Charlotte FC’s newest signee played against Messi in Europe. He’s ready for a rematch

Charlotte FC’s latest signee, Jere Uronen, has something that most players in Major League Soccer lack: experience defending Lionel Messi.

The club announced Uronen’s transfer on Aug. 2. The Finnish left-back joined Charlotte FC after playing in the top French league for Stade Brestois 29 and spending several months on loan to German Bundesliga team FC Schalke 04.

Uronen played against Messi while they were playing in France’s Ligue 1. He also has 63 appearances for the Finland national team, according to the soccer-focused sports website transfermarkt.

Now, Charlotte FC’s four-game winning streak in the Leagues Cup has landed it in a quarterfinal match Friday against Messi, an international soccer superstar, and his new team Inter Miami. But Uronen can only offer tips on how to face Messi until finishing visa paperwork. He’s planning to be ready in time for Messi and his squad’s appearance at Bank of America Stadium on Oct. 21.

He could also be ready in time for a now-postponed match against Inter Miami that was originally scheduled for Aug. 20.

“I’m happy that I got to be on the same pitch with (Messi) already in France,” he told The Charlotte Observer. “There he dribbled me once so now I need to make sure that never happens again. Luckily I get my rematch”.

So, what’s the key to trying to stop one of the greatest soccer players of all time?

“He cannot play alone. Even he cannot beat all 11 of us. So, he needs his teammates” Uronen said. “It’s going to be important to not put 100% of your focus on one guy because then the other 10 are gonna hurt you. Luckily, I’m just the player who have to do my job and the coaches will come up with a game plan.”

Uronen talked with the Observer about a range of topics. The following Q&A has been edited for clarity and brevity.

What was intriguing about coming to Charlotte?

I would say the project that the club has going on here. The club is on the right path growing really upwards. It’s a young club that has now built the roster. And the way of playing that we have here I think it’s really special, it is different from what I’ve played with before. It’s for me a chance to get better as a player, to learn something new. And then with what I’ve seen in Europe, now I can also help the team get to the next level.

You’ve played against some high-end competition prior to you coming to Charlotte. How are you looking to bring that experience?

The plan is just to be me, learn from others and try to bring in what you have learned. They’re still plenty of things I want to learn, and I know this is the place. I’ve seen a lot playing in the European competitions and that’s a really cool thing and I’m really happy that I’ve gotten to do that. Football is about details and being on the same page with the guys next to us. It’s not rocket science. And I don’t think I’m better than anyone, so just be myself.

How has the relationship been with your new teammates so far?

I think for me, at least, it is more like on the training pitch where you kind of figure out and find out what the other one prefers and how you prefer to play those certain situations. Those are like the details that come with meeting together there. And the whole group is just full of such good guys, and it’s been really nice to be in the locker room.

Charlotte is last place in the Eastern Conference in terms of letting in goals. How are you looking to help change that?

Doing our own job. As a defender, of course, your main job is to see that you keep the zero. No one can do it alone, and the back four cannot do it alone. It is going to be a full team effort. That’s when we’re at our best, everyone’s taking care of his own job, and then bringing some extra help for the guy next to you. I think as a defender this has been the easiest to play if everyone is working as a unit and doing things for each other and that’s going to be something that’s really important.

How has the relationship been between you and manager Christian Lattanzio?

He is really good at explaining what he wants with the little details, which also always helps the player to get those ideas in your head a lot faster. It’s really easy for me because the instructions are really direct and they’re really specific.

After the rise of Robert Taylor in Miami and Minnesota’s signing of Teemu Pukki, what’s it like being another Finnish player in the MLS?

There are quite many of us here at the moment actually. It’s always really cool to play against your good friends. Because you want the bragging rights because you really want to beat them.

What was the process like signing for Charlotte FC?

Everything happened extremely fast. I think like 36 hours from the first phone call from Charlotte I was already signing the contract, it happened really fast. To be honest, we (his family) didn’t really think about leaving Europe yet. After making plenty of phone calls, doing my research about the city and about the club. The full package just seemed like a really good one. It really intrigued me.

What do you think about Charlotte so far?

I haven’t seen anything bad yet. Have a lot of friends here in the States so of course I asked them about Charlotte. Because for dudes in Europe, you don’t really hear a lot of talk about Charlotte. It’s more the big cities that you hear about and see. When you come from Finland and you get a chance to live in a place where you can see the sun 300 days a year, you’re not going to complain about that.