Minnesota United Reveal 2018 Kit as Squad Prepares for Second MLS Season

Minnesota United took some time out of their busy preseason schedule to reveal a brand new primary uniform for 2018 at a well-attended event at the Mall of America on Sunday afternoon.

The team returned from a 12-day training camp in Orlando late on Saturday night, and many of the team’s most recognizable veterans were a part of the reveal: Christian Ramirez, Abu Danladi, Brent Kallman, Ethan Finlay, Francisco Calvo and others showed off the new threads and spoke at the event.

The new primary jerseys feature vertical stripes in two shades of grey and a red button at the collar, aligning with the red eye of the loon on the club’s crest.

“Grey as a primary color, not many clubs in the world have that,” midfielder Finlay noted in his comments to the crowd after the reveal. “It’s unique to us, it’s unique to Minnesota. I think it’s important that we have something that’s ours.”

“Everything is better. Since I got here, everything is better”

The reveal and events this week come between the two preseason training camp trips United has before their regular season opener on March 3 at San Jose. After some time at home this week, Minnesota will travel to Charleston, S.C. for the 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup, which they will open on Saturday with a match against the USL’s Charleston Battery.

The message from both the players and head coach Adrian Heath was clear: the advantages of a year together on team chemistry are a great benefit to the team over the newly-assembled team of last season’s first MLS run.

“This time last year, we were looking at maybe 26 new players, and that obviously comes with its own problems in integrating so many people in a short period of time,” Heath said. “We’re delighted with the core that we’ve got, we know we have to build on it, which is what we’re trying to do.”

Finlay had similar comments to media after the reveal.

“It takes time to create a winning culture, first off,” he said. “It takes time to get some familiarity with the players around you. We have that.” Kallman hit the same notes. “It’s a little different this year because there’s a little more familiarity. We’ve known each other all for over a year now, with the guys that were here last year. The chemistry’s there from the start.”

The preseason has already been quite busy for United, as Heath noted the team has held 44 practice sessions in 20 working days of preseason.

“We’ve worked the guys really hard. They came back in really good shape, so we hit the ground running,” Heath said. “We’re probably about a week ahead of where we were at this time last season.”

The team’s four rookies — forward Mason Toye, defender Wyatt Omsberg, defender Carter Manley, and midfielder Xavier Gomez — were not present at the jersey reveal due to the MLS rookie symposium in Phoenix, but they have already impressed in their early work.

“You inject a lot of energy into your group when you bring in young players,” Kallman said. “They’re really anxious, and they’ve shown really well so far. I think they all have high ceilings, it’s just a matter of acclimating themselves to the environment and then stepping into the team and taking their chances.”

In addition to the rookies and goalkeeper Matt Lampson acquired on draft night, Heath acknowledged that the club is not done adding to the roster. “I think it was well documented recently that we were down in Colombia trying to buy a player from down there, but that’s the type of player we’re looking for to come in and help with this group,” Heath said, referring to multiple media reports that United are negotiating with Colombian club Deportivo Cali over playmaker Nicolas Benedetti, who could become MNUFC’s first designated player.

While all reports say that the club’s preseason preparation is in good shape, there’s still work to be done.

“Set-pieces were something that we weren’t great on the other day,” Finlay said about Saturday’s 4-1 friendly loss to Orlando City SC. “To me, the plus-minus in set-pieces can make or break a team making the playoffs. You look every year, the teams that are plus in those categories are the teams usually in the playoffs.

“I think we’ve got the offensive pieces to be better at it, and obviously defensively we’ve got some big boys,” Finlay continued. “A lot of that’s communication and just working on it, and we’ll address those things. They’re pretty easy and simple things to address, but you have to address them, you can’t have things like that happen.”

The expectations for the upcoming season are already high, and will only get higher.

“Everything is better. Since I got here, everything is better,” defender Calvo said. “I have a feeling, and I hope that feeling comes true. We have a goal. We want to go to the playoffs.” It’s still more than a month until the Loons’ home opener — March 17 against Chicago at TCF Bank Stadium — but the team is ready for a fresh start, and will have a fresh new look for the new season.

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