In the tumultuous celebration that broke out at CityPark on Saturday following City SC’s win in its home opener, the team gathered in the center circle to share the moment. Midfielder Rasmus Alm headed off on his own.
Alm went over to the west side of the stadium, climbed over the ad boards, went to the stands, and got his two children, Matheo, 4, and Marcelo, closing in on 2, and with all three of them wearing City SC jerseys, walked back on to the field to join the party.
“It’s the first time they’ve been in a stadium with that much people,†Alm said this week. “So I wanted them with me because they are part of me. That’s why I got them on the pitch.â€
Alm comes to America from Sweden, where his former club, Elfsborg, usually played in front of crowds of about 5,000. So far, pretty much everything has been bigger for Alm, from the crowd size to the quality of the facilities. Alm, who started City SC’s first game and came off the bench in the second, is an attacking midfielder who 29 scored goals over 111 games in four seasons in the Swedish league, and also a tenacious player. There is nothing quiet or subtle about Alm’s game; at the end of 90 minutes, you will have noticed him.
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“The guy’s a monster,†sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “He’s not tall, he’s not big, but he annoys the crap out of you on the field. He is so difficult to play against because defensively he always tries to get you when he loses the ball. When he’s offensive, he always goes straight for the goal. So he’s like a nightmare to play against. The guy is so quiet and so lovely, a lovely Scandinavian boy, very calm, very quiet. When you speak with him, you think, he doesn’t hurt a fly, but he doesn’t hurt a fly when he doesn’t have football boots on. But once he puts his boots on, he hurts a fly.â€
“He’s pace-y,†said midfielder Jared Stroud, who lined up alongside Alm in the Austin game. “It’s nice having a pace-y winger on the other side to create havoc over there and then to cross it, and he’s a good player for me to look in behind. You saw the cross I had in the beginning of the Austin game. He sees me there, he’s nifty and it’s just helpful having a winger on the other side who is able to get out on defenders.â€
“I’m trying to be a good person outside,†Alm said, in a predictably calm moment in an office at City SC’s training facility, “because I think how you treat others is how you want yourself to be treated. But when you go in a game, it’s the three points that you want and what you’re going to fight for.â€
Coming to America wasn’t something Alm had given much thought to. He was born in Sweden, played his whole career in Sweden, and was close to re-signing with his club when he was contacted by Pfannenstiel.
“When this opportunity came up, there was no way I didn’t want to go here,†Alm said. “I had a good conversation with Lutz and Bradley (Carnell), and I think it was a really good step for me. First time playing soccer outside of Sweden, so that’s something I have to adapt to as well. The whole thing that they put in front of me, the whole concept, the new club and everything was just too much to say no to. So far, two months in and I love every day.â€
What does he love?
“Everything,†he said. “This is like a small city in the U.S., but in Sweden, it’s a big city. So for me, everything is perfect. In Sweden, the facilities aren’t like this. Everything is like one step up. Or even more. … I had moved four or five times in Sweden, and it’s just like pack your bags and move. But here there’s so much around soccer that has to be done, that’s a process.â€
The population of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ metropolitan area is larger than that of Stockholm, Sweden’s largest city, and Boras, where Elfsborg is located, has a population of about 66,000. And it is a small world. When Alm signed with Elfsborg, he rented an apartment whose previous occupant was Joakim Nilsson, who also plays for City SC, though he is out with an injury till May. The two never met before coming to ºüÀêÊÓƵ, though Alm would occasionally text Nilsson with questions about the apartment. (Alm’s godfather, coincidentally, is also named Joakim Nilsson, which apparently is the John Smith of Sweden. “Something like that,†Alm said.)
Though Alm is one of the older players on the team at 27, his guide to ºüÀêÊÓƵ was 20-year-old Danish winger Isak Jensen, who joined City SC last summer and had a six-month headstart. Alm’s hometown of Landskrona sits just across the Sound from Denmark, so the two were practically neighbors in Europe. Alm held off buying too much stuff for his home until his girlfriend arrived with their children, but he and Jensen built a lot of furniture from Ikea, where he did not try the Swedish meatballs, nor get a discount for being Swedish.
As a late arrival, Alm has some catching up to do with the other European players, but Carnell is confident Alm will get there.
“He’s still playing catch up, and we kind of take it for granted,†Carnell said. “It feels like he’s been with us for eight months, like the rest of the guys, but we need to remind ourselves that it’s not just eight months, it’s actually just been (eight) weeks. We’re lucky to have Rasmus.â€
Lucas Bartlett signs with City SC
Defender Lucas Bartlett, the sixth pick in the 2022 MLS draft by Dallas, signed with City SC. He’s been in camp on a trial basis and got in some preseason games and has suited up for City2 in a game. The team placed Joakim Nilsson on the injury list, which creates a roster spot, though they don’t need it at the moment for Bartlett.