Marco Terminesi throws his body at goal to get his head on a ball. In spite of being held he scored on the play. The match was played last September when the MN Thunder took on the Puerto Rico Islanders at the NSC Stadium in Blaine, MN. Photo by Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

When IMS last checked in with Marco Terminesi in late March things hadn’t gotten any worse but they hadn’t gotten a lot better either. Doctors were conflicted on what exactly was going on with his health. They knew the Canadian soccer player and former Thunder goal scorer had a tumor in the center of his brain which was nonmalignant. They didn’t know if that was even the cause of his headaches and dizziness. The tumor was not growing and some doctors speculated that it could have been there since he was young. Doctors even suggested it could be an odd virus causing the problems.

Terminesi was put on the disabled list by his indoor team the Milwaukee Wave, who he was under contract with at the time. The symptoms had sidelined him and even though he wasn’t happy about it there wasn’t a lot he could do. The course of action from doctors was to wait things out. Despite the pain and isolation the headaches caused, he stayed positive, and on Tuesday the Montreal Impact released a statement saying that they had signed him to a 1.5 year contract.

Terminesi spoke to IMS from Baltimore where he made the trip with his new team to play Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. He explained what happened over the last several months to get him to the point where he is now able to play again and sign a contract with the Montreal Impact through the 2011 season.

“I went through a bunch of testing over the past 5 months and they ruled out all the serious things,” said Terminesi. “All the test came back negative. I was on some medicines because I had some difficulties with some things in my blood. Levels being too high of this or to low of that.  I just started getting better gradually. We don’t know if it was the meds or if I had a virus that I got over. I just started getting better gradually. I really don’t know if it was anything the doctors did for me or if it was just my body getting better. Even the doctors don’t know. Some of the doctors said it just may be something that caused it that we will never know. As  long as I’m better that’s a good enough explanation for me because it’s been a rough couple of months. I’m just happy to be out of it.”

Terminesi says all symptoms he previously had seemed to have toned down, including the headaches and dizziness, while some symptoms are gone completely. He also says he’s been training and playing at a pretty high level for the last month.

The former Minnesota Thunder player says he signed with Montreal over a week ago and when he flew into Montreal on Wednesday morning the paperwork was already complete. By Wednesday evening the 25-year old Woodbridge, Ontario native was wearing a Montreal kit with the number 18 on his jersey and was penciled into the 18-man roster that would face rivals Vancouver at Stade Saputo.

“It was something I’ve prepared for mentally for 5 months while I was lying in bed,” said a very upbeat Terminesi. “Thinking about that moment was something that got me through my sickness. It was the light at the end of my dark tunnel. I just knew I was going to get back and I knew I was going to get to do what I wanted to do again. Stepping on the field with my Montreal jersey on in front of thirteen thousand people was just …. it was beyond emotional.”

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for Montreal,” continued Terminesi. “Not only are the coaches great and my teammates are cool people, the front office people are great as well. Everyone seems to have faith in me and that’s helping me out a lot.”

With the Canadian soccer player contracted through next season with Montreal, he says he has thought about being on a team that will be moving to MLS.

“Yeah, I do think about MLS because that’s still a dream of mine but as of right now and coming back from injury I’m just taking this day by day,” said Terminesi. “I’m not going to get caught up thinking too much about my future. I’m not trying to focus on next month or next year especially. I’m focusing on today’s practice, tomorrow’s game and then the next practice. That’s what will keep me grounded the most. If I extend my focus too much it might hurt me. Right now I am so excited to be playing again that I’m just taking it hour by hour.”

“My fitness is obviously not at ninety minutes but I’ve been running and training a lot. I have a program with the Montreal staff for strength and fitness and it won’t be too much longer before I’m back to the same Marco that I once was.

The Impact currently sit 3rd in the NASL Conference of the USSF D-2 Pro League with a 6-4-6 record. Montreal is in a 3-way tie with FC Tampa Bay and the Puerto Rico Islanders for 7th place overall in the 12-team league. It’s a position the Impact have rarely found themselves in and is a disappointment to many Montreal fans this season. Terminesi says the mood on the team is still “outstanding” and says the Impact players are not yet concerned because they know the ability of the team.

Terminesi, who was nicknamed the M-Train for his hellbent runs at goal and who once stated emphatically, “I hate losing” after a poor team performance and loss with the Thunder, said: “We’ll bounce back; Trust me. This team is confident and at the end of the season we will be there in a playoff spot.”

Andy Barron is trading one white shirt for another.

Former Minnesota Thunder player Andy Barron has announced his retirement from soccer/football. The 30-year-old New Zealand native received publicity from around the world when he was rostered for New Zealand’s World Cup team as the only amateur player on any of the 32 teams.

Barron played for the Thunder in the ’08 season and saw action in 11 games logging 723 minutes. The midfielder did get into one World Cup game as he was brought in for the last four minutes of New Zealands 1-1 draw with Italy.

Barron, who currently lives in New Zealand, is now an investment banker for the wealth division of Westpac Banking Corp in Wellington. He has had articles published about him from New Zealand to India and from Ireland to the US. Even FIFA.com picked up on Barron’s story and wrote a feature on him. Many people were interested in the fact that he is now an investment banker and was the only amateur playing amongst millionaire footballers.

Barron reports that he’s used a lot of vacation time from his current job to play for New Zealand so he feels he owes his employers his undivided attention for a while. Because of that he says he is quitting football entirely, including his weekly amateur matches he plays for Petone Club in suburban Wellington.

Barron has made his way around the world playing the game. He has played for Miramar Rangers (New Zealand) to William Carey University (Mississippi), Lisburn Distillery, Canterbury United, Team Wellington, and the Minnesota Thunder.

Best of luck to Andy Barron as he moves to the next stage of his life.

Well, I tried to take most of the weekend off and figured it would be good to take a break and not write for a few days. Actually, that’s not true. I had lots of articles I had planned on getting to but every time I sat down to write I lost my motivation. So the truth is, I really needed a few days off. However, Garrison Keillor has nothing over me. I can tell you first-hand that Lutheran guilt is just as bad as Catholic guilt. And if you combine that with what us writers call blogger guilt… Well, that is what I felt most this weekend.

So here it is, 9:00 on Tuesday evening and it’s time to kick it into high gear. I have lots of stories to post and as usual, not enough time to get them written. So for tonight, I thought I would do a quick weekend soccer update.

Neil Hlavity celebrates his game winning goal by punching the corner flag. Photo by Jeremy Olson - Digitalgopher.net

NSC Stars 3-2 AC St. Louis
The NSC Stars game was a tale of two halves. This was by far the most entertaining Stars game of the year. It was a fairly even game going into the second half. The Stars really turned it on and put a ton of pressure on AC St. Louis. Eventually the pressure paid off with Neil Hlavaty scoring his third goal of the season in the 88th minute of play.

Luke Kreamalmeyer opened the scoring for AC St. Louis after Minnesota had shown some good passing and had some decent looks at goal. The Stars answered that with one of their own late in the 2nd half. Daniel Wasson headed in from a flick-on from Brian Cvilikas.

But St. Louis jumped out in the lead again shortly after the half. Gauchinho was credited with the goal from 25 yards out, but from my perspective it appeared to be an own goal. In fact the ball looked like it was heading wide left and Joe Warren had it covered only to see a Stars player swipe at the airborne ball and redirect it to the right side of goal leaving Warren helpless.

Minnesota fought back hard and tied it up again in 73rd minute with a Kyle Altman goal.

The Stars kept up the pressure and eventually it paid off with Hlavaty’s 88th minute goal after the Stars had numerous opportunities including an open net chance for Cvilikas which he hit over the goal.

The win brought the Stars to 3-7-1. It was a good win for the Stars but they still conceded 2 goals to the “other” worst team in the league. Minnesota has now leaked 19 goals in 11 games and has the second worst goals-deferential (GD) in the league behind St. Louis (-11) with -9. The team closest to Minnesota in GD is Crystal Palace who sit at -4. The Stars have got to tighten things up in the back. You don’t need to score many goals if you can hold a team close. It is true, defenses win Championships. They also allow teams to make it into the playoffs. If the Stars are to have any playoff hopes, the rest of the season, they have to show marked improvement on the back line and that goes from midfield cover to the goalkeepers.

Rochester Thunder 0-0 Kansas City Brass
It was up to the Rochester Thunder to write their own destiny on Sunday afternoon in Rochester, Minnesota. The Thunder took on the KC Brass and from all accounts dominated the game but were not able to tuck the ball into the net. The Thunder needed a win and they would have been on their way to their first US Open Cup appearance. But with the draw, the Des Moines Menace will take the coveted USL-PDL Heartland USOC berth and be placed into the first round of the tournament.

The Thunder are now 2-1-2 in league play and sit 3rd in the Heartland Conference.

My friend Jeremy Olson was in Rochester this Sunday for the game and he sends IMS some of his always great soccer photos. Jeremy’s work can be found at Digital Gopher.net.

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Rochester Minnesota – 5-6-10

Rochester Thunder Begins 2010 Season this Weekend

The Rochester Thunder, a member of the United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Development League, will begin its second season this weekend with a pair of road games against the Real Colorado Foxes in Denver.

The team looks very promising this year. Along with a few familiar faces from last season (forward Mark Heath-Preston, midfielders Ryan Sappington and Miguel Bonilla, defenders Justin Hoskins and Bakari Williams, and goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand), the Thunder has added a number of new, exciting players. Three of this season’s new team members have played for their national teams at youth level – including goalkeeper Sebastian Narvaez, who has represented Colombia at the U-20 level. Narvaez was also the PDL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2008. Midfielder Samuel Asante has joined the team after playing for the Des Moines Menace last season, and forward Christian Fernandez has joined from Thunder Bay. Fernandez scored several goals against the Thunder when the teams played a double-header in Thunder Bay last season. Another exciting addition is Naoki Mihara, who played in Japan’s professional “J-League” last season.

Two players from last season who won’t be with the team this term include forward Teal Bunbury and midfielder Kentaro Takada. Bunbury, who won the Herman Trophy this season (given to the best NCAA Division I college soccer player), was drafted with the #4 pick in the Major League Soccer draft this past spring. Bunbury was selected by the Kansas City Wizards and has appeared as a substitute in each of Kansas City’s first four games. Takada is playing in the USSF D-2 Pro League for Minnesota’s new professional soccer team the NSC Minnesota Stars.

This weekend looks to be a learning experience for the Thunder. The team has had just two practices and head coach Neil Cassidy will actually meet a few of his players for the first time at the Denver airport! “I think, top to bottom, we should have a better team than we had last season,” coach Cassidy said. “If we play up to our potential, we should have a very good season.” Cassidy is hopeful that the Thunder can take a few points from this weekend’s away matches and get the season off to a good start.

The Thunder follows this weekend’s double-header with a trip to Des Moines on May 15 to face the Menace. The Thunder’s first home game is Sunday, May 23 at 3:00 pm against the St. Louis Lions at RCTC Stadium. The home opener is also Rochester Youth Soccer Association day. Any youth who wears an RYSA shirt or jersey to the game will receive free admission. Tickets at the gate for the Thunder games are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. More information on the team and tickets is available on the Thunder’s new website at http://thethunderfc.com/. Or contact the Thunder office at 507-206-4055.

Marco Terminesi is a native of Woodbridge, Ontario. He played for the Milwaukee Wave with the Extreme Indoor Soccer league in the 08/09 season where he made 20 appearances and scored 19 goals while racking up 52 points for his team. He was also named the extreme Soccer League Rookie of the Year.

He was then loaned to Minnesota in the summer of ’09 where initially he didn’t get much play time. But Marco’s perseverance and knack for scoring goals eventually allowed him more minutes. He ended up playing in 17 games for the Thunder, logging in 690 minutes. He gathered 16 points along the way with 6 goals and 4 assists.

Marco returned to the Wave this fall and was tearing things up again until word came that Terminesi was having severe debilitating headaches. Eventually he was seen by doctors and specialists.

On Feb 17, the Wave announced that Terminesi had been placed on the injured reserve list because of a serious illness. The release stated that the former Thunder goal scorer may have a brain tumor. At the time, Terminesi stated doctors believed he had a tumor on the pineal gland in the center of the brain but that things were still unclear.

Last week IMS learned Marco was back in Milwaukee and even warmed up with the team before their game and was feeling a bit better.

IMS thanks the Milwaukee Wave for arranging this interview with the very special Marco Terminesi, affectionately known by Minnesota fans as the M-Train. Marco wormed his way into Minnesota Thunder fans’ hearts last summer with his desire to win and his distaste for losing. That and the big smile he always has for all his supporters and friends.

Please take a few minutes to listen to this very special interview with the ever optimistic Marco Terminesi as he fills us in on the last several months and explains what’s next for the young goal scorer. Marco also talks about his time in Minnesota, the Milwaukee Wave and Peter Wilt.

Emails and well wishes can be sent to Marco at the Milwaukee Wave

Ricardo Sanchez is settling in with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Recently the Whitecaps website did an interview with Sanchez and he says he’s been too busy to check out the city much, but he is very much enjoying the quality of the Whitecaps training and their players.

The Carolina RailHawks announced today the signing of former Minnesota Thunder goalkeeper Nic Platter.

“It was just a fantastic opportunity to come to the RailHawks,” Platter said. “I’m coming to a great organization with a very good coach, and it’s a good opportunity for me to get better as a goalkeeper. I want to win a championship, and I think this organization has shown it’s dedicated to doing that.”

Platter was with the Minnesota Thunder for 5 years. The first 2 years Platter served his time as a backup for Joe Warren, who he eventually took the job from in 2007.  Platter played 58 of the Thunder’s 60 games in 2008 and 2009 and had become one of the marquee goalkeepers in the league. During his five seasons with the Thunder, Platter appeared in 83 matches, with 18 shutouts and a 1.36 goals against average.

“Over the last couple seasons, I feel like Nic’s one of the better keepers in our league,” said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “At times, he kept Minnesota in games. He’s been put under a lot of pressure, so he’s a guy who’s got a lot of experience in the league. He’s a good athlete, and someone we hopefully will help improve. He’s going to help us. Now we have another quality goalkeeper to push Eric Reed, and we feel like we’ve got two guys who are going to be competing really hard.”

IMS wishes Nic Platter the best of luck with the RailHawks. “There’s only one El Disco!”

As the 2010 USSF Division 2 season quickly approaches, rosters are starting to firm up throughout the league. The new team based at the National Sports Center (NSC) has yet to make any player announcements for the coming season. At the recent stakeholder summit, hosted by the NSC, team leadership told those in attendance that the first player announcements will be in approximately three weeks’ time. Many fans are hoping, and expecting, a core group of former Minnesota Thunder players to make up a majority of the 2010 roster for the yet to be named team.

The success of the team, on and off the field, may rest largely on who from the 2009 Minnesota Thunder roster is signed by the new team. Longtime fans will want to see many of these players on the field, and in the community, while the hardcore soccer fan also realizes that the talent pool is relatively thin and many quality players were part of the Thunder last season. Although the new team is close to announcing a working relationship with a Scandinavian professional team and a “top MLS club” in which players will be loaned to the new squad for season-long spells, there is a substantial need for players when the team takes the field in early April. A combine has already been scheduled for March and Manny Lagos, Director of Soccer Operations, and General Manager Kris Bjerkness attended the recent MLS Draft combine in South Florida.

With all of this being said, where are the players that comprised the 2009 Minnesota Thunder roster?

It should be noted that with the demise of the Minnesota Thunder in 2009 all players were released from their contracts effectively making them free agents for the coming season. Not surprisingly, some players have been signed by other teams and all are currently looking for places to play.

Signed By Other Teams:

Ricardo Sanchez: Signed a one year (plus option) contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Sanchez was the first player to depart from Minnesota and will sorely be missed. Sanchez, one of the best free kick takers in the league, led the team with 7 goals and 8 assists and was a member of the 2009 USL First Division Team of the Year.

Quavas Kirk: Signed a one year contract with the Portland Timbers. Kirk played in 15 games for the Thunder in 2009 and was a two-time USL First Division Team of the Week selection. Kirk came to the team as a midfielder with MLS experience and eventually transitioned to play right outside back.

Lawrence Olum: Signed a two year contract with the Austin Aztex. Olum, who was selected by the Dark Cloud supporters group as newcomer of the year, joined recently named, and former Minnesota Thunder, general manager Djorn Buchholz in Austin. Olum appeared in 28 games for the Thunder and had 5 goals and 3 assists.

Offered Tryouts By Other Teams:

Melvin Tarley: When the signing of Ricardo Sanchez was announced by the Vancouver Whitecaps in early November, there was an interesting tidbit of information included in the team press release, “…Whitecaps men’s team head coach Teitur Thordarson has offered trials to former Minnesota midfielder/striker Melvin Tarley and former Miami FC defender Zourab Tsiskaridze this week.” No word on how the trial went for the longtime Thunder player Tarley, but his possible absence could only hurt an already light front line for the new NSC team. Tarley appeared in 27 league games for the Thunder in 2009 and tallied 8 goals and 1 assist.

Currently Playing Indoor:

Marco Terminesi: Currently playing with the Milwaukee Wave in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Terminesi came to the Thunder halfway through the 2009 season and quickly became a fan favorite due to his never ending determination and energy on the field. He appeared in 17 games, but mostly as a substitute. Despite only getting 691 minutes the “M-Train” tallied 6 goals and 4 assists. This led to a point every 69 minutes which easily led the team in points per playing time. Terminesi, the 2008/09 indoor Rookie of the Year, is continuing his scoring form in the MISL where he has been named Player of the Week twice in 2009/10 and is leading the league in points scored with 39. Recently Marco expressed interest in returning to Minnesota if he can reach a deal with the team, but rumor has it that Montreal is currently courting the services of the Canadian-born forward.

Jonathan Greenfield: Currently playing with the Baltimore Blast in the MISL. Greenfield was a solid member of the Thunder’s back line and over the years has proven to be one of the best centerbacks in the USL. Upon arriving to the Thunder a few games into the 2009 season (the Baltimore Blast won the 2009 NISL League Championship) Greenfield played in 26 games and helped steady a porous defense that needed some leadership. Greenfield has expressed a very strong desire to return to Minnesota and finish out his career in the North Star state.

Rod Dyachenko: Currently playing with the Baltimore Blast in the MISL. Dyachenko came to the Thunder as a highly touted off-season signing after playing in 2008 for D.C. United. Dyachenko was a key member to coach Don Gramenz’s midfield and appeared in 27 games and scored 2 goals and 4 assists in the 2009 campaign.

Whereabouts Known:

Nicolas Platter: The two-time team MVP as selected by the Dark Clouds supporters group is currently residing in Minnesota and attended the recent stakeholders summit at the NSC. Platter asked many pointed questions of the team leadership and his attendance is a sign of his desire to play for the new team. He is easily one of the best goalies in the league and in 2009 was called into D.C. United’s training camp. Many hope and expect that Platter will be standing between the posts when the new team takes the field in 2010. Platter has also been among the former Thunder players currently playing regularly at the NSC in order to stay fit for the 2010 season.

Jeremiah Bass: The undisputed leader of the team logged an impressive and team-leading 2,695 minutes in 2009 for the Minnesota Thunder. Bass, who resides and holds down a full-time job in Minneapolis, was also at the recent stakeholders summit at the NSC. His allegiance to the area and team are second to none and he will be expected to be standing on the pitch with the armband come this spring. Bass has also been among the former Thunder players currently playing regularly at the NSC in order to stay fit for the 2010 season.

Kevin Friedland: After a tough 2009 season that was filled with injuries, Friedland quickly proved his worth in the second half of the season, including a memorable goal for the former Kansas City Wizards player. Friedland is a fan favorite and his skill level, when healthy, is among the best in the league at his position. Friedland was also at the recent summit, and he has also been among the former Thunder players currently playing regularly at the NSC in order to stay fit for the 2010 season.

Andres Arango: The central defender is currently among the former Thunder players kicking the ball around at the NSC in the off season. He has also shown his desire to stay put here in the Twin Cities area with the recent announcement of his hiring as the Director of Soccer at the recently opened St. Paul Saints Sport Academy in Lakeville, Minnesota. Arango was an integral part to the Thunder defense as he partnered with Greenfield in 22 games for the 2009 season.

Other players:

Matt Van Oekel: The backup keeper has been rumored to be playing at the NSC. Easily the most fashionable player in the history of the Minnesota Thunder, should be considrered as a front runner for the same role in 2010 for the new team.

Andrei Gotsmanov: The highly touted Gotsmanov only appeared in one game in 2009 for the Thunder before getting injured. He is rehabbing with former Thunder players at the NSC and will definitely have a good shot at making the team in 2010. He was a 2008 Hermann Award finalist at Creighton University and has family ties to the Thunder as his older brother is a former player and his father, Sergey, also suited up for the Thunder in the late 90′s. It should also be noted that Andrei scored against the 2009 Thunder as a member of Nebraska 402 in the US Open Cup.

Chris Clements: Was in MN but returned to Dallas, TX (hometown) around the holidays.
Richard Constanzo: Back in hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Brian Cvilikas: Living in Minnesota and training at the NSC with other players.
Brian Kallman: Living in Minnesota and training at the NSC with other players.
Youssouf Kante: Has returned to France but is now playing in Slovakia in the 1st Division
Nathan Knox: Playing for Otago United in the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC). (Knox is a New Zealand native.)
Geoffrey Myers: Living in the Twin Cities. Soccer status unknown.
Dan O’Brien: Living in Minnesota and training at the NSC with other players. Rumor is he may be trying out in New Zealand.
Andrew Peterson: Working for General Electric in Milwaukee, WI and has retired from pro soccer.
Leonel Saint-Preux: The Haitian international is playing for Hoa Phat in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Marcus Watson: Back living in his home town of Los Angeles, CA.
Dale Weiler: Living in South Dakota.

Updated 7:30 am – 1/26/10

Photo By Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

Another former Minnesota Thunder player rostered in 2009, has moved on. Lawrence Olum, who came to Minnesota via the Portland Timbers, has signed a 2-year deal with the Austin Aztex. Former MN Thunder general manager Djorn Buchholz, who is now the CEO at Austin, has been working on signing Olum for several months. The deal was announced via the Aztex website on Friday.

“We are delighted to have signed Lawrence, especially considering the competition we had for his signature,” said Aztex head coach Adrian Heath.  “He will be a great addition to the squad.  After playing against him last season, we were very impressed with what he can do on the pitch to help his team.”

Olum started slowly for the Thunder last season but ended the season as one of the best midfielders in the league. He was named to the USL All-League Second Team squad. The central midfielder was not afraid to get his hands messy and do the dirty work of winning balls. But the former St. Louis Lions PDL player was also good at holding the ball and starting attacks.

The Nairobi, Kenya native logged in with the 3rd highest amount of minutes played for the team behind Jeremiah Bass and Nic Platter. He became an important part of the midfield almost from day one and ended the season with 5 goals and 3 assists for 13 pts. Olum was the fourth highest Thunder player for points in 2009, following closely behind veterans Ricardo Sanchez (22 pts), Melvin Tarley (17 pts) and rookie Marco Terminesi (16 pts).

It was previously announced that Minnesota has lost several other key players to their roster: Midfielder Ricard Sanchez signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps and defender/midfielder Quavas Kirk inked a contract with the Portland Timbers.

Lagos says relationship with NSC is life long and extends beyond the last several years. He also reveals interest in coaching new NSC team.

When Manny Lagos’ playing days were behind him, he decided to once again get involved with the Minnesota Thunder, the team he started his pro career with. However, he would never have been able to predict the topsy-turvy course life laid out for the retired pro soccer player. Lagos came back to the organization in 2006 and worked primarily with camp marketing. Eventually he became director of soccer operations in 2007 and when the team was struggling to keep its head above water, he found new owners for the team and helped with the transition. Lagos was kept on by new Thunder owner Dean Johnson and WingField Corporation. That first year started out hopeful with lots of promises from WingField, but a bad economy and an organization that did too much too quickly and spread itself too thin eventually caused it to shut its door in late November of 2009 after being unable to pay its bills. The Thunder left outstanding amounts of money to the National Sports Center (NSC) in excess of 100 thousand dollars.

Manny Lagos sits on the bench at a Thunder game in 2007 when Amos Magee was head coach

One might think that Lagos’ relationship with the NSC may be a bit sour after his exit from the Thunder. Lagos says that only a short period of time held some negatives while the majority of his life has been filled with positives with the organization. In fact he says he is proud of the fact that when he was with the Thunder, he was able to help transition the stadium at the NSC to a real soccer specific stadium, “One of the best division II stadiums in the country,” according to Lagos.

“There’s been a long-standing history between the National Sports Center and myself,” said Lagos. “I go back to being a kid and playing up there at the first ever USA Cup. I think we lost in the final of the U-12 to a team from Palo Alto, California. There are some serious memories there. We won some USA Cups and some state tournaments up there. Personally, I participated in and won a gold medal in the Olympic Festival in 1990. So I have a lot of memories up there as an amateur but I also have lots of memories of the NSC as a professional as the Thunder grew while at the NSC. So I have a lifelong relationship with the folks up there.”

Lagos says his primary goal has always been to grow and preserve pro soccer in Minnesota. “I’m unbelievably proud of the last 19 years of the Thunder,” said Lagos. “The difficulty and disappointment of the situation that transpired the last two years with the Thunder, didn’t take away from the fact that I knew the best thing for the sport was for soccer to continue. So we can continue to develop high level players and high level coaches as well as a product for the fans that  Minnesota can be proud of. I’m just really happy that the NSC has decided to step up and preserve pro soccer in Minnesota.”

“Extremely difficult and disappointing” is how Lagos explains the last several years with the Thunder. He says when things would get a bit overwhelming he would often talk to his father, Thunder founder and head coach until 2006, Buzz Lagos. “Keep the focus on what’s good for Minnesota soccer and what’s good for the game,” was the elder Lagos’ advice to his son. “That has really held true in the last several months,” said Manny Lagos, as he tried to figure a way to navigate through the transition to the NSC. Lagos says that while his father has given his blessings to the new soccer organization he was not involved in any negotiations to keep a pro soccer team in Minnesota.

“It certainly hasn’t been easy and I know I haven’t been able to grow my skill set the last year and half the way I’d hoped to,” said Lagos as he explained the personal disappointment of the last several years. “I’m just hoping that those years, the positives and the negatives, I will learn from and become better at whatever I do in my involvement with the game.”

Kris Bjerkness, Chief Administrative Officer of the NSC, says that they didn’t come to Lagos nor did Lagos come to them in this transition. He said it was instead more an evolution in the process of conversations when it was becoming apparent to the NSC that Minnesota may not have pro soccer in 2010. “Its pretty much as simple as the fact that we felt we needed to see if there was anything we could do to step up and try to help,” said Bjerkness.

“He’s got a lot of experience in this marketplace,” said Bjerkness, who has assumed the general manger role of this new NSC professional soccer team. “If we want to get something up and going quickly I don’t really know who else we’d turn to.”

Bjerkness tried to explain how Lagos would fit into the NSC staff and what his roles will be. “Right now we’re trying to put together the soccer side of the business as well as the business side, the media side, administration of a team — all the components,” stated Bjerkness. “Mannys’ role will be strictly  on the soccer side of things although it could evolve over time. We have a very structured management system at the NSC. We are going to do things the NSC way and not the way of old (Thunder). I’m sure the culture is going to be very different.”

Lagos says he is very much enjoying the new culture and experienced management structure of the NSC. He said the organization’s non-profit status makes it much more transparent and he very much welcomes that openness and accountability that makes the NSC unique.

Lagos revealed to IMS that he has applied for the new coaching position with the NSC pro team and has had conversations with management in regard to the position. “Quite honestly, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Lagos. “I think with all my high-level experience I could be a very good coach.”

In other NSC news, Kris Bjerkness says the team is nearing having a budget complete and things will start to move forward more quickly after that. Some announcements could start coming as early as this week.

The National Sports Center also confirmed that they have hired Angie Blaker, former administrative assistant with the Minnesota Thunder, to perform the same job duties with the new NSC pro soccer team. Blaker’s first day was last Wednesday.