By Nicolas Hallett
Well, this certainly wasn’t how Minnesota United had scripted it.
After finishing in first place in the standings at the end of an imagination-capturing 2014 campaign, the sky appeared to be the limit for the Loons going forward. Despite playoff disappointment, postseason accolades rolled in as four members of the squad made the North American Soccer League Best XI. Christian Ramirez was the league’s top scorer and duly awarded Young Player of the Year. Talisman Miguel Ibarra won the league MVP, catching the eye of Jurgen Klinsmann in the process and becoming a regular for the United States National Team.
Then came the March announcement that the team would be awarded a Major League Soccer franchise, a confirmation many had suspected for some time, and join the top division as soon as 2017.
Equipped with that news and already possessing one of the larger bankrolls in the NASL, the new recruits starting rolling in. The esteemed new crop was as high-profile as you’re likely to see for any minor league soccer team, including players that played professionally in the MLS, Brazil and, Europe’s most prestigious club tournament, the UEFA Champions League.
It would have been easy for one to picture a scenario where Minnesota United steamrolled everything in its path for the foreseeable future in the NASL before graduating to the big leagues.
Not quite.
Instead, fans were startled when four games into the 2015 season their Loons remained winless.
“I think it’s important that the expectations are there,” Minnesota United coach Manny Lagos said. “Yeah, we’re here to win and here to win championships.”
Expectations and attendance have ascended ever since the MLS announcement. Playing in front of a second straight sellout crowd, the Loons managed its first win of the season on Sunday against the Atlanta Silverbacks.
“Your first win of the year and it comes five games into the season, I think there’s some angst about trying to get it,” Lagos said in the post-game press conference. “I think the guys stepped on the field and put on a solid performance.”
A major shake up to the starting lineup was the catalyst to United’s 1-0 win, but it was two stalwarts in Ibarra and striker Pablo Campos who combined for the game’s lone goal.
Ibarra received he ball deep in Atlanta’s penalty area wherein he slotted a ball back against the run of play. It was here the veteran striker attempted the audacious and succeeded by clipping home a running backheel. It was the type of goal Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of.
But it was the man who found Ibarra who would garner Man of the Match honors. Kalif Alhassan, who joined the Loons during the 2015 preseason from the Portland Timbers of the MLS, was handed his first start of his United career as part of a major lineup changes executed by Lagos, unquestionably due to the team’s slow start.
Jamie Watson also found himself in a starting role after an inspiring performance against Edmonton the weekend prior. Johnny Steele, a headline name after joining from the New York Red Bulls of the MLS in the offseason, and Ramirez were relegated to the bench.
Lagos opted to go away from the two-striker, 4-4-2 formation he had used to start the season and switched to a 4-3-3, which often looked closer to a 4-5-1, to get more bodies in the midfield.
Alhassan was at the heart of this new formation and thrived. The majority of United’s attractive play came in the first half when they dominated possession before using the second half to sit on the lead. In the first stanza, Alhassan was the team’s engine. Everything ran through him. His teammates constantly gave him the ball, and he rewarded them by spreading the ball around. When he wasn’t passing he was making insurgent dribbles and driving his team forward.
“He had some unique touches and creativity that I think maybe we were lacking,” Lagos said.
For the goal, the Ghanaian was positioned atop the box, a location that can be a pressure cooker for many players but one where Alhassan looks at ease. He dipped and juked on the ball before finding an incisive pass into the feet of a streaking Ibarra.
Ibarra said he liked the lineup changes that resulted in the win and described his team’s roster as “deep.”
“Last year we didn’t have what we have this year: we have guys on the bench who can come in and impact the game a lot,” the 25-year-old winger said. “Mixing it up, I think it was a good little taste. It’s going to push other players. I think it was good for the team.”
Alhassan, who was a relatively unknown quantity to United supporters entering the game, was treated to a raucous ovation when he was substituted later on. Lagos embraced him as he came to the sideline.
“I was just excited for him. This is an unfair business where only 11 guys out of your roster of 23, 24 guys can play. These first couple of weeks, for whatever reason, he has gotten a lot of minutes,” Lagos said. “I was excited for him because I think he has kept focused. I think he was ready to play tonight.”
Lagos recognized the new-look starting unit was a major factor in the result. He emphasized that playing time won’t come easy for anyone on a team filled with experience and talent.
Some of United’s most entrenched players haven’t looked to be at full capacity yet this season. As a unit, the team looks even further off kilter compared to last year. United is still a ways from reaching top gear. Lagos, the 2014 NASL Coach of the Year, isn’t trying to hide this. What’s more, he acknowledges it. He has a long-term picture in mind.
“We still have a lot of growth to get better as a team,” Lagos said. “I still think the process is the full year. Our goal is to get really, really good, hopefully, by the end of the year. And we have a lot of work to do still.”
Nicolas Hallett is a staff writer for 105 The Ticket. He has written for the Murphy News Service, the Minnesota Daily and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Follow him on Twitter at @nicolashallett.