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From the “Yellow Wall” to the small, 5,000-seat Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia. It is home to the Whitecaps 2, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team. Roman Bürki is a guest with the St. Louis CITY SC development team. The stadium could hardly be more different from Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, and yet it is where Bürki finds himself on a hot, sunny August afternoon.
The long-time BVB goalkeeper switched to St. Louis on a free transfer this summer. The Missouri team will join Major League Soccer starting in the 2023 season but already has a team in MLS Next Pro, a developmental league similar to farm leagues in other North American professional sports. For St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell and sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, the league is a welcome way to put together a team that can be immediately competitive in MLS. Part of the project is that the newcomers Bürki, João Klauss, Tomas Ostrak, Eduard Löwen, Joakim Nilsson, Selmir Pidro and Isak Jensen are now gaining game practice there until they can continue to profile level in about six months.
Klauss, Ostrak and Bürki traveled to Canada’s west coast to play for St. Louis CITY 2 against the Whitecaps 2 in Swangard. “The atmosphere is a bit like in Switzerland,” says Bürki with a big smile on his face when asked by Transfermarkt.us about the atmosphere in the stadium.
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Swangard, a small multipurpose stadium on the outskirts of town, was long home to the Whitecaps before the club moved to the more modern BC Place in downtown Vancouver after the 2010 Olympics. Swangard is primarily used for amateur football and smaller sporting events. Although the stadium is beautifully situated in an expansive green space, it is a far cry from the facilities that St. Louis’ European pros have experienced in their careers.
For Bürki, the game against the second team of the Whitecaps this afternoon is one with ups and downs. In the first half, the Swiss goalkeeper made a few mistakes and conceded the only goal. In the second round he comes into play better, dominates the penalty area, is sometimes far in front of his own goal and initiates several attacks. It’s a taste of what St. Louis CITY SC can expect from their keeper. The games also give Bürki a chance to come to terms with his teammates ahead of his debut MLS season. Previous expansion teams didn’t have this option. Most used the USL or the now-defunct NASL as a platform to launch their MLS team.
The MLS Next Pro allows St. Louis City to acclimate its newcomers to North American realities, particularly to travel that spans multiple time zones and different climate zones: from the mountainous West Coast to the Texas desert. “It’s an important process for us to be ready for the next MLS season,” says Bürki.
For Carnell, the formation of the second team now is a key part of building his side for the coming season. The future head coach took the time to chat with Transfermarkt.us before the game and, among other things, pointed out the importance of developing a consistent style of play. This is already clear when you observe St. Louis City SC 2 today. In attack, Klauss is the man for the goals and plays directly in front of the dynamic playmaker Ostrak.
We may say syrup differently, but we can all agree it tastes better after a win pic.twitter.com/Y1RhgaTIfF
— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) August 15, 2022
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“MLS will be a good league for me. It’s very physical and you get involved in a lot of duels, which is very good for me. I know the way the team wants to play, the system, and that makes me very excited,” says Klauss when asked by TM. The Brazilian striker was signed by TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in 2017 and has played successfully on loan in Finland, Austria and Belgium.
When Klauss and Ostrak come on in the second half, you can take a look into the future. Essentially, the goalscorer will act like a classic target player that Bürki or one of the defenders is looking for quickly with long balls. Klauss should then hold them and give fast players like Ostrak the opportunity to join the storm and take the opponent by surprise.
Ostrak will be an important part of the team. The Czech Under-21 playmaker could have stayed in Germany but chose MLS to take the next step in his development. The 22-year-old scored a goal from Klauss just moments after coming on. “It’s the position I like,” says the Brazilian. “I like to play as a target player, a real number nine. Sometimes I also like to drift onto the wing to play a pass or create space. But I feel most comfortable in the middle.”
Klauss and Bürki are the big names on the field in Swangard. But some other players also stand out – Max Schneider, for example. The 22-year-old came from Marshall University and once played for Bayer Leverkusen in his youth. The “six” lacks a bit of speed, which is probably why he didn’t make it into the Leverkusen first team. However, scouts believe that the midfielder could develop in a similar way to Julian Gressel. After a successful college career, he became an MLS star and now plays for the Whitecaps. However, in order for Schneider not to claim a foreigner’s place, he must be given a green card – or be persuaded to play another season in the MLS Next Pro.
There are other interesting players in St. Louis’ MLS Next Pro roster that could feature in the next MLS season. These players, along with the seven foreigners already signed – two more are said to be on the way – and Jared Stroud, who is due to join from Austin FC in the winter, suggest that a large part of the team is already in place.
“This is like summer preparation,” Bürki said when asked how important it was to develop the team now. “I try to do my best and help the younger players to develop. It’s a lot of fun.” Klauss agrees: “It’s all part of the process. It’s a new club. They decided that we play these games and they are important for the young players that we have. We are here to help them.”
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