St. Louis City SC went to Sweden for its new head coach, announcing Tuesday the hiring of Olof Mellberg, a former Swedish international player who has excelled as a coach at getting the most out of teams with smaller payrolls.
Mellberg, 47, has been coaching in Sweden with Brommapojkarna, or BP, which finished 10th in the just-completed Swedish season, despite having one of the league’s lowest payrolls. That’s the team’s highest finish since it entered the top division and the team will be playing in the first division for three straight seasons for the first time.
“I am excited to join St. Louis as the head coach,†Mellberg said in a statement from the club. “It is a great opportunity here because of the amazing infrastructure and the direction that the organization has put in place. I can’t wait to build upon the foundation already set here and the massive fan support that gives this team the energy to be successful.â€
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Mellberg isn’t expected back in the United States until January, after he gets the necessary work permit.
“Olof has an incredible work ethic and reputation for being disciplined and detail-oriented,†City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “His leadership qualities as a captain, both at the highest club level and with his national team, will be key to managing our group. Olof’s ability to develop young talent was seen at his Swedish club and we can’t wait to see it translate here in St. Louis.â€
Mellberg succeeds John Hackworth, who served as interim coach following the firing of Bradley Carnell on July 1. Hackworth will return to his previous role as the club’s technical director, overseeing the team’s style of play at all levels, from the first team to the academy squads.
Mellberg inherits a squad that finished the season strongly after an influx of talent acquired by Pfannenstiel during the summer transfer window. The team went 6-4-4 over its final 14 games (across all competitions) once the new players arrived, a points-per-game rate of 1.57 that, if sustained over the course of the season, would have put City SC in sixth place in the Western Conference and ninth overall in the league, squarely in the playoffs.
Though City SC moved up in total payroll after its summer additions, it has routinely been among the lowest payrolls in Major League Soccer in its two years of existence.
The club already has a strong Nordic influence, with Joakim Nilsson and Rasmus Alm from Sweden, Tomas Totland from Norway and Nokkvi Thorisson from Iceland.
When Mellberg started at BP in 2016, it was in Sweden’s third division, but the team earned promotion in each of his two seasons there and returned to the top division, with a combined record of 44-9-14 (W-L-D).
Mellberg coached eight games in Denmark before returning to Sweden to coach Helsingborgs for a year and a half and returned to BP in 2023.
Though the club is known for being the largest in Europe in terms of active youth teams — almost 250 teams and 3,000 players — its on-field success has been limited. Its 10th-place finish this year is its best ever, but its best seasons have come during Mellberg’s two stints as coach there.
“Across his four years as head coach of Brommapojkarna,†said City SC club President Diego Gigliani, “he’s shown a consistent ability to outperform expectations and get results. Furthermore, his passion for developing young players, strong reputation in the market and prior playing experience at the elite level of the sport were all additional reasons we were convinced he was right for the role.â€
In his playing days, Mellberg was a center back who played seven seasons with Aston Villa in the Premier League, as well as brief stays with Juventus in Italy, Olympiacos in Greece and Racing Santander in Spain. With Villa, he played in 232 matches and scored eight goals. He served as captain of the Swedish national team and played in the World Cup in 2002 and 2006 and the European Championship in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
With the coaching decision made, next up on City SC’s offseason calendar is a four-hour trade window Dec. 9, the expansion draft Dec. 11 and then free agency starts Dec. 12. The MLS SuperDraft is Dec. 20.
In this week’s video, City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and co-host Beth O’Malley wrap up the season, trying not to get too caught up in the last game, and talk about the early roster moves the team has made.
