In March 2022, roughly a year before St. Louis CITY SC joined Major League Soccer, Taylor Twellman joined the chorus of onlookers puzzled by one of their first landmark signings.
The expansion team had acquired Swiss international goalkeeper Roman Bürki from German Bundesliga powerhouse Borussia Dortmund. A good player, no doubt. But the right player? That was up for debate.
"They made Roman Bürki the highest-paid goalkeeper in MLS history," the MLS Season Pass analyst recalled. "And I laughed and snarked at it thinking, 'Does Lutz Pfannenstiel know what he's doing?'"
The move bucked traditional thinking in MLS circles, with Twellman drawing an analogy to the Philadelphia Union's three-time Goalkeeper of the Year award winner.
"Andre Blake is the only real exception to the rule that you should pay a goalkeeper in a salary-cap structure with dollars that are better spent on the goal-getters, the show-stoppers, the playmakers," Twellman said.
But Twellman's admission early into 2024? He was dead wrong.
Take last weekend, when St. Louis CITY's captain produced six saves in a 3-3 draw at the LA Galaxy. Repeatedly, he came up huge at Dignity Health Sports Park.
"From the moment Roman Bürki showed up in the Midwest, he's been nothing short of spectacular," Twellman said. "The 2023 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year has continued that form into 2024, and I would argue maybe even better.
"His performance vs. the LA Galaxy was the best I've seen from him, which is actually saying something. The six timely saves he made allowed St. Louis to hang on by a thread. And that thread turns into what? A center back scoring a bicycle kick."
Last year, performances like that helped St. Louis top the Western Conference in record-setting fashion and qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. That's set a high bar, all as Bürki chases a GKotY and Best XI presented by Continental Tire repeat.
"St. Louis, they don't win the West without Roman Bürki and they sure as hell don't leave LA with a point if he's not standing on his head," Twellman said. "He's always on his head. The man is ridiculous."
Bürki and St. Louis resume play on Saturday, hosting D.C. United on Matchday 6 (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
