St. Louis City announced Olof Mellberg as their new head coach on Tuesday.
Mellberg, 47, started his coaching career in 2016 in his home country of Sweden. He's since managed in both Sweden and Denmark, most recently leading Brommapojkarna to a 10th place finish in the 16-team Swedish first division. Prior to coaching, Mellberg played for Aston Villa, Juventus, and several other clubs while earning over 100 caps for Sweden at the international level.
He now joins St. Louis City, who fired their first-ever manager in Bradley Carnell in July and finished the 2024 campaign under interim manager John Hackworth en route to finishing 12th in the Western Conference.
“I am excited to join St. Louis as the head coach,” Mellberg said in a statement. “It is a great opportunity here because of the amazing infrastructure and the direction that the organization has put in place. I can’t wait to build upon the foundation already set here and the massive fan support that gives this team the energy to be successful.”
“Across his four years as head coach of Brommapojkarna, he’s shown a consistent ability to outperform expectations and get results," club president and GM Diego Gigliani said. "Furthermore, his passion for developing young players, strong reputation in the market and prior playing experience at the elite level of the sport were all additional reasons we were convinced he was right for the role.”
“Olof has an incredible work ethic and reputation for being disciplined and detail-oriented” sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “His leadership qualities as a captain, both at the highest club level and with his national team, will be key to managing our group. Olof’s ability to develop young talent was seen at his Swedish club and we can’t wait to see it translate here in St. Louis.”
Joe's perspective:
Mellberg doesn't have an especially impressive coaching resume, but Gigliani's comment about St. Louis City's new manager helping his last club outperform expectations is one to keep top of mind.
