MNUFC restructures Sporting Department

On Friday November 8th, Minnesota United announced that a not insignificant part of their sporting department was being shuffled around. Manny Lagos, who was named Sporting Director prior to the final NASL season in 2016 has been named Chief Soccer Officer. In that role he will continue to oversee the sporting department of MNUFC. He will have an increased focus on developing the MNUFC Academy and second team.

Mark Watson, who has served as assistant coach since 2017 when the team joined MLS, has been named Technical Director. He will oversee all First Team roster duties for the club going forward. This will include overseeing the scouting department, contract negotiations, and overall roster development, similar to a General Manager role in other sports.

Head Athletic Trainer Stacey Hardin has also been named the Senior Director of Player Heath and Performance. This will have her in charge of things such as strength and conditioning, data science, sports medicine, nutrition and adjunct therapies.

“When we entered MLS in 2017, our first priorities were the development and foundation of our first team roster and the construction and opening of Allianz Field. Having successfully achieved those objectives, we felt it was important to restructure parts of our sporting department in order to continue to grow and evolve as a club,” said MNUFC CEO Chris Wright. “Making these moves now prepares us for what’s ahead as we further develop the vision for our academy, a potential reserve team and the enhancement of our training facility. All of this demands an incredible amount of thought, planning and focus. We all believe this restructure will give us that.”