The former Aston Villa and Juventus midfielder believes he can revamp a struggling side that finished 12th in the Western Conference
MIAMI – Olof Mellberg just wants to talk about football. The new St. Louis City SC manager arrives in the midwest to take charge of a team that underwent a fairly remarkable downturn from in 2024. The expansion franchise enjoyed arguably the best first regular season in league history in 2023, topping the Western Conference — a smartly constructed roster pieced together by former Hoffenheim Head Scout Lutz Pfannenstiel rolling through the summer months.
They went the opposite way the year after, and finished 12th in the West – 16 points out of the final playoff spot. Bradley Carnell was dismissed halfway through the campaign. The critics were vocal. Was that first season – that ended with a first-round playoff loss – just a fluke? Was this team really midtable all along, and riding its luck, backed by the pulse of a new town?
Soccer, it turns out, is more complex than that. But change was needed in some way. And Mellberg is the man charged with turning this all around. Sit down with him, and the laser focus of a man who, again, just wants to talk about football, shines through. It might just be a good start.
"I'm an attack-minded coach that likes to be in control of games, which means organization defensively, and balance in transition," Mellberg told GOAL at MLS media day.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGettyRallying a team
St. Louis' early success can really be tracked back to one signing. Roman Burki has been here since the beginning. The former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper was one of the expansion franchise's first arrivals. Some teams might have chased down European royalty, or gone for a star. Instead, the club went for a fringe Swiss international, the wrong side of 30, and made him their highest paid player. It seemed, at the time, a puzzling move.
But it worked a charm. Burki was named club captain in February 2023 and was named MLS goalkeeper of the year in his first season in the league.
Then, things turned south. It wasn't necessarily that Burki's individual levels dropped in 2024. Look at the stats – save percentage, post shot expected goals allowed, clean sheets – and everything suggested that this was mostly the same player. The issue was what was happening in front of him. St. Louis conceded 45 goals in their first season in the league. The year after, that spiked to 63.
Meanwhile, they scored 12 fewer goals. It's not hard to see, statistically at least, how the team fell so far, so fast. It got so bad, in fact, that head coach Carnell was dismissed in early July. Six new faces came in during the summer months. In effect, they started an offseason rebuild four months early. For Burki, reversing some of the fortunes is simple.
"We need to trust the coach's plan, invest a lot of time and energy in training every day to try and get better," Burki told GOAL.
AdvertisementGettyMellberg and his style
And that's where Mellberg comes in. Interim coach John Hackworth was rumored to be among the frontrunners for the job. But instead, Pfannenstiel looked abroad. The former Aston Villa man has quietly made a solid managerial career for himself in Swedish football. He has two league titles with Brommapojkarna and a promotion to his name. At one point, he was reportedly in the running for the Swedish national team job.
But St. Louis, and its roster constructed ideally for his possession-heavy style of soccer, was too good of an opportunity to turn down.
"Most of my teams have had more possession than the opponents," Mellberg said. "You can dominate games without having the ball as well. But I really like to be structured and organized."
More broadly, though, he wants his team to put in the legwork that he felt was lacking at times over the course of the 2024 season.
"I see a lot of qualities in the team. I think we can be really hard-working," Mellberg continued.
That would seem to add up. Former manager Carnell was something of a curious choice. Here was a Red Bull school protege, raised on the German school of Geggenpressing, asking a technical team to be ferociously direct. Mellberg, who is far happier to slow the game down, organize off the ball, and create with it, appears a far more natural fit.
"He had success at his previous clubs, otherwise he wouldn't be here," Burki said.
Getty Images SportThe glaring weakness
For Mellberg, the real weakness in last year's squad wasn't the spike in goals conceded or dip in goals scored. It wasn't weaknesses at center back or No. 6. Rather, it was St. Louis' miserable away form. At home, they were 7-5-5, picking up 26 points. On the road, the numbers make for miserable reading: just one win, eight draws, and eight losses. Eleven points total. They were last in MLS in away wins.
It should be emphasized that this isn't a St. Louis-specific issue. MLS, historically, is a tough place to pick up points away from home. LA Galaxy, eventual champions, picked up 42 points at home and just 22 away. It's what made Inter Miami so good – they had a perfect 37-37 split en route to a Supporters' Shield win.
Mellberg wants to reverse that trend in his new job.
"We need to do better away from home. Most teams are really, really strong at home but have poor away records. We are definitely one of them," he said.
There is no easy solution here, he admitted.
"For me, it's about style of play. It's important to have good organization. We are a team with physicality, and endurance, which I think is important away from home," Mellberg said.
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IMAGNConnecting with the fans
In all likelihood, Mellberg won't have much problem with the home fans. Drive around St. Louis, and the pulse of this club is everywhere. There are pink stickers on cars, banners up in bars, and jerseys spotted around shopping malls and restaurants. The club, before its first year, lobbied hard for the city being a soccer stronghold. The 22,000 fans that regularly pack Energizer Park – flares, tifos, and all – have backed up that message in full.
Mellberg believes that his style of football can mesh well with that passion.
"It's the identity of St. Louis: hard working, energy, intensity. Those are qualities we can see more of," he said.
And perhaps more importantly, Mellberg sees a real opportunity here. Despite St. Louis's poor 2024 campaign, the summer retool has given him some real quality to work with. Burki is set to stick around. Burki, Cedric Teuchert, and Marcel Hartel can all be difference-makers. Meanwhile, Mellberg insists that the inherent chaos of the league can only benefit the team.
"I watched a lot from last season, and it's not like a few teams stand out, and that we have no chance against them. It feels like anyone can beat anyone," he said.
A return to the top of the Western Conference is admittedly unlikely. LA Galaxy, LAFC, Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders will be as good – if not better – than last year. But St. Louis is better than its 12th-placed finish. And with a new manager at the helm – one who there's a real buzz again.
"For sure playoffs is the goal of the season," Mellberg said. "And we take it from there."