Olof Mellberg, St. Louis City SC’s head coach, has been fired less than a half-season into his tenure.
“We understood it would take time for Olof to become acclimated to Major League Soccer and certainly acknowledge injuries made his job difficult, but we simply could not continue down this path,” said Diego Gigliani, St. Louis City SC president and general manager. “We are disappointed that we were not able to find success under Olof. ... We wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.”
City SC's leadership had expressed enthusiasm over the appointment of the Swedish footballer to take the helm of the team.
“Olof has an incredible work ethic and reputation for being disciplined and detail-oriented,” City SC Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel said at the time of Mellberg’s hiring. “His leadership qualities as a captain, both at the highest club level and with his national team, will be key to managing our group.”
But success didn’t materialize.
Through 15 Major League Soccer matches, City SC (2-8-5) has scored just 11 goals — ranking 28th in the league. The squad has also been hampered by a string of injuries.
St. Louis City 2 Head Coach David Critchley has been named the team’s interim head coach as a search is underway.
His City 2 assistant coach Baggio Hušidić will join the first team coaching staff. City 2 technical director John Hackworth will fill in as the development league’s head coach. Hackworth served as interim head coach last year when the team fired its first head coach, Bradley Carnell.
This marks the second head coach the team has fired in less than three seasons in MLS.
Speaking with KMOX’s Tom Ackerman on May 18 after a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United, Pfannenstiel said he was “embarrassed” by the result.
When asked about Mellberg’s future during the interview, he responded, “I don’t think it's a good thing [...] to be discussing the coach right now.”
St. Louis would go on to fall to the Loons — again — in the U.S. Open Cup days later.
Pfannenstiel acknowledged defensive improvements under Mellberg but said the team needed broader accountability.
“The decision to part ways with Olof goes beyond just results. We’ve analyzed the team’s performance across a number of factors, including the need to execute against a style of play that led to the team’s initial success and has been part of our DNA for four years,” the sporting director said in a Tuesday night statement. "As a club, we have certain standards we need to meet and believe a coaching change was necessary to improve our overall performance and return to a winning culture. Our fans deserve a better performing team, and we intend to give them one.”
Before arriving in St. Louis, Mellberg managed Brommapojkarna, a Swedish top-division club outside Stockholm.
As a player, he made more than 230 appearances for Aston Villa in the English Premier League and captained the Swedish national team. City SC is scheduled to face Aston Villa on July 30 in St. Louis.
St. Louis City SC returns to the pitch against the San Jose Earthquakes at Energizer Park at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jonathan Ahl contributed to this report.
