ATLANTA – Since they came into the league in 2017, Atlanta United have reshaped the way we think about MLS. They haven’t yet won a trophy, but they have raised the bar. Through their spending, their encompassing attacking play and their record-shattering crowds, Atlanta have shown the rest of the league that there’s a new standard for just how good an MLS club can be.
“It’s not for me to say, but [MLS Commissioner Don Garber] would say we’ve set a new bar for performance in Major League Soccer both on the pitch and off the pitch, but particularly with our fans and fan attendance,” club owner Arthur Blank told reporters earlier this week.
Other than Blank, perhaps the two most important figures in Atlanta’s remarkable launch have been head coach Tata Martino and star attacker Miguel Almiron. They’ve both been indisputably excellent. They also might both be on their way out.
Saturday’s MLS Cup final against the Portland Timbers will be Martino’s final game in charge of Atlanta. The club announced earlier this fall that the former Argentina and Barcelona manager would leave following the 2018 season, reportedly to take the Mexico national team job. Almiron’s situation isn’t quite as clear, but it seems likely that Saturday will be his last match with the Five Stripes, as well. He’s reportedly a January transfer target of several big European clubs. If the right offer comes in, Atlanta have said repeatedly that they’ll sell.
Martino’s curtain call and Almiron’s potential exit have given this MLS Cup a slightly different flavor. Every championship game, no matter the sport, has a feeling of finality to it. This week for Atlanta, that feeling is especially pronounced. Win or lose, Saturday will mark the end of an era for the Five Stripes.
Martino and Almiron have had such an outsized influence on Atlanta over the last two seasons. They were the driving forces behind the club taking the league by storm in their expansion season. This year, they’ve only grown. Martino has rolled out several new looks and rotated the squad a bit more than he did in 2017, when some of Atlanta’s biggest stars broke down at the end of the season. Almiron recorded 12 goals and 14 assists in 32 regular-season appearances in 2018 en route to earning a second straight Best XI nod. He may have finished second in the MLS MVP voting behind teammate Josef Martinez, but his brief injury absence in October and Atlanta’s corresponding dip in form made it clear that Almiron is the man who makes the Five Stripes tick.
In some ways, the legacy of Atlanta’s first two seasons as a team and of Martino’s and Almiron’s time in Georgia is already secure. No matter the result against the Timbers in MLS Cup on Saturday, no matter what happens in the transfer market in January, the 2017 and 2018 editions of Atlanta United will be remembered as a team that took MLS to a new level. Almiron will be known as one of the most electrifying players in league history. Martino will have his place as the man who gave the Five Stripes immediate legitimacy.
Even if both do leave, it’s not as if Atlanta will fall out of contention. The club will continue to spend and attract big names. They’re reportedly interested in Boca Juniors head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto as Martino’s replacement; if Almiron heads overseas, they’ve been linked to a huge money move for River Plate’s Pity Martinez. With two years of tangible success to point to, it should only be easier to recruit.
“We felt if we positioned Atlanta United as the only team that we own and not make it feel like it was a stepchild, and we’ve done that in every way,” said Blank, who also owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. “From the great coach we hired, to the team president [Darren Eales], to the facilities, to the staff, all the way on down to the players, that all sent a message, I think, to players and coaches that would potentially join us, including coach Martino, that this is a first-class organization. We’re going to do everything the first-class way.”
All of that’s nice, but it’s not why Atlanta have pushed the envelope these last two years. They’ve done that for trophies. On Saturday, they’ll have a shot at their first – and likely last – with Martino and Almiron. If they can claim it, these first two Atlanta United teams won’t just be remembered for changing the league, they’ll go down as one of the best-ever in MLS.
“We wanted to maximize the opportunity we had in Atlanta, and it’s come to fruition,” said Blank. “Now we have an important match. The next, final step is Saturday.”
