51黑料

Cedric Teuchert is painfully aware of that.

The arrival of Jeong, who has been in the starting lineup in each of his first two games with the club, means someone is coming out, and that player has been Teuchert. Teuchert was tied for the team lead in goals last season with five, and he did it in 10 games while the players he was tied with, Klauss and Eduard Lowen did it in 27 and 23 games respectively.

Against Minnesota, Jeong鈥檚 first game, Teuchert came off the bench and played 12 minutes, the fewest he鈥檚 played when healthy since joining the team. Against Aston Villa, he came on with the second wave of players at halftime. It was then that he scored the team鈥檚 only goal, his first since May 14 after 10 games without one.

鈥淚 was not happy to start on the bench against Minnesota,鈥� Teuchert said. 鈥淚 was not happy playing not that many minutes, and I tried to show the coach that I鈥檓 here and so it goes and help the team.鈥�

The problem for Teuchert will be that with the team鈥檚 heavy investment in Jeong, and need to assimilate him into the team, he鈥檚 going to get playing time. Now, the team has an attacking corps that includes Klauss, Marcel Hartel, Celio Pompeu, Simon Becher and Xande Silva. The crunch has already hit Silva, who hasn鈥檛 played in the past two games, though interim coach David Critchley said not to read too much into that.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always good if you have more numbers in the team so nobody can sleep,鈥� Teuchert said. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 good for every team to have this. The games in training, I give my best to go back in the starting 11 with some good sessions, scoring some goals in the training sessions, in the game (Wednesday). I want to keep the decision hard for the coaches, and I want to start. It鈥檚 my place there.鈥�

Teuchert admits this season has had its frustrations.

鈥淚 think every striker is the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you go a couple weeks with no goal, and you score again, it鈥檚 like stones from the body and it feels really good. I think it was a good, good finish against a good team. So I鈥檓 very happy.鈥�

In Teuchert鈥檚 case, it was more than a couple of weeks. He scored the team鈥檚 first goal of the season, but he didn鈥檛 do a lot to get it, jumping on a misplayed corner kick by the Los Angeles Galaxy and putting the ball into an open net from a few feet out. His most recent goal prior to Aston Villa was a shot by Tomas Ostrak that caromed off his foot as he was trying to get out of the way and bounced into the net. Only his goal against LAFC on April 27 showed the touch he showed last season.

鈥淓very goal is good for me now,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut I hope I can keep going against Nashville.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檒l do a lot,鈥� Critchley said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a couple of individual meetings with Cedric. He鈥檚 been frustrated in himself that he鈥檚 not been scoring goals. He had a really good week. You go back to the Minnesota game, we start Sangbin, I think he feels that he has to have a good week to challenge Sangbin and challenge to get back on the starting 11. And (prior to Aston Villa) he had three or four good days on the training field. So to see him get rewarded with a goal was very good. So that鈥檚 the challenge I give him. That鈥檚 the challenge I give all the guys that aren鈥檛 in the starting 11, is make my job as hard as possible. And he鈥檚 gone and done that. So I鈥檓 happy that he鈥檚 doing that for me.鈥�

Teuchert made his debut with City SC just over a year ago, on July 20, 2024. He scored his first goal a week later, in a Leagues Cup match against Dallas. It was the first of seven goals in 10 days for him.

He鈥檚 enjoyed his first year in America, as has his wife and his two children, one 4 1/2, the other 1 1/2.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that I鈥檓 here. Of course, the last season when I was here was for me, personally, good, for the team it was good. And I mean, everybody can see it this season, we struggle. We struggle that we don鈥檛 get the points that we want. So ups and downs, but I think it鈥檚 normal in football, but we have to look forward and get these points.

鈥淚t鈥檚 perfect for me. My family is perfect. My wife, the kids feel good. I feel good. It鈥檚 a great team, great facility, great stadium. So we have everything we need to have a good life.鈥�

Nothing would make it better than scoring more goals.

Nilsson bought out

City SC has bought out the contract of defender Joakim Nilsson, who was viewed as a foundational player for the club but who because of injuries seldom got on the field.

The move opened a senior roster spot for City SC, and his salary will not count against the club鈥檚 salary cap for 2025.

Nilsson appeared in only 33 of 88 MLS games for City SC over 2 1/2 seasons, mostly because of knee and hamstring issues. This season, he played in just six games, starting two. His last appearance was on April 5, when he started and came out after 26 minutes with an injury against Sporting Kansas City.

鈥淛oakim has been a true professional throughout his time in 51黑料,鈥� said sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel in a statement released by the club. 鈥淯nfortunately, injuries prevented him from contributing as much as he and the club would have liked. We thank him for his commitment both on and off the field and wish him and his family all the best moving forward.鈥�

Nilsson was the fifth player signed by City SC, on June 1, 2022, a veteran player who had been with the Swedish national team who was coming off three seasons in Germany and would be a defensive anchor for the team and make up part of the team鈥檚 spine. But he injured his knee shortly after signing while playing for the Swedish national team. The team hoped rest would get him back in shape for the inaugural season in 2023, but it didn鈥檛. Instead, he had surgery, which kept him out until Aug. 20 of that first season. He appeared in only eight regular-season games, plus one playoff game, that season.

He had surgery again after the 2023 season to clean up his knee but was able to play in 14 of the team鈥檚 first 17 games of 2024, though a rib injury suffered in practice in a collision with Nokkvi Thorisson kept him out of three and sharply limited his time in three others. He then missed 16 of 17 games with a hamstring injury and returned to play in the final four games of the season. He even got his wisdom teeth removed in hopes it would help his hamstrings.

鈥淚 just want the joy back,鈥� he said late in the season.

He did have his one shining moment with the team that season, scoring on a spectacular bicycle kick against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

鈥淢y first and my last,鈥� he said that night. 鈥淥ne hundred percent joy.鈥�

He was looking forward to this season 鈥� 鈥淚鈥檓 healthy, I鈥檓 back and I鈥檓 ready to go,鈥� he told the Post-Dispatch during training camp, after his first offseason without surgery since he joined the club 鈥� but he was on the receiving end of a hard tackle in the final preseason game and hurt his knee again, which led to the end of his time in 51黑料.

Teams are allowed to buy out two players鈥� contracts per season but have to do it before the close of the secondary buyout window, which comes on Aug. 21 this year. Nilsson鈥檚 contract had one more year on it after this one, with the club holding an option for the 2027 season.