One Charlotte FC fan is happy tonight's game moved to Dallas
Plus: Charlotte FC finally acquires a left back; Shinyashiki and Santos saga over; the Beyoncé stadium snafu; advancing Leagues Cup vs. Cruz Azul and more
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Scottish transplant cheering for Arfield, Charlotte FC
Glasgow Rangers fan Alasdair Green rubbing elbows with new Charlotte FC midfielder Scott Arfield, formerly of the Rangers, in Dallas. (Photo courtesy of Alasdair Green.)
For all the controversy surrounding the scheduling conflict at Bank of America Stadium with the Beyoncé concert coming up Aug. 9, there is at least one Charlotte FC fan on the planet happy to see tonight’s Leagues Cup game moved to a neutral site in Frisco, Texas. His name is Alasdair Green.
The elementary school teacher in Denton, Texas, was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, a fan of the Rangers, who play in the highest level of soccer there, the Scottish Premiership. While he’s lived in the United States for more than 20 years since graduating from college, his fandom for the Rangers has lived on. His favorite Ranger in recent years — Scott Arfield — is now playing for Charlotte FC. After going to see Charlotte play FC Dallas in its first game of Leagues Cup, he got to meet Arfield after the game. Now he’ll get to see him play there again.
“I’ve been reading online on some fan forums and people are rightly frustrated at least (about the venue change),” Green said. “But of course I’m just going to fly under the radar, and I’m going to enjoy going to the game.”
Charlotte FC earned the right to host a Round of 32 game in Leagues Cup play by winning their group, but Bank of America Stadium isn’t available tonight because of set-up for an upcoming Beyoncé concert. (See more below.)
Green showed up for Charlotte’s July 21 game in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, wearing his Rangers jersey and hung the flag from his Dallas Rangers fan club over the railing. When he made his way over to the visitors side after the game, it didn’t take much to get Arfield’s attention. “When I was walking off, I saw the guy in the Rangers top, holding the Rangers top, and it caught my attention,” Arfield said. [Edited 8/3/23 to fix date of game in Frisco]
Green said Arfield waved, then came over to shake his hand.
“The first thing he did was thank me for being there,” Green said. “‘Of course,’ I said. ‘You’re one of us, even though you no longer play for the team.’ He's like, ‘I know.’ He knows how this works. Once you’re a Rangers player, you’re always part of the Rangers family. Then we made a joke about a couple of Scottish guys surviving in the heat. I don’t know how he managed to play 75 minutes in the sweltering heat.”
Arfield signed the Rangers jersey Green had brought and then signaled to a fan nearby, asking if he would take their picture.
“It’s always amazing to have a bond and connection with your previous club, and obviously it shows the size of a football club in Scotland that’s as globalized and international,” Arfield said. “So it was amazing to have that moment.”
Until that exchange, Green had only heard how great Arfield was with fans from posts on fan pages and a niece who worked near where he lived. Now he knew it first hand.
“He’s so personable, so friendly,” Green said. “Where he lived in Scotland is five minutes from where my niece works in the town of Livingston. And he’s known there for always having the time for people. He is a great player on the field, but as a parent and as a teacher, it’s so much more than that. It’s somebody who invests in the community. For that reason, he’s always been one of my favorite players, as long as he’s been with the team.”
Arfield posing with Green in a moment captured by both Charlotte FC photographers and a videographer. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
“I just think it's normal,” Arfield said of his philosophy on taking time for fans. “Obviously there's different times where you might have your children or you might be occupied with different things, but I think it's part of your obligation and part of your job that you have to take time to fully support those that that travel and spend their money to come and watch us. The one minute you take, or 30 seconds, can mean a lot.”
Green’s only disappointment on the night was that Arfield’s first goal with Charlotte FC was waved off for an offsides call. He was overjoyed to get a message while driving his daughter to college last Saturday night that Arfield had scored his first MLS goal in Charlotte’s 4-1 win over Necaxa at Bank of America Stadium.
Highlights from that goal as well as Arfield’s exchange with Green — which Charlotte FC’s media team had caught on video — were all over social media the next morning. Arfield reposted video of the exchange on his personal Instagram story. “It was a lovely little moment,” Arfield said. By the time Green woke up the next morning, the video had gotten 50,000 views and counting.
His family back in Scotland, who were six hours ahead of him, lit up his phone overnight with messages.
“A niece, my nephews, my sister, my mother [were] going, ‘Have you seen this video?’” Green said. “I had dozens of messages, from people I went to high school with who I hadn’t seen or heard from in 20 years. They were saying, ‘Is this you?’ It was quite nice sort of whirlwind 24 hours.”
He’s also heard from his share of Charlotte FC fans on social media, who’ve told him “‘You’re one of us now,’” Green said. “… I consider myself now a fan.”
Charlotte signs left back from Finland as it makes ‘a push to the playoffs’
Charlotte FC has been thin at the left back position since last season and struggled to find a player who was the right fit. With one day to spare in the summer transfer window, they finally got one. The club signed 29-year-old Finnish left back Jere Uronen to a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026.
“We needed a specific player profile to align with our head coaches’ playing style and fill a position of need, and Jere’s skills and experience fill both objectives,” Charlotte FC sporting director Zoran Krneta said in the press release that went out with Wednesday’s announcement. “We look forward to integrating him with the team alongside our other summer signings as we strengthen the roster for a push to the playoffs.”
Coach Christian Lattanzio said recently the team was hoping newly acquired Belgian midfielder Brecht Dejaegere would have his paperwork secured and be able to join the team next week.
Uronen has played 63 games for Finland’s national team, including six matches in its run to the UEFA Euro 2020, its first-ever major tournament. Uronen spent last season on loan in Germany with Schalke 04, after the two years prior with Brest of Ligue 1, France’s top division. Uronen played the bulk of his club career with KRC Genk in Belgium, where he was a part of three championship teams.
“I think he is one of those fullbacks that can go and support the play from deep, but also he can stay and play the back three,” Lattanzio said. “I think his versatility and his tactical ability and technical abilities is what convinced me to give the green light when this possibility was presented to me.”
Uronen’s arrival is pending the receipt of his visa. His acquisition means fullback Joseph Mora is now expendable, and Charlotte FC is reportedly looking to part ways with the native of Costa Rica, according to Charlotte Soccer Show and TopBin90.com. Mora, who was taken in the expansion draft from D.C. United, has been with Charlotte since the beginning of its inaugural season. While he played 18 games last season, Mora lost his footing in the rotation under Lattanzio this year, making just two starts, and one of those was in U.S. Open Cup play.
Shinyashiki, Santos chapter closes
As awkward a situation as it has been for Charlotte FC, Andre Shinyashiki and Nuno Santos these past few months, all parties involved can at least say it’s now over. Shinyashiki and Charlotte FC mutually agreed to terminate his contract. The club made the announcement Tuesday morning within hours of Shinyashiki announcing on Instagram that he had signed with a club in Azerbaijan, a nation that borders Iran and was formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Ever since Charlotte FC learned that Shinyashiki and Santos were linked to a police report in which a 23-year-old woman said she was sexually assaulted, the two haven’t played for Charlotte FC. And while neither was charged with a crime, it was clear their futures were over with Charlotte FC. But the club was still on the hook for their $1 million salary combined.
Charlotte FC has parted ways with Andre Shinyashiki (left) and Nuno Santos, pictured here in a February game against the Charleston Battery. (Photos by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
In the last two weeks, both of those players have signed internationally, freeing up their roster spots and salary cap space for Charlotte FC. Santos joined Vitória S.C. in his native Portugal on a permanent transfer, and Charlotte was paid an undisclosed fee.
Shinyashiki signed a two-year deal with PFC Neftchi in the capital city of Baku. “New challenge, new grounds, same goals,” Shinyashiki posted.
Beyoncé-gate: Team says it ‘explored all options’ to keep tonight’s game here
The Charlotte FC front office had to work some damage control this week after revealing Saturday night it couldn’t host the Round of 32 Leagues Cup game it had just advanced to because of an upcoming Beyoncé concert at Bank of America Stadium. The concert is not until Aug. 9, but evidently the extravagant stage construction — and the possibility that weather could alter the schedule — requires six days to prepare.
Team president Joe LaBue explained in an interview with Will Palaszczuk on WNFZ this week that the Beyoncé concert had been on the schedule since May of 2022, long before the Leagues Cup had been scheduled. The team got a block of possible dates for this year of the Leagues Cup in the fall, but at that point it was a 19-day range. He said the team tried to work out contingencies, right up until last week, but ultimately couldn’t find a suitable solution.
“Fans are frustrated, rightfully so, I think,” LaBue told Palaszczuk. “We're all frustrated. … Trust me: We explored all options.'“
Among the options Charlotte FC explored were the Matthews Sportsplex and Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium. Among the biggest obstacles alluded to by LaBue were the requirements for a stadium to be equipped to broadcast for both Apple TV for MLS and for Univision for the Mexican League.
Up Next: Charlotte FC vs. Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup
When/Where: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas.
How to watch: MLS Season Pass for FREE on Apple TV. FS1 and UniMas. For information on how to sign up for a regular subscription with Apple TV, click here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 FM in English and WOLS 106.1 FM in Spanish.
Charlotte FC advanced to the “knockout” Round of 32 in the inaugural Leagues Cup by getting the better of FC Dallas in a penalty shootout and defeating Necaxa of Liga MX 4-1. Now, they return to Dallas, which is considered a neutral site, to play Cruz Azul, one of the most popular teams in the Mexican League.
Cruz Azul advanced to the Round of 32 on penalty kicks over Atlanta United in its final game of group play. The club based in Mexico City became the answer to a trivia question in its first Leagues Cup game. In a 2-1 loss to Inter Miami, Cruz Azul gave up the game-winning goal to legendary Lionel Messi on a free kick in stoppage time in his first ever game in MLS.
Karol Swiderski has scored in each of Charlotte FC’s first two games of Leagues Cup and assisted goals by Brandt Bronico and Arfield in last Saturday’s win over Necaxa.
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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