Why Matt Turner, Gianluca Busio are excited for the U.S.’s Gold Cup debut in Charlotte
Not all that long ago — in the throes of an unconventional career that has now taken him to the highest echelon of the world’s most popular sport — Matt Turner was a rookie for New England Revolution.
It was 2016. He was a fourth-string goalkeeper then. And when he wasn’t on loan to the Richmond Kickers of the USL, he was the poor soul who the starters would fire shots past for extra reps after practice.
One of those starters, it turns out, was Darrius Barnes — who’s now an executive with MLS squad Charlotte FC.
“D Barnes?!” Turner asked playfully on Friday morning. The now-starting goalkeeper for the U.S. men’s national team then smiled. “He’s a great guy. Looked out for me when I was in my first year at the Revs. And even thereafter, he was always checking in on me, making sure things were all right.
“Great guy, great mentor.”
It’s in moments like these when you realize how small the professional sports world is — how many experiences connect certain players to other people and places. And soon, every player on the 2023 U.S. Gold Cup roster will have a special connection to Charlotte.
The American team is set to play in Charlotte for the first time when it battles Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for the first of two CONCACAF Gold Cup matches in Bank of America Stadium. The USMNT play at 7 p.m.; Haiti vs. Honduras is set for 9 p.m. The squad will train at the Charlotte 49ers’ facilities until then.
The U.S. has had a nice run in international play as of late. The squad made it out of the group stage in the 2022 World Cup. It won the CONCACAF Nations League earlier this month, trouncing Mexico 3-0 in the semis and Canada 2-0 in the final.
And it has seen a solid performance in the Gold Cup thus far: Through two fixtures, the team has accrued one win — a 6-0 pounding of St. Kitts and Nevis — and a 1-1 draw with Jamaica.
On Sunday, as much as it’ll be a new experience for the city, it’ll feel like a homecoming at least for one player.
“I’m playing in my home state,” said Gianluca Busio, a midfielder from Greensboro. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Busio grew up playing for youth club North Carolina Fusion. He joined Sporting Kansas City academy in 2016 — where he played alongside and even lived with Charlotte FC defender Jaylin Lindsey for a time — before having a three-year MLS career and moving onto Serie A side Venezia in 2021.
Busio, like Turner, said he has heard a lot about Charlotte’s soccer fandom and is excited to play in front of the crowd. The MLS expansion team played its inaugural season in 2022 and made a big splash in attendance: In the club’s magical first contest, an MLS-record 74,479 were in attendance — all singing the national anthem in goose-bumping unison.
A source with direct knowledge of attendance numbers ahead of Sunday said there have already been over 40,000 tickets sold. It’ll be the best attended game that USMNT has played so far in the tournament.
“There’s going to be a big support no matter what, that adds even more to it,” Busio said. “Playing at home is one thing, but knowing that there’s going to be a full stadium, and they’re all going to be into the game, that just adds another component to it.”
Wherever the game is played, however, Turner reiterated Friday that competing on this international stage is what really helped his career take off.
It helped launch him, he would say, from being a rookie fourth-stringer at New England Revolution to the peak of the game.
“It’s definitely a badge of honor, and to hear that it definitely brings back good memories, and good times, and a lot of times in Richmond traveling by bus 8 to 10 hours and playing games, connecting with the fans at that level,” Turner said. “It was huge for me. And I’ll never forget those moments.”
He added: “I think it’s an important piece of my story for sure. Being opportunistic and not taking any time you have to represent the country for granted, you know? For me, it’s pretty clear that you can leverage this opportunity. And it can be the biggest moment in your career, in your entire life.”
Quick hits about US team playing in Gold Cup in Charlotte
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Uptown Charlotte
How to get tickets: You can access them via the Charlotte FC website. Tickets begin at $50 each.
How to watch: FOX/Tubi in English. Univision for Spanish broadcast.
