Star Tribune: MNUFC's offseason
Nov. 27: Minnesota United’s offseason may have begun abruptly, after they were knocked out of the playoffs last Sunday, but their time off will be busy.
The expansion draft for San Diego FC, MLS’s 30th team, is Dec. 11. Free agency begins Dec. 12. But the first step in the offseason was Wednesday, the day that Minnesota had to decide on 2025 contract options for a dozen players.
Perhaps not surprisingly for a squad that ended the year as one of the hottest teams in MLS, the Loons are picking up all but a handful of those options.
Dec. 11: Minnesota United FC returned to the playoffs in 2024, but the gap between the Loons and the top of the Western Conference was evident.
If you count their penalty-shootout playoff wins against Real Salt Lake as regulation draws, the Loons won only one game of 14 against the five teams that finished above them in the standings this year.
Chief soccer officer Khaled El-Ahmad has to figure out how to catch the class of the West — LA Galaxy, LAFC and the Seattle Sounders. But El-Ahmad says he knows what the team needs to close that gap: more of the same.