Minnesota United finalizes hiring of head coach Eric Ramsay, former Manchester United assistant

Soccer players on a field in an empty stadium.
Minnesota United players run a drill as a team during training at Allianz Field in St. Paul.
Evan Frost | MPR News 2021

Minnesota United finalized the hiring of head coach Eric Ramsay on Monday, one game into the MLS regular season after the unusually drawn-out process of replacing Adrian Heath.

Ramsay will join the club once he receives his work visa. The native of England who was raised in Wales comes from Manchester United of the English Premier League, where he served as a first-team coach under current manager Erik ten Hag.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining a club with such a strong football culture, a fanatic fan-base and a brilliant infrastructure,” Ramsay said in a statement distributed by the Loons. “I’ve spoken to a lot of the club’s staff throughout the process and you can’t help but feel everyone’s passion for moving the club forward. There is a really exciting pathway for the future."

Heath, the club’s first head coach upon joining MLS as an expansion team in 2017, was fired Oct. 6 shortly before the Loons missed the playoffs after making the postseason the previous four years.

Sean McAuley was named interim coach, but he resigned in January. Cameron Knowles was appointed as the next interim coach and guided the Loons to a 2-1 victory at Austin in the season opener on Saturday.

Minnesota United also recently hired Khaled El-Ahmad as its chief soccer officer.

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