St. Louis City sacks Olof Mellberg
St. Louis City have had an abysmal start to the MLS season. They sit 14th in the Western Conference with just two wins, five draws and eight defeats. Only the Los Angeles Galaxy have a worse record. This poor run of form has led St. Louis to sack their manager, Olof Mellberg. He has been replaced by the City2 (the club's MLS Next Pro team) manager, David Critchley, on an interim basis.
The club's sporting director, Lutz Pfannenstiel, said on St. Louis' official website, "The decision to part ways with Olof goes beyond just results. We’ve analyzed the team’s performance across a number of factors, including the need to execute against a style of play that led to the team’s initial success and has been part of our DNA for four years.
"As a club, we have certain standards we need to meet and believe a coaching change was necessary to improve our overall performance and return to a winning culture. Our fans deserve a better performing team, and we intend to give them one."
Mellberg arrived at St. Louis City ahead of this campaign from the Swedish side, IF Brommapojkarna. He succeeded with Brommapojkarna, winning the Superettan and the Division 1 Norra. However, he has not been able to translate this to MLS.
Carlos Vela retires from soccer
Carlos Vela had a good career in Europe with clubs including Real Sociedad and Arsenal before moving to MLS. He became a hero for Los Angeles FC, scoring 93 goals, with 54 assists in 189 games. Vela won MLS Cup with LAFC in 2022 but left the club two years later. The Mexican has been without a team since and has now retired from soccer.
LAFC announced on their official website that "Vela, 35, will remain with LAFC as the club’s first Black & Gold Ambassador and will be celebrated at BMO Stadium during Noche de Carlos Vela on Sept. 21 vs. Real Salt Lake."
LAFC were only founded in 2014, but they already have a legend in Vela. It is fantastic to see the club keep him on as an ambassador, where he will be a link between their past and future.
Sunusi Ibrahim linked with Wrexham
Wrexham have just been promoted to English soccer's second tier, the Championship. This means that the club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are just one step away from the Premier League.
The Red Dragons could sign an MLS player ahead of their upcoming season. GIVEMESPORT has reported that "Wrexham are leading the race to sign CF Montréal forward Sunusi Ibrahim. Montréal have received no bids for Ibrahim yet, who the club value in the region of $300,000 to $500,000.
"Several clubs are interested in the Nigerian forward, but Wrexham are thought to lead the race. Ibrahim is under contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027."
Ibrahim has played seven times in MLS for Montréal this season but is yet to score, make an assist or start a game. In total, the center-forward has scored 20 goals, with five assists in 102 games for the club. He has also represented Nigeria at senior level.