Charlotte FC hires assistant who has worked with some of the top managers in soccer
On the heels of announcing Miguel Ángel Ramírez as Charlotte FC’s first head coach last week, the Major League Soccer club is filling out additional technical positions. Charlotte FC on Monday hired Christian Lattanzio as a new assistant coach to join Ramírez’s staff.
Lattanzio, 49, has signed a three-year deal with the team set to begin play in 2022.
Like Ramírez, Lattanzio’s experience is rooted primarily in coaching international clubs. He served as an assistant coach for OGC Nice in top-tier French Ligue 1 from 2018 to 2020. Earlier in his career, the Italian-born Lattanzio was a technical coordinator for Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, a U-21 side that plays under the first team.
Lattanzio also has MLS experience that will be valuable to supporting Ramírez as a coach new to the league. His trajectory has closely followed that of Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira. Lattanzio was an assistant coach for the Vieira-led New York City FC squad between 2016 and 2018, and helped elevate the club to its first playoff appearance in 2016. There, Vieira used a possession-based style of play similar to what has been touted by Ramírez. Lattanzio departed New York at the same time as Vieira in the summer of 2018 to join Nice.
He has worked with highly regarded international coaches Fabio Capello, Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Mancini.
“I feel privileged to join Charlotte FC’s coaching staff,” Lattanzio said in a statement. “It is the right moment to experience again the MLS culture as the Club’s ambitions match my goals. I am committed to working with Miguel and the entire team to play a competitive, entertaining game. It is impressive to see the growth of soccer in the United States and the passion of the fans inspires me to do my best.”
Charlotte FC sporting director Zoran Krneta highlighted overlapping soccer philosophies between the club’s vision and Lattanzio’s experience.
“His soccer values, philosophy and most importantly style of play are aligned with the club, which make him a great addition to Charlotte FC,” club sporting director Zoran Krneta said in a statement.
Lattanzio is expected to work with the Charlotte FC Academy staff upon his arrival as well to help develop upcoming players while the team looks to fill out the first team roster in the coming months.
