It’s time for Fútbol Friday, The Charlotte Ledger’s weekly newsletter getting you up to speed on Charlotte FC.
➡️ Need to sign up for Fútbol Friday and other Charlotte-focused email newsletters from The Charlotte Ledger? You can do that here.
—
New French winger fueling offense for surging Charlotte FC
Allan Saint-Maximin has been hard charging since his arrival this summer with Charlotte FC. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
As of this week, Allan Saint-Maximin’s family was still in the process of moving into an uptown condo, TV announcers have still been trying to figure out how to pronounce his name — Maxi will do, he assures us — and Coach Dean Smith says the new star winger is still not quite up to the fitness level of his teammates.
But Saint-Maximin is acting, and playing, like he’s caught his breath.
“I’m starting to,” he said, standing sock-footed in the hallway at Atrium Health Performance Park. “The kids now are in school. When you have four kids, it's always good to see them enjoy school and starting to be with the other kids.”
He has four children (10, 9, 7 and 11 months). Their happiness was a big reason why Charlotte won the Frenchman’s services over other options, including, as he alluded Thursday, other MLS teams. Charlotte FC signed Saint-Maximin to a three-year designated player contract over the World Cup break, replacing the outgoing DP left winger Wilfried Zaha.
“It was important to be in the right place with the right coach, with the right environments around me,” said Saint-Maximin, and so far, so good. “I like the league. I like the team. I like the players. I didn't expect the league to be so good, especially for the travel, the organization, the pitch, the dressing room. It's some small details, but it's very important because we spend so much time there, so much time away from home when we travel and play against different teams. I like it so far. It's good.”
Typically, during Charlotte’s first four seasons, international players who’ve signed during the summer transfer window have taken a while to adjust to the climate, the league, the officiating and the surroundings. Saint-Maximin seems to have taken on all of those as he has MLS defenders — in stride.
When he scored his first MLS goal Saturday at D.C. United, it was like a foregone conclusion for a player who’d been the driving force for a resurgent offense for weeks. It just so happened his first Charlotte FC goal was the game-winner in a 2-1 win and came on a swinging left-foot finish across the goal mouth to the far post. Apple TV announcer Jessica Charman, the Brit who spent three seasons as Charlotte’s first radio color analyst, had studied up and pronounced his name as he likes it “Saint-Maxima,” as opposed to the tendency for English speakers to slip and say “Saint-Maximum.”
The statistics say he has five assists, which jibes with his reputation as a connector as much as a scorer. But seeing him in live action is a lot less subtle; it’s downright demonstrative. After working his way into Charlotte’s lineup with three appearances off the bench, Maxi has six goal contributions in six starts for a team that hasn’t lost since his first action off the bench.
“He is what you see,” Coach Dean Smith surmised. “He's a really nice person, really humble guy, full of tricks, great quality. And he drives standards on the pitch, so he’s a good person to have around. He's enjoying his time here, and we're happy to have him.”
Saint-Maximin is pushing the ball forward, occupying defenders and creating both space and opportunity for players like Liel Abada on the right wing. Abada has six goals since the World Cup break, four of them since Saint-Maximin entered the lineup.
The role Saint-Maximin plays will be all the more important Saturday when Charlotte FC hosts Chicago at Bank of America Stadium with three forwards away on international duty: Abada and Idan Toklomati with Israel and reserve winger Rodolfo Aloko with Benin.
Since losing in Chicago 2-1 on Aug. 1, Charlotte has lost just once in 11 games across all competitions. Since Maximin debuted off the bench in a late Leagues Cup loss to Pachuca, Charlotte FC has gone 5-0-3 in MLS and now sits fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Backup striker Archie Goodwin has recovered from his hip pointer and is eager to make a splash while Toklomati is playing in the Nations League. He said he’s learned by watching and playing with Saint-Maximin to hesitate before making his direct runs into the box while the winger makes his first move, or cuts back against defenders.
“Sometimes he's not going to play you the ball, but you're going to be the next ball after the one he plays,” Goodwin said. “So you’ve just got to be ready.”
“He's got so much quality,” Goodwin said. “He's had such an impact, not just in goals and assists, but the buildup to the goals that we do score. He's so technically good when he gets the ball, he can drag in two, three players and create overloads on the wings, switch the play so quickly, and he's just so explosive defenders don't really know what he's going to do. And he can get in behind so quickly and create things out of nothing.”
Smith frustrated over player absences during international break
Dean Smith is willing to say what previous Charlotte FC coaches have only felt: just how frustrating it is to lose key players to international play during the heart of the MLS schedule. Charlotte FC is going without two of its top three scorers when Toklomati (nine goals) and Abada (six goals) are with Israel’s national team Saturday while Charlotte plays Chicago. Chicago is also going without star striker Robert Lewandowski.
“I have no understanding how we, as a league, are playing during an international break,” said Smith, pointing out that games could be made up during midweek open dates.
Ideally, the new MLS summer-to-spring schedule coming in 2027 that will align with the global calendar will take international breaks into account. In the meantime, Smith is frustrated that while FIFA combined what’s normally two two-week international windows this fall into one three-week version, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6, MLS still scheduled games during it. Fortunately, Charlotte will have to play short-handed for only one game before resuming its MLS schedule Oct. 10 at FC Dallas.
“My job is to win games for Charlotte FC, and I think everybody wants to see the best games possible,” Smith said.
Goodbye on the horizon for Ream and USMNT?
Tim Ream to be honored by U.S. Men’s National Team Tuesday in his hometown of St. Louis. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Men’s National Team.)
The assumption among many was that the Round of 16 exit from the World Cup would be Tim Ream’s last international action with the U.S. Men’s National Team. The 38-year-old center back for Charlotte FC has not made an announcement, but the writing is on the wall.
The U.S. Men’s National Team announced it would honor Ream before its Nations League game against Chile on Tuesday night in Ream’s hometown of St. Louis. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino did not call up the veteran center back for the upcoming international window.
When asked if Ream had given him any indication he was retiring from international play, Smith said Thursday he hadn’t. He added: “But I think the fact that he hasn't been called up and then they're honoring him probably tells the story a little bit.”
Ream turns 39 on Oct. 5.
“I think he will understand why he's not in the squad now,” said Smith, who is not a proponent of players announcing they’re retiring from international play. “I've never played international football, but I've always been begrudging of people who retire early. I think you should just not get picked anymore, because it should be the epitome of your career, playing for your national team.”
Ream played eight of nine games with the U.S. Men’s National Team in the last two World Cups. He became the oldest outfield player to play for the U.S. this summer, before a disappointing performance in the Round of 16 loss to Belgium. He has played 86 games with the U.S. team, including 26 as the captain.
Up next: Charlotte FC (12-7-7) vs. Chicago Fire (11-8-6)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium
How to watch: Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable
Just four points separate No. 4 Charlotte (43) and No. 5 Chicago (39) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Charlotte FC has lost just once in its last 11 matches across all competitions since the last time it played Chicago. Robert Lewandowski scored his first two MLS goals that night in his first home match with the Fire, a 2-1 win over Charlotte. He won’t be with the Fire on Saturday while he’s playing for Poland in Nations League action.
With both Liel Abada and Rodolfo Aloko gone for international duty, Smith mentioned Tyger Smalls as a likely fill-in and said Nathan Richmond will be called up from Crown Legacy. But he’s also shown a propensity for moving veteran attacking midfielder Pep Biel to the wing when he’s been thin there in the past.
Archie Goodwin is expected to start at striker with Idan Toklomati on international duty with Israel. Goodwin suffered a hip pointer in Montreal, the last time he started Sept. 9, but has returned to health. He’s looking for his first MLS goal since scoring April 11 against Nashville, when he had his third in three games.
Left back Harry Toffolo has not started a game since reaggravating his hamstring on Aug. 1, the last time Charlotte played Chicago. He returned to action off the bench Saturday in Washington, D.C.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fifth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!