ST. LOUIS — St. Louis City SC has named its sporting director.
The team secured German Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel to lead the club’s on-field operations.
He will be responsible for building St. Louis City’s sporting department and establishing the team’s academy program to set the foundation for a competitive and winning soccer culture within the club to build upon St. Louis’ history as America’s First Soccer Capital, according to a press release from the team.
Pfannenstiel has 30-plus years of international experience in soccer as a player, chief scout, coach and director. He has experience building competitive teams at the highest levels of international soccer. His latest position was with Fortuna Dusseldorf of Germany’s top soccer division, the Bundesliga, where he was the club’s sporting director and part of its managing board.
“Lutz brings an unrivaled level of international soccer expertise to our club that will not only help establish, but maintain a culture that brings championship-level soccer to the St. Louis region,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, CEO of St. Louis City SC. “We cannot wait for him get started as we welcome him to one of the best sports cities in the country!”
According to a press release from the team, he received offers from some of Europe’s top clubs after his departure from Düsseldorf, but instead, chose to move to St. Louis City SC in Major League Soccer.
“I was attracted by the opportunity to create this club from the ground up,” said Pfannenstiel. “Once I got to know the ownership group and their character and commitment to this project, I knew it was the place I wanted to be. In a very short period of time, I have already started to fall in love with this city.
“I have played, coached and managed soccer across the world and have a firm understanding of what it takes to win and compete at the highest level” continued Pfannenstiel. “I’m confident that we will be able to build a club deep in talent, from the youth to professional level, and be competitive on a yearly basis. Our goal will be to develop homegrown talent and identify and pursue international players to build a club that is diverse, highly competitive and proudly represents the St. Louis region.”