Rasmus Alm was always meant to be a major contributor in St. Louis.
A speedy winger with great vision, Alm has a knack for covering acres of space. And with his key assist in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Austin, Alm is officially on the scoresheet for the 2024 season. Talent, though, has never been a question with Alm, who missed chunks of St. Louis CITY SC’s inaugural season while dealing with an injury retroactively diagnosed as a sports hernia.
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Now healthy, Alm has started back-to-back games for CITY, making a sizable impact and showing just how much he brings to the squad when he’s available.
“It just feels so good to be back with the team,” Alm said after his 61-minute appearance Sunday afternoon—his longest outing since August 30. “Last year, I was in pain all year, so it wasn’t always fun even when we were having a good season. I’m really just happy to be out there and to be pain free now.”
Alm underwent surgery this offseason to finally fix that pain, and after a lengthy recovery process, his joy is evident. CITY, too, is happy to have him on the field. There’s a case to be made that Alm is the club’s most underrated player. The fruits of his relentless running don’t always show up on the stat sheet, but as the right side of the trident, Alm’s ability to recover is important. This past weekend provided a prime example.
As Austin set up in its attack, there was a distinct lack of room for the visitors to operate out of their back line. CITY SC’s forward defending successfully cut off options as Austin’s defenders looked to make the first pass out of possession. Alm’s effort played a key part in that.
However, Alm does much more than run. He provides an outlet for right back Tomas Totland. And on Sunday, he assisted on CITY’s only goal of the day, connecting from the wing with João Klauss, who flicked the ball past keeper Brad Stuver to help St. Louis end its five-week winless drought.
“I got the ball, and he was driving,” Alm said. “I was just giving him the option to play the ball outside to me. We’ve talked about where we should—[and] how we should—find each other. For me, it’s just trying to hit him because I know he is a good finisher.”
Alm’s chemistry with his attacking teammates is crucial. His assist is the club’s only goal contribution from the past two matches, and Alm’s vision to find Klauss at that exact moment illustrated just how much CITY SC needed him during the latter stages of the 2023 season.
“Me and Rasmus, we always talk about how we are going to do things if the ball is in one place or if the ball is in the other place,” Klauss said about his chemistry with Alm. “So, I knew that Rasmus was going to pass the ball there. I started my movement to run behind the defender to try to open space for myself.”
Of course, there’s room for improvement in his performance. But the Swede’s ability to outwork the opposition might be worth more than his passes.
“At the end of the day, it’s the three points that count,” Alm bluntly stated. “We just have to keep going. We’re a good team, and we know that we’re a good team, so it’s just staying the course.”
