Michael Boxall found it “kind of funny.”
“At this age (36), it was a time where I’ve had the most calls from other teams,” Boxall told reporters Tuesday. “I mean, there were options.”
But the longest-tenured Minnesota United player will not enter free agency at the end of the season and instead signed a one-year contract with the Loons for 2025, with a club option for 2026, the team said Tuesday.
Boxall said the decision was not a particularly difficult one. The New Zealand native and MNUFC leader in MLS appearances (215 since 2017) has started a family in Minnesota, with his wife Libby, daughter and son.
“For me and my family, we’re pretty happy to stay here,” Boxall explained. “My kids love it here. Wife loves it here as well. So yeah, they’re delighted to stay on.”
Playing for the Loons, of course, was another driver for Boxall to remain in Minnesota.
“Through that whole process, I think if I was to go anywhere else, it would feel like I’d be going (for) a job,” Boxall said. “It would feel like a job, whereas here, it doesn’t. It feels like more than that.”
Boxall’s standing has led to a level of ownership in the product and he spoke about unfinished business with the Loons under first-year head coach Eric Ramsay. The club has worked to get significantly younger under new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad this year, and that will continue going into next season.
But the goal is to sprinkle the youth movement in with impact veterans in leadership positions. Boxall epitomizes that, having worn the captain’s armband in 28 of 30 MLS matches this season.
Boxall has played a team-high 2,565 minutes this season and while there have been some lean games, he was huge in the 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. After the Loons defense as a whole struggled in the 2-1 loss to FC Cincinnati last Wednesday, he tallied 12 clearances in Kansas.
“It was a real captain’s performance,” Ramsay said about Saturday’s match. “I think it is pretty symbolic in a sense. Someone, of course, really happy that he’s going to be around for the coming couple of years, because Boxy is someone who sets a standard with how he looks after himself, how he trains, and in those games, in particular, he’s a gladiator.”
Diaz down, but not out
Center back Jefferson Diaz exited the Kansas City win with an adductor injury, but an MRI showed no structural damage and his absence from Tuesday’s training session was deemed precautionary.
“He should be in good shape for the weekend,” Ramsay said. “Something that’s he’s just trying to work out, whether it’s pain that he can manage, or whether it’s something more serious. The fact that he’s had it scanned and it shows nothing is a really good sign.”
Tapias scuffling, but not out
The Loons have relied on center back Micky Tapias in 24 matches this season, but after a poor game in the 2-1 loss to FC Cincinnati, he was taken out of the starting XI against Sporting. He cam back in for the final 13 minutes after Diaz got hurt.
It didn’t go well as his foul in the 18-yard box led to a SKC penalty kick, which Willy Agada put off the woodwork.
“We just got to get (Tapias) to rediscover some of that conviction that he played with,” Ramsay said. “And I think he’s been, in some sense, unfortunate to be repeatedly involved with goals, and they’re not necessarily clean-cut errors, but perhaps a little bit of indecision, perhaps a little bit of lacking cohesion in the back line. So he’s been a victim of that. But I know deep down, he’s a very good player at this level.”
Briefly
After Saturday’s home game against Colorado Rapids, MNUFC will travel Monday to Salt Lake for Wednesday’s match in Utah and stay on the road through Saturday’s match at Vancouver. … Fullbacks DJ Taylor (hamstring) and Zarek Valentin (lower leg) remained sidelined Tuesday.
Leave a Reply