Lutz Pfannenstiel was one of City SC’s first hires in 2020, charged with building a roster for the Major League Soccer expansion team to start play in 2023.
The team beat all expectations in its first season, winning the Western Conference title and going to the playoffs.
"The other team should be worried,” Pfannenstiel said before City SC’s first MLS match in 2023. “Because we are willing to eat them alive, we are willing to fight, we are willing to scratch and bite. And, this is how we want to define ourselves.”
But the team’s lackluster performance in 2024 and this season led to his ouster on Monday.
“These decisions are never easy, and with the legacy Lutz built during his time here, he will always be part of the extended CITY family,” said CITY SC President and GM Diego Gigliani in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we’ve struggled to create sporting stability and haven’t been able to meet the expectations of our owners or our fans, despite increasing our investment in the squad consistently.”
City SC finished in 12th place in the Western Conference in 2024 and fired its first head coach, Bradley Carnell.
2025 started with a new manager, Olof Mellberg, but his tenure was short, and the team kept losing. City SC currently sits in 14th place in the conference with the second-worst record in all of MLS.
Gigliani and John Hackworth, technical director and former interim manager, will take on the sporting director’s duties for the remainder of the season.
