HOME AT LAST Men’s pro soccer is hardly new in Minnesota The Twin Cities had a popular first-division team in the 1970s One team or another has represented the area continuously since 1990 Those teams had mostly played in minor leagues though What was new was MLS Minnesota United had moved up to the country’s top league in 2017 But the first two years were often a struggle Playing home games at an oversized college football stadium the Loons gave up a league-record 70 goals that first season Then they gave up 71 in 2018 6
Minnesota United fans were excited to follow the club to their gleaming new stadium in St Paul Still the 2019 season brought reason for hope Several talented players including Alonso had joined the team that offseason The team was opening a brand new soccer-specific stadium called Allianz Field in St Paul And on April 13 2019 Loons fans got their first in-person look at the team and stadium when New York City Football Club FC came to town for the home opener In the match’s 13th minute the ball came Alonso’s way With a hard-hit volley he sent the ball crashing into the net for the first goal in Allianz Field Although the Loons ended up tying the game 3 3 their future had never looked brighter 7
A PROVEN LEADER As a young player Osvaldo Ozzie Alonso wanted to leave his native Allianz Field was instantly one of the league’s iconic stadiums A curved outer skin made it look like a giant spaceship from the Cuba The government wouldn’t outside At night these walls could let him however so he defected to the United States In 2008 Alonso was playing for a minor league team when the Seattle Sounders be lit up to glow in different colors Inside Allianz Field had seating for 19,400 However the most discovered him Over 10 seasons passionate fans who watch from the there the defensive midfielder proved to be one of MLS toughest and most respected players Minnesota seeking a steep supporters section on the south end don’t do much sitting during the games Fans were also strong leader signed him in 2019 proud that the team didn’t ask the local community to help pay for the stadium as many pro sports teams do Instead the team owners covered the cost of the 250 million soccer-specific stadium themselves And located halfway between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St Paul it was a perfect home for a team called United Minnesota recorded its first win at the new stadium on April 28 defeating DC United 1 0 And the Loons continued to rack up wins after that Before long they were in position to lock up a playoff berth However in the first opportunity 8
Ozzie Alonso brought toughness and leadership to the Loons to do so United tied 0 0 on the road at Portland Now three days later the Loons trailed a struggling Kansas City team at the half Alonso who had never missed the playoffs in 10 MLS seasons wasn’t about to let that streak end 9
