2024 MLS Preview: St. Louis City | Morning Footy | CBS Sports Golazo
n top of the Western Guard. Do me like that. Things breaking all kinds of records. Look at this. Most wins by an expansion teams with seven team. They were the first expansion team to win the first five matches of the season. But what are they going to do in year two? It’s going to be a tough act to follow. I sat down with MLS goalkeeper of the Year Roman Burki ahead of the 2024 season. Here it is. Congratulations on a pretty remarkable first season in in MLS. Um I know it didn’t end the way that
you guys wanted to, but when you think about what Saint Louis has achieved in in year one, um, what would you say your the most proud of? Uh I would say, uh, the whole effort we put in, you know, during the whole season, obviously we were a little bit inexperienced. Um, then when it comes to the end in the playoffs, but, um, the effort and the work we put in throughout the whole season, uh, is, is one thing we can be really proud of. I think you were a team that sort of defied expectations. The
entire way. You know, like from a media perspective, I think there was a lot of people that like, well, just wait. It’s going to, you
underdogs to now, the ones with sort of a target on your back? Yeah we had to adjust already, like in like during last season, you know, like we knew that once we were in first place in the Western Conference that we are the guys like the team that is chased, you know, everyone wanted to be or a lot of teams wanted to be on our position. And, um, so we try to adjust. We try to present us, um, in the games as, as a leader, as, as the, the number one in the, in the western
and uh, I would say almost throughout the whole regular season, we, we did a really good job. But um, towards the end, we, we lost a few games and I would say that was then a little bit like we had no energy anymore. You know, maybe we invested too much into that regular season and didn’t we didn’t really think about that. The playoffs, we knew we were going to make the playoffs. But every one was talking about records. We can break. You know, we can still break this record. We can be the first. We can
win the Western, and then we put so much effort and energy in into these goals that I would say towards the end of the regular season and then the playoffs, we are just not that fresh anymore. Um It’s really interesting what he had to say at the end of that interview, you talking about kind of the end of the season and sort of that, that late season, I don’t want to say collapse that they had because they, they did win the Western Conference. But the early exit in, in the playoffs and maybe they were tired,
maybe they, they put too much energy into the regular season. So Charlie, last season when we talked about Saint Louis, we talked about all the things that they did right, especially leading up to this season. You know, just the from the front office, the roster build, Bradley Carnell as the coach. When you look at what they accomplished in in year one in what do you think is the biggest factor contributing to the success that they had, and is there a danger to that? Uh, you know, it was almost like expectations are now set too high.
No, I think Bradley Carnell did an incredible job at establishing an identity and getting them to play to their max potential with the press, the high press, the intensity and the counter press. They were very difficult to play against because they swarmed you and then Joel Klaus stood near finished every chance he had. He was that good. And then when you saw him get injured, we thought, okay, this is it. They caught lightning in a bottle and it was going to go. It was going to be done. But the style of play carried them through,
missing a massive part of their team and in the end of the at the end of the season, he still got back. He scored five goals in the last seven matches. So he’s still caught fire. But I think individually, defensively is where they struggled. The 1V1 breakdown, if they ever got isolated, you felt like this is when they were going to give up opportunities and that’s when teams capitalize on them, whether they were forced to break down opponents as teams would sit down and say, okay, break us down and then we’re now we’re going to
counter you and you start to see teams trying to figure out how to break down Saint Louis. And in the end, I think it started to work against them because they had the target on their back. And now teams were changing the way they played. Do you think that was a contributing factor, that they were just gassed at the end of the season? Um maybe a little towards the middle of the season? I would have said that. But at the end of the year, no, I don’t think being tired because you’re chasing the glory of
winning MLS Cup, you’re chasing history and they had an incredible season. I don’t think fatigue played a role in in their their downfall. In the end I think yeah, Sporting Kansas I think sporting Kansas City caught heat at the right time. It’s a rivalry. He they they understood how to come together and defend and play to their strengths. And Saint Louis got stretched a little bit and Peter Vermes with the experience Bradley Carnell I think it was a very important year for Bradley. Carnell not only to just establish the team and the identity and the
crowd and get everyone on the same page, but I think you learned a lot about individuals. You learned about a lot about the team and the league. Being the head coach for a full season for Saint Louis. And now this is the year to follow up. This is the tough what you’re saying that that next act that Saint Louis is going to have to put together. Now there are expectations they surpassed. They not only did they surpass they they shattered any expectations that we had of them. And again, credit to Bradley Carnell’s. It was an
incredible job not only to Bradley Carnell, to the institution of the franchise as a whole, how to come in prepared. They. They dotted all their eyes. They crossed all their t’s going into the season. And I think the end product on the field, it all trickled down from an institution that was built with the right pillars and they had an incredible season. And now the expectations are set. And by the way, I want to give you credit for that Roman Burki interview, because it was not an isolated interviews and you were kind of just like
in a room that we got to Susan’s kind of just like chilling in the darkness. And it’s like Seuss. Seuss, Roman Burki is coming into the room. A light came on and Seuss and Seuss just okay. That’s exactly. I sat down, no prep, and it was a great interview because you are MLS Nico. Was that your stormtrooper walk? No Stormtrooper is a little bit more rigid. She walked in. She walked in with so much grace, so much grace out there. Like sweating it all that sweet MLS guru number one. Oh, I love this league. Let’s
take a look at the projected 11 for Saint Louis City heading into this season. Uh Zhao was up there ten goals for them last season. He spent a lot of time being injured as well. Um, but you saw the production that they had from him while he was on the pitch. The big loss for me, uh, Charlie, is gioacchini who also scored ten goals for them. They were their two top goal scorers. So So where where does that production come from and how how do you do you see this being I don’t know, just a
good way for them to, to make up for that offensive production. Yeah I think again Zhao Klaus has to be healthy for the full season. I think Bradley Carnell has to make sure that, you know, no muscular injuries come up for Zhao Klaus because he is going to be central. He’s he’s such a gifted goal scorer. Um, and then you’re talking about ways that they influence the game last year, whether it’s off of set pieces, whether it’s off the press, everyone has to contribute and Leuven was fantastic off his set piece deliveries. Um out of
midfield. This is a team that is in sync with one another. They know their strengths and they’re going to have to take it up a whole nother notch, because teams are knowing what to expect when you go up against Saint Louis. So for Saint Louis, what do you think is success for them in year two? Because they’ve won the Western Conference, you know, is it is it simply is it getting to the playoffs? Is it winning playoff games? Is it getting to a conference final. You know, what do you think their measuring stick is? Christine
I think it’s more challenging now because statistically it’s more challenging to replicate what you’ve already done. I think that a lot of their success this season came from the fact that they weren’t focused on winning. They were focused on defining their system, choosing the right players, cultivating the proper culture. They had such a consistent fan following, which also contributed. They came up with beautiful tifos, which I think their average attendance for matches over was somewhere in the 20 around 25 K, I think they did everything right and that all led to their success, including obviously
their coach as a first time coach. I think getting all of that nailed down was what created the wins. Not necessarily focusing on the wins. Now, I think that pivot changes the way you perceive how you’re playing, because now you know what you have. You have a package, you have an identity, you have a style of play. How do you improve upon what you have? Have? And I think that, um, it’s going to be more of the team gelling together and, and probably a little bit more depth because I think that just figuring out what
you need, when you need it and dividing your play up now, going forward will be more of a challenge for them. And Bradley Carnell, you got to have like a bulletin board in the locker room because a lot of it’s psychology with this group and any managing any team, have them chase something be better than you were last year. So the ultimate goal is to win a playof
