CHARLESTON, S.C. — Ahead of their inaugural season, Charlotte FC is playing in Charleston Battery's preseason Carolina Challenge Cup, featuring soccer teams from Columbia, South Carolina and Miami, Florida.
The newly-formed Major League Soccer team for Charlotte will play matches Feb. 12 through Feb. 19 against Inter Miami CF and Columbus Crew at Patriots Point.
"I hope that we have a lot of fans coming down to support us," Christian Fuchs, Austria-born defender for Charlotte FC, told WCNC Charlotte's Ashley Stroehlein. "I'm really looking forward to these games because that's who we will have to compete against [in the regular season]."
Charlotte FC begins its inaugural season in Washington DC on Feb. 26. They return home for their first game at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte on March 5.
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The new club, made up of players from around the globe with different backgrounds and speaking different languages, is hitting a stride.
"The communication is nonverbal," Fuchs said. "As long as we are clear about what we want to do on the field, that's important."
Off the field, Fuchs said the team, despite any language barriers, still has lots of fun and is bonding. Those relationships translate back into knowing each other on the field too.
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"There's still bits and pieces, but that's just the nature of it when you come together completely new," Fuchs said. "Where people will play at; still need to find each other on the field. Everybody has their individual strength. So we're still trying to figure each other out a little bit."
This next week will help them gauge their bond against more seasoned clubs.
"When you compete against teams that are playing together two or three years, it's something very different than when it's a completely newly formed team, he said. "But the spirit is there. Definitely, the talent is there. The character is there. So we'll never know. We might be surprised."
Contact Ashley Stroehlein at astro@wcnc.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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