FiftyFive.One
• Voices From Soccer's North •
Tag: Miguel Ibarra
-
Match Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Minnesota United FCAlright Minnesota United, we get it. We love Minnesota, too, and we do not much care for any other parts of the country. Minnesota has followed up a stunningly poor seven game road trip with back-to-back home wins. If the Loons could replicate even a portion of their home success on the road, they would…
-
Matchday Thirty: The Results Don’t Matter, But The Loons Are Still Putting On A Show At Home
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirty: The Results Don’t Matter, But The Loons Are Still Putting On A Show At HomeFor the second straight week at home, the Loons pulled in another three points. The club now sits with 36 points on the season, as many as they achieved last year. With four games to go, including two final matches at TCF Bank Stadium, the nightmare scenario of no year-on-year improvement will likely not come…
-
Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FCThe Loons will return to the relatively safe harbor of TCF Bank Stadium for the first time in seven weeks on Saturday, aiming to salvage a bit of pride and assess its options for 2018. The club will have most of its preferred options available and will be playing a tough Portland Timbers side. With…
-
Matchdays Twenty-Seven and-Twenty Eight: Loons’ Long National Road Trip Nightmare Is Over
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-Seven and-Twenty Eight: Loons’ Long National Road Trip Nightmare Is OverIt’s easy to forget that Minnesota started their recent stretch of seven games, six of which were on the road, riding high on a crest of optimism. They had just pulled off an incredible week with nine points in three home games, and the playoff line was in touching distance. That was nearly two months…
-
Match Preview: Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United FCIt may be hard to remember, but the last time Minnesota United played a home game a playoff surge was on the lips of many fans. By the time they play their next home game, it may be more likely that a half finished bottle of Glenlivet will be pressed to the lips of many…
-
Match Preview: DC United vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: DC United vs. Minnesota United FCMinnesota United is still playing MLS soccer. It has been a while, with an international break and scheduling conspiring to provide the Loons with the longest break of the season. That does not mean, however, that the team will return refreshed and with its best eleven ready to take the field. Far from it. Minnesota…
-
Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FCAfter a late tactical switch against the Galaxy earned Minnesota a comeback draw two weeks ago, Adrian Heath earned some just plaudits for getting the tactics right. As for his lineup choices against Dallas; well, let’s hold off the talks of Heath replacing Pep Guardiola. In the coach’s defense, Minnesota is just not deeply talented…
-
Match Preview: FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FCCoach Adrian Heath will have some difficult lineup choices to make in the Lone Star State on Saturday. It is easy to overlook how relatively stable the lineup choices have been over the last two months, with few additional injuries, suspensions, and other outages to contend with. Player swaps have largely been by choice rather…
-
Matchday Twenty-Four: Minnesota Battles To Ugly Point On The Road, With Big Elephant In The Stadium
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty-Four: Minnesota Battles To Ugly Point On The Road, With Big Elephant In The StadiumHappily for much of Minnesota’s time in MLS, there has been surprisingly little drama. Sure the team may have been bad and players have come and gone, but there’s rarely been a behind-the-scenes soap opera that other teams seem to attract. But this week was different. Days after sending beloved striker Christian Ramirez to LAFC,…
-
Match Preview: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Minnesota United FCThere are lots of intriguing questions posed by Saturday’s key Western Conference showdown between the Loons and the Galaxy, but only one will be in the mind of fans. How will Minnesota move on from the man who scored more goals than any other and provided value off the ball even when he wasn’t scoring?…
-
Losing Ramirez, Minnesota Loses Some Magic
Categories: The AngleContinue Reading: Losing Ramirez, Minnesota Loses Some MagicChristian Ramirez’s sale to LAFC comes at a crucial time for Minnesota United, but his legacy will remain as a magical player and the greatest player of the modern era in Minnesota soccer. It took Christian Ramirez only sixteen minutes. Sixteen minutes into his debut for Minnesota United in 2014, he announced himself to fans…
-
Matchday Twenty-Three: Late Gut Punch Dooms Loons, Raises Questions About Leadership
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty-Three: Late Gut Punch Dooms Loons, Raises Questions About LeadershipThrough nearly ninety minutes, Minnesota United were in the process of eking out an undeserved but professional home victory over the Seattle Sounders. Then, in stoppage time, it all fell apart. With recriminations flying thick and fast over what increasingly looks like another season short of the playoffs, it’s time to return to some hard…
-
News in Brief: Asylum of Loons in TOTW, Rumors on Ramirez, and More
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: News in Brief: Asylum of Loons in TOTW, Rumors on Ramirez, and MoreMLS Team of the Week Seven goals in two games will certainly earn a team a lot of plaudits. MLS acknowledged the Loons’ performance this past week by placing an asylum of Loons and Adrian Heath on the Team of the Week. Brent Kallman and Miguel Ibarra made the bench. Bobby Shuttleworth, Christian Ramirez, and…