Marcelino Moreno is going to be an important signing for Atlanta United for several reasons.
Yes, the team needs speed. Yes, the team needs someone who can beat opponents with the dribble, stay on their feet and create scoring chances for himself and teammates.
Moreno appears capable of that.
Of most importance, some of the team’s supporters need reason to believe in Carlos Bocanegra, the club’s vice president and technical director, the person in charge of putting together the roster.
Bocanegra has come under fire during the team’s struggles this season. First under Frank de Boer and now for interim manager Stephen Glass, the team isn’t playing as well as the perceived sum of its parts. Those parts were compiled by Bocanegra, without a lot of input from either manager, who have consistently voiced ignorance about players being brought in or released.
After de Boer and the club parted ways, I looked at the club’s signings before and after Gerardo “Tata” Martino and Paul McDonough were with the club. To sum it up: a lot of good players, some poor players. No consistent difference-makers. That does include Pity Martinez, who never found consistent footing with the club. Players such as Ezequiel Barco and Darlington Nagbe were signed when Martino was the manager.
I’ve told radio stations and podcasts when appearing as a guest that Martino and McDonough deserve far more credit than they’ve received for the composition of the team’s roster in 2017 and ’18. Even as late as last week, Franco Escobar said he is an Atlanta United player because he was wanted by Tata. Julian Gressel was an Atlanta United player because Tata wanted him. The list goes on.
Bocanegra deserves credit for making the signings work and getting those players to the team. As such, Bocanegra deserves credit for the trophies won: the MLS Cup, the U.S. Open Cup and the Campeones Cup. It was an impressive start. Very impressive.
But soccer, like the other professional sports, is a today game, and today Atlanta United isn’t playing well. It has won just once in its past 10. It is currently outside of the playoff line. The roster is full of Bocanegra signings. De Boer is no longer here because it was apparent that it wasn’t working. Things have gotten worse, not better, since.
Bocanegra acknowledged Tuesday that several players who helped the club win titles aren’t playing as well this season. He said there are several reasons for the club’s struggles this season, including the loss of Josef Martinez for almost all of the season, a coaching change, the sale of Pity Martinez and that the team hasn’t handled the stops and starts the team has had to go through. Those are all legitimate facts that shouldn’t be viewed as excuses.
“If people want to have criticism and anger, they can point toward myself,” Bocanegra said. “That’s fine. We need to do better. Everyone here is accountable on the field, myself included. We’re accountable with who we bring in.”
That’s why this Moreno signing is important. Bocanegra must show the supporters that he is putting together the bigger picture, one in which each player can make those around him better. That will give the supporters hope for the next signings, which are going to come. Barco is going to be sold at some point. That will open another Designed Player slot. Erik Lopez is going to join the first team next season. The team’s supporters are applying unreal expectations on that young player. There likely will be more two young DP slots open as part of the collective bargaining agreement will take effect next season. Those will be two more important signings because those players that can be bought at a low price, developed and sold at a very high price. If they are playing well, the club should be winning.
And then there’s the important decision of hiring of a manager.
Some will argue that the club should focus on finding a manager first. It should be a manager with a more attacking mindset, who should be able to turn around the club’s fortunes. That may be true. What is also true is this same group of players is struggling under two different managers. It’s difficult to believe that a third will be able to turn a team currently in 10th in the East into one that will rocket up the standings.
But again, this is about the bigger picture. Moreno is just one piece in a larger puzzle being put together by Bocanegra.
The bigger picture won’t be realized until next season, when Josef Martinez is healthy, Moreno has found a comfort level and other talent joins.
But that path started on Tuesday with the Moreno signing.
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