Christian Fuchs: "You saw glimpses of our potential today"

WASHINGTON, DC – Christian Fuchs had the honor of wearing the captain’s armband and leading Charlotte FC in their first-ever MLS game. After conceding two unlucky goals, Fuchs was vital in rallying the team to stay focused, motivated, and fighting until the very end. 

“These two situations [the goals] were simply unlucky. For what is most important is how the team proceeds the game, how we applied ourselves to the game. Even though we were two nil down, we tried to play our way.

“We stepped it up in the second half, we were running non-stop, we were fighting for each other, we didn’t give up, we believed in ourselves.

“We know we are a good group. We have the quality in our team to be a solid team, to be a competitive team, that’s our main focus, to get to this level. You saw glimpses of our potential today, but there is still so much to learn, so it’s about being patient.

“It’s a start of a journey, the group that we are, the club that we are, we’ve been together for 5 – 6 weeks. Nobody said it was going to be easy, that we would walk through the MLS, no chance. 

“What’s important for me is the team spirit. The spirit of each player, we didn’t stop, we kept going, we tried our very best. I think coach said it before the game, we only learn from these games.. this was a good lesson learned.” 

While the two goals conceded were mostly out of the team’s control, Fuchs focused on what they can control and work to improve on. 

“Effectiveness in front of goal. Everyone tried their best, some players are playing out of positions, playing striker who aren’t striker. We were more than competitive that game, I think we really applied our game, we showed our dominance in possession, they just didn’t go in.

“I’m proud of how adaptive our team is, our players are, it’s a tough situation not playing in your preferred position, and they really applied themselves well.” 

Fuchs has been a part of several special occasions throughout his career, including winning the Premier League, but being a part of Charlotte FC’s inaugural match was up there in his proudest moments. 

“Proud. Proud is the right word. Proud to represent this club. Proud to have so many fans come up and support us and really be a great support throughout the whole 90 minutes. Even though we were down, they kept going, and they were cheering after the game.

“The feeling on the field was amazing, result didn’t go our way, but we all can be very proud to be a part of this journey from the very beginning.”