Jere Uronen speaks to the media about his draw to Charlotte FC with the club’s overall ambition and strong foundation of supporters making it the “full package”. Ready to leave everything on the field, Uronen is excited to start his career with CLTFC at Bank of America Stadium this Saturday against LAFC.
Sierra welcome to Charlotte man how are You thanks a lot thanks a lot all good All good thanks Biz really good to be Here Could I give Can I get to Um say your name You have you saying it so I make sure That we're saying it correctly yeah so You can just say yes Or something like that it's even Difficult for me to say well while I Speak English so no no stress that's Okay uh do you see what my last name is So enough people have trouble with it so I uh I have a particular sensitivity to That Um from what zoron said uh your deal Came about pretty quickly take us Through what it was like going through The process in terms of I guess letting The folks at Charlotte FC know you were Available and ultimately signing here And coming over here Yeah it did go it did go really really Quick uh I think I got a first call from Uh From my agents uh Monday morning around 10 o'clock and then uh by the by the end Of the next day we already signed the Papers so it it did it did go by Extremely fast and uh Yeah I'm really happy that we we got it Done uh that's that's for me something
That's that's really making me happy and That I get to be here now but it was a Little bit different compared to what I've been through before uh because yeah We knew we were also fighting against The clock because the window was closing In and uh after after speaking with uh With a lot of people here speaking with My family we got really excited about The opportunity and and we we knew that We wanna we wanna make it happen and Luckily we did What were the conversations like in Terms of whether it was talking to Players talking to you know people with The club what did they sell you on and What ultimately made you want to come Play for Charlotte FC that's the full Package you know obviously as a Footballer the the supportive side is The most important you know I think they Have a really really nice project going On here uh it's a club with a lot of Ambition you know they they know where They want to be in uh in a few months in A year or two years uh so it's really Clear uh you know what we want to do as A club and uh that's something that Really intrigued me you know The the ambition here and uh but Obviously you know when you're a father Of two and uh you're a family of four It's the the full package that that also Matters a lot and uh for for us this
Just sounded like a perfect place to be In you know with the family and uh yeah It was just no no negative sides uh Except the travel from Europe What was America ever a uh a goal of Yours or was it something that just kind Of as a result of circumstance kind of Became part of your goals uh the latter I think uh never really thought that I Would be playing here uh to be to be Honest uh I've always Yeah I enjoyed European football uh but Like I like I just said you know the the Full package uh was just Yeah really intriguing it it sounded Sounded like something that you know Will be perfect supportive side and and Also also outside the pitch Lastly for me Um Christians always talked about Wanting very technical fallbacks Especially pension out in the Midfield How Do You Feel Like This lends itself To your skill set Uh Uh Yeah man uh It's it's something new for me as well Uh but I do I do like to to be involved Uh you know whether it's high up on the Beach on the outside or or uh higher or Lower in the inside you know with uh I've played a lot of different styles uh Uh so I think you know it's gonna be
It's gonna be fun for me also of course I need to find my position you know Where I'm gonna feel comfortable Etc but The the staff makes it really clear for Us you know it's it's easy as a new Player I see now after a week it's Really easy for me to come in because Everything is really organized and they Help you with that and then it's just About the details that you know You you give for yourself on the pitch So uh yeah it's gonna be it's gonna be a Lot of fun Thank you Yeah welcome to Charlotte thank you Our first question is uh I'm not sure if Anyone's mentioned it or not but will You be available for selection this Saturday against lafc uh what I've Understood yes I hope so but I'm I'm spending my week like I'm I'm Available on Saturday so hopefully Okay perfect and then my next question Is you're coming into a back line in the MLS that's allowed the emotional 40 Goals in 23 matches what are some of the Things that maybe you're talking to Latanjo the coaching staff on how to Improve that defensive line Uh well yeah I mean conceding goals it's Always a team effort uh it's the same Way when when we score the goals you Know it's always all 11 but of course as A Defender you're when you go into a
Game your your main goal is to to keep The clean sheet and that way you give Your team a chance to win the game Uh but yeah like I said before you know The stuff here is really clear with what They want and uh Then then it's up for us players to to Execute it and of course you know the The coaches and the staff they can give You how many Now how much help Or as much help as they can but it's Still up to the players you know on the Field to to to execute them and play Play the game how the game it develops And goes on so so yeah uh it's about now Just to you know go with the mentality That We're Not Gonna concede because I Know we had the quality to score in Every game and uh and from that on you Know we we keep on working and building Nice and then last for me is you spoke About the ambition that the club wants To have long term this second season Hasn't gone great the team's six points Off of a uh playoff spot 12 from a Regular playoff spot so I think a wild Card 6-12 regular playoff spots what's From a football standpoint what is the Ambition that Charlotte sold you on or The vision that they passed that makes You believe that this team can turn Things around long term Well obviously you know first of all
When I looked at the group uh I see a Lot of quality here and I know I know It's a good team full of good players You know not only 11 but everyone who's In the locker room uh so you know We're gonna push each other to to get Better and that's gonna that's gonna Bring us also better results on the on The pitch but you know It's uh everyone wants to be winners Here and uh and they they have the plan Plan to do so uh and I know I know it It's possible so that's like I just felt like I could also bring some Help for it uh to to be a part of that Because uh I don't know The specifics like The specific plan but just every every Talk I had you know with uh whether it Was the coach or or some other staff Member or even the players you know it Was the same vision More or less and that's uh that's Something that we we're gonna build Towards now and like you said you know We are some points away from the from The playoff spot at the moment but There's still plenty of games and you Know the the beauty here is the playoffs As long as you get in you have a chance To win and uh that's the mentality we Have Thank you Great let's go to Steve Goldberg
Hey Hannah welcome to Charlotte Um I wanted to ask about are you still Engaged with the Finnish national team You've played quite a bit for them yeah Will you be uh uh are they are you open To selection for them for any upcoming Nations League or Euro qualification Matches yeah so far we we are right in The middle of our European qualifiers Now uh I think we're almost half Now we're four games in six to go we're Gonna play the rest now September October November So obviously those are really really big Games for us we're at the top of the Group at the moment and uh we really Want to reach the the European Championship and uh so so yeah of course Of course I'm gonna be available there As well uh there's plenty of guys from Our national team playing playing in the MLS so uh you know That already shows that it's uh it's not An obstacle uh to to play there and uh And uh yeah Yeah well it's not so much an obstacle But it can't interrupt uh you know Club team uh continuity going into those Things but that's part of the the International game and getting International players on your squad uh And secondly Um I know you've played in Sweden and Elsinborg and you know the things uh
There are quite a lot of Scandinavian Players uh making their Mark uh on the Larger International scene right now and I was just wondering if there's A collective Scandinavian Pride or Through the national rivalries override That So you know when you have like one of The best strikers in the world coming From Norway now is is that something That Scandinavians can take pride in as A whole or is he still or Norwegian and You know you guys fins and Spades and Such and Danes yeah well if I really Want to be myth thinking Finland is not Part of Scandinavia okay we can let them I was wondering if you were going to go There yeah no because to be honest I Learned it like two years ago I always Thought that we were part of it so for Me we are always part of it but no I Think you know for me who's coming from Finland I'm always extremely happy when I see fellow Scandinavians doing really Well of course we have our own little Rivalry with Sweden there there always Are like big brother and we're the Little brother there so whenever we play Against Sweden it's like you know you Have this little extra there Uh but still you know obviously I do Speak Swedish and Norwegian as well so Every time I've had I've had some Teammates from Sweden Norway or even
Denmark it's you know you just kind of Connect with them directly because the Cultures are so similar and you know I Don't know you just you just connect Directly so probably 90 of my good Friends that I've met throughout my Career are also from uh from Yeah Scandinavia so Yeah you could say that it's like it's Not one big country but somehow some way We are a little bit more connected Okay we'll just have to figure out where To get the year chosen Aqua V the And stuff but welcome to channel look Forward to seeing you play thank you so Much Great thank you Steve uh we just got Caleb Adams here in person um so we'll Just finish up with him with uh one or Two questions in person and we'll wrap This up yeah just two questions for me Uh first of all what can fans expect From you as a player as a person Well these are always the most difficult Ones for me Uh yeah I mean when you're a footballer The only only thing you can promise is That you leave everything out on the Pitch every time you step on it you know You're gonna do Whatever it takes for for the badge you Know to to win the games and that's That's always like my mentality uh it's Impossible to promise goals or whatever
But uh yeah that's that's gonna be That's always like me me you know in a Nutshell just uh no matter how tired you Are no matter if you're not hitting your Passes at that moment you know if you Have this five ten minute drought uh You're just gonna leave everything you Have on the pitch great and my second Question is I'm sure you've sent you've Seen some of the fans in town here I've Certainly seen some footage of games how Excited are you to play in front of the Fans this weekend potentially extremely And I actually heard also that the upper Section will be open that's right so Yeah I got really really excited about That you know I've been at the stadium When it's it's empty and you know just Started imagining it full and uh Hopefully I get to experience it soon
Charlotte North Carolina – A Gem of the South
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Known as the Queen City, Charlotte has grown into a gem of the South. Its vibrant downtown core, high-powered job market and close-knit neighborhoods make it a desirable destination for professionals, college students and retirees. However, the hot, muggy summers and traffic-prone roads can be a turnoff for some people.
The area’s cultural scene is alive with everything from heated sports battles and chart-topping entertainers to colorful city celebrations and awe-inspiring art museums. There’s also a wealth of family-friendly attractions, including the Discovery Place Nature Museum and Reed Gold Mine, the first documented place gold was found in the U.S. Moreover, residents can get buzzed brewery hopping or channel their creativity at a paint and sip night.
Sports fans will love the fact that the Charlotte Checkers and Carolina Panthers call this city home. The former plays its home games at Bojangles’ Coliseum, named after the fried chicken chain restaurant owned by the team, and the latter plays in Bank of America Stadium. Additionally, golf lovers can enjoy the city’s pristine green golf courses. The city’s distinct wards, each offering its own unique mix of cuisines and shopping options, create a vibrant downtown scene where traditional business types meet modern creatives. The heart of the city is at Trade and Tryon streets, where the Charlotte Public Market, Spectrum Center (home to the Hornets), and high-end steakhouses converge. From there, the rest of the city is spread out, with some areas specializing in Southern comfort food and others featuring hip eateries and trendy breweries.