From superfan Jack Harlow to the Euro pipeline: Meet Louisville City FC, one of American soccer’s hidden gems

Louisville City FC could soon enter the conversation as one of the most consistently successful clubs in the annals of American soccer history, joining the likes of Seattle Sounders, New York Cosmos, LA Galaxy and D.C. United.

LouCity would still need a few more years of success to reach that status, but for those uninitiated in USL Championship, this is one of the hidden gems in soccer, with a fervent fan base and a strong pipeline to Europe.

The club has reached postseason play every year of its existence since beginning play in 2015. It has also advanced to at least the semifinals of the playoffs in every year as well, winning it all in 2017 and 2018.

LouCity became the first team in USL history to play in three consecutive USL Cup Finals and to win back-to-back USL Cups. Their success has been unprecedented in American soccer. 

Coached by Danny Cruz, Louisville City have gotten off to another strong start this season winning all three of their matches so far while conceding only one goal. Hosting Indy Eleven on Saturday, April 6, soccer in the Derby City will be on full display on CBS at 4 p.m. ET. Cruz took the reigns in Lousiville in 2021 following being an assistant coach and technical director since 2018. He had an extensive playing career in MLS and retired in 2017. 

From Grammy-nominated rapper Jack Harlow being a regular attendee at games to the entire community getting behind both Lousiville City and NWSL side Racing Louisville, the city is standing out as a gem among the American soccer market. That means that pressure is high for Cruz, but as he told CBS Sports, “Nobody is going to put more pressure on me than I already put on myself.”

“[Harlow] is an incredible supporter of the city of Louisville, the state of Kentucky. It’s been a lot of fun to have him at our games, he’s a big supporter of this organization,” Cruz said. “You also look at his buy-in in the community has been tremendous, he doesn’t forget where he’s come from and I think that becomes really important but it’s been a joy to have him, to see him celebrating the goals this weekend, it was awesome.”

Behind the hot scoring of Wilson Harris, the youngest player ever to score 50 USL Championship goals, Lousiville City are reinventing themselves to stay ahead of the curve. 

“Wilson is a huge part of how we want to play and what we try to do every single day here. I think the most important thing that people forget is he has been a consistent goal scorer year in and year out and I don’t truly believe he gets the credit that he deserves,” Cruz said on building a team behind Harris. “He’s reliable, he’s a kid who works hard every single day, he’s a part of our leadership group for a reason and I feel really good about the person that he is.

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“My belief is that his work-rate defensively and with the ball puts him in a position to score a lot of goals. He’s someone that I can trust, who wants to be the best and do everything that he can to push himself to be better every day. So I want to see him continue to grow, want to continue to see him put himself in a position where he can continue to challenge himself whether that’s here or elsewhere, but I think he’s one of the most reliable nines that I’ve been around.”

That focus on the holistic player is one of the things that consistently keeps Louisville at the top of its game. Bringing in guys who fit the club and then doing the best they can to help them improve. It’s a sign of a leadership group that’s on the same page about what’s done and when looking at how Louisville makes signings, it’s a unique, cohesive approach. 

“It starts with a collective buy-in from everybody in the organization. From our ownership group to our president to our first team coaches to our academy directors and our academy players, you know? The community is completely bought into what we’re doing,” Cruz said. “We have nothing but support from them and my hope would be that the community would also tell you that we try to do everything that we can to make sure that we’re getting out to the community and supporting them as well. When you look at how we operate on a daily basis, it truly is a holistic approach where everybody’s trying to push everybody to be better every day in all facets of the club from on the field to off the field.”

In conjunction with club president James O’Connor, Cruz discusses player signings and the direction of the club but O’Connor, having sat in Cruz’s seat previously as head coach of Louisville City, provides him with a unique perspective of managing things.

O’Connor got the success rolling coaching Louisville when they started play in 2015 before heading to Orlando City in 2018. But he returned to Lousiville to assist with launching Racing Lousiville and the Lousiville City youth academy. It says a lot about a club’s ethos to have someone like O’Connor return but after speaking with Cruz about their relationship and soccer in the city, it’s easy to see why a return would be enticing. 

“He’s someone who pushes me to want to be better every day and when we go through the roster at the end of the season, it’s constant communication on what we feel we need to improve in order to go win a championship,” Cruz said on his relationship with O’Connor. “I appreciate the relationship that I have with him, I think it’s a good counterbalance to make sure that I’m thinking deeply about some of the decisions that I do make and we both want the same thing and that’s to win a championship.

“He can relate, he knows the feelings that go on in the manager’s head when you just lost a game, he knows I know we’re aligned on how we see the same, how we want to play and how we see Louisville City,” Cruz continued. “We both have a a passionate love for this club, this city, in this game, and so I feel we push one another to be better. James pushes me and I know he feels that I push him but I think it’s really healthy for growth and to get to a place where you’re improving as a group and individually as well.”

When you have a connection like that at the top of the club, it’s only natural that it would filter down to the club culture under them. It’s something special with how Louisville does things and it doesn’t stop with the first team. The academy is also making waves with Jonathan Gomez and Joshua Wynder both securing big moves abroad to Real Sociedad and Benfica, respectively, in recent years. Being able to improve from within and externally will ensure that there are always players pushing for starts to keep those in front of them sharp, a great luxury of talent to have. 

Expectations couldn’t be higher in Louisville but that’s a good thing as their results so far call for them to be sky high. Cruz and everyone around the club are pushing the right buttons to continue hitting those expectations as well with Saturday’s match against Indy Eleven as the latest chance to make a statement.