CHARLOTTE (Aug. 21, 2020) – The American forward completed his move to the Jacks to bolster Mike Jeffries’ attacking ranks with ten matches remaining in the 2020 USL Championship season.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with https://www.charlotteindependence.com at the Sportsplex at Matthews, the new No.90 detailed his ambitions with the Jacks.
Watch the chat in full HERE now or read on below for the transcript…
CHARLOTTE (Aug. 21, 2020) – The American forward completed his move to the Jacks to bolster Mike Jeffries’ attacking ranks with ten matches remaining in the 2020 USL Championship season.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with https://www.charlotteindependence.com at the Sportsplex at Matthews, the new No.90 detailed his ambitions with the Jacks.
Watch the chat in full HERE now or read on below for the transcript…
WATCH: Christian Chaney Interview
WATCH: Christian Chaney Interview
Christian, welcome to the Charlotte Independence. How does it feel to be here?
“It feels good. Coming into the team at this point in the season, I am very happy to be here and help out as much as I can to help the team make a playoff push.”
When did you first hear about the Independence's interest in you and what was your immediate reaction?
“I heard about the club’s interest in me about four weeks ago. Mike [Jeffries] had been trying to get me since last season but I went overseas to give it a try there but when COVID hit everything changed. I was training on my own at home and just waiting for an opportunity. Thankfully, Mike gave my agent a call and I was really excited. I have heard a lot of good things about the city of Charlotte and I have been following the team. I’m just excited to finally be here and have a team to play for.”
You are competing with Dane Kelly, the USL Championship’s all-time leading goal scorer, how are you going to approach that challenge?
“Dane is the leading goal scorer for a reason, so I don’t really see it as a competition. I am just going to try to learn and feed off what he has. He is the number one here so whenever he is tired or can’t do something, I’m going to try and impact the game as much as possible. I have goals in me and I’m going to try and contribute to the team as much as possible.”
What are your ambitions here?
“There are about ten matches left so I am just hoping to get as many minutes as I can. For the minutes I do get, I am hopeful to try and score, and if I can’t score then assist and help the team get a win. Ultimately, I am the striker, so I am hoping for four to five goals in these last ten games.”
Any reason for wearing the No.90?
“My original number is 21, which Junior [Etou] has. My second number is 9, which Dane [Kelly] has. I actually have been following a player named Duvan Zapata, a forward for Atalanta, for a while now and he wears 91 and 90 didn’t sound too bad so I went with that.”
For any Jacks fans that haven’t seen you play, describe yourself as a player.
“I’m a big guy. I love to head the ball. I love to hold the ball, but I am also pretty athletic. Maybe you will see some crazy acrobatics out of me and if I score, I do backflips. I love winning, hate losing, and I play the game with a lot of passion. You will see a lot of emotion out of me.”
What is your message to Jacks fans?
“Stay tuned. We are going to make this playoff run and I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to keep winning.”
Christian, welcome to the Charlotte Independence. How does it feel to be here?
“It feels good. Coming into the team at this point in the season, I am very happy to be here and help out as much as I can to help the team make a playoff push.”
When did you first hear about the Independence’s interest in you and what was your immediate reaction?
“I heard about the club’s interest in me about four weeks ago. Mike [Jeffries] had been trying to get me since last season but I went overseas to give it a try there but when COVID hit everything changed. I was training on my own at home and just waiting for an opportunity. Thankfully, Mike gave my agent a call and I was really excited. I have heard a lot of good things about the city of Charlotte and I have been following the team. I’m just excited to finally be here and have a team to play for.”
You are competing with Dane Kelly, the USL Championship’s all-time leading goal scorer, how are you going to approach that challenge?
“Dane is the leading goal scorer for a reason, so I don’t really see it as a competition. I am just going to try to learn and feed off what he has. He is the number one here so whenever he is tired or can’t do something, I’m going to try and impact the game as much as possible. I have goals in me and I’m going to try and contribute to the team as much as possible.”
What are your ambitions here?
“There are about ten matches left so I am just hoping to get as many minutes as I can. For the minutes I do get, I am hopeful to try and score, and if I can’t score then assist and help the team get a win. Ultimately, I am the striker, so I am hoping for four to five goals in these last ten games.”
Any reason for wearing the No.90?
“My original number is 21, which Junior [Etou] has. My second number is 9, which Dane [Kelly] has. I actually have been following a player named Duvan Zapata, a forward for Atalanta, for a while now and he wears 91 and 90 didn’t sound too bad so I went with that.”
For any Jacks fans that haven’t seen you play, describe yourself as a player.
“I’m a big guy. I love to head the ball. I love to hold the ball, but I am also pretty athletic. Maybe you will see some crazy acrobatics out of me and if I score, I do backflips. I love winning, hate losing, and I play the game with a lot of passion. You will see a lot of emotion out of me.”
What is your message to Jacks fans?
“Stay tuned. We are going to make this playoff run and I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to keep winning.”
