How fitting that on the precipice of its home field entry into Major League Soccer, the pregame discussion for Minnesota centers around what else: the weather.
Sunday marks Minnesota United’s long-awaited MLS home opener against fellow expansion side Atlanta United. The forecast projects an expected high temperature of 28 degrees with an 80 percent chance of snow.
Loons head coach Adrian Heath attempted to climatize his squad by making a last-minute change to Friday’s practice location, switching from the indoor confines of Woodbury’s Bielenberg Sports Center to the outdoor turf of TCF Bank Stadium.
After practice, Heath and his players admitted it was exceptionally chilly, but all blanketly denied that the conditions will have a strong impact on the game.
“It’s the same for both teams, so no excuses,” Heath said after his team practiced in near single-digit temperatures. “I’ve played in snow lots of times but maybe not quite as cold as this, I’ve got to be honest. But like I say, if the snow comes, great. Bring it on. Let’s go.”
Heath said he has heard no word from MLS about potentially postponing or canceling the game due to weather concerns. In fact, the league has prepared the team with a unique piece of equipment should white sheets of snow come falling: an alternative neon-orange match ball.
Heath said as a player and still now as a coach he doesn’t see the need for any adjustments based on snow or cold weather. He said wind was the only nature factor that could adjust his game plan.
The Loons front office, too, prepared for instances like this by signing five players in the offseason from Scandinavian countries. Among them is team captain Vadim Demidov, who most recently played in Norway’s top league.
“I’ve played in much worse,” said the 30-year-old defender, who recounted a time he played in zero-degree weather in the Europa League.
Atlanta, like its climate, arrives in the Twin Cities in stark contrast to the home side. The southerners have many league pundits praising them after a tight 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls, meanwhile Minnesota United saw its first loss come with a much less flattering 5-1 scoreline. The league’s other incoming expansion franchise also chose to use all three of their designated player slots by making three big-money signings in the form of Miguel Almirón, Héctor Villalba and Josef Martínez, whom originate from Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela, respectively.
Minnesota, on the other hand, has no designated players.
“I know they have a lot of good players from South America who probably haven’t played in an atmosphere like this with weather like this,” said Michigan native and vice-captain Justin Davis. “It’s something that we’ve got to use to our advantage and get after them from the beginning.”
We will project Minnesota’s starting XI a little later, but any formation or player personnel change on Sunday will come as Heath looks to tinker with his own lineup rather than a strategic move to compensate for playing Atlanta, a squad he admitted was too new and fluid to accurately assess.
One position worth keeping an eye on is right back. Jermaine Taylor essentially won the spot in preseason, seemingly usurping longtime starter and NASL-carryover Kevin Venegas, who was one of the Loon’s first signees upon joining MLS. But some feel Taylor was at fault for a few of the handful of goals allowed to the Portland Timbers last week.
Now add in the team’s newest squad member Jerome Thiesson, who has played in over 300 games in the Switzerland top division, but practiced with the team for the first time on Friday. Thiesson, 29, was brought in because of his glut of experience and rare ability to play at both outside back positions. If Thiesson starts on the right on Sunday having only just joined the squad this week it will tell us two things:
- Taylor, already a bit of an auxiliary right back, is deemed to be less than ideal at that position.
- Venegas has a major hill to climb to get on his new coach’s good side.
“[He looked] excellent. He’s obviously very fit. He looked very sharp out there,” Heath said of his newest defender. “That gives me some thought for the selection of the team on Sunday.”
Projected Lineup:
Ramirez earns himself self a starting spot having scored the Loon’s first-ever MLS goal and lone tally against Portland. It was a striker’s goal and the type of play that has led many to surmise he’ll continue to score at the highest level.
Johan Venegas may begin a bit deeper this time around but don’t be surprised to see him overlap Ramirez and make some striker-like runs into the box. This could see the formation shift into more of a 4-4-2 at times, with Ibarra and/or Molino allowed to drift inward. The two wingers will feel more comfortable coming inside if either of the fullbacks are able to venture high up the pitch. Should this happen, it’ll signify United playing well as Heath said getting more numbers into the box is his goal offensively and could prove the difference in the match.
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