Amos Magee Named Minnesota United Director of Player Personnel
Amos Magee has been named Minnesota United’s first director of player personnel as the club transitions into the MLS for the 2017 season. The Minnesota native joins the club following a three-year stint as an assistant coach for D.C. United and a long career in the game dating back to the 1990’s.
MLS Soccer News: Minnesota United has expanded its soccer operations staff by appointing Amos Magee as the club’s first director of player personnel. An experienced player and coach, Magee joins the Loons following three years as an assistant coach with D.C. United.
“I’ve admired the vision of Minnesota United from afar since Dr. McGuire took over,” said Magee. “The growth of this club in the market is so significant from when I was here as a player and coach of the Minnesota Thunder.
“Leaving D.C. United was a really difficult decision based on how much we accomplished together. Their sporting staff and the way they are going as a club made the decision to come to Minnesota very difficult. In the end I wanted to be a part of this club more, this is home. I have been a part of trying to grow soccer in Minnesota for a really long time. I’ve truly enjoyed my time at my previous clubs, but in my mind and in my family’s mind, we always wanted to come back home to Minnesota.”
As director of player personnel, Magee will work closely with Sporting Director Manny Lagos to develop Minnesota United’s sporting vision as well as maintain responsibility for integrating this vision from the academy system to the first team.
“Amos is someone I’ve known for a long time and it’s a great story that he is from Minnesota, but the bigger story is that he has been incredibly well-regarded over the last several years in Major League Soccer working with some very successful teams to build their clubs both on and off the field,” said Lagos. “That said, he also truly understands this state and this market and we believe that he is the best person to help our organization grow and to develop the sporting vision for who we are as a club both on the field and in the community.”
A St. Paul, Minnesota, native, Magee played high school soccer with Lagos at St. Paul Academy and went on to attend Wesleyan University where he became the all-time leading scorer with 35 goals and 85 overall points for the Cardinals.
He spent most of his professional playing career with the Minnesota Thunder, and was the club’s all-time leading scorer with 64 goals. Magee also played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Chicago Fire of the MLS.
Magee retired as a player in 2004, spending a portion of the year as a player and assistant coach. Magee returned to coach the Thunder from 2006 to 2008. In December of 2007 Magee coached the US Maccabi team in the 2007 Pan American Maccabiah in Buenos Aires, in which he led the team to the gold medal.
In 2009, after leaving Minnesota, Magee was named the director of soccer development for the Portland Timbers, at the time the club was still in the United Soccer League. In 2011 he helped oversee the Timbers’ transition to the MLS and was part of the first team’s coaching staff, and led the club’s reserve team.
Magee joined D.C. United in 2014 where he was a first team assistant coach, as well as the coach of its U23 team.
Photo Credit: Minnesota United
