Josè Tavares sits down with Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam to unpack Crown Legacy’s momentous inaugural year. Now it’s time to continue to Build the Legacy and look forward to the team’s first run at playoffs where they sit at the first seed in the Eastern Conference.
Hi guys okay there's the camera there I See you might as well do a Little how are you good to see you good To see you guys yeah yes great to see You let me let me start J by saying that Over the last few months I've been Introducing Lloyd to Portuguese food on Our travels and what's your favorite Dish so far I knew you was going to come In with that bakaya AB excellent greato Great it's a great choice I like the way It's prepared what is it the Cfish like it when they put olives on The side as well you know the little Olives the egg we just need to get a Portuguese restaurant in Charlotte or we Can all go to Z's house and have some Deal deal deal let's get down to Business first of all congratulations Are in order top of the East have you Actually stopped and taken a minute to Really enjoy what it is that you've Accomplished in your first year with Crown Legacy I learn to um enjoy my time Every single day it's amazing when we go For the games and we have the victories And great performances but we need to Make sure that the pathway that we have Here is about uh creating a type of Culture it's about develop the players It's about creating something bigger Than us and to do that we need to make Sure that we are present every single Day so to answer your question yes
Because I'm doing that every single way To live did you ever set any goals uh For like this is what we want to achieve Obviously the first year did you think Maybe give it two three years and then Maybe we'll win something and you know Did you think it could happen straight Away I decided to come here to Charlotte FC to be part of something special and Since we start for legacy FC was about Uh building the Legacy building Something special here and the Club Accept the challenge and the players Accept the challenge so since the Beginning it's always about how we can Create the best of us yeah and we Bor Together and then we have the Opportunity to go for the field to play Against other opponents man let's enjoy Our life over there let's really compete The players since the beginning they They go through a great transformation Here okay they accept that to be really Champions they need to go through inside Of them and change them change the Habits sometimes change the mindset for The their talent to be expressed since The beginning we create this type of Environment uh really great environment Where everybody is important and Everybody needs to make sure that they Are at their best and when we have this Type of mindset every single day of Course sometimes uh we can do great
Things what are some of these things That you have uh created some of these Foundations want to give away all his Secrets to success but the most basic Ones perhaps that help prepare players To achieve success with crown Legacy There are no secrets guys there are no Secrets we uh and you are part of the Club so many times so you have f it the Way that we live here we live with Passion and when we have talented Players we need to make sure that they Are developed so the winning mentality Here is something important on every Single day but it's not about we need to Win at all cost it's about we want to be Better we want to wake up in the morning And be a better version from ourselves My biggest feeling during the season I Saw so many players transforming Themselves to a better uh version of Themselves like as a human beings as Like team players and at the end of the Day as a soccer players as well let's Break that down a little bit right Because I think you touched a lot on a Lot of the things that Lloyd and I have Have talked about uh in so far as the Team is concerned right when you're Talking about if you like those reflexes You need an extra goalkeeper 5'7 go Going back to um to what you were Talking about balance comes to mind Ultimately when you're talking about a
Winning Winning culture for the team you also Have to worry about Player Development I Guess the first question and I know that L will have a followup is how do you Create that balance between having that Winning culture and knowing that you are Developing a player perhaps at his Pace We created a team because we are s such A young Club our Academy is really young But we use more than 10 players from the Academy at the end of the day we wanted To have like the best talented possible Under our budget and our circumstances Here to develop the best place for the First team so our our goal is never About winning our goal is about how we Create an environment to win every Single date so all the times that we go For one game we go to win that game with Our culture with our identity but the Coach can be great and you know Everybody's in everyone's voting you're Training guys every day let's say and Then I'm a first first team player let's Say I've not been around you know what You've been doing and then I come last Minute to play a game that's probably The hardest part so how do you get Someone that doesn't know and without Much notice right and without much Notice sometimes but look that that's a Great question everybody that come to Play with crown Legacy needs to be there
Really enjoying their time so one of our Main criteria here is about being Grateful to be alive to have a great Opportunity here and to go for the field Yeah be on a a field needs to be like Something really important for a player It's fun it's fun you forget about it Being fun I always talk to you about That enjoy that moment okay what we need To do to enjoy that moment just make Sure that you understand what we are Trying to create here and then when some Experienced players are coming they need To show that so it's about assuming the The leadership assuming that Talent Assuming that hey guys I'm here to help I'm just one more to help it's about Really making making sure that they Understand that if you go to a film make Sure that you are grateful for the Everybody's watching you everybody's Like really appreciating your talents Make sure you find the inner power that You have the inner strength to be here And they got you there right that inner Motivation that drive that got them to That position to begin with to be a Professional player someone who's Earning money doing something that Ultimately is a lot of fun yeah when you Were saying all that all I kept thinking Was the team functions almost like a Family there are moments that are Difficult to navigate dealing with one
Of the difficulties that you guys have Encountered where you have Marco Diaz Who is part of your staff who is Diagnosed with cancer I felt like that Moment was was yet another moment that Galvanized Crown Legacy a as a team we Need to make sure that we take care of Each other and Marco is suffering at the Moment with the with a problem and what We can do best to help a human being That is part of our family that is Suffering so we need to make sure that We are human beings with values and this Is something that we created here we Defend values by honesty by humbleness I Grateful and taking care of each other Team spirit by solidarity by helping Actually each other when someone is Needed and was amazing to see the club As a whole to say hey Marco we are with You we are people and people we need to Take care of each other but for that we Need to defend the values and here we Create this type of environments example Marco filipovich had a uh season ending Injury he was like under surgery Yesterday not going to play with us Anymore but he was here today said coach I'm ready to go for the game yes you Going to be with me on my bench with me Why because you're part of the family The family but it's more than a family It's something that we as human beings We need to make sure that we are on the
Community And in a community we need to take care Of each other and charlot FC is like a Great club that take care of the people Inside we don't want to be better than No one we just want to be ourselves Expressing the talent that we have here And everybody is important it's also Worth noting how infectious that is for The fans as well right because the fans Internalize the culture of the club of The people inside of it so when when our Friends come to our games they feel that They feel that we really believe on what We are doing so it's about creating this Type of synergies with the community With the fans because at the end of the Day why the fans come to see the games They want to be part of something it's Not only three points it's too many People that you are watching us too many People that going there they spend the Money at home or on the games to really Want to be those guys those players Those coaches to fight for something Bigger it's about creating the good Emotions creating like the the great Spirits that's why sports are so amazing And when we have this type of mindset About every single day we can live Together happier we can live together Bigger than we are normally are but for That we need to create that environment And for that all about the environment
In culture envir then when you plug Someone in they F the environment not Llo but at the end of the day as best as Players as we have it's going to be much Better the secret is always the players That we have with us is one of your Secrets also the hat that you decide to Wear on the home Games no The my hat is something that I have for A long time something that I that I love And it's with two reasons first is to I Came from a a fisherman place in Portugal and the fisherman over there What town is that uh it's in PTO in PTO And the place is like on close to the River it's called s Pedro Di they've Definitely got good bakaya yeah great B Great fish definitely so it's about to Honor my anory to honor my anory I'm Proud of from where I come from and the Other point is about I learned too many Things with FC portal they had too many Years ago the real great mentor that Buil a club with President Geor P Costa That was Jose Maria p and he was using The hats and it was something that it's About myself showing how grateful I am To learn so many things yeah and to Express that on the games on the to what Got you here in a way from yes and now The goal that's great to hear you say That is to essentially accomplish what You did in the regular season and
Translate that into into the playoffs so I guess we we can close this out by you Telling us a little bit about how you're Going to approach the playoffs now we we Are not arrogant to think that we are Going to beat everybody no we are Preparing ourselves for on that day we Need to be at our best and we go for the Game With everything that we have win the Game so we are going to prepare that Game like we prepared so many games like Enjoying the moments making sure that Our players are working really hard to Develop their talents make sure they are Bonding as a team they understand what They need to do on the field with the Ball without the ball and they express That with something extra yeah and then Let's see what's going to happen the Last thing I was going to say is Something I've been thinking about since I ever got to America and I've been Involved in MLS I realized That coming from Europe I didn't fully Understand what being in the playoffs Was all about you know you in Europe you Go the whole season long es and flows of The Season you win a game you get better Maybe you lose a game you you fix Something and then it's up and down and Then I felt like when I got to playoffs And I lost the game it was almost like After I've lost the game it's like it
Hit me that oh yeah the season's over And it's like you slowly learn have you Had experience with playoff format at All or I'm not I was involving in teams That were playing Champions League you Need to go for the game realizing that If you win you go through yeah so you Don't save anything don't save anything It's about giving everything but giving Everything with like the right mindset With the right reason with the idea with A plan so it's about following the plan So it's about how we can be the best Team on that moment yeah our season is About learning it's about developing and It's about being grateful for the By being humble that's now we're going To have another opportunity to show our Our talent so let's let's make sure that We are successful Yeah by doing our job On a single day and again living with Passion with love what what what we are Doing and actually preparing for that Moment to be at our best if this soccer Thing doesn't work out for J it can be a Motivational spee I think you'd have a Lot of success I'm very excited about The playoff run really excited we all we All are come onett good that we want to We want to thank you for your time yeah Uh Obviously good luck in the playoffs And congratulations again for everything That you've achieved this season Excellent thank you we are dealing with
People players are people are human Beings like us so just make to so that Everybody's understood and they are part Of something important they are really Important and we are enjoying our life Here thank you Jose we all are you very Much apprciate you take Chef
Living in Charlotte North Carolina
Events
When you live in Charlotte, you’re part of a diverse, family-friendly city. The modern city center (Uptown) is home to the Levine Museum of the New South, which explores post–Civil War history in the region, and Discovery Place, where you can learn about the world through hands-on science displays. Uptown also features Carowinds, the state’s most popular amusement park, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which pays homage to the sport that made the city famous.
The city’s temperate climate is perfect for hosting festivals throughout the year. From film and porch festivals to performing arts showcases, and niche food, wine, and beer weeks—Charlotte’s got it all. And don’t forget the craft beer scene—Charlotte has 18 breweries that are worth trying out!
Life in Charlotte
While you’ll find plenty of things to do indoors, many residents embrace the outdoors. The city offers more than 35 miles of greenways that are perfect for a leisurely bike ride or jog. And with the beach and mountains just a short drive away, you’ll have access to outdoor activities like whitewater rafting and paddleboarding.