Minnesota United has expanded its soccer operations staff, naming Amos Magee the club’s first director of player personnel. An experienced player and coach with an eye for talent, Magee joins Minnesota following three years as an assistant coach with D.C. United.
“I’ve admired the vision of Minnesota United from afar since Dr. McGuire took over,” said Magee. “The growth of this club in the market is so significant from when I was here as a player and coach of the Minnesota Thunder.
“Leaving D.C. United was a really difficult decision based on how much we accomplished together. Their sporting staff and the way they are going as a club made the decision to come to Minnesota very difficult. In the end I wanted to be a part of this club more, this is home. I have been a part of trying to grow soccer in Minnesota for a really long time. I’ve truly enjoyed my time at my previous clubs, but in my mind and in my family’s mind, we always wanted to come back home to Minnesota.”
As director of player personnel, Magee will work closely with Sporting Director Manny Lagos to develop Minnesota United’s sporting vision as it pertains to certain soccer curriculum as well as be responsible for vertically integrating this vision from the academy system to the first team.
“Amos is someone I’ve known for a long time and it’s a great story that he is from Minnesota, but the bigger story is that he has been incredibly well-regarded over the last several years in Major League Soccer working with some very successful teams to build their clubs both on and off the field,” said Lagos. “That said, he also truly understands this state and this market and we believe that he is the best person to help our organization grow and to develop the sporting vision for who we are as a club both on the field and in the community.”
Magee, a St. Paul, Minn., native, played high school soccer with Lagos at St. Paul Academy and went on to attend Wesleyan University where he became the all-time leading scorer with 35 goals and 85 overall points for the Cardinals.
He spent nearly his entire professional playing career with the Minnesota Thunder, and was the club’s all-time leading scorer with 64 goals. Magee also played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.
He retired as a player in 2004, but spent a portion of the year as a player and assistant coach. Magee returned to coach the Thunder from 2006 to 2008. In December of 2007 Magee was asked to coach the US Maccabi team in the 2007 Pan American Maccabiah in Buenos Aires, in which he led the team to the gold medal.
In 2009, after leaving Minnesota, Magee was named the director of soccer development for the Portland Timbers, at the time still in the United Soccer League. In 2011 he helped oversee the Timbers’ move to Major League Soccer and was part of the first team’s coaching staff, and led the Timbers’ reserve team.
Magee joined D.C. United in 2014 where he was a first team assistant coach, as well as the coach of the club’s U-23 team.
In addition to developing the sporting vision with Lagos and the rest of the sporting staff, Magee will be responsible for assisting in scouting players from across the globe and will work closely with the coaching staff to construct a competitive roster that represents the club’s technical vision, culture and community.
Minnesota United kicks off its inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2017. The club will play its home matches at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium. Secure your spot in history today, become a season ticket holder and join the exclusive members of the Itasca Society. Call 763.4SOCCER or visit mnunitedtickets.com to learn more.
