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Mellberg Happy With Florida Camp

New Gaffer Looking Forward to Further Growth in California

by Jeremy Clements
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St. Louis City Head Coach Olof Mellberg and Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel spoke to the media on Friday ahead of the team’s departure for California next week. The duo fielded a variety of questions including many about the first stage of the preseason camp in Florida last week.

“It’s been a good camp.”, Mellberg said. “Playing hard, training hard; we were very heavy in the first game. We struggled a little bit; especially our attacking wasn’t good enough. We worked on our freshness for the second game and played really well. So overall, they worked hard physically and tactically and I’m pleasantly surprised how well things have worked so far.”

The club finished their two-game trip in the Sunshine State with a 1-1 record which included a 0-1 loss against New England Revolution in the opener before closing the trip with a 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls on Wednesday afternoon.  The mixed results over the first nine camp were likely a result of some of the intense training according to the head coach.

“We trained a lot in the days before that”, he said. “A few double sessions just before that game.” But he’s optimistic given the way the team bounced back in the second match. “Especially in the last game we played against New York Red Bulls you could really see the energy. I think when everything comes together and they really understand the way we want to play with intensity and what means that for us; we really saw some good signs of that against Red Bulls and in training as well.”

City does have a few new faces heading into camp other than Mellberg and his staff. The club brought in center back Timo Baumgartl and winger Conrad Wallem during the winter transfer window; which Pfannenstiel feels will add to the positive energy they have seen in the first few weeks of preseason.

“The vibe is always good, said Pfannenstiel. “There’s always new players,  now we also have a new coach. It’s now time for Olof to get to know the players more by detail. Not just by from the footballing style, but also from a personality; the way they behave on and off the pitch. Everyone has to prove themselves.”

The final four games of the preseason for City should present a clearer picture of who Mellberg feels should be his starting eleven. The first two matches featured plenty of rotation as the team evaluates players not only in specific formations but within different roles and positions on the pitch. Pfannenstiel reiterated Friday that Mellberg will make that final decision.

“Olof needs to make the picture of the best eleven”, he said. “If Olof thinks the best eleven are eleven completely different people than played last year so be it. Every training is important for everyone to show themselves and with four games to go I think the players need to be willing to win. I think we are reenforcing that now with more competition for every place and it’s very important for a training camp to use that time to really fight for your place; give your first and best impression and try to be a starter.”

Within his squad, Mellberg values players who have diverse skill sets which means some experimentation could still be on the table before we ultimately see the starting line up take shape.

“I think it’s important that they [players] can play at least a couple of positions”, Mellberg said. “We are trying that in training and in games. We don’t have that much time, so it’s a balance. We want to try players a in few different positions but it’s also important to start building relationships within the team in the positions we mainly think they are going to play in.”

The final weeks of camp will be crucial for a few of the players hoping to make a positive impression as Rasmus Alm, Tomáš Ostrák, Chris Durkin, Célio Pompeu and Jake Girwood Reich all work their back to fitness. City’s newest signing, Conrad Wallem has also yet to join the team but Pfannenstiel assured reporters on Friday that he would be ready for the Coachella Valley Invitational.

In addition to determining the starting squad, City will also look to improve their performance in the final third in the final weeks of camp. St. Louis saw its’ total goals scored decrease from 62 to 50 over the clubs’ first two seasons; both of which included lengthy absences by striker Joāo Klauss; who occupies one of three Designated Player slots on the roster.  Mellberg indicated they have a way to go in that process during the next camp.

“The first game was not good. It was actually quite bad from an attacking perspective”, Mellberg said. “In the second game, our attack was really good. We should have scored at least a couple of more goals in those first 45 minutes against Red Bulls. It’s still preseason so we have a lot work left to do in the technical stuff and movement in the final third to become even more sharp.”

The club will kick off action at the Coachella Valley Invitational from February 5th through 12th with matches against Real Salt Lake, Austin FC, New York City FC before taking part in a closed door friendly against San Jose on February 15th.  The regular season begins February 22nd with a match at Energizer Park against Colorado.

 

 

 

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Taking his passion for soccer and St. Louis to the next level, Jeremy aims to provide analytical coverage of all this St. Louis City SC.

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