Philadelphia Union today announced they have named Bradley Carnell as the fourth head coach in franchise history.
In his last role as head coach, the Johannesburg, South Africa native led CITY SC to become the 2023 Western Conference Champions with a 17-12-3 record, the first expansion team to win a conference regular season title and record 17 wins.
"Bradley has the attributes we were looking for in a manager and the experience needed as we commit to getting back to our identity as a team," said Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner. "With knowledge of both MLS and international markets, he is tactically astute and aligned with our sporting strategy. His approach emphasizes a high-press style of play while organizing a structured defense. Additionally, he shares the club's vision for developing players. We are confident he will bring a clear sporting philosophy that elevates the team and delivers a competitive season. We look forward to welcoming him to Philadelphia."
“I’m honored to be named Head Coach of the Philadelphia Union, and I would like to thank the Union ownership group and Ernst Tanner for their trust in me,” said Carnell. “Philadelphia is an amazing city, built on communities of hardworking and passionate people who truly love their soccer. I am excited for this opportunity to build upon an already solid foundation and aim to help raise the Union organization to the next level that our fans and city can be proud of.”
Carnell, 47, brings 10 years of professional coaching experience, including eight seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS). Most recently, he spent two seasons as manager of St. Louis CITY SC, the team’s inaugural head coach, after being named to the position in January 2022. He went 22-15-25 in 62 total regular season matches. St. Louis led the Western Conference and ranked third in the League with 62 goals and with a plus-17 goal differential during the 2023 campaign.
Prior to joining St. Louis, Carnell served as assistant manager and interim head coach with the New York Red Bulls from March 2017 to January 2022. As interim head coach from Sept. 5 to Nov. 19, 2020, Carnell went 6-3-5 in 14 matches to lead New York to their 11th straight postseason appearance and as an assistant manager, he helped guide the Red Bulls to the 2018 Supporters’ Shield.
Carnell began his coaching career as the head coach of the University of Johannesburg men’s team (2012-15) before serving as an assistant manager at Orlando Pirates (2016-17) and Free State Stars (2015-16) in South Africa.
The former defender played professionally for 18 years (1993-2011), making his debut at 16-years-old with Wits University in South Africa (1993-97). He most notably collected three goals and nine assists in 134 matches between VfB Stutgart (1998-2003) and Borussia Monchengladbach (2003-05), both part of Germany’s Bundesliga. He also played four seasons (2005-09) with Karlsruher SC and Hansa Rostock (2009-10) in Germany’s Bundesliga II, before making his final stop with Supersport United in South Africa (2010-11).
Internationally, Carnell represented South Africa in 42 national team appearances from 1997-2010, including three starts in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and four starts in the 2002 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
