MLS SIDE MINNESOTA UNITED APPOINT MANCHESTER UNITED COACH ERIC RAMSAY AS THEIR NEW HEAD COACH
Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United have appointed Manchester United’s set piece coach Eric Ramsay as their new head coach, as first reported by The Athletic’s Tom Bogert.
Ramsay, one of the smartest and most talented head coaches in football, trades the rainy climate synonymous with Manchester for the freezing tundra synonymous with Minnesota in his biggest career change yet. The Shrewsbury-born coach is now not only the youngest head coach in the MLS at just 32 years old but also the youngest in the league’s history. New York City FC’s Nick Cushing, 39, is the second youngest.
Ramsay joined Manchester United as a player development and set-piece coach under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021. He has since developed into an integral piece of the coaching set up at the club, working under managers Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag, and helped guide United to two finals in the 2022/23 season. United won the EFL Cup in February last year against Newcastle United but ended up losing the FA Cup in May in a 2-1 defeat to their bitter rivals, Manchester City.
A multilingual himself, Ramsay also helped integrate foreign players like Casemiro into the club due to his fluency in both Spanish and French, a unique skill set that will help him communicate to his eclectic group of players across the pond.
“My coaching style varies dramatically depending on the context and the point in the working week in which you’re at,” Ramsay told the Coaches Voice Academy in 2021. “I think, as a generalization, I’m a demanding coach, an energetic coach. But I’m also conscious of making sure there’s a blend between the energy and the presence in the session.”
“And also taking a step back and making sure players are well observed and I’m well positioned to give feedback. I would say I am probably more on the side of being present in the session and driving the session, and making sure the ‘game feel’ is there. I think the coach can play a really active role in that.”
Ramsay joined the Wales national football team as an assistant coach in March 2023, alongside his duties at United, but left after only 6 months to focus on both his young family and his club duties. Wales manager Rob Page said during Ramsay’s appointment, “Eric is arguably one of the best young coaches in football at this moment in time.”
The youngest British coach to achieve the UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching certification available in Europe for anyone who wishes to manage a football club in the top tier of any European nation on a permanent basis, Ramsay was also Chelsea’s U23s coach between 2019 and 2021.
Minnesota United made Ramsay their top target after interim head coach Sean McAuley departed the club last month. McAuley was duly replaced with Minnesota’s MLS NEXT Pro side, MNUFC2’s head coach, Cameron Knowles.
It’s a new dawn for the Loons, who not only acquired veteran Finnish striker Teemu Pukki last year but also employed a new sporting director in November. Minnesota United announced Khaled El-Ahmad as their new sporting director and chief soccer officer a few months ago but the former Barnsley FC executive only arrived at the club last month, following an approval of his visa in mid-January.
According to multiple reports, Ramsay is still yet to make the move stateside as he awaits approval of his visa and work permit. The Welshman is expected to depart in about ten days, after Manchester United play Manchester City in the Manchester derby on March 3. He is thus expected to be on the Manchester United bench on Saturday, Feb. 24 when the Mancunians take on London-based Fulham.
Minnesota kick off their 2024 MLS season on Saturday against Austin FC. They will then face the defending champions, Columbus Crew on March 2.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Andy Witchger. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.