A dream season for Bradley Carnell ended a little prematurely over the weekend as his St Louis City faltered in the Major League Soccer playoffs and crashed out unexpectedly at the first hurdle.
But it does not detract from a remarkable first year for the new club from the midwest, who the former Bafana Bafana fullback took to the top of the table in the regular season and made into an immediate force in US soccer in their opening nine months of top-flight existence.
Carnell’s success in America follows what Pitso Mosimane achieved with Al Ahli in Egypt, winning a pair of Champions League titles, and is a major boost for ambitious South African coaches who might be setting their sights beyond the local market.
Certainly, the game in South Africa is always in need of good news and Carnell’s achievements this year have been a shining light.
St Louis City joined MLS this year, known as an expansion team, as the North American league continues to grow.
Carnell had been hired as coach 12 months before their official kick-off, at the start of 2022, and meticulously put together his side in preparation for the big kick-off. One of the last pieces of the puzzle was the signing in January of Njabulo Blom, who has gone on to become a stalwart for the side and proven his capabilities in MLS with the chance to go onto a club in Europe in the next years.
SUCCESS AS A PLAYER
Carnell was always going to be something special after debuting for Wits University just days after his 16th birthday – at that time, the youngest professional footballer ever in South Africa. He went on to play in the Bundesliga and won more than 40 caps for Bafana Bafana, returning home in the last of his playing days at SuperSport United.
Then he took on coaching at the University of Johannesburg, before working as an assistant at Free State Stars and Orlando Pirates. When the opportunity came, he snapped up a chance to join New York Red Bulls. Several years there as an assistant was followed by a stint as interim coach and a chance to show his ability, which he did not hesitate to make full use of.
St Louis took a gamble on him, given his inexperience, but he has proven the right fit and they set all sorts of records for a debut club. It included winning the Western Conference and going to the playoffs as one of the top seeds, plus qualifying for the Concacaf Champions League.
If he serves to inspire others in South Africa to broaden their horizons, then Carnell would have added another feather to his cap.