Minnesota United announced today that the club will host Holstein Kiel of the German Bundesliga for an international friendly at Allianz Field on Monday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m. CT, as part of their preseason training in the United States.
July’s international friendly against Holstein Kiel marks the 15th international friendly contest that Minnesota United has hosted. The summer fixture between the Loons and the Storks was brought together by European sports agency, Match IQ, who focuses on organizing training camps and friendly matches across the globe. Minnesota United’s most recent international friendly that the club hosted was versus St. Patrick’s Athletic in the spring of 2024.
Holstein Kiel is a German club based in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, nicknamed “Die Störche”, which translates to “The Storks”. The club was formed in 1900 after two German clubs merged, creating KSV Holstein. Holstein-Stadion has been the home of the Storks since its opening in 1911, where the club has a long history of success spanning over 100 years. In the early years of the club, KSV Holstein quickly became competitive in northern Germany, winning six regional titles and finishing as runner-up seven times between the years 1910 and 1932. Holstein reached the German championship in 1910, but fell 2-1 to Karlsruher FV. Two years later, the club won the German championship over the defending champions and continued to make regular appearances in the national playoffs in the following years – notably finishing as runners-up in 1930.
Holstein Kiel most recently earned promotion to the Bundesliga after a 1-1 draw against Fortuna Düsseldorf, clinching the second spot in the 2023-2024 2. Bundesliga table. The Bundesliga is the topflight of German football, comprised of 18 teams annually.
Listed below are the results from international friendlies the Minnesota United has hosted:
- MNUFC 1(4)-1(3) in PKs over Mexico U21, July 4, 2014
- MNUFC 2-0 Swansea City AFC, July 19, 2014
- MNUFC 1-1 Club Leon, July 18, 2015
- MNUFC 2-4 Club Leon, June 25, 2016
- MNUFC 0-4 AFC Bournemouth, July 20, 2016
- MNUFC 1-1 Atlas FC, July 15, 2017
- MNUFC 1-2 Saprissa, July 11, 2018
- MNUFC 0-1 Hertha Berlin, May 22, 2019
- MNUFC 0-3 Aston Villa, July 17, 2019
- MNUFC 2-2 CF Pachuca, Sept. 7, 2019
- MNUFC 4-3 SC Paderborn 07, June 11, 2022
- MNUFC 4-0 Everton FC, July 20, 2022
- MNUFC 2-1 FC Kaiserslautern, June 28, 2023
- MNUFC 1-0 St Patrick’s Athletic, March 20, 2024
