Atlanta United fires Gonzalo Pineda

“We think our team fell short,” Lagerwey said. “We believe our team is more talented than our results. And so, we were going to try to change the voice at the top and see if we got more out of the existing group.

Pineda’s last game was the 3-2 loss to Charlotte at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. Lagerwey said the decision to fire Pineda was approved Sunday by owner Arthur Blank. Pineda and two of the aides were informed Monday.

The game against Charlotte was the team’s fifth straight home loss. The team had more expected goals than the visitors, but also resulted in an injury to Stian Gregersen, a designated player and another DP, Giorgos Giakoumakis, whose availability was limited by a previous injury.

This was the story of Pineda’s time in charge of the club.

Hired as a proven, successful assistant at Seattle, where he won an MLS Cup, he finished at Atlanta United with an overall record of 34-34-29 and no trophies. Atlanta United is still alive in the US Open Cup this season. The League Cup has not yet started. Atlanta United is below the playoff line in MLS, three points back in ninth. He has one victory in 11 league matches.

Pineda’s tenure was greatly affected by numerous injuries. Hired in August 2021, in its first full season in 2022, the team’s players suffered more than 20 injuries that caused them to miss several games. At one point, five starters (full backs, center backs and goalkeeper) were not on the roster at the start of the season. The team missed the playoffs for the second time. The first was in 2020.

The team was also hampered in 2021 and 2022 by an ineffective forward. The team acquired Josef Martinez and signed Giakoumakis ahead of the 2023 season. Players on the roster have also proven more resilient. The team made the playoffs but was eliminated in the best of three rounds by Columbus, the eventual MLS champions.

The squad was reorganized for 2024 with the loan of several inexperienced or ineffective players such as Santiago Sosa and Franco Ibarra and the signing of many experienced veterans such as midfielder Bartosz Slisz, Gregersen, central defender Derrick Williams and goalkeeper Josh Cohen. These are in addition to signings made during the summer of 2023 such as striker Jamal Thiare, wingers Saba Lobjanidze and Xande Silva and midfielder Tristan Muyumba.

Unfortunately for Pineda, Giakoumakis, Thiare, Silva, Gregersen and Williams, as well as Thiago Almada, the third DP, have also missed several matches this season due to injuries.

Pineda said Sunday that one of the things that will help the team get back on track is getting injured players back. As Giakoumakis returned from a hamstring injury, he was also pursued by Cruz Azul in Mexico. Giakoumakis refused to speak to reporters after Sunday’s loss.

“First, we try to have a team that is fully fit and fully ready,” Pineda said. “I think we are close, but we may have suffered another injury, especially in the back. I think we needed the three points today, I agree 100 percent, and I think today’s victory was crucial for the team’s mentality.

Lagerwey doesn’t seem to agree that injuries were a big factor. He said there are always imperfections and one of the arts of management is managing imperfect lineups.

But it was also affected by the team’s inability to score and stop their opponents. The Charlotte match was the epitome of that. Charlotte’s first goal was an own goal off a corner kick that bounced off Williams. This happened five minutes after Atlanta United took a 1-0 lead. Charlotte’s second goal came when neither Williams nor Luis Abram closed out Liel Abada. Charlotte’s third goal came when Abada was left open in the box for a shot into the bottom right corner.

“It would be a whole different problem if we weren’t creating as many chances, and then you could say they’re not executing the game plan or getting the best out of themselves, but they’re not all just not clinical, and when you If you’re not clinical in these types of games, you suffer,” Pineda said. “The margins in this league are so small that you have to make sure that when you have that number of dominant performances with double the chances, many high-value chances, double the shots and double the expected goals, you have to capitalize on those, and we didn’t do it.

Valentino will lead the club in the last 18 league matches. If he is successful, he will be considered for the full-time position. Lagerwey will lead the research. When asked twice if Vice President Carlos Bocanegra would be part of the search, Lagerwey did not provide a clear answer. Bocanegra has been in charge of roster construction since the team’s inaugural season in 2017. He won the US Open Cup in 2018, as well as the Campeones Cup and US Open Cup in 2019. Despite spending heavily on transfer fees and in salaries, he has not made it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2019. The guaranteed part Bocanegra’s contract ends after the 2025 season. There is an option for 2026.

Lagerwey pointed out that during his time at Real Salt Lake, Seattle and Atlanta United, his teams made the playoffs with five different managers.

There is no timetable for completing the research, Lagerwey said. There will be a large group of people who will be involved in Blank making the final decision based on their recommendations.

There are two extremely successful managers who are unemployed, but it is unclear if they would return to MLS. One is Marcelo Gallardo, whose son Matias plays for Atlanta United 2. The other is Mauricio Pochettino, who was recently fired by Chelsea.

This hire would be only the third manager Lagerwey has hired during his career in the front offices of MLS teams. The most recent was Brian Schmetzer’s promotion from assistant to interim to manager in Seattle. Schmetzer, who won two MLS Cups and finished second in the Champions League twice. The first was Real Salt Lake’s Jeff Cassar, who was also promoted to assistant coach of the club. Real Salt Lake did not win a single trophy during his 121-match tenure.

“We really thought going into the season we had put together a team that was going to be really competitive and do really well,” Lagerwey said. “We have set ourselves ambitious goals. These objectives have not changed. We now need to hopefully move forward with some discipline, some structure and some determination and understand that nothing is going to be given to us. We come to work every day, in this sort of paradise created by Arthur Blank.

“It’s one thing to be grateful for it, it’s another to deserve it. And I think that’s what you have to do going forward is we have to show that we are willing to be brave, that we are willing to be determined, that we are willing to fight and overcome adversity. I think too often this season we’ve seen things like when we score we’re immediately scored, or when we make a mistake we’re not resilient, we make another mistake and compound that and then things come to a head of snow. We hope that with the potential of the team, the talent of the team and a different voice, we hope that we can achieve a quick turnaround.

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

February 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in US Open Cup

May 11 DC United 3, Atlanta United 2

May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0

May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1

May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in US Open Cup

May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0

May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1

June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2

June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.

June 19 at DC United, 7:30 p.m.

June 22 in Saint-Louis, 8:30 p.m.

June 29 c. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.

July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.

July 13 in Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

July 20 against Columbus, 7:30 p.m.

July 26 against DC United in the League Cup, 7:30 p.m.

August 4 against Santos Laguna in the League Cup, 4 p.m.

August 24 at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.

August 31 in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

September 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

September 18 against Miami, 7:30 p.m.

September 21 at the Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

September 28 in Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

October 2 c. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

October 5 against Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

October 19 in Orlando, 6 p.m.