Marcel Hartel, left, and Cedric Teuchert, two new additions to City SC, take a warmup run together on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at the team鈥檚 practice facility in downtown 狐狸视频.
No team in Major League Soccer was as active in the summer transfer window as 狐狸视频 City SC.
The team acquired six new players, five on the transfer market and one in a trade, and that doesn鈥檛 even include the three players promoted from City2 since late June. When play MLS play resumes Saturday, there could be as many as five of those new players in the starting lineup.
City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel didn鈥檛 see it coming.
鈥淚 think if you would have asked me six weeks prior,鈥 Pfannenstiel said Thursday as he and club president and general manager Diego Gigliani met with reporters, 鈥淚 probably would have not given you that high of a number, but sometimes it鈥檚 also: What does the market give you? What does the market bring? And where do we need some reinforcement? I think that was the factors we need to really include in our decisions. And I think we had no choice. We wanted to do it. We wanted to improve. And I think that鈥檚 why we had a very busy time.鈥
It鈥檚 a big difference between last summer, when Pfannenstiel acquired just two players, Nokkvi Thorisson and Anthony Markanich, but then this season is very different. City SC has four wins, 10 losses and 11 ties and sits in 28th place out of 29 teams in points and has gone through a barrage of injuries, some season-ending.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a continuation of last time we were here,鈥 said Gigliani, who last sat down with the media to talk about firing coach Bradley Carnell earlier this season. 鈥淲e said that we wanted to make improvements. We weren鈥檛 seeing what we wanted in terms of reaching our goals for this year. The improvements weren鈥檛 just making managerial changes but also making player changes. So that鈥檚 just a continuation of wanting to be better and having high standards, wanting to get to that level that we want to be at.鈥
鈥淚 think it comes down to what happened in the first part of the season,鈥 Pfannenstiel said. 鈥淚 think it was necessary for us to make changes. Obviously, it was more like circumstantial changes because we had such a big number of injuries that we had to make some moves. But however, I think the way the situation developed, we could already make moves now for 2025 and further ahead for the future. So yes, it was a very busy transfer window.鈥
It may be too late to salvage the 2024 season. City SC needs to win seven of its final nine games, starting Saturday in Portland, just to be in the playoff mix. But the team, with the addition of attackers Marcel Hartel, Cedric Teuchert and Simon Becher, along with defenders Henry Kessler and Jannes Horn, both of whom have yet to play for City SC, looks to be better at multiple positions than before.
鈥淭he players we did sign,鈥 Pfannenstiel said, 鈥淚 think on every position we brought in, they are an improvement. They have a certain experience. They are coming from a good professional background. And after a lot of a lot of scouting and a lot of discussions, we made the moves which we believe are making us not just a better team for now but gives us a really, really good 2025 ahead. So it was more strategic than I would call it a quick shot or being desperate about having not the greatest season. There was a lot of thought in it already for the future.鈥
But he hasn鈥檛 given up hope for this season.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to make it sound like the season is over,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 far from over. I think you could see in the Leagues Cup that we do have an improved squad, we have a good quality, we have players coming back from injury and that we are a difficult team to beat. ... We still believe that we have a chance to go very, very close toward the playoffs, but it鈥檚 up now to the coaching staff, that鈥檚 up to the team, that鈥檚 up to the players, and we are very positive with the impressions I think you got in the Leagues Cup but also what you get every day on the training field.鈥
City SC鈥檚 three designated players are now Hartel, goalkeeper Roman Burki and forward Klauss. The team bought down Eduard Lowen, who had been a DP, with targeted allocation money to bring his salary to the league maximum.
One notable player to whom City SC was linked (but didn鈥檛 sign) in the transfer window was 狐狸视频an Josh Sargent, who plays for Norwich in England鈥檚 second division and the U.S. national team. City SC isn鈥檛 alone in having interest in Sargent, and if it could land him, his transfer fee 鈥 expected to be more than $20 million 鈥 would make him by far the biggest signing in City SC history.
鈥淲e are honored that there are rumors out there and people talking about Josh and us,鈥 Pfannenstiel said. 鈥淎nd I believe it鈥檚 a very natural thing simply because of where he comes from. Let鈥檚 see what the future brings.鈥
Selmir Pidro, the first player signed by City SC, is coming back to America. He was loaned in the middle of last season to Zlin in the Czech Republic, but Zlin was relegated to the second division and didn鈥檛 keep Pidro. Efforts to find another club to loan him to have not been successful, so Pidro is returning to 狐狸视频 and City SC will loan him to City2. Pfannenstiel said the club is still trying to loan out Pidro, but it鈥檚 鈥渧ery likely鈥 he鈥檒l suit up for City2. Because he鈥檚 on loan, Pidro won鈥檛 require an international spot or take up a roster spot.
City SC has also freed up an international spot by midfielder Tomas Ostrak getting his green card as a permanent resident. Ostrak was having a breakout season with City SC but injured his ankle in practice in mid-May and is out for the season.
狐狸视频 City SC president/GM and sporting director talk to the media about how the team "sells" 狐狸视频 as a destination to foreign players, when MLS also has teams in Miami, New York and LA. Video edited by Beth O'Malley
