A win is a win ... until it isn't?
Head-scratching Leagues Cup results, plus Charlotte's interest in 22-year-old Spanish winger Jaime, Spanish-speaking radio broadcaster Moreno's connection to Necaxa, and preview of Saturday's game
It’s time for Fútbol Friday, The Charlotte Ledger’s weekly newsletter getting you up to speed on Charlotte FC, the city’s new pro soccer team.
➡️ Need to sign up for Fútbol Friday and other Charlotte-focused email newsletters from The Charlotte Ledger? You can do that here.
➡️ Ledger subscribers can add or drop individual newsletters on their “My Account” page.
New math: Charlotte claims 2 points in Dallas (1 for a tie + 1 for shootout win); ‘It’s a win but not a win’
Ben Bender is all smiles after his game-tying last-minute goal in Dallas forced a shootout. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
After Charlotte FC took five draws in a row, we were just beginning to wonder what following professional football was all about. How are you supposed to react to a game, or feel about a team, when nobody wins and nobody loses?
The standings in Major League Soccer are based on points: three for a win, one for a tie. Got it.
Then came the first game of the Leagues Cup match Charlotte FC played in Dallas. The Leagues Cup is a tournament separate from MLS play featuring MLS and Mexican league teams — and unlike MLS, it doesn’t leave games as ties after 90 minutes.
For the first time in some 25 years in sports writing, I actually had to ask the media relations director if the team I covered had won a game I just watched. I mean, I’ve had my share of learning curves covering football, basketball and baseball, but this was something else entirely!
Charlotte FC had drawn even 2-2 in the last minute of stoppage time last Friday night against FC Dallas to force penalty kicks. Charlotte won the shootout 4-1. I was all set to send out a Tweet saying the team had finally won a game — its first since May 27 — when I thought better of it. What if it wasn’t considered a win, but a draw? To be sure, I texted Woody Wilder, Charlotte FC media relations guru.
“So that counts as a win right? Soccer is weird.”
The response I got?
“Ehhhh,” Wilder wrote. “Not really.”
Seriously?!
So I tap-danced my way through the tweet, writing “Charlotte FC comes from behind to even it 2-2….This tie nets them something more though as they claim a 4-1 advantage in PKs which gets them two points instead of one.”
I hit send, then starting scrolling to see what people were saying on Twitter. I chuckled to myself when I saw an old standby: “A win is a win.”
Well, no, apparently, it’s not.
The matter still wasn’t that much clearer three days later. Tuesday morning, I sent Wilder a screen shot of the press release that had landed in my e-mail inbox from Charlotte FC saying: “Match Recap: Charlotte FC Wins First Leagues Cup Match.”
“It’s a win but not a win,” he said. “A win on penalties.”
Oh, OK. Still needed more. And here’s what I got: the Leagues Cup is played in a format that’s similar to the World Cup, but there’s one clear distinction. In group play at the World Cup, games stop after 90 minutes. Shootouts don’t come until the “knockout round” — the single-elimination part — and even then, the result is considered a draw, and the winner of the shootout “advanced on penalties.”
If group play games in Leagues Cup end in a draw, by contrast, they go directly to shootouts. But neither team is advancing to anything just yet. So saying “advanced on penalties” doesn’t apply. The winner of a Leagues Cup shootout gets an additional point, on top of the one point each team gets for the draw. So win, or no win — “ehhhh” as Wilder said — two points is more than one.
I can’t say I saw any Charlotte FC players flashing a peace sign for the two points in the postgame celebration (like they do with three fingers for a win). Guess it hasn’t caught on yet.
Maybe it will in MLS Next Pro, the developmental league that feeds into Major League Soccer. Teams at that level have penalty shootouts after draws. Both teams still get a tie in the standings, but there’s an additional column on the “table” for shootout wins, or “SOW.” So teams get three points for a victory, one for a tie and one more for a shootout win.
The math is a lot easier to understand than the English.
“It’s all semantics,” Wilder said.
Call it what you will: Charlotte FC has a chance to advance to the next round of the Leagues Cup, thanks to the comeback heroics — see how I did that there? — last Friday. If Charlotte wins Saturday against Necaxa, or if they draw (and go to a shootout), they will advance to the Round of 32.
If they draw and win the shootout, we can say they advanced on penalties. They would also advance even if they lose the shootout. I’ve got 24 hours to figure out how to word that one. (A shootout in the event of a draw would determine if Charlotte is first or second place in the group, which also includes FC Dallas.) For a full breakdown of scenarios, read Charlotte FC communications coordinator Will Martin’s take.
Big stakes: Charlotte enters the running for a young Spanish midfielder
While Charlotte FC has spent the summer transfer window stocking up on veteran midfielders (Scott Arfield and Brecht Dejaegere) the club raised a few eyebrows this week with its attempt to deal for a young star. A report out of Portugal revealed Charlotte FC was preparing to bid for 22-year-old Spanish attacking player Ivan Jaime. The Ledger has confirmed Charlotte FC’s interest in what would be a blockbuster move.
A Bola, a prominent Portuguese sports newspaper, reported that Charlotte was prepared to make an initial offer of $7 million for Jaime. The left winger, who can also play central attacking midfield or right wing, scored nine goals in 24 appearances for FC Famalicão in the top league in Portugal last season.
So how can Charlotte fork over that kind of money when it already has the maximum three designated players, or players signed without regard to the salary cap, under contract? Well, it can’t. To make the deal, Charlotte FC would have to sell one of its designated players in Karol Swiderski, Enzo Copetti or Kamil Jozwiak.
For that reason, and the fact that Charlotte is reportedly in the running with FC Porto, a top division team in Portugal, acquiring Jaime is no slam dunk. But it does give some insights into the direction Charlotte FC is looking to go to make a splash when possible.
Spanish broadcaster Moreno grew up fan of Necaxa
Of all the Mexican League teams — 18 — in all the Leagues Cup matchups that could be coming to play Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium, the fact that it’s Necaxa (pronounced nah-COX-ah) was happy news for Charlotte FC’s Spanish radio play-by-play announcer Jaime Moreno.
Moreno, a native of Mexico City, grew up a fan of Necaxa, a franchise that turns 100 on August 23. Moreno explains that the club was founded by the owner of a power plant in the town along the Necaxa River that’s now known as Nuevo Necaxa. The franchise ultimately moved to Mexico City and later to Aguascalientes in Central Mexico.
“I was 4 or 5 years old and my dad took me to a store, and I saw the jersey for Necaxa that was white with red stripes,” Moreno said. “I remember buying that jersey, and I wore it for like a month, morning, afternoon and night. I would sleep with that jersey. I just fell in love with the team. They had a goalkeeper Antonio Mota (who played for the Mexican national team). He was so short. Nobody thought he would be a good goalkeeper. I always pretended to be him when I was playing as a kid.”
This is actually Necaxa’s second trip to Charlotte in recent years. The club played a “friendly” against the Guatemalan national team in 2001 at Memorial Stadium, now home of the Charlotte Independence of USL League One. Moreno said he developed a relationship with several Necaxa players and coaches at the time.
The current team is playing under a new coach, Rafael Dudamel, who used to coach with the Venezuela national team, and is rebuilding after finishing near the bottom of Liga MX last season.
“I’m expecting to see a lot of Mexican fans come and cheer for Necaxa and at the same time for Charlotte FC,” Moreno said.
Upper bowl to open Aug. 26 for LAFC
Charlotte FC announced this week it that would open the upper bowl at Bank of America Stadium for its Aug. 26 match against LAFC.
This will be the fourth time this season the upper deck has been open for soccer, if you include the Gold Cup doubleheader featuring the U.S. Men’s National Team, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras and Haiti. Charlotte FC opened the upper deck for its season-opener against New England, when it drew a season-high 69,345 fans, and the July 8 game against FC Cincinnati, when 43,613 came out for “Marvel” night and military appreciation.
Tickets in the upper deck go for $15, which make it a much more wallet-friendly option.
Up Next: Charlotte FC vs. Necaxa in Leagues Cup
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. For information on how to sign up for a regular subscription, click here.
Charlotte FC needs a win or draw to advance to the Round of 32 in the inaugural Leagues Cup tournament, which features every team from Major League Soccer and the Mexican Leagues into this World Cup-style format.
Charlotte FC comes into this game with a week’s rest since taking FC Dallas to penalty kicks last Friday, while Necaxa had to play in Dallas on Wednesday, losing 3-0. Advantage Charlotte FC.
Necaxa will be without its best defender, Alex Montes, who was ejected on a red card during Wednesday’s game against Dallas.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now cutting her teeth on soccer and the Charlotte FC just as fans in Charlotte do. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 4 of our local newsletters:
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email support@cltledger.com.