Coaches

It’s fitting that the first coach in Minnesota Stars FC history would be a Minnesota soccer legend and the son of one of the pioneers of professional soccer in Minnesota. The Stars appointed Manny Lagos as the team’s head coach in February 2010 when the team’s original name and crest were also unveiled.

The youngest of eight children, Lagos began his professional career as a member of the Minnesota Thunder, a club founded by his father, Buzz. After seven seasons with the Thunder, Lagos joined the NY/NJ MetroStars midway through the inaugural Major League Soccer season. Lagos went on to play for five MLS clubs: the MetroStars, Chicago Fire, Tampa Bay Mutiny, San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew.

Lagos was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. He scored the winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Kuwait, the U.S. team’s only victory of the tournament. He also appeared three times for Bruce Arena’s U.S. National Team.

He retired from professional soccer in June 2005. He entered the administrative side of the sport in January 2006, when he assumed the role of director of soccer operations for the Thunder, where he emphasized youth development. An occasional broadcaster, Lagos served as a color commentator for XM Radio during the 2006 World Cup.

Carl Craig joined the coaching staff for Minnesota Stars FC in early March 2010 after a long history coaching youth soccer in Minnesota. The Stars are the first professional club in the United States he will be involved with as a coach.

The Newcastle upon Tyne native moved to the United States in 1994 as part of his involvement with Coerver Coaching. He has coached for the Eden Prairie Soccer Club, Minneapolis United, Westside FC, Wings Soccer Club, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Minneapolis South High School and Richfield High School. Craig is also head coach of a Minnesota Olympic Development Program select team.

He was also head coach of Twin City Phoenix of the Premier Development League and the Minnesota Blast of the National Premier Soccer League.

Craig holds multiple coaching licenses from several different federations. He has an A license from UEFA, a full badge from the English FA, an advanced diploma from the Dutch KNVB, a diploma from the Italian federation and an A license and national youth instructor’s license from the United States Soccer Federation. He also has a premier coaching diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Kevin Friedland joined Minnesota Stars FC as a player and assistant coach. Friedland has played professionally in the Twin Cities since joining the Minnesota Thunder in 2004. Friedland plays primarily as a right back. He also has a USSF B License.

Friedland grew up in Irvine, Calif. He attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, earning second-team All-American honors in 2002. His head coach at SMU was Schellas Hyndman, current coach of Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas.

Drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 MLS Superdraft, Friedland spent a season with the Kansas City Wizards before signing with the Thunder in 2004. He appeared 115 times for the team and scored six goals.

Friedland represented the United States in the 2005 Maccabiah Games. Friedland’s teammates at the competition included current U.S. National Team players Benny Feilhaber and Jonathan Bornstein. The Americans finished second. In 2007 he and Stars teammate Kyle Altman won a gold medal at the Pan American Maccabi Games in Argentina as the United States defeated the host Argentines 2-0 in the final. He and Altman were teammates again in 2011 as the US Mabbabi team took second place in the Pan American Maccabi Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Off the field, Friedland enjoys painting, reading and stand-up paddling. He speaks English and Spanish.