Minnesota United will roll out the red carpet for club VIPs traveling to the Twin Cities for its 10-year anniversary match on Wednesday. But only one of the club’s two previous head coaches will be at Allianz Field for the match against Atlanta United.
Adrian Heath has RSVP’d for the festivities, while Eric Ramsay declined an invitation and will stay back in his native U.K. with his young family this week.
MNUFC shared a list of former players expected to come to St. Paul this week, but it didn’t mention either of its previous coaches. The group of distinguished players set to appear includes Ozzie Alonso, Ike Opara, Romain Metanire, Bakaye Dibassy, Jan Gregus, Jerome Thiesson, Collin Martin and Abu Danladi.
Some key players still play for MNUFC — Michael Boxall, Wil Trapp, Joaquin Pereyra, Bongi Hlongwane and Anthony Markanich, while a handful of star alumni now play for other clubs: Christian Ramirez, Dayne St. Clair, Robin Lod, Hassani Dotson and Tani Oluwaseyi.
Like Ramsay, some other instrumental former players are not scheduled to visit, including Emanuel Reynoso, Darwin Quintero and Kevin Molino.
While Ramsay left on his own accord in January, accepting the West Bromwich Albion coaching position, the end of his two-year tenure in Minnesota included acrimony with Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad.
Breakups can be hard — Ramsay was under contract in Minnesota for the 2026 season — and perhaps time can help smooth things over for the parties. This invite might have just come too soon.
Heath had more obvious hard feelings with MNUFC. After seven years on the job, the Englishman was fired with two games left in the 2023 season. He felt he earned the right to see out that regular season; the Loons failed to make the playoffs under interim head coach Sean McAuley.
Heath’s dismissal led to an estranged relationship between Heath and MNUFC. Detente became visible in April when owner Bill McGuire invited Heath to attend the Los Angeles FC match. Heath’s first appearance back at Allianz Field didn’t come with any fanfare; Heath sat in the stadium’s suite level and it became public after Heath shared his visit during a subsequent radio appearance.
“Enjoyed coming back,” Heath told the Pioneer Press days afterward. “About time. … Enough water has passed under the bridge.”
Both Ramsay and Heath had success with MNUFC but fell short of trophies. Heath brought the Loons to four straight MLS Cup Playoffs (2019-22), while Ramsay made the postseason in both of his years (2024-25) in Minnesota.
Heath took the Loons to the U.S. Open Cup final in 2019, and Ramsay advanced to the national tournament’s semifinal in 2025.
“Two great coaches,” current Loons head coach Cameron Knowles said after a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake on Saturday. “A lot of similarities in some senses, and certainly differences, as well.”
Heath was instrumental in Knowles’ hiring as a video analyst for in 2021, and Knowles was an interim head coach for a few matches between the Heath and Ramsay tenures in 2024.
“Really grateful for the opportunity from Adrian Heath … to see how the club, year on year, just continued to get better and better, the record of making the playoffs and the Western Conference final (in 2020), the run in the Open Cup,” Knowles said. “I mean, the success that he had with the team, and the way that he was able to, with a lot of quality players, get them all in sync, have some really good runs and continue a sustained success over his tenure.”
Heath had a long playing career in Europe, and the former high-level attacker in England and Spain brought his offensive-minded style to Minnesota. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.
Ramsay, who is 31 years Heath’s junior, was in ways a polar opposite. He turned to coaching early in life and built teams around a methodical and stout defensive backbone. In his first head-coaching job, he was courteous with reporters and needed time to find his voice.
“I think you see … the success we had over the last two years with Eric and with Dennis (Lawrence) on his staff,” Knowles said. “Two great coaches: a really clear way in which we played, and a group that was galvanized in terms of grinding out results. Really enjoyed the time with them.”
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