Double interview
It is a historic day for Major League Soccer expansion side St. Louis City SC. On Wednesday, the club, which will kick off in 2023 announced the appointment of Bradley Carnell as the club’s first-ever head coach. Ahead of the announcement, Transfermarkt sat down with Carnell and St. Louis sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel to discuss the appointment, the vision for the club, player recruitment, and what Carnell’s appointment means for the club’s playing philosophy.
“It is an incredible opportunity,” Carnell said to Transfermarkt. The 44-year-old joins St. Louis City from the New York Red Bulls, where he has worked as an assistant manager since 2017. It is the first time Carnell will be in charge of a club in a full-time role. But the native of Johannesburg, South Africa, is quick to point out that he has previous experience as a head coach at the University of Johannesburg and was in charge of a caretaker at RBNY from September to November 2020 (averaged 1.5 points per game in 14 matches).
“Not at all,” Pfannenstiel said when asked about whether he was worried that Carnell lacks previous first-team coaching experience. “Actually, this was a good thing, and I think that that is an attribute that is not a weakness but a strength. We wanted someone who can still grow. Someone, who is hungry to prove himself.” At the same time, Pfannenstiel also pointed out that Carnell’s previous experience of working in MLS was an important factor. “We have seen many big-name coaches come here and fail.”
New St. Louis City coach Carnell: “It is going to be intense”
In Carnell, St. Louis will get a head coach deeply emerged in the Red Bull style of play. The former left-back played 134 games in the Bundesliga (three goals and nine assists) and 84 games in the 2. Bundesliga (eight goals and 17 assists) for Stuttgart, Gladbach, Karlsruhe, and Hansa Rostock.
At Stuttgart, Carnell played under current Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick would later lay the foundation for the high-powered Red Bull style of play that has taken European football by storm and that also influenced Carnell a second time when he worked within the Red Bull setup.
It is a style of play that Carnell lived as a player and now wants to stamp on the team that he is building together with Pfannenstiel in St. Louis. “Just look at the type of player I was and some of the coaches I played for,” Carnell said. “It is going to be intense and a very transitional style of play with a front foot approach; we want to press and counter-press. That sort of play is very fashionable, of course, but I have lived it, played it, and been coached it. It is a style of play that will speak to the community in the Mid-West, hard work and humility.”
Bradley Carnell on the sideline for New York Red Bulls
For Pfannenstiel, Carnell ticked all the boxes. The German knows Carnell well, Pfannenstiel after all instructed one of the courses at the Sportschule Hennef in Germany where Carnell completed one of his coaching licenses.
“We wanted a head coach, who already understands our playing philosophy, without having to influence him,” Pfannenstiel said. “As a coach, he represents everything we want to build here on the field. A high-pressing, counter-pressing approach that creates lots of transition moments and is a very cognitive aggressive approach.”
Pfannenstiel wants “fit players” – Big name signings “counterproductive”
The two also agree that the team that will step on the field in 2023 will heavily rely on academy players. “We want to stay away from older big names PR type of moves,” Pfannenstiel said. “We will need to have fit players for the style of football we want to play. It would be counterproductive for us to have a big name who played his own game. Instead, we need to look at the long-term structure and the long-term success of this club.”
Part of that long-term success is the club’s participation in the MLS Next Pro. St. Louis City is one of the 21 founding members of the league, which at the moment predominantly consists of MLS academy clubs.
“The MLS Next Pro team is very important for us,” Carnell said. “It is like a dry run for what the 2023 season can look like. Although I am not in charge of that team, I will be very close daily, doing coaching exchanges and sharing ideas, philosophies, and methods. The way I can almost adopt that team as my own and then put it to good use in 2023.”
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St. Louis City SC MLS Next Pro team a major advantage
Both Pfannenstiel and Carnell pointed out that the MLS Next Pro team could be a major advantage for St. Louis City over other recent MLS expansion teams in recent years. It will also allow the club to field a team that could include several homegrown players right from the start.
“That is very important to us,” Carnell said. “It’s an expanding arm from the community on to the field, and that one player connects to hundreds of people in the community. We want to build a product that really appeals to the community, and from what I have learned, this is a soccer-crazy city.”
Having homegrown players play a big role right from the start is one very important goal for the club. Another is to succeed on the field right away. “We don’t just want to take part,” Pfannenstiel said. “Anyone who knows me knows that I am ambitious and that I want to be as competitive as possible right away. Only the sky is the limit.”
A big promise by the St. Louis City sporting director. But the 48-year-old German is certain, Carnell is the head coach that can help him fulfill that promise.
