Minnesota United begins pre-season training this week, with trips to Arizona and Brazil planned for summer-like soccer activity. Forget about the advent of spring training and baseball being in the air – soccer's already going again. Heck, Montreal and D.C. are just two weeks away from each's first quarterfinal games in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Minnesota won't start quite that quickly – their first NASL game isn't until April 11 – but that doesn't mean that the team won't be busy. Here's a quick primer about what has happened with United this offseason – and what to look for in 2015.
Another pivotal year in store for Miguel Ibarra
Ibarra, who will turn 25 in March and thus can no longer properly be called a "youngster," had virtually his best possible season in 2014, being named league MVP and earning a surprise call-up to the USA national team. His stock has only risen during the offseason, thanks to his inclusion in the January national team training camp, in which he was one of a very few American players praised by USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. After making his first start for the national side in a 2-0 USA victory over Panama, it's fair to say that Ibarra was one of the breakout stars of the two January friendlies, alongside LA Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes.
Expectations couldn't be much higher now for Ibarra, who will be at the forefront of virtually anything you see this year from the United marketing department. Can he handle the pressure of being the only US national team player in the NASL, and the face of the Minnesota franchise to boot?
New arrivals, few departures
United has retained virtually the entire core of last year's team, and added two players to the mix, as well. The team added Northern Ireland international midfielder Jonny Steele, a veteran of both MLS and the second division, as well as attacking midfielder / forward JC Banks from the USL ranks.
Steele, who like center back Tiago Calvano comes to Minnesota via Australia's A-League, is probably best known in America for his year in Salt Lake City and his two in New York, where he made a total of 77 MLS appearances over three years. Prior to his first-division stint, though, he was one of the second divison's stalwarts, spending five years with some of Minnesota's rivals, like Carolina and Tampa Bay. He's an attacking midfielder, often deployed on the wing but also capable of playing a more central role - and despite a decade in America, is still just 29 years old.
