That whole bit about pain being good because it means growth will follow ... yeah, that’s easy to swallow when it’s somebody else’s pain.
When the sting is yours, it hits differently. It comes with any number of a variety of side effects such as regret, anger and bitterness. Then again, sometimes that sting yields increased focus and motivation.
It’s still early to have a great read on the situation, but أغر؟´«أ½ City SC sounds and feels like a team that used the sting of a disappointing 2024 season as a driving force heading into 2025. Meaningful games won’t begin for another couple of weeks, so assessing the club’s collective psyche is a highly inexact science.
However, there are encouraging signs. The primary sign? Change. If you’re someone who clamors for reshuffling when you don’t get the desired results, then City SC put plenty of bait on the hook for you.
The club has been reshuffled in multiple ways after it finished 12th out of 14 teams in the MLS Western Conference in 2024.
The roster shakeup began last season, in part due to injuries. City SC went from 29th in payroll at the start of the season to 21st by the end of the season according to MLS Players Association figures. They took advantage of the summer transfer window and also signed players from City2. They added more players this summer than any other MLS club.
Then, this winter, City SC made the change that had been in the queue for several months. They hired Olof Mellberg as the club’s new head coach. A former Swedish player who’d had success coaching there, he’s currently overseeing his first training camp with the club.
Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel left the door wide open for more change in regard to lineups and the club’s internal pecking order.
“It doesn’t matter how long you are here,†Pfannenstiel said last week at City SC’s media day. “Everyone needs to prove themselves completely new. ... If the best 11 are 11 completely different people than played last year, so be it. It’s a competition. It’s a fight.â€
One player who has as much security in his place on the team as anyone, , appreciates the idea of change after what he described as a “very long†offseason.
City SC folded up its tent at the end of the regular season in October, forced to watch the playoffs from afar one year after they’d played into November and played in the MLS playoffs in the club’s inaugural season.
An 8-13-13 record in 2024 provided plenty of sting for Burki, and he views the roster shakeup as beneficial.
“At one point (it was) the injuries that we had — we had key players injured for a longer period of time,†Burki said of his takeaways from last season. “Then we also were lacking more (creativity) in how we want to play, what we are going to do on the field. The (creativity) that you have to have to beat teams.
“Maybe also soccer intelligence sometimes was lacking on our part. Now, obviously, with the players that we got — experienced players that played in Bundesliga — that’s definitely something really good that helps us.â€
Burki, the team captain, gained prominence playing in the Bundesliga earlier in his career.
Striker echoed Burki’s sentiment that the offseason was a bit too long for his personal preference.
As Klauss reflected on 2024, his thoughts went immediately to the rough start. Changing that in 2025 has been a focus.
“Last season, we started pretty slow, we tied a lot of games and we lost a lot of points in the beginning,†Klauss said. “This is something that we have to improve this season. I think when we got warm during the season, it was already too late.â€
Last year, City SC went 3-2-7 from the start of the season through May 4 (12 total matches, 10 MLS, two CONCACAF).
Klauss scored 10 goals and registered four assists in 2023 in fewer games and fewer minutes than it took him to score five goals with three assists in 2024.
Klauss focused much of his offseason on training so he’d be in better condition at the start of preseason and into the start of the season.
He also expressed optimism about the different approach to the preseason under Mellberg, despite there still being some growing pains learning a new system and philosophy.
“In preseason, that’s the time you have to build physicality,†Klauss said. “You can build your physical conditions, and you can build your strengths. I think this was missing last year.
“This year, it has been very different. I think this year, we’re doing double what we were doing last year. It’s been very important for everybody.â€
From the roster to the coaching to the approach and the focus of some key returning players, City SC has the look of a team ready to turn the page and begin anew.
Right now, that’s the most encouraging sign they could give us.
