MLS is ahead but United players focused on winning now

A most unusual season opens Saturday for United FC players and new head coach Carl Craig.

With the club awarded a Major League Soccer franchise to begin play as early as 2017, players will take the pitch at Carolina with contracts that are nontransferable to the MLS and therefore not guaranteed beyond this season. Craig, promoted from an assistant role in December, takes over with team President Nick Rogers having said "we haven't made any decisions" whether he will coach next year.

Off the field, Minnesota is readying for a 2017 start in MLS but without a formal announcement as such. The holdup reportedly is tied to getting final legislative approval for a new stadium in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood.

Excitement is palpable, yet uncertainty reigns. Craig and players are not avoiding the idea that this season could be an MLS audition. In fact, Minnesota's MLS prospects helped entice forward Stefano Pinho, the North American Soccer League's Most Valuable Player with Fort Lauderdale last season, to sign with the club.

"I want to grow as a player, and a better league would be good for my career," Brazilian Pinho said with teammate Tiago Calvano interpreting. "But my focus now is on NASL and winning a championship."

Craig has reminded players the only thing they can affect is the outcome on the field.

"There's a perception out there that everyone's looking to 2017," Craig said. "I'm certainly not, not in terms of how we're preparing this team for this coming season."

Only when talking to his predecessor, Manny Lagos, is Craig forced to ponder the future. Lagos, club coach from 2010-15, moved into a full-time role as sporting director (general manager). Relieving Lagos of both duties brings Minnesota in line with MLS clubs, none of which has coaches responsible for off-field club management.

"Manny will say, 'We've got to look at this guy,' and I'll ask, 'Is he for now or for later?' " Craig said. "Apart from that, it's all about 2016 and having these lads perform at a higher level than they did last year."

On the field, a championship is the goal for a team with consecutive playoff semifinal losses. The prospect of going to MLS does not diminish players' pride for a successful 2016, forward Christian Ramirez said.

"You don't want to waste a year of your career," said Ramirez, one of the 11 returning players who saw action in last season's playoff finale. "And every year that goes by without a trophy is a waste, in my opinion."

Ramirez led the Loons with 13 goals last season and garnered individual acclaim as a member of the NASL Best XI. The Loons' roster now boasts six members of the 2015 All-Star team in Ramirez, fellow Minnesota veterans Justin Davis, Ibson and Kevin Venegas and offseason signings Pinho and Lance Laing.

Laing, a midfielder who came in from FC Edmonton, shares a desire to win it all.

"It's my sixth year in this league and I haven't won a championship," Laing said. "This year is my best chance to do so."

Laing said if Loons players worry too much about making Minnesota's front office or MLS teams notice them, "I don't think we are going to win a game this year."

To his point, weeks after a news conference announcing Minnesota would receive an expansion franchise last spring, Minnesota started the season without a goal in its first two matches and without a victory in its first four.

Minnesota won the 2011 NASL title with less-heralded, scrappy players who meshed. The prospect of coaching a talent-laden team does not deter Craig.

"We've got a bunch of fellas who are hardworking and honest," Craig said. "Everyone has an ego and a strong sense of himself, which is necessary when you operate at this level. When everyone's got that, it becomes normal. Thus far it's not an issue."

Forward Pablo Campos left the Loons for Miami FC, but Minnesota's depth up top is striking.

Ramirez and Pinho won the past two Golden Boot awards, given to the league's top scorer. Pinho said the duo will find the right chemistry.

"I know Christian scored a lot of goals last year, and I was the top scorer," Pinho said. "I think it will be a good fight for the spot. Or maybe we can work together to score goals. The team winning is the most important thing."

Team success, Ramirez said, must be the common goal.

"We're all on one-year deals," Ramirez said. "I have no MLS guarantees. I've got to do everything I can to prove myself, to score goals and to make sure the club wins. If all of those things happen, everything else will take care of itself."

Blocking out the MLS hype won't be easy.

"The people who've been with us before talk to me about the current team and season and MLS get a mention," Craig said. "People I've been meeting more recently tend to talk more about MLS."

Craig's role remains uncertain past 2016, but he understands fans' excitement.

"That's all fine," Craig said. "Part of my job is to promote the future of the club. But my business is here right now, and that's where my focus is."

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574