Charlotte FC defender shining quietly no more
Plus Real Madrid-Chelsea joins busy international summer slate at Bank of America, who's available and who's not for Saturday's matchup with defending MLS Cup winner Columbus and more
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Left back Jere Uronen’s presence, and more offensive role, will be missed Saturday vs. Columbus as he returns from international duty
Jere Uronen showing off a sweet (and pink!) left foot vs. NYCFC. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
When Jere Uronen debuted with Charlotte FC late last August, he seemed content to blend in with his new team. The Finnish national with the sandy hair, blue eyes and difficult name to pronounce was Charlotte’s long-awaited acquisition at left back, but he slow-cooked his way into the consciousness of Charlotte FC faithful.
Yes, he was a new, veteran piece with the pedigree of playing for his national team, but he was joining a shoddy defense, at least statistically speaking, because Charlotte FC led MLS in goals allowed for much of the 2023 season.
But if you were watching closely — and I’m tooting my own horn and saying I was, given my storied background as a left fullback for the varsity girls at Charlotte Country Day (smile) — you noticed something special going on.
Defense isn’t flashy by definition, and Uronen seemed to make it even less so. He’s not one to draw attention to himself with a lot of physical antics. Unlike me, he doesn’t have to be mean to be good. But Uronen — pronounced oo-roh-nen with a rolled r — was just flat quick to the ball.
He had a knack for getting to the spot just as or before the offensive player and the ball. He took great angles, so he didn’t have to have the best speed or expend the most energy. And you didn’t often see him on the ground. Uronen didn’t need slide tackles, so much as pockets to pick. Before the other team knew it, he had swiped the ball away and distributed it to a teammate. Ball moving the other way now, thanks.
This year, under the leadership of new coach Dean Smith, Charlotte FC is playing defense with more structure and consistency. That has freed Uronen up to show a more offensive side of his game, too. Smith, who last week was calling him “Jerry” — which is almost a relief to the English-speakers who struggle to pronounce yeh-reh (again with a rolling r) — has been using him farther up the field and on set pieces.
In Nashville, that was on full display following injuries to two of Charlotte’s top three forwards last week. Enzo Copetti (hamstring) missed the start in Nashville and Kerwin Vargas (ankle) left the game 26 minutes in, leaving Charlotte in need of another contributor in front of the goal.
Uronen worked up the left wing and assisted Charlotte’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss by getting three touches in a Ping Pong sequence that ended with Uronen finding Brecht Dejaegere for the score. He then nearly tied the game 10 minutes into the second half when he slammed a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box into the crossbar.
“He can score goals from left back, no doubt about it,” said veteran midfielder Scott Arfield, who had a close-up view of the goal. “You have to take the pressure off the strikers and we need goals from everywhere. If your left back can chip in a couple, then happy days.”
Goals will again be at a premium Saturday against the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew when Charlotte returns to Bank of America Stadium. Uronen will be out of action, as he was headed back from international duty with Finland in a EURO Qualifying loss to Wales. Chances are his absence Saturday will just reiterate the point — that he is making an impact on the field and off.
“Amazing fella, very positive fellow, I love being in his company,” Arfield said. “He’s been a major asset on and off the pitch. He seems to have settled in as if he’s been here for years.”
How Charlotte landed Real Madrid vs. Chelsea; ‘In the eyes of the soccer world, we are a big market’
(Graphic courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
With news this week that Real Madrid is coming to Charlotte for an exhibition against Chelsea Aug. 6, it’s conceivable that in the span of this summer, Bank of America Stadium will host:
Lionel Messi (and Inter Miami) in MLS play July 3.
The United States Men’s National team as a possible Copa American semifinal contender, if not other South American national heavyweights like Brazil or Argentina on July 10 and in the third-place match July 13.
Mexican League powerhouse Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup matchup July 31.
The 14-time winner of the Champions League, the crème de la crème of European club soccer, in Real Madrid Aug. 6. (Better make that “crema de crema”?)
Charlotte is a soccer city, as Charlotte FC officials like to say — as do “fan-analysts” and soccer podcasters John Hayes and Danny Brahms of Charlotte Soccer Show. Apparently, now, Charlotte is an international soccer city.
“Since Tepper Sports & Entertainment’s investment to bring Major League Soccer to Charlotte, the city’s international footprint in the world’s game has exploded,” Charlotte FC President Joe LaBue said in a press release this week. And while it sounded a bit like prepared statement hyperbole, his point was hard to argue.
When The Ledger sat down with LaBue later in the week to find out how Charlotte landed the matchup, he explained that given Charlotte’s growing reputation as a soccer venue, the club was in a position to be selective about which teams landed here as part of the Soccer Champions Tour — the preseason tour of marquee European teams looking to market their brand internationally.
Charlotte had already landed two games in the Copa America, the championship of national teams from South America, which the U.S. gets to play in by virtue of being the host country. And LaBue said it was also a priority to keep some key August schedule dates open for the possibility that Charlotte FC might advance in Leagues Cup, which is in its second year since expanding to include every team in MLS and Liga MX. (Last year because of a previously-scheduled Beyonce concert, Charlotte FC had to travel to Dallas and Houston to play once it advanced to the Round of 32.)
“From a logistical standpoint, if we were going to have an international soccer match outside of Copa, it had to be big,” LaBue said. “We’ve been approached by a number of clubs that are interested in coming to Charlotte and wanting to play here — very successful and globally relevant brands. But even some of those, it’s like, ‘Look, if we’re going to do it, it’s got to be big.’”
Enter Real Madrid, the pre-eminent European club where Cristian Ronaldo played for 10 seasons and where Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe — one of the world’s best players — is reportedly set to join midsummer. The opponent, Chelsea, one of the “Big Four” from the English Premier League, returns to Charlotte two years after losing an exhibition to Charlotte FC in a shootout.
Real Madrid will play three “friendlies” during its U.S. tour, including against Italy’s AC Milan July 31 at Soldier Field in Chicago and La Liga archrival Barcelona FC at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. So that’s Chicago, New York … and Charlotte.
“We may not be a big market in terms of population scope and scale — we’re getting there, we’re growing,” LaBue said. “But in the eyes of the soccer world, we are a big market.”
Charlotte’s ability to draw international fans is a big reason why Tepper Sports & Entertainment was able to make its case for bringing an MLS franchise to town in the first place. Now they just work hand in hand.
“People are going to be coming in from everywhere to see these two teams,” Charlotte FC president Joe LaBue said. “It’s going to mean a lot for the city. So to be able to do that for Charlotte was really important for us.”
This will be the marquee matchup in a summer where international soccer will be featured throughout the Carolinas. Manchester United and Liverpool FC of the English Premier League are playing an exhibition at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia Aug. 3. Manchester City is playing Celtic FC of the Scottish Premiership at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on July 23.
“We say we're a soccer city,” LaBue said. “I would say we were a soccer region.”
Quotable: assessing Charlotte FC’s new midfielder Djibril Diani
Charlotte FC midfielder Scott Arfield on the MLS debut of French midfielder Djibril Diani, who played all 90-plus minutes in Nashville, while completing 47 of his 51 passes and providing a calming force on the left side:
It’s a difficult league to play, and I thought he did incredible. We can see how fit he is even with the limited time he’s been training, goes back to [France to] get his visa and comes back and [is a] fantastic engine, wonderful left foot. He’s only going to get stronger for us. I spoke to someone who coached him in Scotland in Livingston and he said that’s his game in the middle of the pitch, dictating the play, very rarely flustered, very composed on the ball. I wasn’t surprised to see it. When the confidence comes, he’ll be a big asset for us.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (1-2-1) vs. Columbus Crew (3-0-1)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium.
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
Charlotte FC returns home off a difficult three-game road swing only to face the defending MLS Cup winners and undefeated Columbus Crew on Saturday night. And they’ll do it short-handed.
Striker Enzo Copetti will miss his second straight game with a hamstring strain, though he is hopeful to return next week against Cincinnati.
Winger Kerwin Vargas suffered an ankle injury in Nashville and wasn’t expected back for a few weeks, but he returned to practice Thursday. Smith said afterward Vargas is at least a possibility for Saturday against Columbus. Last week, Brecht Dejaegere replaced Vargas on the wing, though Smith might choose to restructure the starting 11 with an additional midfielder.
Left back Jere Uronen is missing Saturday’s game on international duty for Finland, but he’s due to return next week after Finland loss 4-1 loss to Wales in its EURO Qualifier.
Charlotte’s new designated player, winger Liel Abada, played about 20 minutes Thursday in Israel’s 4-1 loss to Iceland in EURO Qualifiers and is expected to join Charlotte FC next week.
Midfielder Brandt Bronico is nearing a return from a quadriceps injury that kept him out much of the preseason. Smith said Thursday that Bronico might be on the squad for Saturday’s game but would not start.
Columbus is undefeated in four MLS games (including one draw) and two CONCACAF Champions Cup games (one draw) and coming off a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls. Superstar striker Cucho Hernandez has scored four goals already, three in MLS play and one in a Champions Cup draw against Houston.
Former Charlotte FC defensive midfielder Derrick Jones returns as a member of the Columbus Crew. He played 90 minutes in a Champions Cup game against Houston but otherwise has played just five minutes off the bench in MLS play.
Charlotte’s lone win this season came 1-0 against New York City FC in its season opener at Bank of America.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her third season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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