Niche Cache & some interesting stuff on Boxy. No surprises he's skipping the Nations Cup, sounds like a few dramas happening at Minny!
Mr Consistent over here. Michael Boxall has played every minute of every MLS game for Minnesota United so far. He’s one of 17 remaining everpresent players in 2024 (teams have played between 14-17 games) and ten of those are goalkeepers. As he nears his 36th birthday, Boxy is performing as well as he ever has. He’s the oldest outfielder on that ever-present list, beating Maya Yoshida by six days, and second oldest overall thanks to some bloke called Hugo Lloris who’s in goal for LAFC these days.
The latest of those games was a 3-1 win against Sporting Kansas City. Goals were scored by Tani Oluwaseyi (33’), Robin Lod (67’), and Kervin Arriaga (83’) before SKC pulled back a late consolation to spoil the clean sheet. Great way for the Loons to rebound after a 2-0 loss against LAFC last time out. The Loons sit third in the Western Conference but would go first if they win their games in hand.
Boxall had a typically impressive performance against SKC. You could tell he was up for the challenge when he was flagged offside in the fifth minute – you don’t see that very often from centre-backs, especially so early in the game. He also had an attacking influence on their first goal. The back three is giving Boxy more opportunity to step into the midfield and that’s what he did before shifting the ball to the right side leading to Oluwaseyi’s headed goal. Happy to see it. Very happy to see it.
MNUFC.com: “The play of Michael Boxall was all-around superb tonight, with the captain making enterprising runs into the midfield with authority and playing the role of creator on top of his usual defensive solidity.”
The other reason this was an important win is it was their first game since selling star player Emanuel Reynoso... who has been spectacular for them on the pitch but away from it his erratic behaviour has been an annoying distraction. Most recently he was filmed waving a bag full of money besides a gun-toting buddy back in Cordoba. Not his first incident either. He’s gone AWOL multiple times during his time with Minnesota. He served 10-days in prison for pistol-whipping a teenager in 2021. Didn’t turn up to his Green Card appointment earlier this year.
Eventually it was all too much so they’ve offloaded him to Club Tijuana in Mexico where he’s sure to be on his best behaviour. Like a good captain, Michael Boxall has been a bit of a spokesperson for the Minnesota United team during these dramas, making it pretty clear that the Loons were over having to deal with the silliness.
Minnesota United CB Michael Boxall in an excellent interview on @Extratime, on Emanuel Reynoso:
“When he’s in the building, on the training pitch on the field with you, in person, he’s the nicest guy. I don’t know. But something happens when he touches down in Cordoba. …Yeah.” pic.twitter.com/jNnRMKtEJc
Michael Boxall: “I think we’ve all kind of moved on. I don’t even know if anyone actually knows what the situation is. I think he’s made decisions that kind of shows everyone around here that he doesn’t care too much about the club.”
