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One day after dismissing second-year coach Bradley Carnell, City SC announced the signing of former FC St. Pauli star Marcel Hartel as a designated player on Tuesday morning. 

The German midfielder joins ºüÀêÊÓƵ on a free transfer through June 2028, with a club option for the remainder of the 2028 MLS season. In order to facilitate the signing, City SC acquired Hartel's discovery rights from the Columbus Crew for $350,000 in general allocation money. 

Hartel will occupy one of ºüÀêÊÓƵ' three designated player slots, and he will also hold an international roster spot. 

The 28-year-old last played for St. Pauli, helping the team earn a promotion to the first division of the German Bundesliga. Hartel scored a career-high 17 goals in league play this season and added 13 assists in 33 appearances. 

Hartel's impact extended to DFB-Pokal, an annual German knockout competition, where he scored four goals to go along with two assists across four matches in the past year.

In three seasons with St. Pauli, Hartel totaled 29 goals and 31 assists across all competitions. 

"We are happy to have locked this deal down to bring in a high caliber midfielder such as Marcel to ºüÀêÊÓƵ,â€� City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a statement. “His ability to create and finish will give us a dual threat to help lift our attack.â€�

Hartel joins Australian defender Jake Girdwood-Reich and German midfielder Cedric Teuchert as international signings this summer. All three players will be available for play beginning July 18, the start of Major League Soccer's summer transfer window.  

The first game he would be available is July 20 against Sporting Kansas City. That is City SC’s last game before the Leagues Cup break, and the team has nine regular-season games after that.

“As a club, we’ve always been prepared to make investments that will improve the quality of our squad, so long as we find the right fit,� City SC club president and general manager Diego Gigliani said in the statement.

“Marcel’s arrival as one of our three Designated Players highlights the confidence we have in him, both as a player and as a leader. We’re convinced he will make an important positive impact on our team and continue highlighting how high-quality players in the peak of their career are making the MLS their league of choice.�

Hartel started his career with FC Koln Academy at 6 years old, progressing through that organization through his age-20 season. He tallied a combined 33 goals and 17 assists with the under-17 and under-19 teams while in the system. 

In his first professional season, Hartel scored four goals and added one assist for FC Koln II before spending two seasons with Union Berlin (four goals, seven assists) and another two with Arminia Bielefeld (one goal, 13 assists).

While at Arminia Bielefeld, Hartel was teammates with current City SC defender Joakim Nilsson. Hartel signed with St. Pauli in August 2021, playing a pivotal role in their return to the Bundesliga first division for the first time since the 2010-11 season. 

He will now join a City SC team that is winless in its past nine matches and in search of scoring help with just nine goals in that stretch, including four shutouts. ºüÀêÊÓƵ is tied for the fifth-fewest goals in the entire league, including the second-lowest mark in the Western Conference (24 goals). 

Adding to the scoring woes, City SC lost Celio Pompeu, its highest-scoring midfielder, and midfielder Thomas Ostrak to season-ending ankle injuries earlier this season. Fellow midfielder Rasmus Alm is recovering from a knee injury he suffered June 1.

Hartel figures to provide much-needed depth and scoring touch to interim coach John Hackworth's roster, as he looks to right the ship and rediscover the success ºüÀêÊÓƵ had in its impressive 2023 MLS debut.

At the time of Hartel's signing, City SC (3-10-7) is 12th in the Western Conference standings with 19 points. It next hosts the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. 

ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC signs Australian defender; Alm out 6 to 8 weeks with knee injury

ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC signed young Australian defender Jake Girdwood-Reich; midfielder Rasmus Alm will miss six to eight weeks with a knee injury.

City SC signs German midfielder Cedric Teuchert from Bundesliga's 2nd division

City SC went back to familiar place — Germany — to try to strengthen its offense, signing Cedric Teuchert from Hannover 96; he can start playing for team in July.

Hochman: ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC, upon firing coach Bradley Carnell, shows it won’t give up on ’24

It was stunning news. But the fan base should be thankful that the front office was fierce and proactive.

ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC fires Bradley Carnell after 9-match winless streak

Carnell finished second in voting for MLS coach of the year last season. The team's technical director, John Hackworth, will take over coaching duties on an interim basis.

City SC gets painted with a bright brush — a feel-good story last year, a delightful group of guys, a welcoming soccer club, a beacon of our city.

All fair.

But this club isn’t just here for the fun of it all and to paint the city “City Red.� It’s here to win. This is serious business, and these are serious businesspeople in the business of winning. And even with sellouts and popularity, business was suffering.

So it fired its coach.

Five months after it extended his contact.

It was stunning news. But the more I think about it, the fan base should be thankful that the front office was fierce and proactive. It wasn’t resting on laurels. Or making excuses about injuries. Or letting the extended contract get in the way of what it wanted to happen next.

Because as City SC looked lost out there, game after game, the bigger picture became clear: This couldn’t be a lost season. After making the playoffs in Year 1, ºüÀêÊÓƵ had to (has to) make the playoffs in Year 2. Can’t take a step back. Must keep building in every facet.

And so Bradley Carnell is out as coach a year after being snubbed for the Coach of the Year award in Major League Soccer. In 2023, the expansion team finished first in the Western Conference. But without a shakeup, one wonders if the 2024 team would’ve ended up last in the Western Conference?

With 14 games to go, City SC sits in 12th place — third-to-last in the conference — with a 3-7-10 record. Only one other MLS team has three or fewer wins. That’s San Jose, Wednesday’s opponent, which also has three wins, along with 15 losses and two draws.

City SC also has a dubious league lead with 10 ties. Here’s City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel on Monday: “There were lots of tight games, lots of draw games. I mean, if you draw a game, it can go either way. But I believe we left many points we should have had lying there. (And) we shouldn’t.�

And City hasn’t won any of its past nine games. Oh, and it wasn’t just losing (as if just losing isn’t bad enough), but it were losing unacceptably.

Saturday’s loss in Vancouver was embarrassing. City SC led 2-0 by the 12th minute. Yet by the 61st minute, it trailed 3-2. Vancouver scored yet again in the 90th minute. City made the final score 4-3 with a goal in stoppage time.

Said Pfannenstiel: “If you win on Saturday night, he’d be coach today, yes.�

Lutz isn’t here to lose. He’s a fierce competitor with high standards. And he made a particularly good point on Monday. A reporter asked about his role in the losing. Pfannenstiel took responsibility but also took umbrage to the notion that the team wasn’t deep enough. Sure, City SC is without numerous key players in 2024. But as Pfannenstiel pointed out, the team was without numerous top players in 2023 — Klauss, Eduard Lowen, Joakim Nilsson — and still found ways to win.

“We don’t look as good as we were last year,� said Pfannenstiel, who inserted technical director John Hackworth as interim head coach as the search for Carnell’s permanent replacement begins. “We don’t create as many high-scoring games as we could, we don’t create enough good chances and we concede too many chances for the opponent.�

Numbers don’t lie. City SC has the second-most shot attempts in MLS, yet it has the lowest percentage of shots on target in MLS. This isn’t just a case of being unlucky. Over 20 games, this is proof that something is off with the offense.

And while the team has the fourth-fewest goals in MLS, City is 15th (middle of the pack) in expected goals. These guys just don’t finish well.

Asked about scoring, Pfannenstiel said: “It’s all about confidence, how (good) you are in the box. Are we getting into good positions? We dropped lots of leads. So there are lots of different points you can look at. It’s always pretty easy to pick one out. I think we do get into good spaces, we do have opportunities to score and we just don’t take our chances. (On defense), we concede too many goals and too easy goals.�

OK. Want some optimism?

City SC is just nine points out of a playoff spot (you get three points for a win, one for a tie). And Pfannenstiel expects City to add to its roster during the transfer window beginning July 18. And a coaching change often gives a team a short-term jolt — players are refreshed, the season is reset.

Also, the curious case of Samuel Adeniran gained some clarity. The scorer who had been suspended earlier this year — and then wasn’t practicing of late under Carnell — returned to practice Monday. Will he be on the move? Will he be rejuvenated under Hackworth? Will both happen? We’ll find out Adeniran’s role on Wednesday in a home game against San Jose.

It is tough to see Carnell go. He was a passionate coach and sure seemed to love both City and the city. And credit to Carnell for often giving thoughtful answers to media questions — not all coaches do that. He’s a good guy.

But he wasn’t winning.

“I think you are all the time looking at what you are seeing on the pitch but also what you’re seeing off the pitch,� City SC President Diego Gigliani said. “And you’re trying to make those judgment calls of when is the right moment to make a change, if a change is needed at all. I think (it’s) based on the results especially. But then when you try to think about — do we have confidence in believing in the process and just giving everything more time, or do we think that it requires a bigger change to cause more of a mental reset among the team? In this case, 20 games in, we thought that the moment had arrived.�

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City SC, mired in a nine-match winless streak, dismissed coach Bradley Carnell on Monday morning.

Technical director John Hackworth will take over on an interim basis.

Carnell guided the team to a first-place finish in the Western Conference last season, with a 17-12-5 record, in its first year of existence. He finished second in voting for the Major League Soccer Coach of the Year award last season and signed a contract extension early this year.

But City SC is just 3-7-10 this season, partially because of spate of injuries. It sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, nine points out of a playoff berth with 14 matches remaining.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to performances,� City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “We didn’t win enough games this season; we didn’t pick (up) enough points. We had a clear goal for this season that we want to make the playoffs. We believe that goal is now in danger.�

The team has not won since beating Chicago 3-1 on May 11. It wasted a 2-0 lead in a 4-3 loss on Saturday in Vancouver. That setback appeared to be the final straw.

City SC President Diego Gigliani said the decision was a tough one, but he thought it had to be made .

“We don’t make these decisions based on a short run,� Gigliani said. “We’re 20 games into the season, and you can even go back a little bit more into the last stretch of last season. I think you are all the time looking at what you are seeing on the pitch but also what you’re seeing off the pitch. And you’re trying to make those judgement calls of when is the right moment to make a change, if a change is needed at all.�

Gigliani thought the move had to be made in time to give the team a shot at making the postseason.

“Do we have confidence in believing in the process and just giving everything more time, or do we think that it requires a bigger change to cause more of a mental reset among the team?� Gigliani asked. “In this case, 20 games in, we thought that that moment had arrived.�

Gigliani was disappointed in the nine-match skid in which the team earned just three out of a possible 27 points.

“This feels like the moment where the decision had to be taken,� Gigliani said. “We are encouraged by the thought that we have 14 games to go. ... That’s why we thought this was the right moment.�

Injuries have played a key role in the struggles this season. Forward Tomas Ostrak suffered a season-ending injury before the campaign even began. Leading scorer Klauss is out for at least six weeks because of a sprained knee. Defender Tim Parker, who scored the first goal in team history, missed Saturday’s match becasue of a hamstring injury.

Another top gun, forward Celio Pompeu, suffered a broken ankle/leg on June 15 at Dallas. Forward Eduard Lowen missed time after his wife was diagnosed with cancer.

Key players Joakim Nilsson and Josh Yaro also have missed time because of injuries.

Defender Kyle Hiebert is away from the team while playing for the Canadian national team in the Copa America tournament.

The losses forced Carnell to use players in positions at which they were not comfortable, and they struggled at times.

“We did have injuries, but we had injuries last year as well,� Pfannenstiel said. “At the same time, we still won enough games.�

Pfannenstiel says he hopes to get a few new players during the upcoming transfer window.

“We still can rectify things,� he said. “That’s the responsibility that I have to take to sign players, which will work out.�

Hackworth has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including a pair of assistant coaching stints with the United States men’s national team. He also coached MLS’ Philadelphia Union.

“We will definitely analyze the coaching market and see what’s best out there for us,� Pfannenstiel said.

City SC will try to rebound when it takes on last-place San Jose (3-15-2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at CityPark.

Benjamin-hochman

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ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC might have played its best 20 minutes of the season Saturday night at Vancouver. Yet it simply wasn’t enough.

Brian White scored three times as the Whitecaps climbed out of an early two-goal deficit to beat City SC 4-3 in a Major League Soccer Western Conference contest at B.C. Place.

City SC (3-7-10) had its winless streak extended to a franchise-worst nine matches (0-6-3). Its last triumph was a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire 3-1 on May 11.

“This is a tough stretch for the team,� City SC coach Bradley Carnell said. “We’ve seen some really good moments. We have to grow from those moments.�

City SC bolted to a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes on goals by Njabulo Blom and Eduard Lowen. It controlled play at both ends of the pitch in the first half of the opening 45 minutes. And it did so with an injury-riddled lineup.

Leading scorer Klauss has a sprained MCL and will be out at least six weeks. He missed his first match on Saturday. Defender Tim Parker, who scored the first goal in club history last season, did not play because of a groin injury. Josh Yaro missed the match because of a concussion he suffered in training late last week.

Goalkeeper Roman Burki was given the night off because of some minor dings.

“He’s been going through some management in terms of his knee,� Carnell said. “Nothing major.�

Burki, the MLS goalkeeper of the year last season, had played in every one of the club’s 1,710 minutes this season before Saturday. Ben Lundt, a native of Berlin, Germany, started for the first time since giving up all the goals in a 3-0 loss at Vancouver on Oct. 4, 2023.

The 11 starters in the makeshift lineup had accounted for just seven goals entering the contest. But that didn’t stop City SC from starting the match with plenty of offensive flair that quieted the home crowd.

That spark seemed to go out as the first half wound down. City SC never regained that early burst.

“It’s just frustrating week in, week out to put so much effort into being better than the opponent,� Lowen said. “We were the better team, we just conceded some easy goals. That’s how it is. We scored three goals away from home and conceded just four such easy goals.�

Nokkvi Thorisson, who brought City SC to within 4-3 on a goal three minutes into stoppage time, said a lack of focus at crucial times was costly.

“We have to demand more from ourselves to close (out) these games,� Thorisson said. “We were a little naive. Obviously, it was not good enough.�

City SC came out with a point to prove.

Blom converted from 25 yards out with a blast that deflected off a defender in the seventh minute. It was Blom’s first goal since Sept. 23, against Minnesota. Chris Durkin sent a perfect pass onto the foot of Blom, who one-timed it past Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.

Lowen pushed the lead to 2-0 by scoring on a penalty kick just over five minutes later. He drilled a low shot along the ground into the right corner of the net.

Lundt capped off a strong beginning with a nifty save off a partial break by Levonte Johnson in the 17th minute.

But White kick-started the Whitecaps’ offense with his first goal late in the first half. He also scored in the 54th and 61st minutes to put the hosts in front to stay. His header off a pass from Ryan Raposo snapped a 2-2 tie. Sebastian Berhalter, son of United States national team coach Gregg Berhalter, started the play.

The Whitecaps (8-7-4) used a solid effort in the midfield to flip the switch early in the second half. Fabrice Picault scored what became the game-winner on a left-footed blast in the 90th minute that pumped the lead to 4-2.

City’s John Klein, a former ºüÀêÊÓƵ University standout from Columbia, Missouri, played well throughout the contest. Caden Glover, a Homegrown player who began his career with the ºüÀêÊÓƵ City Academy, entered the match in the 79th minute.

Reinforcements coming

City SC announced before the match forward Brendan McSorley and defenders Jaylen Reid and Tyson Pearce have been signed to short-term loans from City2, the team’s developmental squad.

McSorley made his debut June 19 in a 3-0 loss to Colorado.

Reid started June 22 in 1-1 tie against Atlanta and played all 90 minutes.

The 16-year-old Pearce, a Homegrown product from St. Charles, has played in 12 of the 15 City2 matches this season.

Not a lucky day

City SC will host San Jose (3-15-2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at CityPark.

It is the third of five Wednesday matches this season. City SC dropped the first two, losing to LAFC 2-0 on May 15 and 3-0 to Colorado on June 19.

City SC will be on the road for its remaining Wednesday matches after this week, on July 17 against Seattle and Oct. 2 against LAFC.

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