Marcel Hartel hasn’t been in St. Louis very long. He arrived in town Sunday, was on the practice field Tuesday and has already learned what has been clear to anyone who’s paying attention to City SC, whether inside or outside the team: Things have to change — and fast.
Hartel says he’s ready to do his part.
“One hundred percent,†he said. “I come here, I’m a positive guy. Before, I saw some games, I saw the team (Tuesday) in training. And I think for me, the team is better than the place where we stand now. To be honest, in this situation now, we have to get out from it as fast as possible. So I will bring hopefully positive vibes in the team to go forward, to be successful in the end. This is an important thing, that we are successful. I will be a leader on the pitch and off the pitch.â€
City SC goes into the monthlong Leagues Cup break in 13th place in Major League Soccer’s 14-team Western Conference and probably needs seven wins from its final nine games, which looks to be a lot to ask from a team that has won four games all season. City SC has added four players in the summer transfer window — midfielder Hartel, forwards Cedric Teuchert and Simon Becher and defender Jake Girdwood-Reich — and it is Hartel, a designated player, and Teuchert, both coming from playing in Germany, on whom the spotlight shines brightest.
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They have a history as goalscorers, one of the things City SC needs most as injuries and departures have decimated the attacking group. Hartel had 17 goals last season for St. Pauli. Teuchert had 11 in an injury-shortened season for Hannover 96.
Teuchert made his debut Saturday against Sporting Kansas City, playing 63 minutes, getting off two shots, neither of which were on frame, but looking dangerous with some of the runs he made. He acknowledged he’ll need two or three games to get to the needed level. Hartel sounds like he’ll be ready to go Saturday when City SC faces Dallas in its first game in the Leagues Cup but will probably also need some time as well.
Both Teuchert and Hartel have similar City SC origin stories. They both hadn’t given a whole lot of thought about coming to America until they got a phone call from sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and liked his sales pitch. The two then talked to players on the team they knew: Teuchert checked in with Eduard Lowen (they overlapped for two seasons at Nuremberg), and Hartel spoke to Joakim Nilsson, his former teammate at Arminia Bielefeld, as well as with Teuchert, his former teammate on the German under-21 team. Teuchert also spoke to Nilsson, who is represented by the same agency.
“Edu was a very important contact for me,†Teuchert said. “I texted him a lot of messages before the step and also Joakim Nilsson. ... These two guys make the decision very easy for me. It makes me happy when I see Edu.â€
Both Teuchert and Hartel were born in Germany and had spent the entirety of their careers in Germany, playing in the first or second division of the Bundesliga. So coming to MLS needed some thought.
“Lutz had a lot of impact on my decision,†Teuchert said. “I spoke a lot with my wife, and I think for me as a person and also for a football player, I want to get the next step. And I think America, the MLS, is a very good decision. The MLS is getting bigger and bigger with a lot of top stars, so I’m very happy to be part of the of the league.â€
“I talked with my wife,†Hartel said, “and when we were going closer to the end of the Second Bundesliga (season), (it) was really, really clear in the end of the season what we want to do and then the end we said yeah, we want to be open for something new, so we want to go out from Germany, to see other cities and other countries. I had talks with Cedi, because he was here before me and I played two years with Joakim together, so the guys helped me to make my decision very easy. Then I sit together with my wife, and it was very fast, clear that we want to come to St. Louis and to go to the MLS. But before, to be honest, I don’t know that much about the MLS.â€
Teuchert signed May 28, and a lot has happened since then. The club had three wins, four losses and seven ties at the time, and while the club was out of the playoff window at that point, it wasn’t that far out. Since then, the team has gone 1-6-4 and there’s been a coaching change, but if there’s one thing veteran European players know, it’s coaching changes.
“I think my first day here was a little bit crazy,†Teuchert said. “I say hello to the coach and after 20 minutes, 25 minutes a new coach was at the meeting. But this is football.â€
“We are professional soccer players,†Hartel said. “In my career, it’s not my first time that the coach is fired. And so it’s not a new situation for me. ... But in the end, I was not here so I can’t know how it was with the old coach, but I’m here now. I met (interim coach) John (Hackworth), and he’s a very good guy. I heard only positive things from the team as well. And so I’m excited and looking forward for the next games.â€
The team had hoped Hartel would be available last Saturday, but he came up a day short. He had been expecting to get his visa in the mail Thursday, but it didn’t arrive Then, his daughter got sick, so he flew by himself Sunday, with his family joining him shortly.
Teuchert will step into the Niko Gioacchini role, playing a bit off the striker — “Makes for a little bit more space,†he said — while Hartel just wants the ball.
“I think I’m a player who loves the ball,†he said. “To want the ball every time, to create a lot of chances, to sometimes make things what the other opponents never think about. I think I’m for the magic moments. That’s my style of playing soccer. And I will do my best to celebrate a lot of games with the team and the fans.â€
Which will be a welcome addition for a team that hasn’t had a whole lot to celebrate this season.