loon, but that mascot already exists at Target Field. Besides, we’ve already got a super popular Louie from Minnesota. That leaves us no choice but to call him Loonie. As an added bonus for naming him Loonie we get to co-opt the word and stick it to Canadians.

"Name your loon after me and I will hunt you down."

Scenario 4: People love controversy. Let’s name the loon something that will get people talking.

Proposal: Zygi Wilf

The upside to naming the loon after the Minnesota Vikings owner is that the tax-paying public will find this mean-spirited and down-right hilarious. In no time at all they’ll be throwing so much money at United that they’ll build their own stadium that’s completely publicly-financed. That’ll show the original Zygi. The downside to this proposal is that we won’t be able to name the loon after popular FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

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Well those are just a few suggestions for you to think on. You can vote for the mascot name on the MN United facebook page or you can just tweet your suggestion to them. I believe they’ll unveil the loon’s name sometime before their fall season home opener next Thursday. And if the team ends up choosing “Roary the Loon,” make sure to thank me on Twitter.