St. Louis City SC Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel has revealed how former South African international Bradley Carnell landed the job at the newly formed MLS side, beating coaches that feature in the UEFA Champions League.
The former Kaizer Chiefs and Wits man was appointed in the position last year following stints as assistant and later interim coach at New York Red Bulls in 2021.
Pfannenstiel and Carnell know each other from their playing days in the Bundesliga and stayed in contact after hanging up their boots.
The 49-year-old St. Louis boss now revealed that there were about 300 applicants for the head coach job, many with European qualifications and experience, however, the South African stood out because he understood City’s philosophy.
“I mean, number one, I know Bradley since a long time. I know him as a player from the Bundesliga. So we know each other since a long time,” Pfannenstiel told iDiski Times in an exclusive interview.
“He somehow already as a player, he played for Ralf Rangnick, so he somehow as a player was already known to be a pit bull, to be that pressing player, that hard-working, like a never-give-up guy on his side as a defender, a guy who just put the extra work in.
“And when Bradley then worked for SuperSport, and I was often in South Africa, and then he worked for the University of Johannesburg, we still were in touch.
“And I am a coaching instructor for the German FA as well. I did have these possibilities to bring a few foreign guys into the courses in Germany, former professionals. So I chose actually Bradley and also Delron Buckley to come to that course, to make the [UEFA] B licence and Bradley was outstanding, he was so far ahead of everybody else in that course, that I always kind of kept on watching him.
“And it was, for me, a logical move that he will end up in a good first team first with Pirates and then actually at New York Red Bulls. When I came over he was the interim head coach for a while and he did really well.
“So for me, we had like around 300 guys apply for the job, and we had European guys, who coach in the Champions League and coach big national teams, and really big names, but Bradley was our first choice.
“He was the guy who lives and breathes our philosophy. That’s exactly what he is, it’s how we play. So it was an easy choice to go for Bradley Carnell.”
Carnell and new St. Louis signing Njabulo Blom will kick off their inaugural Major League Soccer campaign against Austin in the night from Saturday to Sunday.
You can read Pfannenstiel’s full interview with Kappel where he also discusses Njabulo Blom’s transfer to the club and his relationship with Kaizer Chiefs in edition 89 of the iDiski Times newspaper.
