Blunt Brogno is known for his fondness as mayor by Charlotte FC fans. He grew up in North Carolina and has been with the club ever since joining MLS in 2022.
So he has a good perspective on the club’s current eight-game winning streak and the team’s upward trajectory after the midseason slump.
Perhaps the rise of Charlotte doesn’t seem to attract much attention, as San Diego’s expansion is in the middle of a historic season, or because Intermiami’s Lionel Messi is Lionel Messi.
However, Charlotte is shy about matching Major League Soccer’s longest winning streak since the 2018 Seattle Sounders. This is a record of the post-photo era since 1999.
“We definitely feel we can’t get credibility as much as we deserve or the same as other teams do, but with our identity and our style and the players we have, we think we’re a very dangerous team that knows how to protect the game and win,” Bronico said.
Charlotte took third place in the Eastern Conference. This is a good fit for a home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, if the team is able to maintain a top four position in the final five games of the regular season.
But that’s still a challenge. After an international break, Charlotte’s next match will face Messi and Intermiami on September 13th.
The Philadelphia Union is expanding San Diego with the Supporters Shield race to score the best regular season record, earning the first hold at the Eastern Conference.
Charlotte started the season well, dropping before moving up in May and June.
“I think we really wanted to bounce back from there, and we had a fair amount of home games heading into July. “We really needed to get back to the way we started the season, so we built that momentum in the last eight games and won together.”
They did it without necessarily playing the cleanest football. It’s more like a grind-it-out mentality.
“The idea is to go to a football game and it has to be practical at times to do that. There’s a style that suits us,” coach Dean Smith said. “But I see a lot of games in a week, and a lot of them aren’t aesthetically pleasing. It’s just a football game.”
Charlotte didn’t make the playoffs their first season, but the following year the club reached a wildcard game, but was eliminated by the New York Red Bulls. Last season, Orlando City outperformed Charlotte in their third first round.
Charlotte found unity under Smith, the club’s third coach who took over before the 2024 season. Midfielder Pep Beale leads the team with 10 goals and 11 assists.
Bronico scored in his latest victory. This saw New England decide 2-1.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to finish in the top four in the East. After an eight-game winning streak, we’re now sitting in third place,” Bronico said. “So I hope we can continue to run this form and achieve the goals we set at the beginning of the top four season. And when we enter the playoffs, anything happens.”
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