MSL club St. Louis City SC hires former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg as coach

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis City SC hired former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg as its coach Tuesday.

The 47-year-old Mellberg, who made more than 100 appearances for Sweden’s national team, will replace Bradley Carnell, who was fired by the MLS club in July. John Hackworth had been serving as interim manager and also was in the running for the full-time job.

Mellberg’s hiring is contingent upon receiving his visa.

“Olof has an incredible work ethic and reputation for being disciplined and detail-oriented,” St. Louis SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said. “His leadership qualities as a captain, both at the 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.”

St. Louis City made the MLS Cup playoffs in its inaugural season last year, but was just 8-13-13 in league play this season.

“It is a great opportunity here because of the amazing infrastructure and the direction that the organization has put in place,” Mellberg said in a statement. “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.”

Mellberg is best known for his time at Aston Villa, where he appeared in 232 matches. He also played for Juventus, Olympiakos, Villarreal and Copenhagen, along with the Swedish national team.

Mellberg began his coaching career in 2016 with Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna, leading the 80-year-old club to back-to-back promotions into Sweden’s top division. He also managed the Danish club BK Fremad Amager and Sweden’s Helsingborgs IF before rejoining Brommapojkarna in January 2023, where he had spent this past season.

“Across his four years as head coach of Brommapojkarna, he’s shown a consistent ability to outperform expectations,” St. Louis City general manager Diego Gigliani said. “His passion for developing young players, strong reputation in the market and prior playing experience at the elite level were all additional reasons we were convinced he was right for the role.”

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