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CHARLOTTE – After the painful loss against Atlanta United, head coach Miguel Ramírez had to rally his players and help them see the bigger picture. 

“What is important here is not what happened but how we respond. I spoke with them after the game, of course we want to win, but you see something common in the message of everyone, the players and myself. Process is a word that we repeat a lot and have very clear... We need to see improvement in this process and we are seeing improvement in this process. 

“I told the players that we decide how long we last in this mood... and I don’t know if being in this mood will help us to work and to become better.  

“I told them ‘I will be disappointed now, tomorrow you have off, but Tuesday I will be with my best energy to help you to go on Saturday and compete again. But if one of you wants to give up... there’s the door,’ and no wanted to give up. The players came in on Tuesday with their best energy and best mood.” 

Adam Armour was left off the roster against the L.A. Galaxy but used that as motivation to go that much harder in training the following which led to an appearance against Atlanta United where he scored the Club’s first-ever goal. A mentality that not only Armour has but is shared throughout the group. 

“This response says a lot about the individual and about the group. The level of a team is determined by the difference between the player with the most minutes and the player with the least number of minutes.  

“And if the player with the least number of minutes is pushing every day to get a chance to make it difficult for the other one. That’s the best thing that can happen.” 

One of the standout players this season for Charlotte FC so far has been goalkeeper, Kristijan Kahlina. He’s been excellent and is already becoming a fan favorite. While fans may have been surprised at just how good he’s been, it hasn’t been surprising in the slightest for Ramírez. 

“People just didn’t know; when he came we were told we were crazy to bring an international keeper for this money and that it was risky. But we work, you know. We watched Kahlina many times.  

“He was one of many candidates, but Kahlina had everything for this game model and also as a leader. All the references we got said that he is a strong leader, a captain, a hard worker, and someone who wants to learn. And of course he is showing now that is an amazing goalkeeper.” 

Charlotte has the New England Revolution up next and even though they just played a midweek game, Ramírez is wary of the challenge they will face comparing to the likes of the Real Madrid or Juventus of Major League Soccer. 

"They also don't have a game the following week, so of course right now they will be more tired than us, that’s for sure. But of course, they have a squad ready to compete in two competitions or three. 

“They are a team that consists of the highest quality players in the league... They are going to push us to our limits. They will have their own difficulties coming from their high-altitude match but as a big team they are used to this. 

“But I’m glad that we started the season against strong opponents, because it’s toughened us up and made us better. But the fact that we’ve been able to compete right out of the gates makes me really happy and proud that we can play with these teams.”