‘Trust and comfort’: Familiarity brought Martino back to Atlanta United
Trust and results are two reasons Chris Henderson successfully recruited Gerardo Martino to return to Atlanta United.
Martino coached Atlanta United in 2017 and ’18, leading it to the MLS Cup in its second season.
Martino and Henderson worked together at Inter Miami, where they developed a bond in winning the Leagues Cup in 2023 and Supporters Shield in ’24. Henderson resigned after the 2024 season to join Atlanta United. After firing Ronny Deila this season, following the team’s worst-ever finish (28 points), Henderson turned to Martino.
“We have a trust and a comfort together,” said Henderson, Atlanta United’s chief soccer officer and sporting director. “Of course, it’s never easy to go through this. We went through it before in Miami, and we went through it here. We want to get a team that can compete every single game, that can be a team that the fans are excited about. It’s going to take a lot of hard work together, but there’s trust and comfort in working with Tata and his staff.”
Martino went 36-16-16 during regular-season matches in his first stint at Atlanta United with a team featuring Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron, who returned before this season after spending the previous six at Newcastle. Atlanta United scored 140 goals and allowed 84, and Martino was named MLS Coach of the Year in 2018.
“We were very happy with kind of the identity that we had then,” Martino said. “What we’re going to try and do is to build the identity that we want to have with the team, and taking into account that we can’t always go back on just memories and how things were, because, of course, we’ve all changed, and many things have changed since then.”
Martino went 35-16-16 at Inter Miami, where he and Henderson put together the most talented roster in MLS history, featuring Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Martino’s staff will feature many of the same people who have worked with him for years, including during his first stint with Atlanta United. Martino’s son, Gerardo, who worked with him at Miami, will join because he joked that his wife said it’s better that he’s with his father.
“Communication has been very good, not just with Tata, but the entire staff,” Henderson said. “And he comes with a staff that understands each other. They understand their roles really well, and they will fit in to help build an instant culture inside the building.”
Henderson and Martino will work together to shape the roster. Decisions on contract options for players are expected to be announced next week. Martino said more players will be added. He said they won’t all be from South America, a rich talent pool of which Atlanta United took advantage in its first two seasons.
“We obviously won a lot of games together, but there are times where, you know, in seasons where you have ups and downs, and I think it’s important to have some experience for those situations, where you can figure out your way to get out of those,” Henderson said. “So I have great trust in Tata and his staff, and the personnel decisions are going to be in collaboration.”
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