A return to Minnesota United could be the perfect career revival for Miguel Ibarra
It wasn't too long ago that Miguel Ibarra was a rising talent in American soccer. He was a shock choice to join the United States national team because he was playing for Minnesota United in the second division NASL, but he showed that he was good enough for the national team and, not long after, earned a move to Club Leon in Liga MX. He even did pretty well there to start, regularly coming off the bench and making an impact. Everything was looking up for Ibarra.
That was a year ago, though. And the last year has not gone well for him. He stopped getting onto the field for Leon, appearing in zero matches during the Apertura, and wasn't being called up to the national team anymore. He was still a talented player -- after all, talent doesn't just disappear -- but he was essentially off the map.
Now, it looks like he has a way back. And it's with the club that gave him his start -- Minnesota United.
The Loons, who are making the jump to MLS and will play their first season in the top flight in 2017, have traded for Ibarra's rights, according to FiftyFive.One. Now, if Ibarra can agree to a deal with MLS and Minnesota, he will get to join United and restart his career.
The potential move couldn't come at a better time for Ibarra. He's in desperate need of playing time, something that shouldn't be hard to come by with Minnesota. Not only is he good enough to play regularly for most every MLS team, but an expansion team like United will have a weaker roster, making breaking through even easier for Ibarra.
On top of that, Ibarra is still just 26 years old, so he has plenty of time left to play at a high level. And if he can do that for Minnesota, he should get a look with the national team again, too. New U.S. boss Bruce Arena has long favored having technical players as wide midfielders, which Ibarra definitely is, and the Americans are short on that type of player. There's a clear pathway for Ibarra and a real way to help the U.S., he just has to play regularly and prove he's good enough.
There is still the matter of Ibarra agreeing to a contract with the league and Minnesota so he's not heading back to the Twin Cities quite yet, but his lack of playing time will push him to make it happen and it helps that he'd be landing somewhere he knows well. On top of that, Leon won't fight desperately to keep him, having shown no need for him. It looks like this is a deal that is going to get done.
Ibarra in Minnesota just feels right. He left UC Irvine and despite being recommended to several MLS clubs, he couldn't catch on so he went to Minnesota United. There, it didn't take long for him to break out and in 2014, he won the NASL Golden Ball. He was a star, beloved by the club and unafraid to express his affection for the club. When he got called up to the national team, not only was it a shock, but it gave Minnesota United more exposure and notoriety than they had ever had before.
The Minnesota United that Ibarra could rejoin is not the same one he left. They're an MLS team now, after all, with the bigger budgets and stature that comes with it. They're building their own gorgeous stadium, too. But this is still Minnesota United, with a lot of the same staff and the same Dark Clouds supporters group that embraced Ibarra years ago.
There couldn't be a better place for Ibarra to get his career back on track. And it looks like it could happen.
