Manchester United assistant coach Eric Ramsay has emerged as the leading candidate to become Minnesota United’s next head coach. So who is Ramsay? Here are 10 things to know:
ERIC RAMSAY
Hometown: Llanfyllin, Wales. Age: 32
• Don’t call him an Englishman. Ramsay is Welsh. He was born in Shrewsbury, England, but grew up just over the border in Wales. He attended high school there, not all that far from where he now works in Manchester.
• He played briefly in the Cymru Premier, Wales’ national soccer league and the highest level in its league system. He played 14 games there for Welshpool Town before he left to attend Loughborough University in England so he could attend college and pursue a coaching career.
• He is the youngest coach to earn his UEFA pro license. A decade ago while in college, he captained Wales national futsal team. Futsal is a soccer-based game played mostly indoors on a hard court.
• Don’t expect Ramsay to coach the season opener Saturday. The deal still must be finalized and signed. Then he’ll have to complete immigration paperwork, which can take some time.
• By all accounts, Loons new sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad conducted an extensive coaching search that included such veteran MLS coaches as Robin Fraser and Gio Savarese. The final short list included two candidates each from MLS and England/Europe. El-Ahmad chose the youngest head coach in MLS history, seven years younger this season alone than NYCFC’s 39-year-old Nick Cushing.
