Gabriel Heinze has added five members to his technical staff for the 2021 MLS season, Atlanta United announced Monday.
Assistant coaches Mariano Toedtli, Nicolas Pavlovich and Pedro Mateo Leivas, fitness coach Javier Vilamitjana and video analyst Diego Navone will join current goalkeeper coach Liam Curran to round out Heinze’s first team staff.
Heinze was named Atlanta United head coach last month.
Stephen Glass, who filled in as interim head coach for the second half of the season, has returned to his role with Atlanta United 2, along with Henry Apaloo.
Tony Annan continues his role as academy director and Rob Valentino remains as a staff coach with a focus on player development.
Toedtli has been an assistant under Heinze since his first head coaching job at Godoy Cruz. He scored 133 goals in a career that spanned Portugal, Spain and Argentina.
Pavlovich also served as a Heinze assistant at Velez Sarsfield. The Argentine started his playing career at Newell’s Old Boys in 1998. He went on to play in Russia, Germany and Mexico before returning to South America to close out his playing career.
Leivas will serve as assistant coach, aiding in translation. His most recent role was as technical director at Sporting Global LLC, an official partner of the FC Barcelona academy in the United States. Curran rounds out Heinze’s assistants, continuing in his role as goalkeeper coach, which marks his second season with the first team and sixth year at the club.
Vilamitjana joins as a fitness coach after serving in that role under Heinze in his last two head coaching stints. He’s also previously worked in the same capacity for the Argentine national team.
Navone follows Heinze to Atlanta after being in the same role as video analyst at Velez Sarsfield and was on Heinze’s coaching staff at Godoy Cruz and Argentinos Juniors.
