CHARLOTTE — From the time he was 9 years old, Brandt Bronico dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player.
After a four-year career at UNC-Charlotte, the dream became a reality for the former Wesleyan Christian Academy standout when he was chosen in the third round of the 2017 Major League Soccer draft by the Chicago Fire.
Over four seasons, Bronico played in 66 matches, contributing two goals and eight assists as a defensive midfielder. He was a professional soccer player, and he was living his dream.
But Bronico had a bigger one. He wanted to play for an MLS team in his home state.
That one became a reality, too, and it exceeded his wildest dreams.
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On the night of March 5, Bronico wore the sky blue and white No. 13 jersey as he walked onto the artificial turf at Bank of America Stadium for Charlotte FC’s first home game. The MLS expansion club lost that match 1-0 to the LA Galaxy but made history when a league-record 74,479 fans greeted the 26-year-old midfielder and his teammates.
“It’s something that you can’t really put into words,” Bronico says of the crowd. “Words don’t give that feeling justice. Going out there you could say it’s incredible, it’s amazing, it’s something you’ll never experience again in your life.”
It was particularly special for Bronico because his family was there, including his wife, Rebecca, who also played soccer at UNC-Charlotte.
“There were so many emotions, so many goosebumps,” he says, smiling at the memory. “It’s just so loud. It was such an incredible experience, especially for me going to college here and growing up not that far from here. Technically, this is like my hometown club.”
'We need to be in Charlotte'
The journey home for Bronico began in 2020, when he was still playing for Chicago. He’d grown into a solid pro, but things had changed during his four seasons in the league.
“When I got drafted, there was no MLS team in Charlotte,” Bronico says. “I spent four years there and kind of right at the end of those four years Charlotte just happened to be signing players for a new club.
“I called my agent and said, ‘Look, we need to be in Charlotte. That’s where I really want to be, so let’s make it happen,’ ” Bronico says. “Luckily there was interest from both sides, and by the grace of God it just worked out perfectly.”
After the 2020 season, Charlotte FC agreed to swap fourth-round picks with Chicago in the 2022 MLS Super Draft in exchange for Bronico's rights.
But there was a catch. Charlotte’s entry into MLS was postponed for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the league does not allow teams to loan players to other clubs in MLS. So Bronico and two of his current teammates, Burlington native Adam Armour and former Austria national team captain Christian Fuchs, were loaned to Charlotte Independence of the second-tier USL Championship. It wasn’t MLS, but it was professional soccer in Charlotte, and it would only be for a year.
Independence went 18-9-5 in 2021 while averaging a little over 2,000 fans for matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
“Ultimately, it was a good experience,” Bronico says. “I was able to play with Adam and Christian, so I was playing with some teammates I would be with on Charlotte FC and a lot of great players with Charlotte Independence at the time. We had a great team and were winning a lot and bringing that winning culture back to Charlotte. Getting situated here and trying to get soccer more popular in the QC was a lot of fun.”
'He’s very, very demanding of himself'
While Bronico was playing for Charlotte Independence, Bank of America Stadium was being retrofitted to accommodate the MLS franchise that Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper had purchased. An upgraded main concourse and supporters’ bar were built just inside the east gate, a central player tunnel was created, premium club space and field-level seating were added and soccer-specific locker rooms were constructed.
“When we walked into the locker room on the first day,” Bronico says, “it kind of felt like, this is ours. It felt like it was actually here and hit you in the face, like, Wow! This is real, and we’re entering MLS as Charlotte FC and, hopefully, beginning a legacy here.”
Bronico’s legacy has been one of strong, steady play in the midfield for coach Miguel Angel Ramirez. The Spaniard, who has coached at the first-division level in Ecuador and Brazil, sat down with Bronico midway through preseason training camp in Charleston, S.C.
“We got to know each other a little better,” Bronico says, “and he expressed what he wants from his holding midfielders and he expressed that I’d been doing a good job in his system. … I told him I just wanted an opportunity to learn the system. Told him, ‘I’m extremely coachable. I’m an adaptable player. I’m extremely fit. I can do this for this club and this is what I want to do.’”
Bronico has done it well enough to play in all 11 matches, starting 10, for a Charlotte FC side that is 4-6-1 overall (4-1-0 at home) and sits eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. The top eight in each of the league’s two 14-team conferences make the playoffs. In the process, Charlotte has averaged 39,711 fans at home.
How important has Bronico been to Ramirez’s team?
“He’s too reliable” not to play, the coach says. “He’s super-constant. He’s not losing his time. He’s competing every day. He doesn’t see himself as a starter; he’s always pushing in training to be in the starting 11. He’s always ready to work and he’s very, very demanding of himself.”
Asked to compare the 5-foot-9, 155-pounder to other players he’s coached, Ramirez references Cristian Pellerano. The coach describes Pellerano as “a really, really good holding midfielder” from Argentina who played on his Independiente del Valle side that won the Copa Sudamerica in 2019 and is still with the Ecuadoran club.
“He understood the game as nobody else and he’s still playing at 40 years old because of that, because he organizes everyone else around him,” Ramirez says. “But Pellerano didn’t have what Brandt has in terms of defending and physicality. These are things that are so important that he has. Not only in this league, but in soccer nowadays …
“For me you need legs and continuity – repeating actions all the time. These two. ... This is soccer now, and Brandt gives us these legs and this continuity, but also the extra of the understanding and the maneuvering. With him we always have this support in the spine (of the team).”
How does Bronico view his role with Charlotte FC?
“On the field, I’m one of those guys defensively who’s very aggressive,” he says, echoing Ramirez’s description. “I’m kind of a destroyer when it comes to defending. Offensively, I like to move the ball and help our attackers play and create – unbalancing defenses and getting the ball to our wingers’ feet, our strikers’ feet and putting them in goal-scoring situations.”
Off the field, he’s trying to become more of a leader. That’s an area where Ramirez sees room for growth as well.
“When you face the difficulties and the up-and-downs it will provide you with more tools as a leader,” the coach says. “He’s a leader through the games and through the work that he does, but he can improve on the pitch and off the pitch to have more presence and a higher level of communication. He can be the kind of leader who knows how to talk to others.”
'I believe in this team wholeheartedly'
The person Bronico talks to every day about the ups and downs of a professional athlete’s life is his wife of nearly two years, Rebecca. They met as soccer players at UNC-Charlotte, and she returned to the area with him to work as a mental health counselor.
“We sit back and kind of marvel at how far we’ve both come and how proud we are of each other,” Brandt says. “We didn’t know Charlotte was going to get an MLS team back in the day. We just tried to soak up our time at UNC-Charlotte. We both played at Transamerica Field, so we supported each other. Now I’m playing at Bank of America and she’s up there supporting me.”
Having a wife with “a soccer mind” does mean that “I get critiqued after every game about what I can do better,” he says, “but it’s nice to always have that constructive criticism.”
Bronico has high expectations for himself and for Charlotte FC.
“I want to be consistent as a main guy on this team and in this role that I’m playing,” he says. “From a team aspect, I want us to make the playoffs and go far in the U.S. Open Cup. I feel like we have the squad to do that and the staff to do that. I believe in this team wholeheartedly.”
That belief shows when Bronico talks about his long-term goals in the game.
“Eventually, I’d like to get a cap with the U.S. men’s national team,” he says. “That’s always been a goal of mine. I want to win an MLS Cup with Charlotte FC and, like the (Seattle) Sounders did, win a CONCACAF Champions League. I would love to win everything with this club.”
Bronico has made his dreams come true before, so there’s no reason it can’t happen again.
"It’s cool being that guy that a lot of youth players can look up to and think: He did it. Why can’t I do it?" he says. "That’s inspiration for youth players to show them that dreams do come true.”