In January 2010, the National Sports Center announced they would field a new team to replace the
Minnesota Thunder. The Thunder at the time were not officially folded but were facing financial ruin. Following a team-naming contest, the National Sports Center (NSC) announced the official team name would be NSC Minnesota, with the team nickname being Stars on February 5, 2010. Four days later, former
United States national team player
Manny Lagos was named as the club's first head coach. The team played its first official game on April 11, 2010, a 2–0 loss to the
Vancouver Whitecaps. The first goal in franchise history was scored by
Daniel Wasson in their next game, a 1–0 victory over the
Carolina RailHawks. The Stars enjoyed some impressive victories in their debut season, including a 3–1 win over
Crystal Palace Baltimore, a 3–0 win over
AC St. Louis, and a 3–1 win over
FC Tampa Bay, eventually finishing fourth in their conference. Unfortunately for the Stars, they went out of the playoffs at the quarter-final stage, 4–0 on aggregate to the Carolina RailHawks, after defender
Andres Arango was issued a red card after just 38 minutes.
Simone Bracalello and
Brian Cvilikas were the Stars' top scorers in 2010, with 5 goals each. The team averaged an attendance of 1,374 which was 10th out of the 12 league teams. The team continued a search for a new owner in the offseason and opened the
2012 season with a 0–0 draw against the Carolina RailHawks at the
Metrodome in front of a crowd of 8,693. Minnesota faced an October 27, 2012, deadline to find new ownership to ensure a place in the NASL for the 2013 season. At the time the
Minnesota Vikings expressed interest in professional soccer in Minnesota but were not contemplating purchasing the Stars. The league planned to vote on whether or not to fund the team for the 2013 season after the conclusion of the 2012 season. The USSF requirement that owners of a Division II team to be worth at least $20 million and a potential MLS bid by the Minnesota Vikings were seen as possible deterrents to finding a potential new owner. On November 9, 2012, the league officially announced that the team was purchased by
Bill McGuire. On March 5, 2013, that was followed up by the team rebranding with the name Minnesota United FC. The $1.2 million budget that the Stars were operating on was expanded and the staff size increased to 20 employees for the start of the 2013 season, and has since more than doubled. On March 25, 2015, Major League Soccer commissioner
Don Garber announced Minnesota United as the league's 23rd club and awarded the franchise to a group led by McGuire. The ownership group includes other Minneapolis-St. Paul sports owners: Jim Pohlad, owner of the
MLB's Minnesota Twins; Glen Taylor, former owner of the
NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves; and the late Glen Nelson, former investor of the
NHL's Minnesota Wild, along with his daughter Wendy Carlson Nelson, who is a board member of the
Carlson Hospitality Company. They beat out a competing bid by
Minnesota Vikings owners
Mark and
Zygi Wilf (both of whom would later become minority owners of MLS expansion franchise
Nashville SC). Garber said Minnesota would begin play in 2017 or 2018 – if
Los Angeles FC was not ready to play in 2017, Minnesota would take its place. The
Twin Cities were previously represented by the
Minnesota Kicks in the top-level
North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1976 to 1981, and later the
Minnesota Strikers in 1984. The Kicks played their home games at Bloomington's
Metropolitan Stadium, while the Strikers played at the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The
Minnesota Legislature had passed a bill in May 2012 for a
new NFL stadium projected to open by fall 2016 and gave a provision allowing for the Vikings to pursue an MLS franchise, including a five-year exclusive window to host MLS games in the new stadium. The Wilfs' bid also had the support of Minneapolis Mayor
Betsy Hodges, and Minnesota Senator
Tom Bakk called Major League Soccer to inform them that the state legislature would not be providing financing for a
soccer-specific stadium. However, Commissioner Garber said that whenever possible, the league preferred a stadium that would be an "outdoor, soccer-specific stadium, 20,000 seats, playing on grass" as opposed to larger, covered venues with artificial turf like U.S. Bank Stadium, and McGuire had the support of
Hennepin County Commissioner
Mike Opat and at least three members of the
Minneapolis City Council.
Christian Ramirez scored the team's first MLS goal. The following weekend they played their home opener against fellow expansion team
Atlanta United in a snowstorm with an MLS record-low kickoff temperature of . They lost the game 6–1, handing Minnesota more unwanted records including the record defeat of any expansion side and becoming the only team in MLS history to concede five or more in consecutive games. Following a 2–2 draw at the
Colorado Rapids and a 5–2 loss at
New England Revolution, United had conceded 18 goals in their first four games, which is an MLS record through the first six games of a season. The team got its first win in MLS with a 4–2 home victory over
Real Salt Lake on April 1. As the season progressed, so had the team. In the mid-season, Minnesota had acquired Duluth native
Ethan Finlay from
Columbus Crew and made other signings to improve on the field. United finished its inaugural MLS season in ninth place in the
Western Conference.
2018 season MNUFC lost two key players - midfielders
Kevin Molino and
Ethan Finlay - to season-ending knee injuries early in the 2018 season. Shortly before Finlay's injury, the team signed its first
Designated Player;
Darwin Quintero joined Minnesota United from Liga MX's
Club América. Despite joining the team after five matches had already been played, Quintero led the team for 2018 in both goals (11) and assists (15). On July 4, 2018, Quintero scored a hat trick in a home match versus Toronto FC, the first in Minnesota United's history. Colombian forward
Ángelo Rodríguez joined the club as its second
Designated Player later in the season. MNUFC averaged nearly 24,000 fans per match during its second year at TCF Bank Stadium, including a crowd of 52,242 at the final match in their temporary home. The team managed 10 wins at home, but struggled on the road with only one victory. On June 29, 2018, player
Collin Martin came out publicly as
gay, making him at the time the only out
gay man in any of the big five American sports leagues or any top-division professional men's national soccer leagues. He was also reported at the time to be the only active male professional soccer player to be openly gay.
2019 season MNUFC made substantial roster additions prior to the 2019 season, including its third
Designated Player, midfielder
Ján Greguš from
Copenhagen; 2017 MLS Defender of the Year
Ike Opara, traded from
Sporting KC; longtime
Seattle Sounders defensive midfielder
Osvaldo Alonso; Ligue 2 defender
Romain Métanire; and goalkeeper
Vito Mannone, loaned from
Reading After beginning the 2019 season, with five matches on the road, MNUFC played their first match at the new
Allianz Field on April 13, earning a 3–3 draw versus New York City. The team went on to post ten wins, six draws and two losses at home. MNUFC's performance on the road was vastly improved in 2019, posting five wins and two draws, including a 2-0 statement win at
LAFC on September 1. The club made a very successful run in the
2019 U.S. Open Cup. On August 27, the club traveled to the Mercedes Benz Stadium to take on Atlanta United in the Cup final, Minnesota's first final appearance since joining MLS. The match resulted in a 2–1 Atlanta victory. MNUFC finished fourth in the
Western Conference, after placing as high as second late in the regular season. As a result, the club was awarded a spot in the 2020
Leagues Cup. MNUFC played in its first MLS playoff match, hosting the
LA Galaxy on October 20; the result was a 2–1 defeat. Two players received league-wide honors at the conclusion of the season.
Ike Opara was named 2019
MLS Defender of the Year, winning the award for the second time.
Vito Mannone, who earned 11 cleansheets and conceded only 43 goals, was named 2019
MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
2020 season After the 2019 season, Minnesota United traded
Darwin Quintero to the
Houston Dynamo for midfielder
Marlon Hairston and $600,000 in allocation money. Upon the end of goalkeeper Vito Mannone's loan, Minnesota United brought in
Tyler Miller (soccer) via trade with
Los Angeles FC to take the starting job. Prior to the season, MNUFC added a number of players including striker
Luis Amarilla via loan from
Vélez Sarsfield. The Loons got off to an excellent start for 2020 with two convincing road wins at the
Portland Timbers and
San Jose Earthquakes in March, before
Major League Soccer suspended its season due to the COVID-19 epidemic, first for 30 days and then indefinitely as the severity of the epidemic became clearer. The 2020 season restarted in July with the league's
MLS is Back Tournament, held in Orlando, Florida and including 24 of the league's 26 teams. The month-long tournament included a group stage, counted as part of the regular season standings; and a knockout stage. The Loons finished second in Group D, with one win and two draws. In the knockout stage, MNUFC defeated the
Columbus Crew 1–1 on penalty kicks and the
San Jose Earthquakes 4–1, before losing to
Orlando City in the tournament semifinal. Following the tournament, the 2020 season resumed normal match play, with a planned schedule of 18 matches ending on November 8. The Loons continued to add players, with midfielder
Emanuel Reynoso joining the club from
Boca Juniors as a Designated Player, and veteran forward
Kei Kamara joining via trade from the
Colorado Rapids. MNUFC finished the regular season in fourth place in the MLS Western Conference. They hosted their second playoff match in franchise history, defeating the
Colorado Rapids 3–0 at Allianz Field, then went on to defeat No. 1 seeded
Sporting Kansas City 3–0 on the road. The Loons then traveled to Seattle for the Western Conference final match against the
Sounders. Despite leading 2-0 at the 75th minute, Seattle scored three straight late goals, including the winner in stoppage time to end Minnesota's historic run.
2021 season Although they had been minutes from advancing to the MLS Cup final in 2020, the 2021 season got off to a disappointing start, with four straight losses. In mid May, the Loons began to quickly climb from the bottom of the table, losing only two of their next seventeen games. Key players returned from injury and the squad signed Argentinian
Franco Fragapane and Frenchman
Adrien Hunou. They ended the regular season in fifth place, earning an opening round playoff berth on the road against the
Portland Timbers, but their season was ended with a 3-1 Portland victory.
2022 season 2022 saw the breakout of goalkeeper
Dayne St. Clair, who anchored an impressive eight-save shutout against the
New York Red Bulls in his week 3 debut. Success started early for the Loons in July in 2022, with a 4-0 win in a friendly vs Premier League side Everton. The Loons had a solid first half of the season going 8-6-3 in the first 17 games. In the
2022 U.S. Open Cup, Minnesota fell to
USL League One side
Union Omaha 2-1 in a notable upset. Midfield
DP Emanuel Reynoso joined St. Clair in the
2022 MLS All-Star Game which was hosted at Allianz Field. The second half of the season saw Minnesota struggle to find their footing, with a six-game winless streak going into the final two games of the season. Minnesota finally won a make-or-break game against
Vancouver Whitecaps decision day to clinch the sixth seed in the
2022 MLS Cup playoffs, making them the only team in the western conference to qualify for the playoffs 4 years in a row. After finishing 120 minutes tied 1-1, MNUFC was knocked out of the playoffs in a (5)–(4) shootout against
FC Dallas. ==Colors and badge==