Charlotte FC and fans pumped for July matchup with Chelsea
Charlotte FC and fans pumped for July matchup with Chelsea
Panther Christian McCaffrey to be "coronated"; Charlotte FC ranked second to last in MLS player salaries; crackdown on beer-cup throwing in Supporters' Section — and more!
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Charlotte FC eager to see how it stacks up against world-class opponent; team ‘should not fear anyone’
Tickets go on sale Wednesday for the Charlotte FC-Chelsea “friendly.” (Courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
So soccer really is a global sport and not just because you can see the best in the world play on TV. Chelsea — one of the “Big Four” teams of the English Premier League (with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool) — is coming to play an exhibition game against Charlotte FC on July 20. The team made it official this week.
This is just the latest example of this expansion franchise aiming high and then delivering on its vision — like setting an attendance record in the home opener (74,479) and building a competitive team in year one.
“We’ve always said we wanted to bring the best talent and teams around the globe to Bank of America Stadium, and this delivers on that promise,” said Charlotte FC President Joe LaBue. “It is also an excellent opportunity for our players to play against the top competition in the world and to continue to showcase our club on a global stage.”
The exhibition, or “friendly,” is part of a series of international matches coming to the U.S. this summer. Chelsea, five-time champions of the Premier League, will play Arsenal in Orlando three days after leaving Charlotte.
Yes, it’s an exhibition for Chelsea, but it’s just a couple of weeks before the start of the Premier League season, which means the Blues’ star players should all see decent minutes, barring injuries. That means Charlotte fans can expect to see the likes of U.S. National team star Christian Pulisic, as well as N’Golo Kante of France, Mason Mount of England, and Edouard Mendy (born in France, plays for Senegal) — all standouts for their World Cup teams.
That’s not to say Charlotte FC sporting director Zoran Krneta expects Charlotte FC to be intimidated. Krneta said:
I’ve said many times, I think playing at home, this team, as it is now, should not fear anyone. And we should play against everybody to win. … These players all believe in themselves, and they will try to be in every game regardless of who they play. Of course, they will respect Chelsea, and also Chelsea will be in preseason and will mix and match their squad for other games. I feel positive it will be a good game of soccer, and I’m sure everyone will enjoy.
Krneta said he’s also looking forward to showcasing American talent like midfielder Ben Bender and backup goalkeeper George Marks to an international audience.
Kickoff time is to be determined. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 25. Season ticket holders got access to a pre-sale that started Thursday. (For more information on tickets, click here.)
Reports of the matchup first surfaced weeks ago, first by Jorge Gonzalez of Twitter’s @TopBin90. There was some question whether Chelsea FC’s change in ownership would affect the match — the club’s longtime owner is a Russian oligarch who has agreed to sell to investors led by a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers — but Krneta said Wednesday he didn’t think it would be an issue.
Dog in the fight: Chelsea last played in Charlotte seven years ago, drawing 61,224 fans for a “friendly” against Paris-Saint Germain. That was one of multiple international matches here club officials used to convince MLS that Charlotte was ready for its own franchise.
But this matchup feels different for fans like Charlotte FC fan and Mint City Collective member Brandon Lewis, who will watch his new team take on his old favorite, Chelsea.
“It’s great to see them come to the city for the second time,” Lewis said. “It means that promoters out there see Charlotte as a soccer city. It’s also good to get the exposure to the Chelsea team and any traveling supporters.”
It won’t just be the players trying to measure their skills against one of the best soccer franchises in the world. Lewis is chairman of the Charlotte fans’ Tifo Committee, which means he’s always on the hunt for ideas for pre-game artwork, not to mention the latest in fan trends.
Lewis has been a Chelsea fan for 12 years. This will be only the second time he’s seen Chelsea play in person, after traveling to Boston to see the Blues play a friendly in 2019. He couldn’t swing a ticket to see them play during a trip he made to London in 2017, so he had to settle for a stadium tour instead.
Lewis said there’s no doubt in his mind who he’ll be pulling for, either.
“Charlotte has come to mean a lot more to me than Chelsea has,” he said. “But any other day, Chelsea has my allegiance.”
Installing natural grass: The deal to bring Chelsea to Charlotte was contingent upon Charlotte installing natural grass at Bank of America Stadium for the July 20 matchup. Both the Charlotte FC and the Carolina Panthers play on artificial turf, so Bank of America can juggle two sports as well host major concerts.
“It's something that has happened before and will happen in the future,” Krneta said. “We have to do it because we wanted to bring some of Chelsea’s stature to the Carolinas.”
Christian McCaffrey coronation
Charlotte FC captain Christian Fuchs (right) having some fun during a jersey swap with Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
For a team that already has enough Christians for a prayer meeting, why not rub a few elbows with one more? Christian McCaffrey, star running back for the Carolina Panthers, swapped his No. 22 Panthers jersey with Charlotte FC center back Christian Fuchs’ No. 22 this week. As it turns out, that was just a preview.
On Sunday, which happens to be May 22, 2022, Charlotte FC will honor the “other No. 22” when McCaffrey participates in the pre-game “coronation” ceremony. Fuchs had a little fun helping him prepare for it.
McCaffrey becomes the second Panther player to be celebrated in this way, after former Panthers receiver Steve Smith was coronated before the record-setting home-opener against the L.A. Galaxy in March.
As for the other Christians on Charlotte’s roster who don’t wear No. 22? There’s defender Christian Makoun (24), midfielder Christian “Titi” Ortiz (10), and goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (1.) (Credit for the “prayer group” line belongs to Ledger reader and Charlotte FC fan Leah Long, by the way!)
Charlotte FC second to last in payroll totals released by MLS players’ union; ‘a little bit misleading,’ club says
The Major League Soccer Players’ Association released league-wide salary information this week, and judging by the totals in its annual “Salary Guide,” Charlotte FC ranks second to last among 28 MLS teams in payroll at $10.7 million. (Atlanta ranked first, by the way, at $21 million.)
That figure looks disheartening to Charlotte FC fans, who are quick to point out that it’s not a good look for a club that was the first MLS team to charge PSLs (personal seat license fees) and has among the highest ticket prices in MLS.
However, the figures did not include players acquired after April 15, which for Charlotte includes midfielder Andre Shinyashiki ($140,000) and new under-22 initiative player Kerwin Vargas. It also doesn’t account for Charlotte’s potential to sign a third designated player before the season is out.
“This whole salary list is a little bit misleading in my opinion,” sporting director Zoran Krneta said. “If you take into consideration the total spending, which is acquisition cost and the salaries, we are seventh on the list of the top spending in the league. I think this is a more accurate description if you really want to compare….
“Second,” he continued, “we have done a lot of data analytics, and we never find a correlation between paying big salaries and success. We've done the best we can to form the best (club). We never said we were going to overpay the players.”
Some Charlotte FC salaries of interest include their two designated players (star players who are paid without regard to the salary cap.) Karol Swiderski is making a team-high $2.258 million in guaranteed money for 2022, and Kamil Jozwiak is making $1.017 million. Veteran winger Yordy Reyna is Charlotte’s third highest-paid player, drawing $797,500 in guaranteed money.
Also of note is the league’s minimum salary, which pays rookies just $65,500 per season, well below the league minimum in a sport like Major League Baseball, which just raised its minimum salary to $700,000.
➡️ You can check out the full salary list here.
Up Next: Charlotte (4-7-1) vs. Vancouver (3-6-2)
When/Where: 5 p.m. Sunday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
How to watch: WAXN (Channel 64), Telemundo, or live stream at www.charlottefootballclub/live or on the Charlotte FC app. Local restrictions apply.
Notable:
Charlotte looks to get back on the winning track at home after losing to Montreal at Bank of America last week. The loss snapped a four-game home win streak.
After Charlotte was shut out Saturday using a 4-4-2 formation with only strikers Karol Swiderski and Andre Shinyashiki up front, many fans are hoping for a return to the 4-3-3 formation Charlotte has employed recently. That could feature the club’s newfound depth at the wing, including new designated player Kamil Jozwiak.
Captain and center back Christian Fuchs suffered a setback trying to return from a thigh injury last week and did not play against CF Montreal. But he returned to practice this week for the Charlotte FC.
Newly-signed U-22 Initiative player Kerwin Vargas joined the team this week, arriving with visa in hand from Portugal. Sporting director Zoran Krneta said Vargas was in good shape physically and could potentially see action as early as next week, when Charlotte plays in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday and in Seattle next Sunday.
Coming up after Sunday’s game against Vancouver is Charlotte’s third U.S. Open Cup match and the first against an MLS opponent. Charlotte will face the New York Red Bulls in the Round of 16 Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be played in Montclair, N.J., in a 5,000-seat stadium on the campus of Montclair State University, where the Red Bulls used to train.
Cracking down on beer-cup-throwing celebrations
Charlotte FC sent fans reminder of “fan code of conduct.” (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
After Charlotte FC received multiple complaints from fans about being hit with projectiles like popcorn bins and beer cups during goal celebrations and after the game, the team decided to send a letter out to fans in the Supporters’ Section, reminding them of the team’s fan code of conduct.
“The release of any objects into the air, intentional or not, will result in immediate ejection from Bank of America Stadium,” the letter read.
Fans still might get a bit of a beer shower during celebrations — the team can’t do much about the beer within the cups being tossed. Don’t expect to see any more beer cup “snakes" like the one wriggling up the Supporters Section during the Inter Miami game on May 7:
A glimpse of a beer cup “snake” in the Supporters’ Section at Bank of America Stadium May 7. (Photo by Carroll Walton.)
As one Atlanta United fan pointed out on Twitter, these are just natural growing pains for the Supporters’ Section of an expansion team. Enthusiasm is awesome, up to a point.
“We want to curb it so it doesn't ever get to a point where anybody is hurt or there's anything thrown at the field or players,” said Shawn McIntosh, Chief Fan Officer for Charlotte FC, who serves as a liaison between the team and fans. “So it’s being proactive. For many people, it’s their first time experiencing a supporter section. They're learning and may not know what is OK and what isn’t.”
The club kept a close eye on the Supporter’s Section last Saturday against Montreal, and fans were well-behaved. But considering Charlotte didn’t score any goals, it was hard to gauge whether the message had really been received. The team and its fans are hoping for a more accurate read this Sunday against Vancouver.
Previous editions of Fútbol Friday
You can find previous issues of The Charlotte Ledger’s Fútbol Friday newsletter online.
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!
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project