Catching up with Andres Arango

Andres Arango goes high to win a ball in the 2009 Thunder season. Central defender partner Jon Greenfield looks on. Photo By Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

Andres Arango, a veteran central defender who has spent the last two seasons playing pro soccer in Minnesota and living here in the off-season, spoke to IMS by phone this week and said the events of the past off-season were concerning for many of the former Thunder players. “It’s been a pretty crazy time not knowing where our future stands and not knowing what was going to happen with the league and the team as well. It’s just good to see resolution for the sake of all the players.” Arango said during the ongoing league battle between the USL and NASL and with the added financial problems of the Thunder, it was tough getting information from anyone. “During the ordeal, all of us players were in the same situation. We just weren’t sure of what was going to happen. We’d get together and talk but we’d all have the same information that we had gotten from Inside Minnesota Soccer. That was the only place where we could seem to get any sort of news.” He stated  he’s glad that situation is now behind them and everyone is ready to move forward.

Arango says many of the former Thunder players who have stayed in the community “get together 3 to 4 times a week and just kick the ball around. We play games at least twice a week and some of us go there to practice shooting and just try to keep our fitness up,” says Arango. “It’s just good to have someplace to go and play. We don’t normally have that access anywhere else. We’re lucky we get to use that place at all.”

“That place,” that Arango is talking about is the National Sports Center indoor facility. The NSC has been allowing the former Thunder players to train there for free this winter. In fact, the NSC was allowing the players free access before they even decided to provide a team for Minnesota Soccer fans for the 2010 season. “Yeah,” exclaimed an appreciative Arango. “I haven’t had to pay a cent. Joe Warren (former Thunder goalkeeper who works for the NSC) usually sets us up the times with the NSC.”

Jeremiah Bass, Kevin Friedland, Brian Kallman, Dan O’Brien, Nic Platter and Mat Vanoekel use the facility regularly according to Arango. He said recently, Andrei Gotsmanov has also been joining the crew as he is starting to get healthy after recovering from double hernia surgery after last season. “Andrei’s been working hard and he looks good,” said Arango.

Arango says they have a few other former Thunder players that drop in occasionally. Ansu Toure, who played for the Vancouver Whitecaps last season shows up quite regularly. Toure makes his home in the Twin Cities. Arango says the Liberian midfielder likes to stay fit and joins their crew quite often. “We also had a little visit from Johnny (Menyongar),” said Arango. Menyonger, another Twin Cities resident, was ripping up the league (USL-1) for the Rochester Rhinos last year when he blew his ACL out late in the season. Arango says Menyongar is recovering well and is just starting to run. “He’s looking to get back into it as soon as he can,” explained Arango.

According to the 26-year-old Colombian-born Arango, who spent most of his teen years growing up in Toronto, Canada, he’s already had offers to play elsewhere but he would prefer to stay here in Minnesota. He stated a number of players really call Minnesota home now even though they may originally be from other parts of the country and the world. “I’ve grown to love Minnesota,” said Arango. “I consider it my home. I met my girlfriend here and I really like it here. Even in past meetings with the old team I told them I wanted to make Minnesota my home. Hopefully, with this new team, the situation will be right where I will be able to support myself and my family as well. I’m not trying to buy a lot of condos or fancy cars or anything like that,” said a laughing Arango. “I just want to play soccer and survive. If they can help me do that I would love it.”

Arango said he thinks the new team needs to build around a good core of players and then try to fill in the other positions. Most of the core of players who have been training together in the off-season are interested in playing in Minnesota. Jon Greenfield, who is playing indoor for the Baltimore Blast, has also expressed an interest in coming back to Minnesota to play.

Arango explained why it’s important to have a pro soccer team in a community. He said, often pro players settle in an area where they once played. That same player will then pass on the knowledge they have acquired as a pro to the youth players of that same community. “It’s good for the teams to work with the community,” said Arango. “It also allows us to sort of guide these players through the system that we’ve already experienced. When we say we are a Thunder player their eyes light up and they are like, wow, he wants to coach me and my team? Some of us weren’t so lucky to have been coached by professional players. Giving that opportunities to kids is very important and it will help the sport to grow.”

Arango is now heading up a new soccer program with the St. Paul Saints. The Saints Sports Academy recently opened and is a 32,000-square-foot instructional facility in Lakeville, MN, providing youth athletic training and development in multiple sports including baseball, softball and soccer.

“The Saints gave me the opportunity to start from scratch a new program,” says Arango. “I’m the head of the soccer program and the head trainer. Everyone sees the Saints name and thinks it’s baseball, but we have a lot of programs. I’m trying to start a program where we train both individually and as groups. We are doing a lot of skills work but will also work on some tactical areas.”

Arango said the program is focusing on the South Metro area for now: Burnsville, Lakeville, Savage and Prior Lake.  For more information, call 952-985-5949 or e-mail info@saintssportsacademy.com or visit saintssportsacademy.com.

Andres Arango came to the Thunder in 2008 and played two season with the team making 59 apperances. He is a strong central defender who paired well with South African Jonathan Greenfield in the center of the back line for the former team. Arango signed with the Montreal Impact of the USL First Division before being traded to the Toronto Lynx. He played in 69 games for Toronto from 2004-06. In 2005 and 2006 he was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year.