Major League Soccer’s newest expansion club Charlotte FC announced Miguel Angel Ramirez as the first coach ahead of his debut in 2022.
Ramirez will join the American side after coaching the Brazilian club Porto Alegre International in 2021. Prior to his experience in Brazil, he led the Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle for two seasons during which he lifted the Copa Sudamericana with the title months into the job. Charlotte noted her work in South America after their head coach hunt began in December 2019.
“He was wanted by half of the big Latin American clubs after winning the Copa Sudamericana,” Charlotte Sports Director Zoran Krneta told the MLS website.
Everything you should know about @MARamirezMedina! ⤵️https: //t.co/FzFX2htjE6
– Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) July 7, 2021
“He had offers from Europe and other clubs in the world … he is a great future coaching star. We realized that this is someone we have to seriously look at and carry out the process and we made him through the same process as everyone else and he managed just amazingly good. “
Only 36 years old, Ramirez is the youngest coach in Major League Soccer history. He began his career as a youth football coach and spent more than a decade in that category before making his senior team debut.
In 2019, he joined Ecuador and received immediate praise. He joined the Brazilian league a year later and increased his international portfolio and reputation. At the time, Charlotte executives explained that they did not believe the club had any chance of attracting the upcoming head coach.
“He was not on a first list of candidates because we did not really think we could get him,” said Krneta.
Desperate, the club met and interviewed more than 30 candidates before zeroing in on their dream individual. In addition to international success, Krneta declared that he has something that the new expansion team wants: ambition.
Miguel Angel Ramirez in action / CESAR OLMEDO / Getty Images
“He’s based on possession. He’s attractive, attacking and entertaining football. He wants to control the ball and control the events on the pitch. We wanted a coach who would not be afraid to dive into that pool and develop the players. We wanted a coach. who is a teacher, and he is the leader, the coach who has a good relationship between players and coaches, so he is a man-manager. He will develop and strengthen these relationships. “
The club will start in 2022 after announcing itself as Major League Soccer’s newest team in December 2019.
