Privett proving more than stopgap
Plus hometown kid Jaylin Lindsey featured on fan "tifo," Bronico's community impact, another Messi debate, and previewing Saturday's game in Nashville
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New position, no problem for rookie Privett
Andrew Privett driving up field against LAFC. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
When rookie Andrew Privett replaced the injured veteran Guzman Corujo at an all-important center back spot on July 15 against Montreal, the rumbling started. It grew louder when Privett started at center back a week later, when Charlotte FC opened play in Leagues Cup. There Coach Christian Lattanzio goes again, playing somebody out of position.
Lattanzio had played veterans Karol Swiderski on the wing, Harrison Afful in the midfield, Nathan Byrne on the right side. And now he was going to put a rookie midfielder at the heart of the backline?
Privett, the 22-year-old, was drafted this winter as a defensive midfielder. He played at Penn State as a midfielder. He’s listed on Charlotte FC’s roster as a midfielder. He was listed on the pre-game lineup in Montreal as a midfielder.
But unbeknownst to many, Privett had been playing and practicing at center back since early in the season with Crown Legacy, Charlotte’s feeder team in MLS Next Pro. This wasn’t just a desperation decision. This was part of the plan.
In a position where Charlotte entered the season paper thin — after center back Anton Walkes was killed in a boating accident and with Corujo was coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament — Charlotte FC has found, perhaps, an unlikely solution. A rookie and third-round draft pick in the MLS SuperDraft is not only holding his own, but keeping the position even after Corujo’s quadriceps strain is healthy again.
“I like the way he is on the pitch,” Lattanzio said of Privett. “He's calm. He is composed. He gives us something when we are in possession.”
That last part — what Privett brings in possession — is a big part of why Privett has stayed in the starting lineup for seven straight games now. (And why what had been a shuffling of the deck, with players moving in and out of the back line, has suddenly stabilized.)
Lattanzio has shown this season that he likes to move a defender forward when Charlotte has the ball, taking a calculated gamble that the remaining three defenders on the backline can cover the box in the event of a counterattack. While he tried that wrinkle with outside defenders like Jaylin Lindsey and Afful, what has become clear in recent weeks is that Lattanzio would rather do it with his center backs. And that’s a natural move for Privett.
In addition to playing defensive midfielder at Penn State, Privett said he also played some attacking midfield, some winger and even a little bit of striker.
“In the backline, you have the whole game in front of you, you can see everything,” Privett said. “And I think that plays to a strength of mine, my vision, and being able to see the way players move and find spaces and play the right passes that are going to get us out of pressure.”
As for the defensive part, Lattanzio concedes Privett’s inexperience can show up. But he’s holding his own and avoided glaring mistakes. Privett got his pocket picked in front of the box by LAFC midfielder Cristian Olivera last Saturday and nearly cost Charlotte a late game-tying goal, but fellow center back Adilson Malanda put just enough pressure on Olivera so the ensuing shot landed safely in goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina’s hands.
“(Veteran midfielder) Ashley (Westwood) was smiling at me,” Privett said. “Almost like ‘Hey, welcome to the league.’ It’s small margins.”
That smile was also a way to remind Privett to let the mistake go, and not let pressure seep in. His teammates and coaches seem to gain more and more trust in Privett with each passing game. And for the last two games, Guzman has been off the roster altogether in a move Lattanzio calls tactical.
One man who is not overly surprised by Privett’s rapid rise is Charlotte FC’s technical director, Bobby Belair. Belair said he wanted to draft Privett in the second round but had to sweat it out, when the team resisted in the name of its overall strategy, and then celebrated when Privett was still available in the third round.
“He’s a very smart guy,” Belair said. “We believed he would develop quickly under our coaching staff.”
Tifo honor surprises Lindsey
Right back Jaylin Lindsey depicted on a tifo. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Charlotte FC fans, led by the QC City Royals supporters group, paid tribute to Charlotte native and one of their favorites, Jaylin Lindsey, Wednesday night by creating a tifo of the right fullback. The artwork hoisted before the Orlando game showed Lindsey gesturing with his fists together, like he had in celebration of his first-ever goal for Charlotte FC on June 10 against Seattle.
It was last year when Charlotte played in Seattle, where Will Jones of the QC Royals met Lindsey in person, and his appreciation grew — not just for the talented player with local ties but a nice guy, too.
“Being a great player would typically be enough for me to like him,” Jones wrote in an e-mail to The Ledger. “But he’s also a genuinely kind person. When I traveled to Seattle last season to watch Charlotte FC, he stopped his own sightseeing to take pictures with me and discuss the game. He has shown his character towards equality when he discussed the importance of pride night and how it helps ‘allow everybody to play the sport.’ How many professional athletes would spend a date night with their girlfriend watching their mother play 5 v 5 soccer with her amateur friends? I could go on about how great he is for Charlotte FC and Charlotte as a whole, but I will leave it with one thought: he’s exactly the type of player I want wearing our badge.”
Lindsey’s mother, Jonelle Stitt, even helped paint the tifo but managed to keep it a surprise from Lindsey. He didn’t find out about it until he saw the tifo unfurl Saturday on the field. Lindsey told TopBin90.com: “I looked up and did a double take. I was like, ‘Is that me?’”
He knew it was him when he saw the hands together, thumbs and index fingers formed into a “J” and an “L.” Lindsey explained to TopBin90.com that he got the idea from former Manchester United star Jesse Lingard, who used the gesture to symbolize his initials “J.L.” Lindsey flashed his own “J.L.” to the Charlotte FC supporters in the East Goal at Bank of America on June 10 after scoring off an acrobatic Karol Swiderski pass to keep the ball inbounds.
After Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Orlando, Lindsey gave kudos to the fans from his X/Twitter account after the game saying “So much love to these fans. Thank you so much to (the supporters group tifo committee and the QC Royals) for making this tifo. Dream come true.”
International duty for Swiderski and Uronen
Star striker Karol Swiderski has been called up to play for Poland, and new left back Jere Uronen was called up to play for Finland in the upcoming EEFA EURO qualifiers.
Charlotte FC is off during the international break next week, so neither player is expected to miss any game action.
Poland plays Faroe Islands on Thursday, Sept. 7, and Albania on Sept. 10.
Finland plays Kazakhstan on Sept. 7 and Denmark on Sept. 10.
Charlotte FC has a break after this Saturday’s game in Nashville, returning to action Sept. 16 at home against D.C. United.
Bronico comes up big for Beds for Kids
In just his second year hosting his own charity event, midfielder Brandt Bronico showed the strides he’s made in establishing a foothold in the Charlotte community.
More than 300 people showed up to his event last Sunday afternoon at HopFly Brewing Co. to get a photo and/or autograph with Bronico, taste the newly released “The Mayor IPA” in Bronico’s honor, participate in a silent auction, play 2-on-2 mini cage soccer and rub elbows with a host of Charlotte FC players.
All the while, the event raised enough money to supply 240 bed kits to “Beds for Kids,” a charity that provides beds and essential furniture to children in need in the Charlotte area. Even in the days immediately following the event, Beds for Kids was able to supply new crib mattresses to 23 families from money Bronico raised.
One of the most meaningful parts of the event to Bronico — who is wearing a perma-grin in all the photos and video footage from the event — was seeing as many as a dozen of his Charlotte FC teammates show up to support him.
“It was very heartwarming to see all the support from supporters and even the players on my team that came out on their off day and spent a few hours there,” Bronico said.
Bronico is blazing a trail for the second-year franchise, perhaps showing his teammates how to make a mark in the community.
“It's important to get involved,” Bronico said. “And you see how great the Charlotte supporters are. And the more you get involved, the more support you'll get for the community.”
Will Messi play vs. Charlotte?
When Major League Soccer announced this week that Charlotte’s regular season game in Miami would be rescheduled for Oct. 18, it meant Charlotte FC would face Inter Miami twice in a four-day span to close out the regular season. Charlotte was already scheduled to host Miami at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21. (Charlotte was originally supposed to play in Miami on Aug. 20, but that game was postponed due to Leagues Cup.)
Just as fans started to contemplate Charlotte FC getting a double-dose of Lionel Messi in less than a week, came speculation that they wouldn’t see the Argentinian superstar either time. TopBin90.com had a provocative piece predicting Messi wouldn’t play in either game: Oct. 18, because he will be playing in Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Peru the night before, and Oct. 21 because odds are Miami will be out of contention for an MLS playoff spot by then. Miami resumed MLS after the Leagues Cup tournament in last place in the Eastern Conference.
Our take? You don’t want to rule it out just yet. Perhaps there’s a reason MLS originally planned to reschedule Charlotte’s game in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 14 but changed it to Oct. 18, perhaps allowing time for Messi to play for Argentina Oct. 12 against Paraguay but not assuming he would play at altitude in Peru on Oct. 17. Perhaps he rests that game and plays against Charlotte if Miami is still in contention for the MLS playoffs.
Even if Miami is out of contention, and Messi plays both games for Argentina, who’s to say he doesn’t get at least some action in what would then be the season finale for Miami?
Just a few weeks ago, the grand assumption was that Messi wouldn’t play on artificial turf, which would have kept him out of MLS games in Atlanta and Charlotte. Messi dispelled that notion in a recent press conference, saying he had no problem playing on turf.
Either way, the questions surrounding that four-day span just add to the intrigue of Messi mania. And something else to keep in mind: Neither Sergio Busquets nor Jordi Alba, the other two powerhouse players who signed with Miami from Spain, will miss time for international play. Busquets has retired and Alba is “stepping back” from playing for Spain’s national team.
Up Next: Charlotte FC at Nashville SC
Enzo Copetti “never gave up” on himself after nearly two months out with a lower leg injury. He scored on a penalty kick off the bench in his first game back Wednesday, a 1-1 draw vs. Orlando. (Photo by Laura Wolff courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
When/Where: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Geodis Park, Nashville.
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. 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 got four points out of a win (2-1 vs. LAFC) and a tie (1-1 vs. Orlando) at home during the week but could use a good result on the road after another late-game goal allowed Wednesday cost the team two points. Charlotte’s 30 points has the club 11th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Chicago in that pivotal ninth spot.
Nashville just played Miami to a 0-0 tie on Wednesday night and held them scoreless for the first time in 10 games since Lionel Messi and Sergi Busquets joined the squad. Nashville chose to rest dynamic striker and league MVP Hany Muktar, bringing him off the bench for 45 minutes.
Charlotte eagerly awaits word on the injury status of midfielder Brecht Dejaegere, whose hamstring appeared to tighten on him before he exited Wednesday’s game. Dejaegere, the new addition from Belgium, had proved critical in the offensive buildup these past two games, as he looks to be settling into a key role with his new club. He was listed as questionable in the game report.
Striker Enzo Copetti returned to action Wednesday for the first time since injuring his calf muscle July 5. He came off the bench to draw a penalty and score Charlotte’s only goal in a 1-1 tie via penalty kick.
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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