When Minnesota United was confirmed to be joining MLS in 2017, they had a lot to pull together. The official announcement came in August 2016, leaving seven months until the start of their first season. Coupled with the club’s decision to give their final NASL campaign its full focus, it led to a seat-of-their-pants build-up to a memorably mercurial launch.



Among the biggest player acquisitions were a pair of center backs. The first was Vadim Demidov, a Norwegian international with experience in La Liga and the Bundesliga. The second was Francisco Calvo, six years his junior and a player who had just broken into the Costa Rican national team. While Demidov was more of a traditional center back and Calvo was more athletic and attacking-minded, the club was hopeful the pair could lead to a quick start.



“They’re a little different, aren’t they?” head coach Adrian Heath told me at the time. “You look at Vadim — he’s had a...