Workhorse Bronico trying new position for Charlotte FC
Charlotte's workhorse makes position change to bolster backline, plus ATL and Charlotte fans join forces to honor Walkes, adjusting to referees, Copetti's first goal and previewing Saturday's matchup
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Bronico to left back as team shuffles, searches for first win of season vs. Atlanta
Bronico gets a feel for left back in 3-1 loss at St. Louis. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
If you’ve watched Charlotte FC coach Christian Lattanzio in action the last year plus, you know he’s not afraid to move chess pieces around. The prime example came last year, when he moved star striker Karol Swiderski to central attacking midfield.
In the first two games of this season, he’s had Swiderski at midfield and on the wing. He tried midfielder Derrick Jones at center back in the preseason before the team acquired Bill Tuiloma. And on Saturday in St. Louis, in a move that popped off the lineup page to the Charlotte faithful, he lined up midfield mainstay Brandt Bronico at left back.
Bronico has been the steadying force in Charlotte’s midfield, leading the team in minutes played (2,995) while starting 34 of 36 games in the franchise’s young history. Until Saturday, all of those minutes had been in the midfield.
“Lattanzio came up to me last Monday (Feb. 27) and wanted to see how I felt about playing left back in his system,” Bronico recounted this week. “I told him, ‘Look, I'll do whatever you ask of me and whatever is best for the team. And if you think this is best for the team, then I’m willing to do it.’ Obviously, it’s a position I’m not used to, on — I wouldn’t say my weak foot, but my less strong foot. But we’re learning and getting better at it every day.”
Left back has been an area of need for a while now; Sporting director Zoran Krneta told us in our Ledger podcast it’s at the top of his priority list. And Charlotte FC is much deeper at midfield than along the backline, which is all the more evident in a move like this.
Having Bronico at left back and Swiderski on right wing in St. Louis enabled both Jones and Andre Shinyashiki to start at midfield. By doing something similar against Atlanta, it might also get Nuno Santos more action, too.
“I think it’s just trying to get the most talent on the field and how he can incorporate guys into doing that,” Bronico said.
Though some fans have criticized him for playing Bronico out of position, Lattanzio defended his thinking Thursday in this way:
Maybe if you’re looking at a more traditional way of playing fullback (he could be considered out of position), a guy that is left footed on the left that goes up and down and overlaps (with the winger) continuously … but the way we want to play our game, I think it can suit him really well, and it can suit the team very well.
Lattanzio likes to use his outside fullbacks to pinch in toward the middle of the field and act as an extra midfielder when Charlotte FC is on the attack.
“If we can implement it and play the correct way, I’ll be able to have the best of both worlds,” Bronico said, “where I can play midfield when we have the ball and then go to left back when we’re defending.”
Bronico, a defensive midfielder, held his own against St. Louis.
“I’ve watched enough soccer to have the general idea of how to play the position,” said Bronico, who played 8 to 10 games at right back with Chicago Fire but has otherwise played midfield his entire career (and life!). “There’s definitely some midfielder tendencies and habits that I can’t really have in this position. … Just knowing that there’s a lot more space behind me, keeping up with the how the backline steps and drops, and then forcing the guy outside and wide, away from goal — those are probably the three main things that [are] different than what I do in the midfield.”
Rivalry with a twist: Opposing fans join forces to honor Walkes
Charlotte and Atlanta love to hate each other. The two cities, fanbases and now MLS clubs meet for the third time Saturday at Bank of America Stadium.
But since January, they have shared a common bond: grieving the loss of Anton Walkes.
Walkes came to Charlotte in the expansion draft from Atlanta, where he was a key figure and fan favorite on their inaugural team and two seasons to follow. When Walkes was killed tragically in a boating accident during the preseason, Atlanta’s front office, fans and players rallied in support of Walkes, from owner Arthur Blank sending condolences to former star player Josef Martinez attending Walkes’ memorial service at Bank of America Stadium.
Fan groups from both teams created a summer scarf representing both clubs with proceeds to benefit Anton Walkes’ family. And on Saturday, Charlotte FC’s supporters groups will unveil a tifo to honor Walkes that features input from both Charlotte and Atlanta fans. Here’s what Atlanta’s tifo looked like to open the 2023 season:
My take: Respect from referees needs to be earned
Copetti pleading his case with the referee in opener vs. New England. (Photo by Kevin Young of the 5 and 2 Project.)
It’s not really my gig to throw out a ton of my opinion here, especially as someone who is still learning professional soccer and who prefers objectivity above all. But can I sneak in my two cents on something I’ve noticed during the first parts of Charlotte FC’s first two seasons?
Star players who are new to the league — Karol Swiderski last year, Enzo Copetti this year — are not going to get the calls they want from the referees until they establish themselves in Major League Soccer first. From what I’ve seen, reputation alone and on-field reactions (some might say antics) are not going to get it done. For better or for worse, here’s what I see as the more natural order of things: score goals, earn respect, then get calls.
That might not be fair, or the way it should be. And no referee is going to admit that there’s a bias against players new to the league. But in years of covering baseball, I learned that there were some things you just understood as the way it was. The umpire was not going to give a rookie pitcher a third strike call on the inside corner of the plate in his first game. Maybe not his second. But if he’s good, and he keeps his cool and goes about his business, those strike calls will come.
No, this isn’t baseball. And no, these new international players aren’t rookies. But if what I’m seeing is real, then it does seem like a tendency. Last Saturday in St. Louis, it was clear Copetti wasn’t getting calls from referee Ted Unkel — most notably the one that took out his ankle and would have awarded Charlotte a penalty kick. Lattanzio opened his press conference calling Unkel’s performance “poor” and pointed out the cost of losing a potential 2-0 lead in an eventual 3-1 loss. He had a case, and so did Copetti. But sometimes trying to make it, over and over, just compounds the problem.
Before the night was over, Charlotte FC had been slapped with five yellow cards (and St. Louis three), and I was thinking about Bobby Hurley. Hurley played point guard for Duke in the early 1990s and as a freshman quickly earned the reputation as a complainer. You could see it all over his face. It got so bad that Coach Mike Krzyzewski had his staff compile a video montage of all of Hurley’s whiny reactions and showed it to him. It wasn’t pretty. The message was clear. His behavior changed. And I dare say, the calls started coming his way. (And oh yeah, in the next two seasons, he led Duke to back-to-back national championships … while I was a student there. Woot-woot.)
While I give soccer players more leeway — it seems “embellishment” and dramatics are ingrained in the sport — why not try this: Play hard until somebody blows a whistle. And if they don’t? Get up and keep playing.
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➡️ What do you think? Send me an email, or leave a message in the comments:
Video replay: Copetti’s connection and celebration of first goal
Check out this field-level view of Enzo Copetti’s first goal as a member of Charlotte FC which gave Charlotte a 1-0 lead in St. Louis. Not only will you see picture-perfect passes from Kamil Jozwiak to Karol Swiderski to Copetti, you’ll also see him hold off his celebration until he could find Swiderski so he could acknowledge the assist. You’ll also see, in case you’re like me and missed it in live action, Copetti paying tribute to his brand new baby girl, Mia, who was three days old. He sips from an imaginary baby bottle and cradles an imaginary baby.
I promise you I deleted a line from last week’s Fútbol Friday predicting Copetti would score a goal in St. Louis to celebrate his daughter’s birth. Afraid I’d either jinx him or take heat for jinxing him, I was too chicken. As a literary agent I know used to say: that was a missed opportunity.
The Female photographers of Charlotte FC
The talented women who shoot Charlotte FC, from left: Alana McCallion, Tayler Banner, Lizzy Otten, Laura Wolff, and Krista Jasso. (Photo by Rusty Williams of Charlotte magazine.)
One of the cool things about working for The Charlotte Ledger is the flexibility our editors give us to do and write what we enjoy, even if it means for other publications … and this past offseason, with some time away from Fútbol Friday, I had a chance to write this story for Charlotte magazine about the group of female photographers who document Charlotte FC.
It ran earlier this month as part of the magazine’s March edition honoring Women’s History Month. It’s fitting that we link to it this week, because Charlotte FC is paying tribute to “Queens of the QC” Saturday, honoring women in sports before and during the game.
All last season, I had followed the work of the group of women who shot most of the Charlotte FC action — and relied on it quite heavily in this newsletter to help tell the story of the inaugural season. They do a great job of capturing the raw emotion — both good and bad — and never seemed to miss a crucial moment, which is not as simple as it seems. It was nice to get a chance to know them and hear how they got here and what goes into capturing photos they do. Then after I’d reported and written the story and it was waiting to be published, Anton Walkes died. I marveled again as they documented the end of his career, the celebration of his life and the team’s response to all of it, even as the loss affected them personally.
Taylor Banner, Charlotte FC’s senior creative manager and team photographer, has made a habit of hiring women — both in occasional full-time roles and the team of freelancers she needs for game action. It’s all the more proof to me that women are just as capable as men, if not more, of documenting men’s sports. Banner sets the tone not only in her staffing choices but her photography. She’s out there grinding with them and getting great shots, too.
Laura Wolff, who at 30 is the veteran of the crew, feels like my kindred spirit because she spends her “spare” time as team photographer of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. (Anybody who can survive a baseball schedule has my respect.) She had this to say: “Being a man or woman doesn’t define how well we do our jobs. Our jobs are defined by our talent, and I think that this group is full of some crazy talent.”
Me too.
➡️ From Charlotte magazine: “‘I Don’t Think This Has Been Done Before’: Inside Charlotte FC’s Photography Team”
News and notes:
Health update: Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who has been out of action since undergoing back surgery over the winter, has returned to the practice field. He took some repetitions in goal this week, captioning a video on his Instagram account “finally work in the field.” … Striker Vini Mello has returned to practice after missing three weeks following a blow to the chest. … And veteran center back Guzman Corujo, who has been out since August following surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament tear, took a step in his recovery by participating in not just warmups and agility work but 6-on-2 passing “rondo” drills at the start of practice. “That’s great news for us,” Lattanzio said. “Not just tactically but psychologically. I know how hard he worked all these months, and to see the light at the end of the tunnel for him is great.”
Charlotte to host Leagues Cup game July 29: The schedule was announced this week for the group stage of the upcoming 2023 Leagues Cup — the mid-summer World Cup-style tournament featuring all 18 teams from LIGA MX (Mexican Leagues) and 29 from MLS. Charlotte will travel to FC Dallas on July 21 and host Necaxa of Liga MX on July 29 at Bank of America Stadium. Tickets for that game will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Charlotte FC enters “TST” 7-on-7 tournament. Charlotte FC has signed on to field at team in the first ever “Total Soccer Tournament,” which is modeled after “The Basketball Tournament,” featuring 7-on-7 play for a $1 million prize. The event will be held in Cary, N.C., June 1-4 and include teams representing Wrexham AFC (The Welsh team owned in part by actor Ryan Reynolds) and U.S. Men’s National team star Clint Dempsey, among others. Charlotte will field a team of notable former players and team officials. Should Charlotte win, it has pledged to donate the $1 million to the Walkes family fund.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (0-2-0) vs. Atlanta United (1-0-1)
When/Where: Noon on Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
How to watch: FOX and free on Apple TV. For information on how to sign up, click here.
How to listen: The English broadcast is on WFNZ 92.7 FM and in Spanish WOLS 106.1 FM.
Notable:
Josef Martinez, the dynamic fixture on Atlanta’s front line for six seasons, parted ways with the United this past offseason and signed with Inter Miami. His relationship with Atlanta deteriorated late last season after he reportedly flipped over a postgame meal table during an argument with coach Gonzalo Pineda.
Fans will see a familiar face in Atlanta’s attacking midfielder Thiago Almada, who scored two goals in stoppage time to help the United come back from 1-0 down against San Jose in its season opener. Almada became the first active MLS player to win a FIFA World Cup this past winter as a member of Argentina’s national team.
Keep an eye on Giorgos Giakoumakis, the newest designated player for Atlanta United. The Greek international saw his first playing time off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Toronto.
These two teams are 1-1 against each other in their young history, with Charlotte falling 2-1 in Atlanta in a game that included the franchise’s first score on an Adam Armour header. Then Charlotte won a month later 1-0 at Bank of America Stadium on a Jordy Alcivar olympico - a corner kick directly into goal.
This is the only afternoon kickoff of the 2023 season thanks to the new Apple TV deal and the TV company’s desire to sync up start times across MLS at 7:30 p.m. local. If ever there was a game to bring the kids to, this is it!
Expect Charlotte’s supporters’ groups to try out a new postgame song, win, lose or draw. Volare was mistakenly left off the stadium sound system after the home opening 1-0 loss to New England.
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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AMEN!
Totally agree with you on earning respect from referees. This is something I'm seeing from a lot of international players.
As far as Bronico, he has yet to impress me. I think he's getting way more pitch time than he's deserved...