Thousands cheer champion Atlanta United at downtown parade
ATLANTA (AP) — Despite cold, drizzly weather, thousands of fans turned out Monday for a downtown parade and rally to celebrate the city's first championship since 1995.
The revelry won't last long.
Atlanta United must find a coach to replace Tata Martino and likely cope with the loss of star midfielder Miguel Almiron before returning to the field in February for their first appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League.
"That puzzle exists every year in professional sports," team owner Arthur Blank told reporters after the rally outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. "The great organizations, the great teams find a way to respond to that. What we've built here is a sustainable, winning organization, so we're looking forward to being back — not just competing, but being back on this stage a year from now."
In just its second season since entering Major League Soccer as an expansion team, Atlanta United won the championship with a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
Less than 48 hours later, the city toasted its first championship team since the Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series .
"We did it! We broke the curse!" said rapper Archie Eversole, whose song "We Ready" became a popular theme at home games.
The players rode a double-decker bus on the 1-mile-long parade route, holding up the cup for the cheering crowd as they passed the Georgia Aquarium, College Football Hall of Fame and Centennial Olympic Park. Blank, team president Darren Eales and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms revved up fans in convertibles at the front of the procession.
The parade ended in a grassy lot alongside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where some 15,000 turned out for a lunchtime rally also attended by outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal.
"We've won a championship in only our second season," Eales said. "That's pretty incredible."
In probably his last appearance with the team, Martino hammered in the golden spike while the crowd roared. The Argentine coach is reportedly headed to Mexico to become that country's national team coach.
"Coach Martino is one of the great coaches in the world," Blank said. "He saw the vision, he bought into the vision, and he executed the vision with this incredible group of players."
That group will be changing.
Atlanta already made several moves, announcing the day after the game that it declined contract options on five players including captain Michael Parkhurst, though the 34-year-old defender is expected to return in 2019. The team said it has already begun negotiations on a new contract with Parkhurst, who finally won the MLS Cup after playing on four runner-up teams.
The biggest moves are still to come. Almiron, who was runner-up in the MVP voting to teammate Josef Martinez, is expected to follow through on his desired move to Europe, which should bring United a hefty transfer fee.
The team seems to have already lined up a replacement.
Argentine star Gonzalo "Pity" Martinez, who scored the clinching goal in River Plate's victory Sunday in the Copa Libertadores final, announced on the field right after the game that he's leaving the team. He told media in his native country that he's headed to Atlanta United.
Martinez, who scored a record 31 goals during the regular season and added four more in the playoffs , appears likely to remain with the team for at least one more season. He's had much more success in MLS than his previous stint in Italy's Serie A.
"I am going to be here as long as they want me," Martinez said after winning the MVP award. "I feel like I'm at home."
Atlanta United could target another South American coach as Martino's replacement, with an eye toward maintaining a pipeline to promising young players from that continent. As Almiron has shown, the MLS can provide a useful steppingstone to those wishing to further their careers in Europe.
Among those mentioned as candidates: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who previously won the MLS Cup as a player in Columbus and coached Boca Juniors to the Copa Libertadores final this season; along with Marcelo Bielsa, who has close ties to Martino and is currently managing Leeds in England's second division.
Atlanta United will have an additional priority in 2019 after qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League, the continent's top club competition. They will face Herediano in the two-legged opening round, with the first game to be played in Costa Rica in a Feb. 19-21 window before the second leg at Mercedes-Benz Stadium a week later.
That 16-team competition, which runs through the first of May, figures to be the team's top priority in the early part of the 2019 season. The only U.S. team to win the title was D.C. United two decades ago.
But Atlanta is intent on defending its MLS championship, as well.
"It's an honor to represent this city," said goalkeeper Brad Guzan, saluting the fans who broke numerous attendance records during the club's first two seasons. "We'll be back next year to defend this cup."
