As our friends over at NASA began saying in the 1960s, we’ve got T-minus (approximately) 365 hours, 30 minutes, and 37 seconds until the 2025 MLS season kicks off for your Loons. You’ll have to adjust my calculations when you read this, obviously, but I think we should all synchronize our watches and take this as seriously as a rocket launch. Strap in, you Loons, as we finish our preseason preparations and prepare for liftoff.

All Systems Go

Following their trip to Santa Barbara, the Boys in Black and Blue spent the week training in the NSC Dome. With player fitness now thoroughly assessed and nearly back up to playing standards, the focus of training sessions has taken on a tactical over technical shift. With the squad broken up into three groups, players took turns listening to Coach Ramsay’s instructions on how to move as a group off the ball, when to press quickly, and how to make every movement intentional.

With assistant coaches surrounding the team from all angles, no player was ever too far away from a guiding hand, refining and sharpening the Loons’ ability to maintain an effective block and identify pressing triggers. Patience and movement were the keys to success in this week’s sessions and any future success the team hopes to achieve, as emphasized by Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad.

“The evolution this year is toward being a little bit more patient and dominant on the ball, because some of our possession numbers weren't great,” El-Ahmad said. “At times, we need to be more careful when we have it. One, to be able to rest, and two, so we don't give it up in transition. Otherwise, we just need to be better at what we were good at. You know, stay compact. Be good at pressing, whether we do it all over the pitch or we drop in the half, then we try to measure the back line and the forward, how close they are to each other in various situations, and finish attacks. You'll see a lot of the same but better. I would hope that you slowly start seeing a little bit more improvement in our possession. But I always say possession with purpose.”

As shifting ice and whipping winds moved the dome above them, the players locked in during this week of preparation ahead of the Coachella Valley Invitational, knowing that the next step in their ramp-up to the season will be the hardest yet. With three full matches scheduled against SKC, LA Galaxy, and NYCFC next week, they’ll have to be at their best both mentally and physically if they want to get this season started off properly. All three of those matches can be streamed for free right here on mnufc.com, so be sure to tune in on this page.

Transfer News

I’ve already written an article with further details on new signings Nicolás Romero and Hoyeon Jung, and there will surely be more news on the way, so I wanted to take a moment to gather all of the roster updates for you. Check out this list of player movement from MNUFC so far this window:

The squad is taking a new shape this season, and with more time left in the window, that shape is far from final. Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad spoke to the press about the club’s transfer business earlier this week.

“I’m excited with the players that we're bringing in and, again, excited with the squad that we currently have,” El-Ahmad said. “It's a complex thing to put together a lot of moving pieces. The recruitment team has done great, and I feel that we're taking the necessary steps to get better every window, and I think we will be doing the same this year. I do anticipate another signing coming in. I think then we will hold and see in the couple of weeks a little bit more what happens. Obviously, our window is open a little bit longer.”

Beyond this window’s business, El-Ahmad shared his thoughts on the current make-up of the squad, a team that has gotten progressively younger since his arrival in Minnesota.

“I do think we have good experience,” he said. “We have some players that are in their peak, meaning, you know, from 23 to 29, and then we also have a young core. I'm excited about some of the young players coming, like Romero, who already has a lot of games under his belt. Jung also comes with experience. He's not an unproven player. They come with a level of experience that I think will help us improve. They're all very good people, and I think everything from the environment is always the first thing that I think is the most important. But otherwise, I like the flexibility. I have players that are willing to play in different formations.”

With a flexible roster and some time to put finishing touches on the core group, it seems that the Loons are right where they want to be in terms of personnel. All that’s left is a few warm-up matches to show that the tactical vision is coming together, and then we’ve got ourselves a season to watch, folks.