Why Atlanta United fired Gonzalo Pineda and what’s next

That responsibility now falls to Valentino, who took over Atlanta on an interim basis in 2021 following the dismissal of Pineda’s predecessor, Gabriel Heinze. Valentino set a 4W-2L-2D record during his brief stint in charge.

This time around, Valentino will likely have more time to make an impact and potentially lock down the coaching job for good. Lagerwey, the former Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC executive, referenced Brian Schmetzer’s MLS Cup win with the Rave Green in 2016 to explain Atlanta’s lack of urgency in finding a permanent replacement .

“I had success in Seattle supporting an interim coach,” Lagerwey said. “We want to give Rob a chance to succeed here.”

In case Valentino doesn’t pan out, the 2018 MLS Cup champions are taking all necessary steps to find the right person to take the reins of one of the league’s hottest clubs.

“With this incredible infrastructure, it’s going to be easy to recruit. We’ll be inundated with candidates for this position,” Lagerwey said. “…We will use data, analytics and interviews to really sift through what I’m sure will be an avalanche of candidates.”

Lagerwey also acknowledged recent reports of negotiations between the club and Liga MX powerhouse Cruz Azul for Giakoumakis. The 2023 MLS Newcomer of the Year fills one of Atlanta’s three designated player spots, along with Almada and Gregersen.

“In the long term, we are going to commit to the players who commit to us,” Lagerwey said. “We have had conversations with Cruz Azul, I am happy to confirm that. But nothing has happened at this stage… Obviously the possible transfer of Giorgos has been made public. The possible transfer of Thiago Almada , we’ve been talking about it for months.

As things stand, however, fans shouldn’t expect a major overhaul of the team anytime soon.

“If you’re looking for big changes, big roster moves, it just depends on what’s happening in terms of DP sales specifically,” Lagerwey said. “And again, our narrative, our belief is that after the last two transfer windows, we have a number of talented players on this list and that the potential of the list as a whole is better than the results we we saw.”