ST. LOUIS – The historic start lives on for St. Louis CITY SC. Through its first five games, CITY SC is the only MLS franchise to start its debut season with a perfect 5-0 record.
Depending on who you ask, CITY SC’s start likely comes to some degree of surprise. St. Louis leads the entire MLS with a plus-11 goal differential, remains the only team that has yet to lose or settle for a draw in the opening month, and has drawn enthusiastic sold-out crowds to its first two home matches.
Though early, the surge of CITY SC is one of the better success stories for an expansion team in recent U.S. sports history. Soccer fans outside of St. Louis have taken notice, including one sports columnist highlighting the start with some humor.
Sam Fels of Deadspin.com published an article Monday titled “Who the [four-word expletive] are St. Louis City SC and who the [same expletive] do they think they are?”
Though the title could be interpreted in many ways, Fels generally praises CITY SC for taking advantage of their early first-season opportunities. He jokes that the MLS can feel like a Ponzi scheme for new teams, and most tend to “eat it” in their inaugural season.
“St. Louis City SC have decidedly said, ‘[Four-word expletive] that noise,’” writes Fels.
The column explains that the talent gap between most non-top teams is closer than most think. Fels also says the best teams have a system and tactics that “every single player buys into.” He argues both hold true for CITY SC, even through some early leaning curves.
Fels also highlights the accomplishments of Klauss, Eduard Löwen, John Nelson and Roman Bürki in CITY SC’s strong start. Klauss is second in goals already with five. Löwen is tied for the most assists in the league with four. Nelson ranks among the league’s Top 5 in tackles with 11. Bürki has started all five games in net and now has two clean sheets on the year.
St. Louis returns home for its third home match next Saturday, April 1 against Minnesota United FC. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.