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CHARLOTTE – The match against C.F. Montreal was tough for the team, and it was no tougher on anyone than midfielder Sergio Ruiz. But despite the loss, he is still optimistic about where the team is but stresses there is more work to be done.

“The game was tough. I think that they are a good team, but I feel that team [Charlotte FC] has good things, it has grown lot in the past weeks. But we need to keep growing and doing better.”  

Charlotte FC reverted to their 442 Diamond/4132 formation against Montreal following the match against Inter Miami where they used a 433. A lot of the talk surrounding the match was about this tactical change, but Ruiz believes attitude and commitment are what matter in the end. 

“They’re two different systems but on the pitch they are similar. We play with more midfielders with the 4132. But these outside midfielders can play more like wingers. But with a 433 we are more compact. 

“For us wingers are important because we have fast wingers like McKinze [Gaines], Kamil [Jóźwiak], and Yordy [Reyna]. But we play with the same mentality and with the same focus on the victory. We have a lot of players on the roster who can play.

“But It doesn’t matter the system for me, it’s the attitude, it’s the commitment to the team and the idea that the coach gives us. So it’s only to play and to win.” 

Ruiz was the Club’s first-ever signing way back in July of 2020, almost exactly two years ago. He’s seen firsthand how the roster has developed into what it is now. 

“We are 28 – 29 players, Vini [Mello] and Chris [Hegardt] are back, and we have different options on the roster. The competition is high. If you want to play you have to train hard and do good things. 

“I was the first signing and right now I see the roster and it’s incredible. Because we have great, great players with a lot of different skills and abilities. I think we are a really competitive group and team. We just need time to adjust things, this league is very hard, and we have to be ready to compete in each game. 

“We are waiting this week to win to get back on track. We need to win against Vancouver and we are training hard to achieve this victory.”