Expansion

Why Charlotte's GM believes he can produce the Michael Jordan of soccer

Michael Jordan -- Carolina

The man who helped spot and elevate talents like Luka Jovic, Branislav Ivanovic and New York City FC striker Heber is leading MLS's newest club, and he plans to start his latest star search close to home. 


Zoran Krneta was recently named sporting director for Charlotte MLS, the expansion side set to join the league in 2021, and the Serbian shared a number of insights about the project in a new feature story on the club's website.


“If the Carolinas can produce Michael Jordan, I don’t see why we can’t produce one of the top stars in soccer,” said the former agent as he was unveiled this week.


“We really want to focus on the Carolinas,” he added. “And we will start building the academy process while cooperating with the existing youth academies in the area ... Ideally, we would like to get to a place where our academy produces two players every year for the first team.”


Read the full piece here and watch the video interview below: