If Gabriel Heinze is the next Atlanta United manager, what can he do to rejuvenate a team that has had difficulty taking tactics from training to games?
This was a problem referenced by several players and two managers last season as the team’s season cannonballed with a failure to secure a playoff spot for the first time in four seasons.
Part of the issue may have been communication.
Frank de Boer’s issues communicating with players were a problem. Defender Brooks Lennon, speaking after the season, also referenced difficulties with language barrier separating teammates as a part of the team’s issues.
So, Heinze could fix part of that.
It could be huge.
Communication and knowledge can build confidence.
Confidence can create speed. Speed can create advantages. Advantages can create positive results.
There are a few players on the roster that need a boost of confidence, notably Ezequiel Barco.
If Heinze, through communication, tactics and belief, can get the best out of Barco, Atlanta United should once again challenge for an MLS Cup in 2021 because the front end of the lineup looks to be loaded: Josef Martinez at striker with Marcelino Moreno as attacking midfielder. Jurgen Damm on the right and Barco on the left. Backups: Jon Gallagher, Jake Mulraney, Emerson Hyndman, Adam Jahn and Erik Lopez.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Heinze’s pressing tactics, designed to force turnovers, would seem to suit Martinez, Moreno, Barco and Damm well because it could put them in situations where there will either be space or numerical advantages that can try to take advantage of. Martinez won the MVP in 2018, partially because of his abilities in those situations. Damm’s speed in space presents obvious threats. Moreno, in his brief few games last season, showed that he should succeed in that type of system. Barco remains the wildcard because it’s still not clear what works best for him.
Getting the best out of Barco could be a huge boost to the team’s results as well as its finances because it would like to make a profit from its investment, just as it did with Miguel Almiron’s sale to Newcastle and Pity Martinez’s sale to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
In his short managerial career, Heinze has shown an ability to develop talent, or at least help the club he’s managing sell players for tidy sums of money.
At Velez Sarsfield, which he managed from 2018-20, the club brought in more than $25 million in sales in 2019 and an additional $10 million in 2020, which included left winger Alvaro Barreal to FC Cincinnati for $1.6 million.
Atlanta United is obviously hoping to get a bit more than $1.6 million for Barco because they paid $13.5 million for him before the 2018 season. His value is now $11.5 million, according to transfermarkt.us.
Barco has yet to truly shine for Atlanta United. He’s scored just 10 goals with nine assists in 56 appearances.
Just when there appears to be glimpses of consistency, such as in this season’s first two games when he scored two goals and had an assist in two victories, something happens and everything seems to go back to square one. This time it was the COVID break. In 2019, when he started to look good with a goal and assist in a 3-0 win against Sporting KC, he left for international duty. When he returned, he could never find a groove again.
If Heinze can help Barco understand what is needed, and Barco can take it from the training pitch to the field (along with his teammates), it could be huge for the Five Stripes.
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