Atlanta United don't play their first game until 2017, but they're already plenty bold
We don’t know a lot about Atlanta United yet — mostly because the team won’t start playing until next year — but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Atlanta are forging their own path and aren't afraid of being bold.
When rumors emerged on Tuesday of Tata Martino being in consideration for Atlanta’s coaching job — yes, the same Tata Martino who just stepped away from coaching Argentina and Lionel Messi — it was Atlanta again laying down a mission statement that they aren’t interested in being a run-of-the-mill MLS team.
After all, conventional wisdom says that coaches with experience in MLS are the best bet, and bringing in a coach with vast international experience but no American club experience would be a waste of time. But Atlanta are willing to at least consider veering from the established MLS playbook. They are also reportedly looking at former Seattle Sounders manager Sigi Schmid, and that would be a fine, smart choice — but it’s not the only choice or the obvious choice, as far as Atlanta apparently sees it.
One of Atlanta United’s earliest hires was Lucy Rushton, who is the club’s head of technical recruitment & analysis, and it’s a hire that sets Atlanta apart in a couple ways. First, statistical analysis is still developing, particularly in MLS, and Atlanta is looking to use hard data and sports science to make decisions across their entire roster. That may very well be the way of the future as data offers teams more information and more ways to interpret what they see. Second, she is a woman, making her one of the only women to hold such a role for a soccer club, a subtle but perhaps significant hint about Atlanta's club culture.
These things alone, which hint at a progressive approach, don’t mean Atlanta will be a contender right out the gate. Starting a team from scratch and joining MLS as an expansion team is still very difficult and the odds are against Atlanta finding immediate success. But the first roster-centric thing Atlanta did was establish their youth academy, not announce a big Designated Player signing and, just like data analytics and outside-the-box coaching candidates, it’s the sort of move that may pay off in a more roundabout way.
They do have a Designated Player now, 22-year-old winger Hector Villalba, who they've brought in from San Lorenzo as their first major signing under the DP rule. But he's a player being brought in as much for his potential as his current ability and Atlanta are betting he's a player that continue to grow into his role with the club. Rumors have linked Mexicans midfielder Andres Guardado and forward Carlos Vela to the burgeoning club too, which would be serious signings for a club with playoff ambitions.
Atlanta will also be getting a bit of a push in figuring things out of their own. MLS announced changes to the expansion draft, which means Atlanta will only be able gifted five players to help build their roster. Technical director Carlos Bocanegra will likely need to do a lot more than use mechanisms like the various MLS drafts (expansion, college, waiver and re-entry drafts), forcing the team to be more aggressive in the transfer market than other expansion teams have have to be.
There is a reason why MLS tends to be full of teams with long histories or relationships to more established entities, like New York City FC falling under the umbrella of Manchester City’s operations. It’s a lot easier to expand something that already exists rather than start from nothing, and it’s a lot easier to build a roster if you have players already. But bringing in new teams like Atlanta United create an opportunity for new ideas and practices in MLS, a league that is in some ways more open to changes than many competitions around the world.
Atlanta will join MLS next year, and yet, in August, the new franchise set an MLS record for season ticket sales of an expansion team. That’s a notable achievement, but what makes it more impressive is that "Atlanta United" didn’t exist, even as a concept, up until last year. Unlike many MLS expansion sides, Atlanta United weren’t a lower division team making the leap to MLS and their name wasn't unveiled until July 7, 2015.
If Atlanta can find some success in their first year, which has been particularly elusive for MLS expansion teams on the field, Atlanta United may change what people expect from first-year start-up teams. With the aggressive moves they have been making, Atlanta should be able to create plenty of opportunity to be a big player in MLS going forward.
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