Across the world, there’s been a growing movement in recent years against defense-oriented football.



Portugal’s 2016 Euro championship was deemed as “cynical, unsporting, awful” by ESPN FC after silencing a vibrant French attack in the final. Jürgen Klopp is one of the world’s most popular managers as he leads a swashbuckling Liverpool side to the Champions League final. Ahead of his team in the Premier League table, meanwhile, is Manchester United, whose manager José Mourinho is being accused of “killing football” by former players. Closer to home, teams like Atlanta United, LAFC, and LA Galaxy have become the darlings of MLS for their seemingly unending cupboards filled with attacking options. The league itself incentivizes big-budget clubs to go and get more expensive players for their offense with allocation money.



On perhaps a smaller scale, Minnesota United has been trying to figure out its defense ever since...