CHARLOTTE, N.C. — During the final few months of Charlotte FC’s inaugural season, Christian Lattanzio said he’d field phone calls from time to time from players across the world who’d ask about playing in Charlotte.
“Obviously I cannot name names,” Lattanzio told reporters in an Oct. 7 press conference, “but I can assure you that there are many, many players — and not just from within this league, but also from Europe — who make inquiries to try to come.”
The then-interim and now-permanent manager took a crack at explaining the elevated interest in his club at the time. He cited the special atmosphere in Bank of America Stadium. He cited “the football that our boys are playing.” But there was a broader truth tugging on all of this — one that Lattanzio, a coach with connections to the top levels of soccer leagues in Europe, would without hesitation beat the proverbial drum for.
