How Alexey Miranchuk became a leader when Atlanta United needed it most
About a month ago, Atlanta United had one win through six games. The outlook appeared so bleak that Alexey Miranchuk gestured to the heavens and said, if the team could acquire help from a higher power and get a road win, maybe the ship could be steered in the right direction.
While the Five Stripes’ skid would later snowball into a historically rough 1-7-1 start, he was not entirely wrong.
United snapped a four-game losing streak on the road against Toronto FC on April 25 and have won three straight games in all competitions for the first time in five years.
Whether divine forces contributed remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that Miranchuk has delivered.
He is playing his best soccer since joining MLS from Serie A club Atalanta in 2024. He has a team-high six goals along with two assists. Including U.S. Open Cup matches, he has scored or assisted on three goals in United’s last three wins.
“Alexey is a wonderful player. I mean, he’s amazing,” United defender Matt Edwards said. “I think even from when he first arrived, he has had that quality. I think he just didn’t get the goals, but now he’s just getting the goals and adding a lot more to the team.”
That “a lot more” comes in the form of newly found leadership qualities. Miranchuk has taken the stand-in captain role for Miguel Almirón, who has missed the last five games with injury. Miranchuk has felt more responsibility donning the captain’s band, conducting pregame speeches and encouraging teammates individually.
“At times, I didn’t see that out of Alexey,” Edwards said. “He showed a lot of emotion recently and brought us together as a group. On the field, I’ve heard his voice more, too. He’s more of a quiet leader, and now he’s starting to be more vocal, which everyone respects.”
The soft-spoken midfielder has more than a decade of professional soccer under his belt since he first started competing in the Russian Premier League as a teenager. He has played on the biggest stages, including the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League, but until now, the 30-year-old has only led by example.
“I am not really the person who speaks a lot, who (is) aggressive, but I think I’m getting there,” Miranchuk said. “I start to push myself to say something in the locker room, in meetings as well, just to give courage to the players.”
Almirón will soon reclaim his captain duties, but United have unlocked something in Miranchuk on and off the pitch. Rather than copying and pasting Almirón’s role as No. 10, a position they are both most familiar with playing, Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino has utilized Miranchuk as a false nine. Martino said that when Almirón comes back, he will slide back into the attacking midfielder position.
Whenever Almirón suits up again, he might return to a club united in flipping the script after a disastrous start.
Miranchuk said turning around the season is something he and the collective unit have worked on in the locker room. They have learned that the only solution is to “die for each other on the field.” The mentality shift includes having honest, tough conversations, especially when they’re hearing boos from the home crowd.
United most recently did something it hadn’t done in a while — win at home and not walk off the field feeling “embarrassed” by the performance. The Five Stripes will face another test at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday against the LA Galaxy.
“We have been through a tough time,” Miranchuk said. “... It’s really important to stay together in difficult moments, and hopefully now we can keep pushing and go.”
