Frank de Boer, Atlanta United’s new manager, said he’s not going to make too many changes from what worked so well under the team’s previous manager Gerardo Martino.
De Boer, hired in December and introduced on Monday at the team’s training facility in Marietta, compared Atlanta United’s MLS Cup winning team to a computer.
“What I think we can change…the hardware is there,” he said. “We will update it a little bit.”
De Boer didn’t want to share what those updates may be, or even what formation Atlanta United may use. He said he needs to experience the players on the training pitch first. But it seems the 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, or something similar, favored by Martino will likely be what the team continues to fine tune once training camp starts Tuesday ahead of its first game on Feb. 21 against Herediano in the CONCACAF Champions League in Costa Rica.
“What’s good is good,” de Boer said.
Amid the talk of winning the numerous trophies (Champions League, MLS, Campeones Cup, U.S. Open Cup) Atlanta United will compete for this season, de Boer wanted to focus on the process instead of the hardware. He said he’s a big believer in how a team trains is how it will play because he said teams spend more time on the training pitch than in their stadium.
De Boer said he would prefer to play the aggressive style that carried Atlanta United to back-to-back 70-goal seasons. He said he likes that style. But he needs a better look at the players, particularly over the next two weeks of training camp.
And, in the end, he wants to win, no matter the style.
“We will try to entertain the fans but also to win,” he said. “If I have to choose, I will always choose to win.”
