Minnesota United’s new head coach Eric Ramsay and sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad are fluent in at least three languages and conversational in a couple more.
New Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay benefits from speaking multiple languages
Eric Ramsay can speak English, French and Spanish and he’s conversational in a few more. It’s helped him already start connecting with star Emanuel Reynoso and other players in their own languages.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 15, 2024 at 3:42PM
Ramsay calls that important as he looks across his team’s dressing room and around MLS.
In Blaine and Allianz Field he sees a team that has six players — including star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso — who speak Spanish as their first language. He also hears Swedish and Korean in addition to the English, Spanish and French he already speaks.
Then there’s Welsh, Ramsay’s home-country language that they say takes twice as long to learn as French.
“My wife is an avid proponent of the Welsh language, which I am getting there,” he said, referring to his wife Sioned. “I would add that to the list. She might say otherwise.”
El-Ahmad has conducted early discussions with Emanuel Reynoso and other Spanish-speaking Loons with each speaking his own language through a staff member who interpreted.
Whichever the language, Ramsay said he has had meaningful discussions his first week on the job with Reynoso, who is expected to make his 2024 debut in the season’s fourth week against Los Angeles F.C. He hasn’t been ready to play until now because of a knee injury sustained in preseason training.
“Reynoso obviously is a huge part of this,” Ramsay said. “With all the talented players, me and the staff have to find a way to fit the pieces of the jigsaw.
“We’ve had some really good conversations the first few days. I hope we can get to the point where he contributes to the level he undoubtedly can over a long period. I think as we all have seen, he’ll be a really important player for us and will define how successful we are.”
Reynoso last month said “it’s important” both Ramsay and El-Ahmad speak Spanish and multiple languages.
Ramsay’s father taught language classes and the family lived in Spain for a brief time when Ramsay was young.
“So I just continued naturally,” Ramsay said. “It didn’t become of any consequence until I started working at Man United (as an assistant coach in 2021) in a very multicultural, multilingual dressing room. The fact I was able to connect with some of the players who didn’t speak great English stood me in good stead. I feel from the first days here, it’s going to be essential work with the big group of Spanish speakers you have here.”
Ramsay is getting help from Loons defenders DJ Taylor and Zarek Valentin, both of whom speak Spanish fluently.
“They’ll be immensely useful as a go-between,” Ramsay said. “We can have a healthy working environment where nothing falls through the cracks. Everyone feels connected. ... I can feel it in the first few days: really energetic, really hungry group, really coachable, really talented across lots of areas. Any player who can connect with the coach through language can make a big difference.”
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
