Christian Lattanzio talks to media about the newcomers to the team, the value the team possesses for the upcoming away match against CF Montreal, Leagues Cup at the end of the month, and more.
Okay we'll let you start off today Um uh well how are you today looks like You're in a good mood new signing Correct hey how can you be when you are With the local media I love you guys so I'm looking forward to see Nice nice awesome I just wanted uh maybe You could start off your thoughts with I'm not even gonna try to pronounce his Name so could you give us how the Pronunciation We call him brecht because I tried a Couple of times to Adventure myself in Calling [Music] That would be great if you know you Probably know more than me I can tell You that but uh I tried a couple of Times to mention is a name at Thomas Sharling which is at the Dutch Scout he Said to me Chris if we sign him I need To do a special course how to pronounce His name so I wouldn't until uh Thomas Uh does this special course to me I call Him break Okay nice well maybe your thoughts on Brett and what he can bring to this team Break the Is a player that uh has experience and He has a certain qualities that I like In a player so it's a midfielder that Likes to play Between the Lines is Dynamic Is
[Music] Um He has that ability to make an assist as Well to assist players as well as Creating uh danger in the last third I have followed him lately when he was Playing for Toulouse in France because I Still follow the leagues in which I Worked And I've seen them doing well they Actually won the Coup de France which is the the you know The local the local club like the U.S Open cup French version and uh And he was an integral part of that so I Think he's uh I think he's um I think uh it will add a lot from that Point of view is also what impressed me Talking with him uh is that he studied Our games he was telling me How How We were playing Uh and they told me that this is normal For him when he because he had the two Or three clubs after him and he likes to Dig in deeply into where he's going Which I think is is very good and this Is another thing that I liked about him Uh he has a lot of enthusiasm for Charlotte and for MLS he's not a guy That is coming because you know it's
Just uh we offer more money than Somebody else actually wasn't the case He was a case of for him is to look at The full package obviously They are professional players and they Need to look also the financial side of The deal but as well as that is very Keen and very knowledgeable also the way We play is watching games he calls me And he shares the opinion uh of how we Saw the game so this is always a great Sign I had the same with Ashley I had The same with Scott And 12 guys like that it's uh it's Something That can help Charlotte FC to build in The right direction in the right way Nice speaking of that uh out of your Last five signings four of them have Been over 33 years old three of them Being free transfers Um I know you've mentioned in the past That you know this team required some Leadership I kind of want your thought Process behind maybe getting players of This age that some may say are nearing Towards the end of their career what is The thought process behind that No it's a good question Jorge and uh I normally give uh The Scouting Department the Characteristics of the Players I Want I don't necessarily choose the name of The player because I think in in
Everybody has to have his own area of uh Responsibility my responsibilities to Coach the team and to give The players to give the direction from The style of play that we want to Implement to the club then after we need To have the right characteristics and uh And then after is up to the front office To come with the players that they can Acquire So it's not necessarily you know then I Can say yes or no About certain names and So it's more complex or more or easier If you like Uh Then so I didn't indicate that I wanted Specifically this profile of this age If they come with a guy that is 22 years Old and that's got the right Characteristics Fine by me and I think there is an Element that we need to also look and For younger players in general Uh but there was the possibility and we Needed to get players because I told you That we need a minimum of three players To be To be competitive in the because Everybody is strengthening so if you Don't there is no such a thing or in General in my opinion in Life or Standing still if you don't go forward You go backwards so it's not because we
Had one or two players that we are Necessarily you know going ahead of the The park because everybody is Strengthening everybody say yes I was Looking at the game Chicago playing Against morial and they added opoku Which was a very important player for Lafc that won the league so everybody's Strengthening the the squad and we in Order to stay competitive to our Objective Uh our objective in this season that we Want to compete to arrive in the Playoffs we needed a minimum three Players in my opinion we need help in Certain areas Nice and then last one from me Um like you mentioned Montreal is coming Off of a three-nil loss they're right Around Charlotte as well you know Charlotte with kind of seven win lists So far does this game Saturday feel like A must win for you guys given that There'll be a big pause for League stuff Are you just taking it as another game Hmm I don't know I the way you put it like It's a must win game it's just another Game every game is important for a Jorge And we need to I focus in our Development and in having in giving our Best and to play the best game that we Can you also put it this seven uh Winless trick but we are I can say at
The same time we are unbeatened Uh in the last five games so There is always a different way of Looking I'm honestly I'm focused on us And I know that every game is a Different one huh Because they took off one yam after 45 They Uh they probably already were thinking Of our game after the first half You know there is an element of me Thinking of that so I think that You always have to be focused on the Next game at your best without thinking What they have done in the previous game Thinking it's going to be very difficult Or very easy we have to focus on each Game that is very very important for us The next game is the most important one So Uh our focus our energy our you know Preparation has to be like the next game Is the most important one always Thank you thank you thank you all right Uh Carol We're going to the bossy lady apparently Um Just wanted to check on uh DJ and how He's doing Yeah fine DJ I just saw him come in here This morning he was he finished his uh Rehab session I think uh we will have to Wait uh still a little bit of time is Not as is not that bad but unfortunately
We will not have him for the next few Games which is uh Which is annoying but as I said many Times and I stand by what I said we need To focus on the plays that we have that Will represent us in the best possible Way so I think it's fine he's in a good mood I Saw him well he looks good and he was Smiling and these uh He will do everything that he can Together with the performance department To get back as soon as possible we need Him and he is an important player for us I know there's a lot of emphasis on Needs on the defensive line there Um but I'm wondering as a coach can you Ever have enough talented midfielders No no Especially the way I like football I Love to have my midfielders I love to Have midfielders that can play I like to Have everybody that can play starting From the goalkeeper so the midfielders For me are key in the way we want to Play the way I would like us to play Both offensively and defensively and so But we need help also in different areas I don't want to go too much into that The front office is very aware of my Request they have been Uh they've been clear since uh last Season so they know exactly my view and You know I I have to trust that they
Will uh they will produce and come with What the team really needs Thank you thank you thanks Carol uh Morning Christian how are you good Morning will very well thanks I hope you Are well too I am Um So with uh Derek down or adilson and Enzo both still unavailable for Saturday Yeah So So in terms of your backline are you Guys planning on maybe bringing somebody Up from Legacy to at least have a Reinforcement Off the Bench or will you Plan on maybe just having Nathan because I know he can play that position too First of all we still have got our Players We have Jan sobuzzinski we have Guzman So and the Legacy play is we always have Them with us the Patrick is with us Brandon is with us The op is with us and Andrew private is With us so it's nothing new we have been I've been you you know using them Not in the in the bad way but using them Meaning uh we needed them in the squad They're doing really well in my opinion They improve a lot by being with the First team and you can tell also when They go and play for legacy now Uh the performance of Patrick or Brandon Of Chris Eggert when he goes of Ahmadi I
Think that Andrew privet I think that You can tell that they benefit to train With the first team and I can see them Improving on on a weekly basis So Uh yeah in the past I have David poreba Mayaka coming with us And I will keep looking at them at the Moment We still have got a number of players Like you say Nathan burn can play in That position but We have we have all the players that can Can help us we are not in the ideal Situation because a deal is an important Player for us we have a DJ that is an Important player for us but I also trust The players that they are available in The squad they train they train well and You know in the end it's up to them to Perform on the pitch when they are given The opportunity What did you make of Carol kind of Stepping up right away with those two Goals knowing he had to at least take a Lot of the brunt of the offensive Responsibility and Enzo's absence I know That people focused on the ones he Didn't make in the second half but what Did it mean to have him kind of set the Tone last weekend Yeah uh but at least and Carol is an International player so uh he can he can Play that role and I think that when the
Team scores Put the Eyes on the cake but But the icing on the cake but is the Team that uh you know create the chances And he is there is is good as a finisher He can finish we know that And that's why people were maybe Surprised in the second half but I Thought in the second half he was Getting tired it was in my mind to Change him before but unfortunately I Couldn't uh I didn't want to take that Risk because A We had to change already we had three Moments of changes and then I thought That we use One with DJ in the first Half then I changed the Wingers with uh Because I was thinking that we needed Something more after we considered the The two one And then after I wanted to I had a look At Carol he looked tired to me but he Can always be dangerous but he looked Tired to me and I wanted to put Patrick But because of what happened with Guzman You know I didn't want to fall into the Trap that we changed that and then Goose Managed to come out because he's still You know regaining his full as I said to You many times in the past you know we Have to build the Guzman to where he was Before can't expect coming from ninth Month injury and being on day one at the
Same Guzman that he was when he was Playing every game so that I didn't want To run the risk to finish with 10 men Ourselves And so and we can see even yes the Cincinnati is a team that now plays with A lot of confidence and even when they Look like That there is nothing That they can come out with that they Come out with a winner In the last second because it's a team That plays on this kind of confidence That they have so I thought that Carol Was getting tired because he played 90 Minutes anyway but I'm not surprised That he produced straight away because He has done it in the past and if the Teams works well He's able to finish chances Last one for me you mentioned that there Are always kind of different ways of Looking things you know whether it's Five games without a defeat or seven Games without a victory How would you assess this team with the Amount of games you have left in in Terms of trying to be sure that they're Carrying out everything you want to have Happen because I know you've said at Times you know sometimes the defensive Structure in the second half isn't what You want to see Etc and so on how do you Feel like they're carrying out your game
Plan through this point of the season I think that In my opinion as a team we are improving We are going we are moving forward even If you look at the Young Players I think Individually many players are Are improving if you look also the Progress that just to mention What Carol asked about DJ how DJ is Coming on as a player tactically and the Way he plays with personality I think we Can see progress what we need to improve Is to play a more complete game with the Same energy to stay high for longer Period on the on the pitch And uh That come with with time that come with You know to introduce also certain key Players at the moment that's why it's Important to To bring players with the right Characteristics that can help the the Team And uh and the squad But when I look at I focus more on Performance I know that we are in a Result game don't don't get me wrong Obviously the result is important I Understand it and especially my position Like every Coach position is linked to Results I am very aware of that but also For me the most important thing is to Look at the performance how we play and Which kind of areas we need to we need
To improve in order to perform Consistently better because when you Perform well you are you have many more Chances of getting the result that you Want for me the the result is a Consequence of the performance if we Just focus on the result first of all we Focus on something that we can't always Control sometimes you you just have to Win and you lose And then you think it was a bad Performance or vice versa and so my Focus is still on the on performance and Then after the result I know will Determine my fate like for every coach But until I'm in charge I want to make Sure that we focus on the things that we Can control and my my main objective is To see our team to play uh As good as we can for as long as we can And and in that area we have got uh Still uh you know some progress to make Thank you good luck this weekend thank You Uh Mike Turn my camera on so that uh Christian Knows it's actually me And not a spy from Montreal uh Christian With the acquisition of breakfast With CD yeah Say again I think your voice is pretty you know I Can recognize your voice Uh quite well but
That's fair that's fair Um with the Acquisitions of our field And BRAC uh you know and Jorge talked About their their age uh being guys that Are 30 plus but our Scott talked about It yesterday that one of his skills as Being one of those later rivals on the Attack and I'm not so sure that brecht Is not the same way uh maybe you can Answer that part of it but I mean is That something you were looking for in Was that one of the characteristics you Talked to the sporting director and the Department about when you talked about Bringing in three new players you know Three players to help you out In that position a characteristic mind Just to talk about Scott and brecht Because these are uh our players so I Can talk about them rather than plays That we don't have a For me it's important to have Midfielders that they they like to play With the ball So and they can play in tight spaces and They can arrive in the Box To to contribute to score goals and to Create chances but at the same time they Have to be dynamic and they have to be Able to work for the team if we want to Play high on the pitch and to put Pressure on the opposition so we can't We can't have so to speak luxury players That they are good on the ball and then
After when the opposition has the ball We are You know we leave them just to roam onto The pitch this is not the way I see Football so even if they have A certain age they are familiar players That they've got still a certain Dynamism Is the same if you look he played many Games for to lose and this is always a Player that if you look at his games Is running stats and the first thing That he wanted when he knew that he was Coming here he wanted to have straight Away a fitness program Because he wants it to work and from People that I know in France they always Tell me how is one of the most uh Fanatic in terms of keeping himself fit And running as well as the the technical Abilities that he has when he plays Higher on the pitch So the the very simply the the quality I Want in midfielder is to have quality in That position and the intensity With them without the ball and I think Brecht and the Scott can bring us that Even though they are not uh 20 anymore But they are still in in in in modern Football I think 32-33 is not what it used to be 32-33 without you respect in the in Autumn in the 80s because of many Different reasons not because they were
Less fit because there was less Technology less stuff around and so There was a little bit less knowledge And less attention to details that Nowadays become Common and you see how players for Example or even a player like Benzema Can win the Ballon d'Or at his age Because he keeps himself fit and when He's fighting against Some of the best players in the world so That is true also for our for our boys And understanding that I wasn't trying To apply the 30 plus was old uh The two of us are dinosaurs Um but with with those guys being in Their 30s and being you know an Exceptionally great shape they also Provide you uh maybe some some more Experience on field I mean would you Like the term on-field coach to help Some of the young guys to kind of learn Some of the tricks of the trade and kind Of bring them along in their development Degree yes but rather than to be coaches Because I want uh it's not because I Don't want them to be because I I think It's our responsibility mine and the Coaching staff to do that job and they Don't have to do our job but by the way They train by the way if you look at for Example Scott training Ashley training You can see that these are guys that They are really really professional
And so don't forget that together with Them we've got guys like the one I Mentioned before Brandon Cambridge Patrick gamang and we've got Chris Eggert and Ben Bender We have an Andrew privet we've got a Number of very young players And to look at them to look at the way They play the way they train Uh it's uh it's an education for them so They can see not just the coach or the Coaching staff talking about certain Things but actually the fellow players Actually put it on the pitch what we Actually tell them And my idea is also to develop in the Best possible way the young players and The young talents that we have at the Club And so to have them as understudied of Players that that's why I don't I don't Agree and that I never want the luxury Players that can come here and show a Couple of skills in training and and Train uh you know 50 for me this is not Good enough they have to come here and They have to train harder than and they Do they do because it's the way they are And we have to look at those players Also for those characteristics Okay my last one for you uh By request it looks like you feel Obliged now to do that no no no no you See that's the thing though I'm trying
To find I'm trying to find the best Trying to find the best way to do it Christian and because I mean there's a Lot of layups out there there's a lot of Softballs out there but uh when it comes To directors I need to know that your favorite film Uh by uh by the the wonderful director Martin Scorsese I want to give you a real easy one to Start because he's only done a couple of Films Foreign I don't want to be Uh To make like a bad uh because I know he Had many movies that one movie because It reminds my and I I hope he was Directed by Martis Cortez I'm not sure He was was he Serpico Directed by him or not With Al Pacino Standby I'm efforting I'm efforting uh Yeah that was uh Sydney uh Okay okay Because I don't know why but I associate It with him so I don't want uh Martis Cortez was he Uh I don't know Uh did it make good Fellas Now that one I think is right yeah yeah I think that one's right hang on a Second one that one I liked that one I Like because it's about
Uh it's a There are some of my favorite Characters when they play the mafia guys The DeNiro the Joe Pesci and I thought Even Ray Liotta I thought it was a movie That I really enjoyed So I would go with that one That was uh there's a there's a clip out There you should look into about how I can't remember that was that was yeah It was good Fellas uh where he spots Genero the way De Niro kind of looks Into the camera and he tells uh his Assistant write down the word cream Because he was thinking about the music To go with that shot at the time it was Being shot There's a video out there you should you Should look it up or have have Woody Find it for you because it was uh it was It was pretty it's pretty spectacular to Think how his mind works and so Thank you Christian thank you this Weekend yep we will talk soon thank you Thank you Mike all right
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