There are not many players in Major League Soccer who can say they have been more productive than Simon Becher this summer. The striker has scored seven goals since the MLS season resumed following this summer’s World Cup—scintillating form for a player who had led the league in missed scoring chances over the first half of the season.
“It does feel good when everything’s coming together,” Becher said after training last week. “I can play with both confidence and consistency. That’s always been the biggest thing for me.”
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Much like St. Louis CITY SC as a whole, Becher has rewritten his story, having scored six goals in his first 13 matches after arriving from AC Horsens two summers ago.
Thanks in part to Becher’s form, CITY enters the international break unbeaten in 16 matches, just three wins from the all-time record set by the Columbus Crew between the 2003 and 2004 seasons—and just a few weeks from the club’s first U.S. Open Cup final.
Becher’s form has been among the best in MLS over the past two months. Only four players have scored more goals than Becher since the World Cup break: Milan Iloski, Denis Bouanga, Antoine Griezmann, and Lionel Messi. And only Messi has scored more goals since August 1.
“You get your chances, and you try to take them as they come,” Becher said. “Training over the last 18 months, working on finding my chances, getting in good positions, fine-tuning the positions I get into… As the chances come, you just try to take them individually.”
The run has continued through CITY’s transformational summer transfer window and beyond, with Becher scoring eight goals in 12 matches across both league and U.S. Open Cup play. He’s contributed to an attack that has averaged 2.25 goals per game over the club’s unbeaten run and nearly 2.5 goals since the break, leading the Western Conference. The result: career-high goal-scoring numbers up and down the lineup; Becher’s eight goals in MLS play now rank fifth in club history, with no CITY player ever scoring more than 10 goals in league play. Becher’s 12 goal contributions (including goals and primary assists) are tied for third most in club history, and he’s on pace to top the list by the end of the MLS season.
“We’re able to do a lot of different things to hurt opponents now,” Becher said. “Whether it’s creating a midfield overload, stretching the backline, playing with a third man, or getting balls deep into the assist zone, we can cut back some, hit teams on the counter, or sometimes we win the ball high. I think we’re doing a good job in a lot of different ways.”
Even as Becher rounded into form, CITY spent the summer chasing another high-profile striker. Rafael Navarro’s arrival for around $12 million could have been enough to derail any striker, but Becher’s continued form speaks to both his work ethic and the personality of the group that CITY has assembled this season. Navarro wasn’t brought in to replace Becher; he arrived in St. Louis, in part, to work with him.
Observing the club’s training sessions, it’s easy to see why the duo should work well together. It’s taken a tactical vision from manager Yoann Damet, however, to see something that outside pundits weren’t expecting: Becher leading the line to stretch the opposition, while Navarro or fellow summer arrivals Carlo Holse and Alex Mǎța float underneath. The free-flowing nature of the attack has given an air of jogo bonito, the Brazilian expression of the ‘beautiful game.’ Damet has encouraged freedom of expression born out of a tactical understanding and a collective work ethic that makes Becher and the players underneath him increasingly tough to defend.
“I feel pretty good tactically, ” Becher said. “Regardless of what the coaches are asking me to do, it’s just about continuing to do what I can to help the team. When you’re winning and scoring goals, it makes things easier.”
Becher will take the goals, but it’s a means to an end in his mind. CITY has rewritten the narrative over the past six months. Earlier this month, the team became the first St. Louis soccer club to reach the U.S. Open Cup final since St. Louis Busch Seniors captured the city’s 10th title.
“It’s a big game,” Becher said. “We understand the importance of that, but it’s exciting to play in those big matches. They come so few times in your career.”
Given the competition’s rules, Becher will be without Navarro during the final in Columbus, Ohio, on October 21. It’s fitting, though; if CITY is going to capture an 11th U.S. Open Cup title for the city, it will be led by a player who inherently understands the importance of a competition woven into the city’s culture around the sport.
“For the team, for the club, for the fans, for the city,” he said. “I know everyone is really excited.”
