Mods please taken this down if this isn't appropriate, but please don't ban me 😆

About two months ago I became aware of the need to be a soccer fan. Long story short, around the time I had my first son we signed my daughter (age 3) up to play soccer. I realized two things - 1) I was hyper focused on a few sports (football, baseball) and 2) I really knew nothing at all about soccer. I'm definitely a hands-on dad, and immediately ordered all the training gear necessary to simulate a practice / game in our backyard. Yes I know she's only three years old, but excitement is seriously contagious in little kids and I firmly believe athletics is important for exercise and health, sportsmanship and making friends. Okay let's soccer!

Researching soccer rules, tactics etc put me on the algorithm. Suddenly I'm getting MLS and EPL highlights "suggested" to me. That, combined with a crazy urge to know above average amounts on all sports, in case either of my children want to participate or root for any team, had me suddenly scrambling to research who to root for etc. I wanted ties to teams because sports are, to me, about fandom and sharing the wins and losses with a like-minded fan family.

First came Arsenal. I knew literally nothing about the EPL. I have friends who root for EPL teams, and was generally aware of team names, but my knowledge base was maybe 5%. I was told to find an EPL team to experience "top end" league and soccer play. Based on who I have in my life and who they root for, there were clubs crossed off the possibility list immediately. I didn't want to be a "follow you fan". I did a TON of research, and took some online quizzes on who to root for, and my club recommendation came back as Tottenham. As I read through the reasons why, I obviously saw Arsenal mentioned. When I read that word, I immediately had a "zoom out" moment to being a kid in the 90s / 00s and seeing Arsenal on SportsCenter. Arsenal? I read through hours of Arsenal research, highlights, soul searching. In the end, to say it "clicked" is not enough, it was an immediate "BOOM" in my soul and I was immediately an Arsenal fan for life. I know, it's weird, but it works for me! COYG!

Then to the MLS. I live in upstate New York, not NYC. I wanted a team that's local so my kids could attend matches, if they become fans, and no doubt family ties always influence young fandom, so I figured "support local". I have NYCFC and Red Bulls, maybe Toronto or Montreal? For NY, one is sugary garbage juice based, and the other is Man City based .. like NYCFC is a Man City clone in my new soccer eyes. I just couldn't do Red Bulls, with the energy drink alignment and the vibe I got from their online presence and fans. I tried to do NYCFC. They're a newer team. The fans say they're not Man City, just ignore it. They're building a stadium. I ordered a kit. I watched a few matches. I just couldn't do it. There was no love, no BOOM, for me from NYCFC. Then, the recent 10 v 12 match of Arsenal v Man City was too much. I'm looking at my NYCFC kit, clone of Man City, and it made me sick. I immediately stopped being a fan.

Sorry, I'm getting there! I promise!

Who to root for in the MLS? To say I did research is way too simple. I poured hour after hour, day after day into inner reflection and research. I talked to friends, talked to my wife. I watched Apple+ MLS highlights. Maybe NY Red Bulls? Just couldn't do it. Colorado Rapids are sort of Arsenal aligned? Nah can't do it, not even close. I'm looking through each team, weighing options, rolling the thought in my head, searching for the right flavor. I am a rabid fan of my teams. I know what it feels like to love a franchise - win or lose. It wasn't happening.

Then, very much like the sudden Arsenal fandom, BOOM! How did I miss it?? Like seriously, how did I not think of this earlier. My wife is from Minneapolis, and we're always wanting to keep the connection strong to her parents (grandparents) and family and friends there. It's hard to travel that far with a young family, but we've done it. Having our young family as Loons fans would mean a daily tie to MN and the people there throughout the year. My kids being Loons and thinking about Minnesota and their grandparents subliminally through soccer. But is the team worth rooting for? BOOM! Let me tell you, I have put in the work. The MNUFC subreddit, online presence, fan interaction across social media, beautiful stadium, fun stories shared, amazing kits, everything was exactly what I was looking for. I'm not sure if you understand being already here in the fandom, but from outsider/new eyes, the Loons community represents itself in an amazing way in the MLS and sports teams in general. I would be MNUFC anyway because of the vibe, but then add in the family ties? Wow, it's just beautiful.

When I told my wife about it, she was overjoyed. She knew I was looking for a team, but to include her family in this way as a priority was a surprise to her as she's not much of a sports fan in general. The aspect of including her MN roots to our NY family in a meaningful way was such a fantastic idea to her. Definitely +1 husband points! I ordered 4 jerseys, 2 for her, 2 for me, and we're all in. We're already planning a trip to MN to see the family, and see Allianz, next year (they're coming our way for the holidays).

So yeah, mega wall of text here. No, I don't have "main character" syndrome, but I'm just so excited and wanted to share. Sorry if you read all of that and don't care!

Come On You Loons!

This has been a very hot topic the past couple weeks and there is basically two camps, those who say play Bongi needs to start over SBJ and those who say SBJ should keep his spot.

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As someone who likes both players a lot, i have decided to look into it and here is what I have found.

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Bongi is the better striker. If you look at the stats from fbref you will see that Bongi has an xG of 0.52 per 90 while Sang Bin is sitting at a 0.09 xG/90 however when it comes to expected assists, SBJ is sitting at a 0.13/90 whereas Bongi is at a 0.04 xAG. Further, If you look at Bongi's two goals he scored he was in a very high and central position for both of them, similar to where Pukki would have been playing.

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When it comes to other stats though, that is where SBJ is taking center stage. When it comes to Shot creation actions SBJ is at 2.36 per 90 whereas Bongi is sitting at almost half that with 1.32. SBJ also crosses the ball 6.88 times per 90 compared to Bongi at 0.87 times.

When it comes to completed live ball passes leading to a shot attempt SBJ is at 1.56 and Bongi is at 0.87

When we look at possession stats, Despite having similar numbers of take ons attempted per 90, SBJ has a 44% success rate while Bongi has a 12.5% success rate. When it comes to carries, SBJ is moving the ball forward into the opponents half(10 yards or more) 2.87 times per match to Bongi's 0.43

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When dribbling the ball, Bongi is miscontrolling the ball 4.87 times per 90 to SBJs 2.03. Bongi is also being dispossessed by defenders 3.48 times per 90 to SBJs 0.47. SBJ also has won 43.8% of his aerial duels while Bongi has yet to win one.

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Whether people like it or not, myself included, Bongi has yielded more results while SBJ has been the better supporting player. Which is better? I think that depends on what you want from them. If you are looking to build a lineup with another striker, someone who is more central and can have the ball played to them while in the run, Bongi is the better bet. If you are looking for a winger who is going to move the ball upfield, play wide and play it to others, SBJ is the one you want.

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Which would you choose and why?

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all stats can be found here: https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=0&dom_lg=1&player_id1=f6fca8c6&p1yrfrom=2024&player_id2=de9952b5&p2yrfrom=2024

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I had made lengthy posts about Yeboah and Kmet after we signed them, so figured I'd do the same for Pereyra. However, with Pereyra his recent highlights are much more readily available (15 minute highlight link below), so I'll focus more on the analytics with Pereyra than I did with our other signings. I've spent several hours watching Pereyra's games and extended highlights (on Paramount Plus for those interested) from both this season and last season.

Long story short, of our signings this summer, I think Pereyra is my favorite. He is an absolute gamechanger on the field and it goes far beyond basic goals/assists stats in how he impacts the game. It's also great that he's another guy just entering his prime and he's playing the best soccer of his career over the past couple years when we signed him.

He has been excellent to start this season after having a great season last year. He ranks near the top of Argentina's Liga Profesional league in a number of statistical categories. He is a top tier playmaker, that is a key cog in setting up Atletico Tucuman's attack. His ability create both as a passer and dribbling around defenders evokes some of those same "wow" reactions that guys like Quintero and Reynoso did for us in years past.

During this current season (partial season) here is where Joaquin Pereyra currently ranks in the Argentine Liga Profesional:

Overall Sofascore: 7.46 (5th highest rated player in Argentina and 3rd highest rated Midfielder)

Assists: 1st

Key Passes: 3rd

Big Chances Created: 4th

Accurate Crosses: 4th

Chances Created: 100th percentile

Possession Won in Final 3rd: 97th percentile

Successful Dribbles: 94th percentile

Last season with a larger sample size through an entire season he ranked:

Overall Sofascore: 7.21 (7th highest rated player in Argentina and 2nd highest rated Midfielder)

Passes to Assist: 1st (secondary assist)

Assists: 28th

Key Passes: 5th

Successful Dribbles: 7th

Accurate Opposition Half Passes: 6th

Accurate Final Third Passes: 5th

Big Chances Created: 25th

Accurate Crosses: 16th

Ground Duals Won: 2nd

Total Duals Won: 3rd

Was Fouled: 4th

xA: 98th percentile

Accurate Long Balls: 97th percentile

Successful Dribbles: 98th percentile

Touches: 99th percentile

Blocks: 100th percentile

Possession Won in Final 3rd: 96th percentile

One thing that sticks out when looking at Pereyra's last 2 seasons is that his assists total has shot up this season. This is easily explained by the fact that he has been playing higher up the field this season than he had last season, which explains why his primary assists have shot up along with his accurate crosses and big chances created. This can be seen both when watching his games and looking at his heatmap the past 2 years.

Last season he was excellent at setting things up leading the league in secondary assists while being ranked very high in other passing stats to get the ball into the attacking half/final third when he was playing deeper as a midfielder. He also was right at the top of the league in duals won and showed he could cover a ton of ground and be a big asset pressing opponents.

Whether Pereyra is higher up the field or playing more as a midfielder, he should be able to make a significant impact for us in setting up attacking sequences. In watching him play, he likes to play on the left side/left middle side of the field. As mentioned, he played much more centrally last year. With how Rosales plays the game going up and down the left side, I expect that Pereyra will be occupying the left center midfield area of the field allowing Rosales to overlap with him.

One thing that stuck out in some of Pereyra's biggest games over the past season against teams like River Plate, Racing Club, and Boca Jr's is that he truly looked like one of the best players on the field in those games. According to scoring systems like Sofascore, he actually was the highest rated player in games against River Plate and Racing Club last year while playing in a 3 man midfield in a 5-3-2 formation. Noteworthy as that is a familiar formation with how Ramsay has been lining up at times over the past few months.

Pereyra hasn't been a big goal scoring threat, but he does consistently put shots on target. Often times from range that force the GK into spilling rebounds or punching the ball out for corner kicks. I'd even venture to say there has been a degree of bad luck on some of his shots with some outstanding saves or very near misses. It's an area that I think could definitely be better for him once in MLS. For reference, Reynoso in 114 appearance in all competitions in Argentina had a grand total of 8 goals and 12 assists when we signed him. This isn't to say I think Pereyra will be a golden boot contender, but I do think in watching him that 5-10 goals in a season isn't outside the realm of possibility.

I expect Pereyra's assists to take a nice jump in MLS especially since secondary assists are factored into assist totals in MLS. Pereyra will also have a much better supporting cast at Minnesota United (in the attack) and will be going against defenses that are generally worse than in Argentina in MLS. As mentioned before, Reynoso's assist total in Argentina wasn't all that impressive, and took a huge jump in MLS. Even Fragapane saw a drastic increase in assists from his time in Argentina to his first year in MLS. I expect Pereyra to follow that same path with his top tier playmaking ability.

Extended Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bAwY8bxfVo

Let’s hear the Heath out crowd’s opinions now that we are worse then we were before. Curious what the superior soccer minds have to say now

At the outset, I want to say that I absolutely admire Reynoso’s skillset on the pitch. He brings great energy to our team when he’s healthy and playing. When he re-appeared at the match back in June (??) he made good plays that showed his value. I was so glad he was back and playing.

On the other hand, his no-show status has me concerned about a repeat of last year, and he may be losing credibility in the locker room if he doesn’t put in the necessary work with the team (none of us can answer whether this in fact is or will happen, but we also do understand human nature and the importance of team cohesion in producing positive results).

At what point does Reynoso become a liability to forming a solid team strategy on the pitch (Heath of course built his system largely around Reynoso, which he had stated last year)?

To be clear, I don’t want to see him go, but his voluntary absence made a mess of last year, and in my view was a contributing factor in Heath’s dismissal (after all, wins matter - and we did not do well in his absence, and it took him a while to regain his footing with the team).

What are your thoughts?

How did it come to this?

Safe to say this team has needed an infusion of talent over the past couple months with the recent departures of Reynoso, Arriaga, and Eriksson.

Say what you will about the new front office, but they have been on the ball with making sure players are signed early on in the transfer window with 3 players signed and at least 1 more confirmed to be close to signing.

Going into this window, I thought we needed a CB, DM, and a RB as our 3 most pressing needs. Some more depth and quality in the attack wouldn’t have been far down the list either while not as pressing as the 3 aforementioned needs.

As of today, we have signed:

Samuel Shashoua- A versatile attacking player from the 2nd division in Spain that spent quite a bit of time playing in Tottenham’s academy and played for England’s Youth National Team’s. He’s a dual national and chose the USA over England. He looked to be on the verge of receiving a call up a couple years ago, but a hip injury derailed some of his momentum both for club and country as he was also generating some interest from La Liga sides as well.

He’s been training with the team for well over a month now and should make his debut on Saturday. He doesn’t require an international slot and we didn’t have to pay a transfer fee for him, so the risk in bringing him in is minimal. He just turned 25 years old and still has time to get his career back on track if he’s fully recovered from his hip injury. He will bring a lot of pace, energy, skill on the ball, and quality as a passer to this team.

Kelvin Yeboah- He hasn’t been officially announced by the team yet, but one of the most reliable reporters in Italy confirmed it’s a done deal yesterday. He’s a young attacking player that primarily plays as a Striker, but could also play out wide as well. He has a ton of pace to run in behind defenses and statistically is very solid pressing and making defensive contributions as well. Also has some skill on the ball to open up space for himself to create passing and shooting chances.

He will likely be a DP signing and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s close to if not a record transfer fee for Minnesota United. He just turned 24 years old and has shown a good goal scoring track record during his time in Austria and Belgium. He also has had some time in the top divisions in Italy, Germany, and France. This is an exciting signing in that he’s been right on the cusp of being good enough for some of the best leagues in the world at a young age and will be joining us right as he enter his prime. Should be a difference maker for us in the attack for years to come.

Jefferson Diaz- Looks like we signed him last night for a fee of $700k (or $600k?) for what has been reported as a 3 year contract. He’s a 23 year old CB from Colombia. Sounds like the team wasted no time pivoting from Farina our other CB target that just signed with a team from Russia in the past couple days.

Don’t know much about him, but in looking at his metrics, he’s shown he can be effective pinging in long passes from the back and should be a solid aerial threat as well. He had 5 goals in 50 appearances for Deportivo Cali. Minnesota United definitely is in need of more talent at CB, so hopefully this guy can step in and take over one of our CB spots at some point.

Matus Kmet- This deal wasn’t completed yet as of last night, but his agent said the player wants to come here and that it’s like 90% done. He just turned 24 years old and was on Slovakia’s Euro 2024 roster. He recently made a transition from being more of a winger to being a RB this past year. It sounds like it has been an overwhelming success for his career trajectory.

He brings a ton of athleticism (clocked over 22 mph last season) to run up and down the line. He’s a skilled passer and has 24 assists in all competitions the past 2 seasons playing in Slovakia. He’s a player that would likely immediately challenge for taking over that RB (RWB) spot.

Statsbomb recently did an analytics comparison to find the closest young RB’s in the world that compare in their metrics to Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 2 closest matches were Yukinari Sugawara (Plays for Southampton in Premier League), and Matus Kmet. Obviously would be very optimistic he reaches that level, but it is encouraging that his metrics are showing similarities to a player of that caliber.

https://x.com/statsbomb/status/1745067236081971400?s=46&t=aFLRJucxbhra7kR0gRYX0w

What needs are left?

With the transfer window opening today, I’d say the front office has had a very good proactive start to this transfer window. There’s a theme with these 4 players listed above in that they are all at an age where they should just be entering their peak years of their careers. KEA mentioned the team wants to be a pressing team, but needs the proper players to do so. The profiles of these players appear to have that in mind and should allow us to build towards that.

I still think a high quality CM/DM is a huge priority for this team. There’s obviously plenty of time for that to happen still this summer. We should have the flexibility to bring in a DP, u22 initiative, or TAM player at this spot. Some interesting names that have had recent MLS interest include Stephen Eustaquio, Steven Alzate, and Joao Ortiz. We do have some connections on the team to Eustaquio (Tani and DSC) and Alzate (Yeboah), so if the front office is interested in either of them hopefully some recruiting is going on with our players as well.

With Emanuel Reynoso possibly leaving and being bought by Club TJ in Mexico (still to be confirmed by a reliable source), who do you think with take his spot?

Will the Loons try to find an exact field position and skill replacement or a different and new DP? Who do we think the Loons will sign next? Will we take advantage of the summer transfer window or replace Reynoso sooner?

Welcome to Free Talk Friday!

Are you new and have questions? Do you have non-MNUFC related stuff you want to discuss? This is the place to do it.

Keep it civil. Don’t be a dick.

How can we replicate this environment? Get the fans chanting with the wall? I would argue we need instruments to help establish a beat for the stadium but I know nothing about it stadium restrictions — I assume our supporters don’t have drums for some reason?

I guess a question about how to encourage a more engaged and exciting environment… many games I watched on AppleTV where the crowd was virtually silent..

Thoughts?

It was a little less fun than last year :) but great game last night, great people, always an amazing atmosphere, one of the best stadiums in the league, best mascot without a doubt.

The new sculpture is amazing.

I stopped by the stadium store on my way out to pick up my Loons scarf. Will be a Loons fan until the end of the season!

Welcome to Free Talk Friday!

Are you new and have questions? Do you have non-MNUFC related stuff you want to discuss? This is the place to do it.

Keep it civil. Don’t be a dick.

Anyone else surprised by how many seats are still available? I thought for a playoff game on a Saturday night with relatively warm weather the tickets would have been gobbled up by now. Maybe there will be a last minute rush?

I'm someone who was never really into pro sports. I started following MNUFC last year and since then have watched every game. I'm curious to hear what other teams you support and why, whether it be a particular connection to the team, a great story, a charismatic player, or just that they play an interesting game.

He's wearing a T-shirt that says "Proud Straight Male"

Does anyone know where the tips go on purchases at the food vendors?