Tag: Major League Soccer

Charlotte FC is about to embark upon one of the biggest sporting debuts in American history this weekend.

The expansion MLS side is expecting a crowd of over 73,500 supporters in the heart of North Carolina’s biggest city and that bodes well for a community that has been seeking proper football attention in the country’s top flight.

Charlotte debuted in a 3-0 defeat against DC United a week ago, but the true test for the new club will be how they rally behind their home faithful on Saturday night when the city and country are all watching.

If the club’s aspirations come to fruition, Charlotte’s home match against the LA Galaxy will be the most-attended single game in MLS history, breaking a spell set by Atlanta United on several occasions.

Today, we’re taking a look at five Charlotte FC players that you should be watching coming into the weekend.

Lindsey is a promising defender that previously spent time at Sporting KC. The Charlotte native returns home to help the expansion side build out its initial squad and the former U.S. Under-20 right back will have to be consistent for this team to surprise the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Fuchs is the veteran in the squad that everyone turns to given his vast European experience. The former Leicester City defender is tasked with serving as the heart and soul of the team and leading by example for a team that features plenty of youth.

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Fuchs will have a variety of defensive roles with this Charlotte side, especially after the team lined up with five at the back in Week 1.

The top pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft comes to Charlotte as a young player with an opportunity to make an instant impact in the midfield. Bender was very sought after coming into the league after starring at the University of Maryland.

Last year, Bender was a key figure for NPSL side FC Baltimore Christos, where he scored six goals and won the league’s Young Player of the Year award.

Ortiz brings a strong presence after playing for some of South America’s elite sides like Huracan, Racing and Independiente.

Ortiz will be relied upon heavily up front as one of the side’s main sources of goals. He’s got great pace and versatility to be utilized in various positions on the front line which gives Charlotte flexibility with how it aligns.

Gaines actually spent the first few seasons of his career in Germany before coming to MLS in 2021 where he spent time with Austin FC during their debut season.

Now, the Texas native is looking to bring a spark to Charlotte in their inaugural campaign

Major League Soccer’s youth presence continues to soar with the league putting more emphasis on developing talent in the United States.

On Sunday, yet another bright young talent made his MLS debut and it was quite a memorable one for Atlanta United defender Caleb Wiley.

Yesterday marked a truly historic day for the teenager as he helped guide the Eastern Conference side to a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.

Wiley capped the game off with a late goal and the Five Stripes have another quality defender following in the footsteps of Miles Robinson and George Bello, who was recently sold to German side Arminia Bielefeld.

“It’s definitely a dream come true,” Wiley said postgame. “I don’t score many goals that often, so when I do it’s definitely a speechless moment.

“When I saw it go into the back of the net, it was a huge moment for me. To do it in front of this huge crowd, in front of friends and family is something special.”

The 17-year-old left back came up through Atlanta’s system and has been involved with the club since 2016.

Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

For the past two seasons, Wiley has spent significant time with Atlanta United 2, the club’s USL affiliate, and he became an important part of their side before making the leap to the senior team.

Wiley primarily plays left back but can also advance higher on the wing, as shown by his willingness to get forward in Atlanta’s first win of 2022.

The Georgia native has already represented the U.S. at various youth levels, including the Under 17 and Under 20 national teams.

With Bello now playing in Germany, Wiley has a huge opportunity to stamp his presence on Atlanta’s squad in 2022 and beyond.

Wiley played just 15 minutes in his MLS debut and it was evident that he’s capable of not only being a solid defensive option but also provides a lot going forward to help Josef Martinez and the Atlanta attack.

United manager Gonzalo Pineda praised the young defender after Sunday’s win and made it sound like there were be a lot more coming with the 17 year old.

“He has all the ingredients needed to have a very good career,” Pineda said in Spanish. “But obviously we’re going to take it step by step, so he can build a good base that allows him to have a long career.

“It’s very easy to give players a chance to debut, but it’s more difficult to turn them into great players, and that’s my mission with him.”

It’s MLS season once again and that means kit drops for all 28 clubs across the league.

Charlotte FC will debut this season, and the Eastern Conference side is one of several teams going bold in 2022 with mint as part of their jersey strategy.

Meanwhile, the overall theme of this campaign is that MLS teams have gone more bold with their kits.

Last season, the Seattle Sounders put out their amazing tribute kits to honor Jimi Hendrix.

Clubs like Sporting KC typically have very elegant kits that make other team’s supporters envious, but this year the playing field is a bit more level.

ONE37pm takes a look at the 10 best kits ahead of the 2022 MLS season.

Montreal Impact

MLS

The marble concept is extremely cool, especially because it fits the Montreal color scheme so perfectly. Many clubs opt for very simple white kits, but the Canadian side definitely made the most of their opportunity.

Orlando City

MLS

Orlando got everything right with this kit and fully embraced its ode to the Sunshine State. The subtleties of the colors fading into the club’s primary color of purple are very well done and this kit is going to look even better on the pitch.

New York Red Bulls

MLS

Many clubs have tried to emulate what Croatia has built with its renowned checkerboard pattern, but the red on red design with the Red Bulls’ 2022 kit goes quite well.

Chicago Fire

MLS

This Fire kit is very well done with the subtle Chicago skyline featured as the center piece throughout.

Seattle Sounders

MLS

Seattle’s legacy kit uses a simple pattern but it’s execution is very top class. The green meshes well with the blue squares and the Sounders have once again done a fine job with its kit.

New York City FC

MLS

Last season’s MLS Cup winners went very bold with its alternate kit, but the ‘Volt’ does grow on you after the initial shock of the amount of orange used.

Atlanta United

MLS

Although the pattern itself is a bit confusing, Atlanta uses the mint quite well and it blends in with the white perfectly.

Houston Dynamo

MLS

The Dynamo might have one of the best kits of the year with their camo design. It’s the perfect ode to the ‘Bayou’ and gives Houston an awesome blending with its new badge.

Los Angeles FC

MLS

In a lot of ways, this LAFC kit feels like some of the Liga MX jerseys of the past. And it’s perfect with the gradient throughout the kit which allows the gold to really pop.

Portland Timbers

MLS

The Rose City aspect of Portland finally shines through with this kit and the Timbers are going to be looking so fresh when they step out onto the Providence Park pitch all season.

The New York Red Bulls may have gotten away from their days of signing high-profile talents like Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, but the club continues to produce an immense amount of youth talent.

With a group of strong young players led by Caden Clark and Cristian Casseres Jr. the Red Bulls have reason for optimism in 2022, and now that they’ve brought in another young face perhaps they can build off of last season’s playoff push.

The Red Bulls recently acquired Brazilian attacker Luquinhas from Polish giants Legia Warsaw and now the team has yet another promising threat that can add another layer to their front group.

SOPA Images / Contributor

Luquinhas will join Clark, as well as strikers Tom Barlow and Patrik Klimala as the Eastern Conference side’s main source of attacking options this year.

ONE37pm takes a deeper look at the 25 year old and how he can help impact the club.

Luquinhas came up playing in his native Brazil and started out at local club Atlético Ceilandense before making a move to Portugal in 2014.

The attacker landed at Vilafranquense before getting introduced to Portuguese giants Benfica. Although Luquinhas never had the chance to make an impression with the first team, he was able to shine with Vilafranquense over a few seasons.

He found a home at Legia Warsaw for several seasons starting in 2019 and won back-to-back Ekstraklasa titles in 2020 and 2021.

Luquinhas is extremely impressive on the ball and despite his diminutive size the Brazilian can find clever ways to get away from pressure.

Although he’s primarily used as an attacking midfielder, Luquinhas also has experience on the wing, which will afford the Red Bulls different opportunities to use his creativity.

While at Legia Warsaw, the Brazilian made it a habit of putting defenses into dangerous positions by getting forward often and finding every way possible to get the ball at his feet.

The Brazilian will have a huge opportunity to help become a mainstay in the Red Bulls attack for future seasons, especially if he can build instant chemistry with Klimala.

Clark is expected to leave the Red Bulls once his loan from RB Leipzig expires, so that will give Luquinhas an even larger role with the MLS side.

The Red Bulls are gaining a much-needed talent in the midfield that will surely help their attack this season and beyond, and Luquinhas could follow in the footsteps of some talented short kings that have played great in MLS over previous years like Sebastian Giovinco and Luciano Acosta.

The 2022 Major League Soccer season kicks off later this month and the Charlotte FC are the fourth team that ONE37pm will be taking a closer look at.

Charlotte will make its MLS debut this season after years of planning its arrival as the league’s 28th club.

The North Carolina-based side made an initial splash in 2021 when they revealed Christian Fuchs would be signing with the club after being part of the historic Leicester City side that won the Premier League in 2015/16.

Charlotte continues to build its squad on the fly, but with promising youngsters in the fold like No. 1 overall pick Ben Bender and Adam Armour perhaps they’ll make some noise in Year 1.

Here’s a closer look at the Charlotte FC heading into the 2022 season.

2022 marks the first season Charlotte will compete in MLS. Charlotte will compete in the Eastern Conference.

Miguel Angel Ramirez became the first coach in Charlotte history in 2022 beginning his managerial career in Europe and South America. Ramirez most recently coached in Brazil with Internacional, where they reached the Copa Libertadores Round of 16 a year ago.

Karol Swiderski (Poland) is Charlotte’s Designated Player striker who has 14 appearances for the Poland national team. The 25 year old will likely play a role in the Polish squad that will aim to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar this year.

Sergio Ruiz (Spain) is a veteran midfielder that brings in a lot of quality for Charlotte after playing for years at Racing Santander. Ruiz played for Las Palmas recently and hopes to bring some of that tenacity and creativity into the Charlotte midfield.

Ben Bender (USA) will be getting a lot of time as a rookie after being highly respected from his time in college. He’ll anchor that midfield and hope to be a strong two-way player that can help Charlotte control possession in the center of the pitch.

March 5 vs. LA Galaxy

April 9 vs. Atlanta United

April 16 at New England Revolution

August 17 at New York City FC

Charlotte has an underrated squad heading into Year 1 and despite only having one Designated Player to this point there’s a very good chance they add players during the season.

The club has been ambitious with its marketing and will have a strong fanbase from the opening whistle that kicks off the MLS season.

Charlotte is reportedly expecting over 65,000 fans for their inaugural home opener against the LA Galaxy, which would be massive for the city and the club.

With veteran presences around the club, including Fuchs and Harrison Afful, don’t be surprised if Charlotte is in the playoff mix throughout much of the season.