Christian Lattanzio talks to the media about availability, thoughts on Open Cup, taking on the defending champs, and more ahead of Charlotte FC’s U.S. Open Cup match against Orlando City.
You want to cut us off Hey Christian how are you today Good good good my first question is um Uh last uh round you played it pretty Significantly strong Squad are you Expecting to maybe play a similar Squad Like the one you played in the past uh US Open cup Yeah I think the most important game is Always the next one for me and this and It's true that you have to do a certain Amount of planning that we have to plan Accordingly to the next games as well But uh I don't want to make The mistake of looking too much ahead And not looking what is in front of of Us So my idea is always to play the Strongest team that I can take into Consideration many variables That are you know The the game we just played not long ago The game that we're gonna play also on Saturday And so we don't want to put too much Uh strain on plays that they might be on The verge of You know Of going in the Red Zone in terms of Um Physical exertion but at the same time We want to go as strong as we can Speaking a lot of different variables in
Less than 30 days you have seven matches Coming up what kind of conversations are You having I guess with your squad given There's been so many injuries and so Many unfortunate things that have Happened recently this part of football Organ so the conversation is one get Ready So use uh Uh use the days that we have off as a Regen day recovery day And and I think that the the performance Department and the guys that do a good Job with that So that we monitor the way they feel After the game some of them want to have Uh flushing down the system some others Might prefer to have you know just a Full day or just stay at home and Recover But we keep in touch with all of them so I can assure I can assure you that The the day off that we have especially When the game come thick and fast like Now they are used as a another way of Training another way of uh getting ready For for the next training session on Getting ready for the next game the our Training session they are I'm not uh prepared to compromise about The intensity they have to be intense so Is there is the player's job to get Ready and to train uh when we train at The same speed that they are they've
Always done so it would be an Interesting period and uh as a as a Football player you want to play games No it's always fun more fun to play Games that to play training sessions so Um We have to make sure that they are ready All of them mentally physically and uh And to be available for selection and Not not more than that okay and then um If you could provide an update on Malanda's injury and if we'll be seeing Uh Yaz vac pretty soon Okay so a deal is uh thankfully He did the an x-ray Uh and he was negative uh he did today a Re-up session So he's uh he's young and that obviously Is important also the ability to recover I think Um nothing too serious to worry about Which is great news for us And uh is questionable for tomorrow we Will see while Camille tomorrow will be Part of the squad Awesome and then my last question I Wanted to ask you this you said the last Question before Very very last one Um I wanted to ask you this last press Conference though Um while you were coming out of the Tunnel I think someone was showing you a Jersey that said latonzio out and you
Just looked at him and gave him a thumbs Up I kind of want to know maybe your Message to maybe people that doubt you Or this current Squad Listen sometimes it feels like we are Real Madrid he made me laugh this the The the shirt enough is enough he's like It's like this this club has won uh Three MLS Cup and three conquer cups Champions League so now enough is enough We need we are building the club and we I think the boys are doing As good as they can and we had some Tough time in different ways And so it makes me laugh these Impatience is really for me it's kind of I mean what do you want me to say I Think that there are what I want to say Though is that there is uh I receive From people that I I see there might be In the street or a lot of good support And I think that there is the Asylum majority that I think they are behind the club and They don't have to be to be behind me Obviously every coach has got guy I've Got supported they like him and the Other ones that don't everybody you know Football and I understand that I respect That this is not the problem but to be Behind the guys they if you are a Supporter you have to they Fight sometimes we we get the result That we want sometimes we don't but I
Think that they're not they are giving Everything that they that they can every Time and And so I think that I don't really Follow the social media but I know that Some people can be really vocal on that And uh and but I don't think so far that Is the majority or they can have an idea And then it spreads Like it happens nowadays on social media But honestly I don't pay too much Attention that my the most important Thing for me is that the players are in A good spot mentally that they believe In the work that we are doing this is my Focus and then the club is happy with The work that we are doing when These variables change But is not going to be a t-shirt that Is gonna change my life honestly Awesome thank you because after I didn't See this guy at the end of the game Though It's okay it doesn't matter I mean it Will be happy with what he is and you Know whatever Thank you all right uh Sam Hey coach again congrats on uh Saturday Night thank you Sam Um so I wanted to start off by asking About the open cup Um last week MLS commissioner Don Garber Um had some pretty negative comments About the competition
Um criticizing the quality of the Pitches that uh teams were playing on Um I mean honestly being being pretty Negative about the entire thing Viewership people being able to find the Matches the quality of competition Um obviously I'd argue that uh you know Your opponent tomorrow would feel Differently about that seeing as they're The defending Champions Um and of course even though International competition isn't as big As it is in Europe Um you know the open cup still offers The chance to for the team to get it It's its first real International Tournament bid Um how how important is the is the cup To you and and what do you see uh the Value in it uh compared to say like the F a cup or other similar competitions I think For us the the Top Is an important uh is an important Tournament for the reason you just Highlighted Um in in Charlotte we are blessed Because the pitch in which we play is Has actually been traditional it's a Good beach as four Plex So we can't complain about that I think that the supporters made a good Atmosphere for the first game against uh
Tormenta And uh so from that point of view I think that uh We have been quite happy and lucky with What happened Um I don't know the and so if the Commissioner said that he must have good Reasons because The Knowing him is a very Is a guy that uh is quite thoughtful in What he says is not is a guy that before He says an opinion I think he He has uh he has his reason to voice his Opinion so I am not familiar with all The uh with all the Um You know with all the peaches in which It gets played and with all the Situation he will have a much better Much clearer picture of that so I cannot Really comment on that uh but for us I Can only repeat that is an important Is an important competition and we want To honor the competition as much as Possible especially that we are playing Tomorrow the raining champion of the U.S Open cup so we want to do particularly Well also for that And then uh is there a silver lining to Uh Enzo and Derek uh getting their their Yellow card suspension this week in in That perhaps uh they can be more Available or commit more to the to the
Cup this week There must be because they always say That there is a silver line in anything So I'm sure that there will be I still Have to Still have to See it but I I can promise that I I Would think uh hard In thinking the silver line Um Yeah I mean there are there are two Players that for us are important but The silver line is that other players Will get opportunities and uh This is how as I said many times Football Works Life Works and we need to Focus our energy on the players that can Can help us but tomorrow both of them Are available and so So now we focus on that Thanks coach all for me today thank you All right Willie P Good afternoon coach how are you good Afternoon thank you I'm fine thank you Uh how much was it gratifying to you to See Mackenzie Gaines pick up the assist In the way that he did for the opening Goal the first Toby goes uh the second One was uh even better unfortunately we Were offside in the build up of the Of the but we didn't know at the time And the second assist I thought it was a Class trust me I didn't see it in live Action myself I had to go back and watch
It but but how gratifying were was it to See those two passes made by him and I Know he's worked on the final product a Lot in his time yeah Yeah we had the discussion because we Did uh I'm very gratifying very happy For him he deserves that thoroughly I am A big fan of his qualities he knows that And on Friday we did the last Actually on Wednesday we did the session In which he had two or three chances To do and he didn't have the best Us day let's let's say and then I pulled Him On one side and said to me coach you Don't have to tell me anything I know Myself and normally Mackenzie is quite Studious And they he knew exactly what I mean he Could have had Uh but I know him and I left him alone I Was just smiling with him I said you Know and he said yes coach I know I know And I trust him he's a guy that worked Really hard he's very attentive in the Tactical work that we do with the ball Without the ball Um And I was very happy for him because he Deserved that he works hard that is uh Is greedy in this mindset which I love And so I was really happy it would have Been great not just for us as a as a Team for Carol because he Carol attacked
The ball attacked the goal really well On the goal that was disallowed but also For him to go to have to assist under His belt would have been great and I Know that he thoroughly deserves that And in terms of tomorrow I'm not trying To get you to release Trade Secrets but How do you balance uh what you have to Do in terms of getting a back line of Chemistry in terms of what you have to Look like on Saturday not having DJ uh Potentially not having bill or a dealson How much does tomorrow maybe serve as a Proving Ground for either yawn and Hominy or however you want to structure Your center backs Yeah we we have to look at all this this Old consideration that we have been Thinking about Since the end of the game against New York we went Obviously we celebrated and we were and Rightly so with the coaching staff but I Can tell you that after one hour after The game finished we were already In our in our room in the medium room Thinking about the Tuesday and how to How to Balance the team for knowing that Adil Would have been questionable bill is not Ready yet And so we don't have a lot of choice at The moment In that department but we will have to
Figure it out we have already some Solutions in our mind and We we have to focus as I said many times On what we have uh you know you can put Your your focus on what you have or what You don't have And we choose I choose always to put the Focus on what I have In general rather than What I don't have because I think With the leader experience That life taught me is a lot more Productive to focus on what you have Rather than what you don't have That's all for me thank you thank you Thank you will uh Steve Hello Coach uh hello Steve uh following Up on on what Sam was talking about with The comments I I've known Don for a long Time too and I'm still trying to figure Out where he was coming from with his Comments about the cup because at first Glance to me they seemed a bit Uninformed in the sense that you know Cups are different when you have Teams that could be four cheaters apart Playing against each other that's why I Love the romance of you know National Cup tournaments uh copa de Italia you Know in Spain and especially the FA Cup Here and Um what do you have any personal stories From involvement with cut play that that You remember that you could share with
Us I have one that always is in my mind and It was the first theater was a Manchester City And uh Uh and the FA Cup in that sense is Unique because everybody can participate And so you have to be prepared To have strong games Away from home even if you are a big Team and we were this is the time where You know Manchester City started to Build Themselves to what they are now so They've done an unbelievable job as a Football group And uh And we were playing away with uh Manchester City and North County at the Time Nots County was I think in League Two the fourth year but they were really Buying players that were in Premier League it was a big project for them in Any case we had a very very difficult Round and we were losing one nail until Very late and then edin Jaco Came From The Bench and he was having difficulties In the first few games since he was Bought from Wolfsburg And he came with an unbelievable goal we Tied the game which meant we could play The replay at home obviously our homie Was completely different and We won by five goals I think I don't
Remember I'm about I remember that in That year we managed to go all the way And win the FA Cup it was the first Trophy after so many years and where was Probably the first trophy in this modern Era of Sheikh Mansoor And it was significant for that but I Remember the difficulties having That we had to play away from home And like you say this could be the Romance but obviously you don't want you To be at the wrong end of the romance You know so that the romance is great For the couple but then a big Club is Eliminated by a smaller Club that's why For me it's always important to respect The opposition to respect the Competition to those as strong as you Can What what do you remember about the Players going into that because you I Love the fact that you can it can be a Humbling experience for players who've Only known the the quality of nice and Big stadiums and who you know who came To academies and things like that and on The other hand it can be very exciting For these third and fourth tier teams to Go into these you know Majestic palaces But for this for the city guys when You're because I I I'm not familiar with Knott's County grounds I've been to City Ground where where Forest play But um was I mean you know in England in
England there is some so much tradition Not county has been for many years it Was the team of in which played I think Matthew so is it is the many teams They've got uh it was a regular top Division team so you go in places where There might be not uh In the top League now but they were in The last you know four they've been for 20 years in in different areas but the Tradition is there this the history is There so you can never underestimate uh Any ground in which you go because you Do it to your to your peril also in France I can tell you that I've been working France uh the the leagues uh the the you Know to go around to go and win the Every round uh is difficult even if you Go and play in small places because There is a history and tradition and Then even if now as I said the the teams They might not be in the top tier Anymore but at some point in the way and There is a passion tradition history and Wherever you go you have to go always With uh with the right attitude and Mentality otherwise you risk to to be Eliminated and to feel sorry for Yourself and this is one thing that I Learned that I didn't want to do in in The first rounds here Because I know it's also tormento was a Team that could have created problems
Because they played they were quite Organized and they had some good players So if you don't If you're not prepared to play a strong Game against them you risk to feel sorry For yourself And they were champions of USL one last Season right but so with that yeah so Playing together but when man city was At Knox County were they Uh well did they find humility in you Know in Planes Yeah yeah I can tell you the way I Remember it is not that the guys but it Was It was I think it was uh the pitch Wasn't the greatest So we couldn't really play the football That we wanted they were pressing the The crowd was all you know the stadium Was full and everybody loves to see this Romance that you're talking about Everybody likes to see loves to see a Big Club going out against a small club Is the you know David and Goliath uh Myth is that you know everybody likes to See the underdog to overcome the the Bigger the big shots so you have to be Prepared to fight and sometimes you know I think we miss a few goals they managed To score on us on one occasion and then Sometimes it's not easy especially Because we were playing in Europe at the Time you are tired and you have the
Premier League that you want we were Chasing to go in Champions League And so many things go into the uh into The game and uh I can tell you that is Not easy at all it's a lot harder than People think Well thank you very much I look forward To Charlotte FC playing in Europe Sometime soon That would be great thank you all right We'll end it with Carol last one Christian uh what's uh Joseph Moore's Status is he available at all he's Improving he's improving I think he's a Little bit this game comes a little bit Too early for Joseph But today he did the full training he Played the uh He played he did everything with a group Of plays that didn't start the last game That they needed to be training hard And so Joseph is in a good way mentally Physically is getting better and better But this game I think will come a little Bit too early for him and for us okay And one last about Um well I'll save this one for later but So would Joseph be available for for Atlanta We have a few days still To monitor is already great news that he Can train fully with the team whether It's going to be fully hundred percent Against Atlanta I don't know this is
Something that I cannot say now we need To see him training again tomorrow and The next few days and then we will take This decision around Thursday Friday Okay thanks coach thank you all right Thank you guys if you don't have Credentials for tomorrow send me an Email
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