Author | Daniel Wright |
Three days will forever be burned into my mind. They are the last time I saw my best friend before he died, the first game Atlanta United ever played, and when Atlanta won MLS Cup on December 8, 2018. I can tell you exactly what I was wearing, down to my socks (Atlanta United, obviously). I can tell you what I ate before the game (pepperoni pizza and Coke). Heck, I can even tell you how many M&M’s I ate during the game (27). The point is, Atlanta United’s MLS Cup win is very fresh in my memory and will be for a long time.
After the Five Stripes won the Cup, everyone was saying that Atlanta is the ultimate MLS Super Club. We have a billionaire owner who is willing to put in money, we have an incredible 70,000 seat stadium, and we have a dedicated fan base that never gives up on the team. We had one of the most legendary coaches in the history of professional soccer, and we had the most electric midfielder in the league. So, naturally, after Atlanta became the Champions, everybody thought they would have an easy time in 2019. Well, almost everybody is. After looking at Atlanta’s schedule and the roster and staff changes made during the offseason, I knew it would not be easy. First of all, we had lost Tata Martino, that legendary coach I was talking about. Second, we had lost Miguel Almiron, our most important player. He was often overshadowed by the goal scoring machine that was Josef Martinez, but he did much more to contribute to the game and was often the reason why Josef scored in the first place. To replace those two guys, Atlanta’s front office hired Dutch manager Frank de Boer and South American Player of the Year, Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez.
De Boer has managed prestigious clubs such as Dutch powerhouse Ajax, Italian stallions (sorry, I had to) Inter Milan, and well known English club Crystal Palace. While de Boer had a successful career as a player, he hasn’t had the most successful of managing careers. De Boer started by managing his former club Ajax. He coached Ajax for five and a half years, winning four consecutive league titles. After he lost two titles to the same team, de Boer resigned as Ajax head coach. He was then hired to coach Inter Milan, where he managed the team for a total of 85 days before being fired. De Boer managed about 15 games for Inter, only winning five and drawing two. De Boer’s career at Crystal Palace was even worse than his time at Inter Milan. He was only with Crystal Palace for ten weeks, losing four of his five matches coached at Palace. It was over a year after de Boer was sacked by Palace that he was hired by Atlanta United. Frank’s record hasn’t been much better at Atlanta than it was at Palace or Inter. Sitting at one win, two draws, and three losses, Atlanta sits at the bottom of the east and tied for third worst in the league.
Now, on to Mr. Martinez. Gonzalo Martinez, otherwise known as Pity, played for Argentinian giants River Plate. While at River Plate, Pity scored 22 goals and had 95 appearances over four years. While Pity is an incredible midfielder and very rightfully won South American Player of the Year, he is NOT Miguel Almiron. Yes, they have many similarities, but they also have many differences. Where Miggy has explosive speed, Pity doesn’t. Where Miggy has incredible outside of the box shooting skills, Pity doesn’t seem to have that. Yes, they both have incredible footwork, they both take good free kicks, and they both wear the number 10. However, these many similarities are overshadowed by the biggest differences. I think out of all the things that were changed during the offseason, Miggy leaving is the biggest thing that happened. Without him, there is no one with insane speed to confuse the midfield and wreck the defense. There is no one to take free kicks from 25 yards out and score. There is no one to give Josef incredible service so that he has tap in goals. Not yet at least. We have a few players who could turn into that, but it will take some work.
The first one is Ezequiel Barco. Barco is very similar to Miggy in that they are both swift and both take good free kicks, but that is really where the similarities end. Barco likes to play with the ball at his feet and be the playmaker, whereas Almiron can play either way very effectively. The second player who has Almiron potential is Homegrown player Andrew Carleton. Carleton’s skill is nowhere near that of Almiron or Barco and he has not even stepped on the pitch this season. However, I think Carleton has the potential to be Miggy 2.0. He is very fast (not Miggy fast, though), he has great footwork, and he can play with the ball at his feet or he can be the playmaker. Carleton is only 18 and has at least a dozen years left in his career, so there is some time for him to step up. But, if Carleton is going to be the man to step up and be the difference maker, he needs to do it soon. The final player I think could be the playmaker for Atlanta United is holding midfielder Darlington Nagbe. During his time in MLS, he has played a variety of positions, from defensive midfielder to attacking midfielder to goalkeeper (Yes, he has actually played goalkeeper. Never in a real game, but multiple times during practice). Nagbe has a lot of attacking skill, though it is often used. He is used as a transition player to take the ball from the defenders and successfully send it to the attackers. During MLS Cup, Nagbe was playing the role of an attacking number ten at times, a player who gets forward, makes crucial passes, and occasionally takes shots. I think Nagbe is an unconventional choice for Atlanta’s #10 and an unthought of choice for that position. However, I think with some training, Nagbe could fill that position perfectly.
With Atlanta’s terrible performances so far, it makes me, one of the most dedicated Atlanta United fans out there, ask, was it beginners luck? Here is what I think in two words: Heck. No. Atlanta United’s 2018 performances were the result of a skilled starting lineup, featuring the MLS Scoring King Josef Martinez and the best midfielder in the league, who worked well together and were able to demolish the defenses of other teams. Atlanta came into 2019 with many disadvantages. They lost Miguel Almiron, they lost Tata Martino, and the rest of the league has had at least four months to examine Atlanta’s games and find ways to break through their defense and keep our attackers under control. Here is my plan to success for Atlanta United in three easy steps.
1. Find a playmaker.
This is probably the hardest of the three steps to accomplish. Finding a playmaker among the players we currently have
2. Keep the defense strong.
This includes minimizing defensive mistakes and finding the right four for the back line. Right now, Atlanta has one of the biggest problems in MLS that shouldn’t be a problem. We have too much depth. Meaning, that we have enough players in every position that we could have two sometimes three injuries and still have players to fill that position. We currently have three incredible center backs in Parkhurst, Gonzalez-Pirez, and Robinson. We need to find the right combination of those three plus right-back Franco Escobar and either left-back Brek Shea or left-back George Bello.
3. Go back to the OG Atlanta.
The Five Stripes need to go back to their 2017 or early 2018 style of play. It is fast-paced, exciting soccer that gets the fans excited about watching the team. That would mean changing the formation from de Boer's favorite 4-3-3 formation.
All in all, I would say that Atlanta United did not beginners luck, they are just trying to find who they are under a new coach with different players. Every great team goes through struggles like this. Take the Boston Red Sox for example. They just won the 2018 World Series and they have started 10-15 this season in the MLB. It is a surprise for Atlanta to play like this after last season, but we just have to wait it out. I am confident that Atlanta will start winning, and when they do figure out, oh boy. MLS watch out. The A-Train is coming for you.
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