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When Olof Mellberg was named the coach of City SC, Rasmus Alm and Joakim Nilsson didn’t need to do any research about their new Swedish boss. He was part of their childhoods.

“When I grew up and you watched the national team, he was always the captain,� Alm said. “That’s where you started to know about him. Then when he played in all the teams he played in, I can’t say that I watched every game, but you always knew about him that he was a good player. When he started coaching, everybody knows about him. He’s done a great job in his former teams.�

“I grew up watching the Swedish national team,� said Nilsson, like Mellberg a center back, “and obviously he’s on my position, I’ve seen him in the national team, and also where he’s been playing in his clubs. Seeing him as an appreciated man and a player on the Swedish national team, he was obviously somebody I always enjoyed watching. He gave everything to his team, whether it was his club or the national team. I remember him being a tough center back, on the limits always of being too rude, but also you could see very professional. He was a tough guy to play against.�

Now that player they watched when they were kids is their boss, which means a whole new perspective.

“It’s fun to have a former center back as coach right now,� Nilsson said. “He’s trying to make inputs on how he wants center backs to play. Obviously that helps a lot, he has a clear idea of how he wants to use us.�

“Been very good, very structured,� Alm said from the team’s camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. “Very clear of the idea he wants to bring. So far, so good.�

Regardless of who is the coach and where he’s from, Alm and Nilsson are looking for better seasons in 2025. Nilsson’s first two seasons in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ have been derailed by injuries; in 2024, he missed 18 games because of a rib and two hamstring injuries and played the full 90 minutes in just nine games. Alm missed 17 MLS games after sports hernia surgery before the season and then a knee sprain in season.

As training camp starts its third week, Nilsson says he’s feeling great, while Alm didn’t take part in the team’s preseason opener on Saturday to take it easy on his knee. He expects to join practice in full on Monday and be ready by opening day.

“Trying to be a little bit smarter about it and not go 100% the first week,� Alm said. “We are trying to be smart and ease me into trainings and take it from there. It doesn’t hurt now. I will probably feel it for a while. I don’t want to go from zero to 100%. Ease into things and see how my body reacts. I think it will be fine.�

For Nilsson, this season marks the first time he isn’t starting a City SC camp coming off surgery. A knee injury he suffered just before joining City SC required surgery before the first season and then a cleanup procedure before the second. While he was one of the first players to sign with the team, he’s played in only 26 of the club’s 68 games.

“I feel really good,� he said. “I’m healthy, I’m back and I’m ready to go. Had a good November, December to get as good as possible in cold, snowy Sweden. I’m here, I’m enjoying the time with the guys. Obviously the body is sore, which it should be, like in general, it’s hard for everyone. I’m happy that I feel good right now. It’s important, especially for me, going into season to get a good preseason.�

While Nilsson was expected to be a key part of the team’s initial “spine,� the group of players sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel signed to play down the middle of the field, his injuries have caused Pfannenstiel to have protection against another injury for Nilsson.

In the offseason, City SC signed Timo Baumgartl, a center back who had played in the German second division. The team previously had acquired Henry Kessler in a trade for Tim Parker last season. City SC’s preferred formation in its first two seasons has been with two center backs, though Mellberg said the team would look at playing with three center backs in training camp to be ready if that’s a better alternative.

“We got a lot of options, and I think that’s a key to getting better as a team,� Nilsson said. “That means we have to push each other every training to show you are the one who is supposed to be playing. Obviously now with Timo coming in and Henry from last year is going to give us depth in the roster, which is good. Timo has a lot of experience — that will be good for us. At the end, it’s Olof’s choice but we have to perform. I like it. That’s how it’s supposed to be. I think that will drive us forward to just get better.�

Alm and Nilsson aren’t expecting any favors from their coach because he’s Swedish, even if they, literally, speak the same language.

“It’s a little bit easier with language,� Alm said, “but he is here to win games, so it doesn’t matter as a player where you come from. His job is to win games and hopefully that’s what we’re going to do.�

“I don’t think the nationality is the most important,� Mellberg said. “The quality is important.�