Pep Biel relishes a new challenge
Spanish midfielder looks to make an impact in a short time; Stengs surgery validates Charlotte's concerns; Copa American suspensions; Abada wedding plans; Plus: advancing Atlanta United
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.
Biel is eager to make most of the chance to establish himself as the club’s new attacking midfielder
Charlotte FC’s new No. 10 is happiest with the ball at his feet. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Charlotte FC has had three seasons, and a frantic final three days before the summer transfer deadline, to finally land a true central attacking midfielder, known as a “No. 10.” But it was a last-hour decision before the window closed that the club hopes can make the difference.
Biel, a 27-year-old Spaniard, had no idea where Charlotte was, nor had he ever traveled to the U.S. for soccer, vacation or otherwise, when the club approached him on Aug. 14. He had five or six hours to make the decision whether to leave his club, Olympiacos, in Greece for Charlotte.
With his closest family and friends all jumping online to help him research, Biel said Charlotte FC highlights he saw on Instagram made an immediate impression.
“The games, the highlights, also the stadium, the atmosphere, the facility, everything — it’s really nice,” Biel said, in very serviceable English. “… [Zoran Krneta and Bobby Belair] explained that as a young team, they’re trying to work and grow the club, so for me, it’s a good challenge to come here.”
The deal is short-term. Biel is on loan until Dec. 31, when the club has an option to purchase. That means he has only eight more regular season games, and possibly the playoffs, to make an impression on Charlotte FC. But if he’s shown anything in his first week with the team, it’s that he can accomplish a lot in a hurry. Coach Dean Smith didn’t count on having Biel until this Saturday’s game against Atlanta United, but he was able to secure a visa in a midweek trip to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and play against the New York Red Bulls. He came off the bench for 24 minutes in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bank of America Stadium and was active in demanding and distributing the ball.
When asked about trying to prove himself in a short timeframe, Biel said: “I don’t think a lot about this. I just came to play as I can, as much as I can, so I don’t think a lot about these things. I came here to stay.”
Biel made his MLS debut last Saturday against the New York Red Bulls. (Photo illustration by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Biel was Charlotte FC’s third choice for the attacking midfielder spot they were looking to fill this summer. Lucrative deals for both Calvin Stengs (medical issue) and Miguel Almiron (club-to-club economics) fell through. Biel doesn’t seem to mind being a “backup” plan.
“I didn’t know about the other players,” he said. “But for me, it doesn’t matter. I know Europe has a lot of big players, so I’m only one of them. I came here to show who I am.”
For Biel, this is an opportunity for a “change in my life,” as he put it, and a chance to regain the form he had with FC Copenhagen three years ago, when he scored 11 goals and had six assists in 32 games in a championship season in Superliga, Denmark’s top tier.
Smith said he spoke to people he knew with Copenhagen, who said it took Biel a little while to get adjusted to a new environment; it was his first time playing outside of Spain. But once he got going, they said, he was the best player on the team.
This time, Biel’s trying his hand at a new continent. He didn’t know much about Charlotte when he arrived a week ago and was still looking for a place to live as of Wednesday afternoon. But he’d already been to SouthPark Mall to check out a part of American culture he was already passionate about: street-style fashion. His favorite clothing line is “Fear of God” by urban L.A. fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo.
As for what he likes to wear on the field, Biel is excited to wear No. 10 for the first time in his career. The jersey number signifies both his position on the field and is typically a measure of high status on the team.
“It’s a special number,” Biel said. “I tried to get it with other teams, but it wasn’t available.”
Validation for collapse of Stengs transfer
Charlotte FC got validation this week for backing down from a deal that would have made star Dutch midfielder Calvin Stengs their next designated player. His club Feyenoord announced Wednesday that the 25-year-old was undergoing surgery on his left knee and would miss be out for several weeks.
Charlotte FC was on the cusp of a transfer that would have sent $8 million to Feyenoord, while inking him to a long-term contract, when it discovered an issue during his medical exam in London. Charlotte officials went back to Feyenoord looking to rework the deal and mitigate risk, and then the deal fell apart.
Stengs had had problems with a previous injury to his right knee but pointed out on Instagram that this injury was to his other knee.
Notable: Swiderski and Uronen’s upcoming international duty, Copa suspensions, and Abada’s save the date
◼️ International duty: Several players were called up for international duty this week, but it looks like they won’t be missing time for Charlotte FC. The team, and much of MLS, is off Sept. 7 on the weekend when Nations League matches will be held:
Striker Karol Swiderski will play for Poland, which plays Scotland on Sept. 5 and Croatia on Sept. 8.
Left back Jere Uronen will play for Finland, which plays Greece on Sept. 7 and England on Sept. 10.
Winger Liel Abada will play for Israel, which plays Belgium on Sept. 6 and Italy on Sept. 9.
◼️ Copa America suspensions levied: The governing body of South American soccer has handed down penalties to players from Uruguay’s national team involved in a postgame fracas at the Copa America semifinal game at Bank of America Stadium. Five players were suspended for entering the stands to fight with fans after Uruguay’s 1-0 loss to Colombia July 10 in front of 70,644 fans.
The most notable was Darwin Nunez, a striker for England’s Liverpool FC, who received a five-game suspension from international competition and a $20,000 fine. Rodrigo Bentacur got a four-game suspension and a $16,000 fine. Three other players received three-game suspensions and $12,000 fines (Ronald Araujo, Mathias Olivera and Jose Maria Gimenez). Uruguayan players said in interviews immediately following the game they entered the stands to protect their families from overly aggressive Colombian fans sitting nearby.
The suspensions will be served starting with Uruguay’s World Cup qualifying games in early September.
◼️ Wedding bells: Bank of America has never looked so romantic. Liel Abada and his fiancé Bar Rashti put out a “Save the Date” video on Instagram for their upcoming wedding using the stadium and its Vault lounge as a backdrop. The video features the Abada in a dark blazer and Rashti in white dress, pearls and veil, toasting champagne. Another clip shows them strolling to midfield in matching Charlotte FC Carolina Explore kits, as the date Nov. 20, 2024, is flashed on the big screen.
If Charlotte manages to advance in the MLS playoffs, Abada might be getting married on a Wednesday and playing in the MLS conference semifinals as a honeymoon that weekend. “I’ll be invited to the wedding,” Smith said. “I’ll bring him straight back.”
Quotable: First impressions from Ream and lasting ones from Paterson
New center back Tim Ream on his first game at Bank of America Stadium against New York Red Bulls:
It was amazing. [I’m] really, really happy. [It] really drives home the reason to come here with the fans, the team, the club, everything the city brings. It confirmed everything tonight. You go out for warmups and half the stadium is full. When I left MLS (in 2011) you’ve got maybe 10 to 20 people there for warmups, then everybody trickled in. To have that level of support from warmups gets the juices flowing.
New midfielder Jamie Paterson on his playing again for Dean Smith, who coached him for five seasons at Walsall’s academy and first team in England:
He’s probably the No. 1 reason why I did make it as a professional, and I was forever grateful for that. … He’ll tell you like it is. He’ll tell you if you played well, if you’ve not. He’ll talk to you as a human being and not as a work colleague, and sometimes that connection is quite strong. And he gets the best out of people for that reason.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (10-8-8) vs Atlanta United (7-12-7)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
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 got a 3-2 win in Atlanta the last time these teams met in early June, including Liel Abada’s first two-goal game with Charlotte FC. Charlotte has won its last two games against Atlanta, both on the road, since losing 3-0 to the United in their last meeting at Bank of America Stadium on March 11 of last year.
Atlanta United fired its coach, Gonzalo Pineda, the day after the 3-2 loss to Charlotte on June 2. Rob Valentine is now serving in his second stint as an interim coach with Atlanta.
Since that game, Atlanta has also parted ways with two marquee offensive players in Thiago Almada (with Botafogo in Brazil’s top tier) and Giorgos Giakoumakis (now with Cruz Azul in Liga MX) and haven’t been nearly as dangerous scoring goals.
Atlanta’s new designated player Aleksei Miranchuk, a Russian international, who came from Serie A in Italy with Atalanta, made his debut off the bench last week in a 2-0 loss to the L.A. Galaxy. He’s likely to start or at least see more significant playing time against Charlotte FC.
Atlanta also transferred defender Caleb Wiley to Chelsea of the English Premier League for a fee that was reported at $11 million.
Of Charlotte’s remaining eight games, only one opponent is above ahead of them in the standings and that’s Miami on Sept. 28. A win would put distance between Charlotte and Atlanta, which is currently No. 9 in the East and vying for a position in the wildcard game.
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!
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.