Crash course on Charlotte FC: Who are these guys?
Crash course on Charlotte FC: Who are these guys?
The tall blond Polish striker. The wily veteran. The young and aggressive coach. The likable Spaniard whose wife is due the day of the home opener. Meet the Charlotte soccer figures you need to know.
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.
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10 things to know about who’s (and who’s not) on the roster
Alan Franco, 23-year-old midfielder known for his physical and determined play, shares some love at the open practice at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
It’s two weeks and a day before the Charlotte FC kicks off its inaugural season on the road Feb. 26 against DC United, followed by its home opener a week later. Are you ready? Or are you scrambling to figure out who these guys are?
Did you know the Charlotte FC has five players with some variation of the name “Christian”?
Not to worry, the Charlotte Ledger is here to help you learn not only who’s who but what’s what.
We are kicking off our first ever Fútbol Friday with a breakdown of 10 key figures with (and almost with) the Charlotte FC. This is just one example of the quick and easy way we’ll keep you up to date on what’s happening with the team:
Charlotte FC celebrates the signing of its first DP, Karol Swiderski. (Photo by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
1. First Designated Player
Find the tall blond. Karol Swiderski, in addition to having a killer first name (ahem), the 25-year-old striker from Poland is the club’s first Designated Player. That means he’s one of a possible three players the FC can pay without salary cap restrictions. (The DP rule, dubbed the “Beckham rule,” was created for David Beckham’s signing with the LA Galaxy in 2007.)
Translation: Swiderski is the FC’s first star player. Swiderski, a member of Poland’s national team, opened some eyes by leaving POAK in Greece to sign in the MLS, which is win-win for Charlotte.
2. First man standing
Likable Spaniard Sergio Ruiz was the first player the FC ever signed. While on loan to Las Palmas in his native Spain, he left the team to cope with anxiety issues, which he acknowledged came after suffering a soccer injury and then catching Covid, all while his wife was pregnant with their first child.
Ruiz, who has been upbeat about his mindset and future with Charlotte this preseason, faces anxiety of a different kind now: March 5 is his wife’s due date, which is also the date of the FC’s home opener. The FC is leaving all decisions that day to Ruiz. From the sounds of his first presser, Ruiz is hoping to get to both!
3. The eldest “Christian”
In case you missed him banging the “Keep Pounding” drum at a Panthers game, or riding with Alex Bowman during pit crew practice, Christian Fuchs (pronounced “Fooks,” officially!) is that veteran presence typical of the MLS.
At 35, he’s an aging European star eager for an American flourish to finish out his career. Fuchs, a former captain of the Austrian national team, played six seasons for Leicester City in the Premier League. His wife Raluca, stepson, son and daughter live in New York City, where he hopes to make his permanent home after soccer.
4. Striking out at striker
Outside of Swiderski, the FC has had hard luck trying to lock down DPs at the striker and wing position. They’ve struck out three times already this preseason, getting outbid for Paul Arriola by FC Dallas, watching Kamil Jozwiak, another Polish national team player, hurt his ankle on the brink of signing with the FC, and then this week thinking they had Venezuelan national team player Darwin Machis locked up, only to nullify the deal over legal troubles stemming from a bar fight Machis reportedly got into in Spain.
The good news is the FC still has good hard cash to spend, including a cool $6 million it was ready to spend on Machis, so stay tuned.
Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez in action at Thursday’s open practice at Bank of America Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
5. Coach is energetic, aggressive and … outspoken?
FC coach Miguel Angel Ramirez, a 37-year-old Spaniard, is the youngest active head coach in MLS. He’s going to need his energy, blending a young team with players from 15 countries into his unorthodox “game model.”
Ramirez is known as an educator, though, and brings the experience of coaching at the highest levels in South America. His Ecuador team won a South American international championship in 2019 in his first job as a head coach. Christian “Titi” Ortiz and Alan Franco both played for Ramirez in Ecuador and can help teammates adapt to Ramirez’s aggressive style of play.
Ramirez, we are learning, can also be totally transparent, at least in his native Spanish! When asked this week about what expectations fans should have of the FC, he said he would answer that after the team finished building its roster. As for now? Thanks to a translation from Spanish-speaking reporter Jorge Gonzales, we know Ramirez said, “Right now, we are screwed.”
6. Atlanta’s loss, Charlotte’s gain
English center back Anton Walkes was caught off guard when Atlanta United left him unprotected in the MLS expansion draft. Walkes, who led Atlanta last year in both appearances (33) and minutes played (2,773) said he found out on Twitter that the Charlotte FC had drafted him.
Once he got past some hurt feelings, Walkes got excited about the idea of playing for another expansion team in the Charlotte FC. The feeling was mutual, as the FC signed him to a three-year contract with an option for 2025. Walkes played in Atlanta’s inaugural MLS season in 2017.
7. Local boys
Even with such an international roster, the FC also has some nice local flavor as well. Defender Jaylin Lindsey, 21, grew up in Charlotte a Cam Newton fan. He played for Charlotte Soccer Academy and went to Providence High before leaving home at age 14 to play for Sporting Kansas City’s Academy. He played in 13 games over three seasons at the MLS level for KC, which traded him to Charlotte in December.
Lindsey joins High Point native Brandt Bronico, who played college soccer at UNC Charlotte. Bronico, 26, played 66 games over four seasons for the Chicago Fire FC of the MLS. He spent last summer on loan with the Charlotte Independence, giving local fans a preview of his skillset.
8. Hi and goodbye
We hardly knew you, Riley McGree. The club’s second-ever signee was sold to Middlesboro FC of the English Championship just days before the start of the preseason. All was not lost here, though. The Charlotte FC was rewarded for its Australian find (and maybe burned a bit by loaning him to Birmingham City of the English Championship) with a minimum of $4 million it will make in the transaction.
McGree got his wish of playing in Europe, and the Charlotte FC stayed true to its mantra of only wanting players who want to be in Charlotte, not just biding time for a better offer.
9. On the defensive
If you’re wondering where the strength on defense is going to come, a good place to look is to Alan Franco. The 23-year-old is known for his physical and determined play in the midfield. Thomas Scaling, the director of scouting for the FC, has described Franco as “like the cement in the midfield.”
Franco, who plays on Ecuador’s national team, brings the familiarity of playing on Ramirez’s 2019 championship Independiente del Valle club in Ecuador.
10. Moving parts
For a team yet to officially take the “pitch,” there has been significant shakeup in the front office. Technical director Marc Nicholls, a key figure both in building the FC’s roster and overseeing player development in its academy, left for a similar position with the Columbus Crew.
To help fill the void, the FC promoted Bryan Scales, head coach of the U-14 academy team, to academy director. On Feb. 1, Nick Kelly, who has spent a frenzied 14 months building the franchise from scratch, got promoted from president of the FC to CEO of Tepper Sports & Entertainment, where he’ll oversee both the FC and the Panthers. Joe LaBue, Panthers VP of ticket sales, takes over as President of the FC.
Coming up:
The Charlotte FC travels to Charleston, S.C., this weekend to play its first exhibition games in front of fans as part of the Carolina Challenge Cup. The FC will take on the Charleston Battery of the USL on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The match will be streamed live at www.CharlotteFootballClub.com/live.
The FC will remain in Charleston to play two more games against MLS teams: the Columbus Crew on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Inter Miami on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on the team’s website and feature the debut of the Charlotte FC’s new broadcast team.
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