Mid-January is prime time for discovering new American soccer talent. Various combines take place in Florida this time of year, highlighted by the MLS combine, which serves as the ramp-up to next Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.
New Minnesota United head coach Carl Craig is usually part of the Minnesota delegation at the combines, and for the first time he's viewing the talent as the team's manager.
Craig is looking for more youth and speed for the 2016 roster. "If we can get some young lads into the squad, that be great because we're getting old, and we're not as quick as I'd like us to be," he said.
The manager noted that his team, as currently constituted, is thin — such as at goalkeeper, where the team lost backup Mitch Hildebrandt, or along the back four, where the squad is down to two center backs and two wide defenders. He also mentioned his search for someone to play the "No. 10" role, an attacking midfielder tasked with creating chances for an offense that's now headlined by NASL Best XI honorees Christian Ramirez, Stefano Pinho and Lance Laing.
More quickness and more depth would allow Craig to tweak Minnesota's style.
"We need to increase our ability to play a higher tempo," he said. "We need to get a little bit more pace at the back, to allow us to press higher up the field. When we got undone last year, it was often just a simple ball over the defense and then a footrace."
This week, though, Craig's role is mostly to see and meet as many players as possible. For the coach, finding someone who has the right mental makeup is as important as finding someone with the talent to play at a higher level. "My own perspective is, if I can get in front of a guy and have a half-hour conversation with him, that's as important as seeing him play football down here right now," he said. "If the personality is not right and he doesn't click with me, it's just not going to work. It's essential."
While most of the players at the MLS combine hope to make MLS squads, any number of players might be drafted and then released, or might go undrafted — and Minnesota, with its MLS future, would be an attractive destination. "The chances of us stealing a guy away from MLS are pretty slim — at least in the past they have been," said Craig. "It might be a little different now."
![Richard Tsong-Taatarii/rtsong-taatarii@startribune.com Woodbury, MN;2/4/08;left to right:] At the Miller home, Eric Miller could be moved to East Ridge High School in the fall of 2009. Miller played soccer for Woodbury High School this past fall.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/LO6GCYJADZVE64CH5KEMUYZ7UY.jpg?&w=712)
