Staff file photo by Troy Stolt / Jimmy Obleda is in his second season as coach of the Chattanooga Red Wolves, who are off to a 1-0-1 start to their 2021 USL League One schedule as they prepare for their home opener Saturday night.The Chattanooga Red Wolves will open the home portion of their 2021 USL League One schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday in East Ridge. They’ll face Fort Lauderdale CF at CHI Memorial Stadium, which is still under construction in its second season of use but has undergone a lot of growth from last year.
It’s also the second season for head coach Jimmy Obleda, who guided the Red Wolves to 22 points in the league standings and a 6-5-4 record in 2020, which was good for fifth place but not good enough to qualify for a postseason that was reduced to a championship match that ultimately wasn’t played because of COVID-19.
Chattanooga’s roster went through a huge makeover in the offseason as Obleda and general manager Sean McDaniel tried to build a championship-caliber team, and the Red Wolves are off to a 1-0-1 start with four points in the standings after a 1-0 win at North Texas SC on May 8 and a 2-2 draw at New England Revolution II on Sunday. Fort Lauderdale is 3-3-0 and in third place, one point behind reigning champion Greenville Triumph SC and runner-up Union Omaha, which each has 10 points after starting 3-0-1.
Earlier this week, the Times Free Press met with Obleda to discuss a number of subjects pertaining to soccer in the city, as well as globally.
TFP: I’ve heard that everyone on your team can speak Spanish. Was that something that was important in terms of team building?