St. Louis City SC fired sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel following nearly two seasons of lackluster performances, the club announced on Monday.
Club president and GM Diego Gigliani, along with technical director John Hackworth, will run the sporting side of the organization on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is hired in St. Louis.
“These decisions are never easy and with the legacy Lutz built during his time here, he will always be part of the extended CITY family,” said Gigliani. “From the very beginning, Lutz has shown real passion and commitment for this project and the foundation he established was integral to the club’s historic first season.
“As we enter the next phase of the club’s long-term plan to lift up the region and help both the team and St. Louis achieve its potential, the next five years will be extremely important and believe a change in sporting leadership will help in the club’s pursuit of its goals,” continued Gigliani. “Unfortunately, we’ve struggled to create sporting stability and haven’t been able to meet the expectations of our owners or our fans, despite increasing our investment in the squad consistently.”
Pfannenstiel was one of the organization’s first hires, coming on board in 2020. Over the next two-and-a-half years, the well-travelled German, who has played for or managed over 30 clubs, put together a side that got off to a red-hot start during the team’s inaugural season in 2023, winning the Western Conference regular season crown.
But the subsequent campaigns were not nearly as successful. St. Louis failed to reach the postseason in 2024, which cost manager Bradley Carnell his job.
The 2025 season has witnessed similar struggles. Olaf Mellberg was hired as manager in preseason, but lasted just 17 games into the campaign after posting a record of 3-9-5 (W-L-D), a development that reflected poorly on Pfannenstiel.
Matters haven’t improved under interim manager David Critchley. St. Louis is currently in 14th place in the 15-team Western Conference with a record of 5-16-6.
