Minnesota United unveiled its preseason roster, naming the 32 players that began training this week in Arizona.
This list (below) doesn’t have any names that jump out unexpectedly or haven’t already been reported on in this space. The goalkeeping position seems the most questionable, but reports from Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten indicate that United has a deal in place to acquire John Alvbage, a 34-year-old shot-stopper who plies his trade in the Swedish first division.
The United coaching staff expects the goalkeeper to arrive sooner rather than later, according to the Star Tribune’s Megan Ryan.
GOALKEEPERS: Alec Ferrell (acquired via SuperDraft), Marco Carducci (trialist), Sammy Ndjock (preseason invitee), Charlie Lyon (trialist)
DEFENDERS: Francisco Calvo (signed ahead of 2017 season), Tiago Calvano (preseason invitee), Justin Davis (signed ahead of 2017 season), Vadim Demidov (signed ahead of 2017 season), Thomas de Villardi (acquired via SuperDraft), Joe Greenspan (signed ahead of 2017 season), Ismaila Jome (preseason invitee), Brent Kallman (signed ahead of 2017 season), Lance Laing (preseason invitee), Jermaine Taylor (signed ahead of 2017 season), Kevin Venegas (signed ahead of 2017 season), Andrew Tinari (trialist)
MIDFIELDERS: Bernardo Añor (signed ahead of 2017 season), Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson (signed ahead of 2017 season), Miguel Ibarra (signed ahead of 2017 season), Duke LaCroix (trialist), Collin Martin (signed ahead of 2017 season), Mohammed Saeid (acquired via Expansion Draft), Rasmus Schüller (signed ahead of 2017 season), Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson (acquired via SuperDraft), Johan Venegas (signed ahead of 2017 season), Collen Warner (acquired via Expansion Draft)
ATTACKERS: Abu Danladi (acquired via SuperDraft), David Goldsmith (trialist), Femi Hollinger-Janzen (acquired via Expansion Draft), Christian Ramirez (signed ahead of 2017 season)
Last season on the Minnesota Soccer Podcast, Andrew Lorei and I correctly predicted that Justin Davis, Kevin Venegas and Christian Ramirez would successfully make the jump from NASL to MLS. Among the players we labeled in the “maybe” category were Ibson, Sammy Ndjock, Brent Kallman and Ismalia Jome. Three of those four (Ibson, Kallman, Jome) have signed contracts in the past few weeks.
The others from the NASL-era, Ndjock, Lance Laing and Tiago Calvano, still have a chance to make the team, but make no mistake they are looking to prove themselves to head coach Adrian Heath this preseason. Given the lack of goalkeeping depth, Ndjock appears in pole position to snag a roster spot, if not the backup goalkeeper job.
The preseason roster lists Laing as a defender, alluding to his ability to play outside back and bring his attacking attributes to the position. This versatility certainly improves his stock and he showed at times last season that he can be a difference-maker on the field when in form. His question mark is how consistently he can be an impact player.
At 35 years old, Calvano is up against it and by signing Kallman and bringing in MLS-veteran Jermaine Taylor in addition to signings Francisco Calvo and Vadim Demidov it would appear his chances of making the final squad are low.
Early projection of final roster (23):
GOALKEEPERS: Ferrell, Ndjock, Alvbage
DEFENDERS: Calvo, Davis, Demidov, Greenspan, Jome, Kallman, Laing, Taylor, K. Venegas
MIDFIELDERS: Añor, Ibson, Ibarra, Martin, Saeid, Schüller, J. Venegas, Warner
ATTACKERS: Danladi, Hollinger-Janzen, Ramirez
