Minnesota, like basically every MLS team, can’t just go out and buy an entire squad’s worth of players to fit the coach’s system. The Loons depended all year on players who were willing and able to play multiple positions, including positions that they’d basically never played before — like Joseph Rosales, who moved from attacking midfield to left wingback, and Carlos Harvey, a midfielder now playing center back.
Not every player is able, or willing, to learn a new position on the fly. Without that flexibility and talent, Ramsay’s tactical moves and new system never would have worked.
In the summer transfer window, El-Ahmad took some big swings, including buying three players — Kelvin Yeboah, Jefferson Díaz, and Joaquín Pereyra — who immediately fit into the starting lineup. The trio has played seven games together, and the Loons are 5-1-1 in that span.
None of the three had MLS experience, which meant there was no way of knowing how they’d fit into a new country and a new league. That El-Ahmad managed to find three players who could help immediately is a big win for the Minnesota front office.
Minnesota’s top six players in league minutes this season are Rosales, Michael Boxall, Robin Lod, Dayne St. Clair, Wil Trapp and Hassani Dotson — all of whom came to MNUFC in 2021 or before. It’s a testament to the longest-serving Loons that even as everything changed around them this year — front office, manager, formation, everything — all six were still key contributors and leaders for a squad that needed stability in the worst way.
Coming into 2024, Minnesota had just one established striker, Teemu Pukki — and Pukki has scored only four goals this season, and none since July 17.
