Bradley Carnell’s bunch is about to embark on its toughest test yet. During the next 4–6 weeks, St. Louis CITY SC will play without designated players João Klauss and Edu Löwen.
The CITY head coach announced the updated recovery timelines for both players earlier this week, dropping an additional dose of bad news on the heels of St. Louis’ 3-1 loss at Nashville on Saturday. There aren’t many MLS clubs that can tread water without their designated players, but Carnell believes he still has midfielders capable of influencing games in CITY’s favor.
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“We have to be a little bit flexible,” Carnell said. “We thought that we were quite productive and putting guys in spots and getting guys like Indy [Vassilev] to do both jobs, being a six, an eight, and a 10.”
Those numbers—six, eight, and 10—refer to the positions in the midfield. A 10 is a midfielder who creates chances, an eight is the creative force of the midfield and the player who often bridges the gap between the offensive and defensive phases of play, and a six is your defensive midfielder. In CITY’s case, that’s a stopper such as Njabulo Blom.
Löwen may be one of the best “eights” in MLS this season, leading St. Louis with his vision and passing, while also proving to be one of the league’s best dead ball specialists.
If St. Louis is to keep pace atop the west, it will require players to step into new roles. That includes homegrown talent Miggy Perez, who will be asked to take a step forward in his development as a professional.
“I have a lot to learn from that game,” Perez says, reflecting on his contributions in Nashville. “There is a lot of developing for me in my play, and I think just going out to training just trying to work out, get stronger [is important], because it’s such a competitive league.”
The level at which St. Louis played during the season’s first half is what makes the losses of Klauss and Löwen, especially, hurt the most. CITY has defied the odds this season, in large part to Löwen’s ability to drive play. Prior to last week’s match at Nashville, the German had been on the field for all but 54 minutes across 16 MLS matches.
That’s where Carnell’s insistence on flexibility should come in handy for St. Louis. Although it feels unlikely that one player will be able to replace Löwen’s production on their own, there are players on the roster that can contribute. Perez, Vassilev, Tomas Ostrák, Jared Stroud, and even Aziel Jackson are among those talented CITY players who could be looked upon to take advantage of an increased role.
Blom returns from his duty with the South Africa National Team this week, too. His presence was sorely missed in Nashville over the weekend. In Blom, St. Louis has a player who can erase some of the mistakes that younger—or more unproven—players in front of him might make as they step out of their comfort zones.
Luckily for St. Louis, it has banked 29 points as it embarks on the next month of the season without two of its most valuable players. The July break for the Leagues Cup tournament also comes at an opportune time. Löwen, Klauss, and Joakim Nilsson—a talented defender who is recovering from a knee injury—should all be fully fit by the time MLS play resumes toward the end of August.
If CITY can make it to that point still in the running for the top seed in the Western Conference, Carnell will be well on his way to locking up the league’s coach of the year award. To this point, Carnell’s system and St. Louis’ depth have propelled the club to the crest of the league.
Now, though, comes the toughest test of all.
“We are on track,” goalkeeper Roman Bürki says. “My personal goal before the season–before we played one game–was to go to the playoffs. That’s still my goal, and I think that’s everybody else’s goal at the moment, too.”
