U.S. Men's soccer star joins Charlotte FC
Q&A with Tim Ream, the 36-year-old center back from U.S. Men's National team and Fulham of the EPL, who gives Charlotte FC familiar face with international experience
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Veteran Tim Ream says: ‘I’m going to push myself to be in starting 11’
Tim Ream sporting his new No. 3 Charlotte FC jersey, trademark “man bun” and beard, and a familiar cloak of stars and stripes. (Photo by Taylor Banner, Charlotte FC.)
Even the biggest names signed by Charlotte FC in its first three seasons often require some explanation to your average U.S. soccer fan:
Christian Fuchs: won a Premier League title with upstart Leicester City.
Karol Swiderski: an elite player on Poland’s national team.
Ashley Westwood: the English midfielder who played 10 years in the Premier League.
But the name Tim Ream? For many, it rings a bell.
The veteran center back who played for the U.S. Men’s National team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and for the better part of a dozen years prior finally arrived in Charlotte this week. The club made it official Wednesday morning, announcing it had completed a transfer that’s been months in the making, to sign Ream from Fulham FC of the English Premier League.
Ream is signed through 2026 — the year he has set sights on competing in the World Cup on U.S. soil — with an option for 2027. (He is not signed as a designated player, leaving open the distinct possibility Charlotte signs another DP before the transfer window closes Aug. 14.) He was set to begin practice Wednesday morning and is eligible to play when Charlotte FC resumes its MLS regular season schedule Aug. 24.
In between medical exams, photo shoots and introductions earlier this week, Ream spoke to The Ledger by phone, shedding light on how he landed in Charlotte, playing at the age of 36, where he might fit in with the club and more.
He and his wife, Kristen, both of whom played soccer at St. Louis University, have three kids: Aidan, 10; Theo, 8; and Lily, 5. They’re enrolled in a Charlotte private school for the fall. Ream told the Men in Blazers podcast he once sat out of a World Cup qualifying camp so he could take care of his kids while his wife went out of town. He made the impression in this conversation that his family life played a big part in this move. Here are excerpts, edited for brevity and clarity:
Q. Why Charlotte?
Just speaking to a lot of people within the club and outside of the club. The people who have nothing to do with the world of soccer sold us the city, and obviously the people inside the club sold us the club. We’ve learned that it’s an unbelievable place to raise a family, and I have three young kids. Everybody we spoke to said it was a great place, an up-and-coming place, a thriving city. We’re very excited to move here and get settled in and be a part of the community.
Q. Did you have a friend outside of soccer living here?
I had a lot of acquaintances over many years from back home in St. Louis, and either they have family members that live here or have lived here. Coincidentally, the school we were at in London, a family had just moved from Charlotte, and they spoke really highly of the city and the surrounding areas. For us, it’s always been about our family and our kids, and that was the most important thing, is knowing what it was like off the field.
Q. Did you seek Charlotte out? Did someone hear of your interest?
The back end of last season, my wife and I sat down and had a lot of discussions. I think both of us were ready to be closer to home, which is obviously St. Louis, but it didn’t feel like St. Louis was going to be home. We wanted to be closer but somewhere we felt was good for us and the kids.
I had a discussion with Fulham, and we were given the green light to call around and see if there was any interest from teams here. Charlotte and the guys here [assistant GM] Bobby [Belair] and [GM] Zoran [Krneta], were ready to speak to us. … It was kind of a mutual feeling at that point. A lot of easy discussions.
Q. Charlotte feels almost like a new girlfriend and this is cheating on St. Louis City SC. Was your hometown team an option? Do they not have needs for a center back?
That’s a great question. I told my agent, I had him call around, and I don’t know who said what, who said no, who wasn’t interested, who was interested. I just said, “When you have somebody who’s interested, let me know and let’s start having conversations with them.” So I don’t know what kind of contact was made with them or lack thereof.
Q. What’s your mindset as far as your role with Charlotte FC? Do you work your way in or do you have immediate expectations of where you contribute? [Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett have been mainstays at center back.]
I’m not blind to the fact that the center backs have done really well this year. And in a way, I think that helps me to come in and know that I’m in a very stable club, a very stable environment. The pressure that will be put on me is all from myself.
But I’m going to come in and contribute; that’s my goal. I want to play as many minutes as possible. I know my age will be discussed. I’m not getting any younger. I want to play as much as I possibly can until I have to call time on my career. So I’m going to come in and push myself to be in that starting 11 as much as I possibly can, and if and when I’m not, it’s how am I going to help the guys around me develop and become better players.
Ream posing with his new jersey at Charlotte FC’s Atrium Health Performance Park. (Photo by Taylor Banner, Charlotte FC.)
Q. We saw in your Copa America play with the U.S. that your calf injury of last season is no longer an issue. Are you 100 percent?
Oh yeah, 100 percent. The calf was just a little blip midseason and it was more from being kicked than any old age or overuse or overwork. Clean bill of health, based on the 8 million doctors I’ve seen for the medical over the last few days.
Q. Is your goal to get back to the World Cup?
Yeah, obviously with a home World Cup, it’s out there in the distance. But I said before the last World Cup you have to set short-term, medium- and long-term goals, and that would be a long-term goal. If you’re not hitting the short- or medium-term goals, the long-term goals are pointless to even look at.
So it’s out there, but it’s not something that I’m solely focused on. You have to perform in the here and now and not take any of that for granted, or else you won’t even come close to reaching that long-term goal.
Q. How ironic is it that your first game back in Major League Soccer could be against the New York Red Bulls, the team that first drafted you in 2010?
This game throws up some crazy situations and crazy scenarios, and this is one of them. I was really hoping there would be some Leagues Cup games that I could ease myself into, get some minutes under my belt because I have been in the offseason now for the past couple of weeks.
With the confirmation [Sunday] night of being out of Leagues Cup, it was like “Wow, full circle.” … Pretty strange how this game works, and how it comes around to that type of scenario, but it’s definitely something that I’m well aware of and looking forward to.
Q. Did you ever imagine you’d be back in MLS?
No, I have to be completely honest. I’ve maintained up until last year that I would love to finish playing over in England and retire over there. But then at the same time, I try not to close any doors before they’ve been opened.
When this one opened, in conversations with my wife, it was like “Well, let’s step through it. Let’s embrace it and try something new, because it is very new.” It’s very different from when we left. … As anybody will tell you, this game changes so quick. Things change from good to bad and bad to good faster than sometimes you can blink. When this came up, it was one of those we felt like we couldn’t pass up.
Q. What are your impressions of Charlotte FC under Dean Smith?
It’s impressive. Obviously, he’s come in, made the team really difficult to break down and really difficult to beat. And I think that’s the foundation of a good team. It’s a fun team to watch, but I think there’s still a lot of room for growth. So I’m going to come in here and hopefully be able to push guys on and bring a veteran presence and more leadership and mentorship and try to make sure we’re pushing to reach higher heights.
Q. Have you heard about Smith’s promise to buy defenders a bottle of wine after every shutout? The team has had nine “clean sheets” and the rap is he gets behind on his payments.
Oh, I’ll make him pay. If he’s going to hold us to a certain standard, I’ve got to hold him to a certain standard as well. I like this idea. I do enjoy a good bottle of wine.
62,000+ take in powerhouses Real Madrid and Chelsea
Real Madrid beat Chelsea 2-1 in an exhibition game, or a “friendly,” at Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday in front of more than 62,000 fans.
All the goals came in the first half. The result delighted a crowd that had to be 75% Real Madrid fans.
While Chelsea FC has played in Charlotte before, this was Real Madrid’s first appearance, and people came from far and wide to support one of the globe’s most famous soccer teams.
A few shots of the action from Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project:
Up Next: Bye
Charlotte FC was eliminated from Leagues Cup in group play after Cruz Azul won a shootout against the Philadelphia Union on Sunday night. Those two teams advanced to the knockout round, leaving Charlotte as the odd team out. Charlotte FC is out of action until MLS regular season play resumes, which for Charlotte will be Saturday, Aug. 24 against the New York Red Bulls at Bank of America Stadium.
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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