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.Â
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.Â
Hartel will occupy one of ºüÀêÊÓƵ' three designated player slots, and he will also hold an international roster spot.Â
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.Â
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.
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In three seasons with St. Pauli, Hartel totaled 29 goals and 31 assists across all competitions.Â
"We are happy to have locked this deal down to bring in a high caliber midfielder such as Marcel to ºüÀêÊÓƵ,†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. Â
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.â€
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.Â
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.Â
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).Â
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.Â
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 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.
It was stunning news. But the fan base should be thankful that the front office was fierce and proactive.
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.