6 questions about what’s next for Atlanta United

Atlanta United isn’t.

What happened to the Five Stripes, who went to Orlando with so much hope, with then-manager Frank de Boer and some players reciting what seemed to be rehearsed lines about the team’s DNA being attacking soccer and winning trophies?

The team didn’t attack, finishing as the only one of 24 to fail to score in its three games, and now one pseudo-rival (Orlando) will compete against the team (Minnesota) that entered MLS the same time as Atlanta United.

I would imagine what must be particularly galling to Atlanta United supporters is that Orlando is playing the type of soccer once seen in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and that the Loons have quietly built the type of cohesive roster that once was seen in Marietta.

Odd times, indeed.

Here are a few still unanswered questions I have about Atlanta United that have popped into this pinballing mind since the team flew to Orlando on July 4 for the tournament:

1. Who will be the starting striker when the team next plays?

The team signed Erik Lopez with the official statement being that he was going to join Atlanta United 2 this season and then move up to the senior team for the 2021 season.

This was necessary because if the reported financial figures behind the signing are accurate, Lopez would be a Designated Player under the current CBA. But then de Boer said in one of his final news conferences that Atlanta United was hoping that Atlanta United 2 could loan Lopez to the senior team for the remainder of the MLS season. The team needs a striker because Josef Martinez is out, rehabbing the ACL torn in the opening game at Nashville.

It would be a nifty stratagem to work around MLS rules. The loan-to-buy idea was done by the L.A. Galaxy last season when it signed Cristian Pavon.

And then Lopez, talking to media in South America earlier this week, confirmed that he was told by the sporting director (Carlos Bocanegra) that he would be joining the senior team this season.

OK.

That makes sense.

But then Atlanta United signed striker Erick Torres, whose contract with Tijuana expired, after it placed Martinez on the season-ending injury list.

Competition is good.

A logjam that includes Torres, Lopez, Adam Jahn, who wasn’t really given a chance by de Boer, and J.J. Williams, who may have ruined his chance with a silly red card against Cincinnati, are still with the team.

I think that Torres will be the starting striker when the team next plays.

2. Where will Ezequiel Barco and Pity Martinez play in the formation?

Interim manager Stephen Glass will earn his pay if he can figure this one out because de Boer couldn’t.

Barco and Martinez are the team’s remaining healthy Designated Players. Barco has two goals this season, both coming in the team’s first two games. Martinez has two assists, both coming in the season’s first two games.

To be fair to de Boer, it’s not easy because Barco and Martinez often seem to be similar players who are most effective when playing on the left side with teammates to play off of. But they can’t play the same position as a left winger, so one has to move centrally or to the bench. Gerardo Martino came to that realization with Barco and Hector Villalba in 2018, moving them both to the bench during the playoffs.

So, what to do?

It doesn’t seem probable that one of them won’t be starting. The team needs them to do well so that it can eventually sell them and get a return on its investment. Both players need to do well because, in addition to being fierce competitors and professionals, they want to go to Europe.

The best way to use them might be in 4-2-3-1, with Martinez in the middle, underneath the striker, and Barco on the left.

Or in a 4-1-4-1, with them occupying similar positions as in a 4-2-3-1. De Boer did try this in 2019 with moderate effectiveness.

It seems clear that trying to force them into a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 doesn’t work. The team becomes too unbalanced on offense and defense.

Whatever the formation, both players have to fight their tendencies to drift.

If you remember in the tournament, in one of the games, Martinez was on the right and passed to Barco in the middle. Martinez then followed his 25-yard pass and literally ran right into Barco, who had the ball and must have been asking himself why are you running right at me? I can’t remember if it resulted in a turnover, but I remember watching that play and asking myself what they were doing.

3. Who will be the defensive midfielders?

For whatever reason, de Boer didn’t seem to rate Eric Remedi, whose play was invaluable during the team’s run to the MLS Cup in 2018.

He started only 25 games in 2019 and was on the bench for several important games.

Instead, in Orlando, de Boer turned to Mo Adams, selecting him ahead of Remedi and Jeff Larentowicz, in the pivotal first and third games.

I think it’s likely that Glass will go back to what has worked best and use either of the two veterans along with Emerson Hyndman when the team next plays.

4. What to do with Jurgen Damm?

Damm was signed by the team after his contract with Tigres in Mexico expired.

He will be one of the faster players in MLS, but where he lines up will be the mystery.

He definitely wouldn’t have fit within a 3-4-3. He could fit on the right side of the midfield, or as a winger if the team goes with a four-man backline.

He could play the Miguel Almiron role as it was used by Martino, given free reign to connect defense to offense.

5. Then what becomes of either Franco Escobar or Brooks Lennon?

If Damm is used on the right, another question pops up.

Escobar has said that he thinks of himself as a centerback but he has proved most effective for Atlanta United as either a wingback or fullback where his speed and aggressiveness can be best put to use.

As a centerback in a three-man backline the jury is still out.

If Glass uses Escobar as a fullback or wingback, does Lennon, acquired in a trade with Real Salt Lake and then given a new contract, move to the bench? Lennon is a tireless worker who can deliver a good cross ... when there’s someone up top who can get to it.

Credit: Brooks Lennon

Credit: Brooks Lennon

5. What of Manuel Castro, Matheus Rossetto and Jake Mulraney?

This isn’t a knock on the players, who have shown their quality at different times, but the team’s decisions to sign each of them were curious moves because it wasn’t clear when de Boer was in charge exactly where they would play. That may have been more of a reflection of de Boer’s lack of input into signings more than anything.

Castro, normally a winger, was tried as a striker against the Red Bulls in the first game in Orlando and got himself into good positions but couldn’t score. That he got himself into those positions was a positive sign. Eventually, it seemed likely that he would start turning those crosses into goals.

But then Castro wasn’t given another shot at striker in the next two games.

Rossetto started the first game against the Red Bulls, didn’t do much (I think because he was being used out of position) and then didn’t play again in another curious personnel decision made by de Boer. Good enough to start the important opening game, not good enough to come in when the team was chasing the next two games. Curious.

Mulraney didn’t cover himself in glory with two quick yellow cards in the second game against Cincinnati, which forced Atlanta United to play most of the game with only 10 men. Mulraney is very fast and is skilled. He showed that in the preseason. But he’s also at a position that includes George Bello, Edgar Castillo and Anton Walkes, among others.

If the team plays four at the back, Mulraney can move up and play as a left midfielder or attacking winger, but then circle back to the second question asked about Barco and Martinez.

6. Who will be the next manager?

I get the feeling that president Darren Eales is going to take his time.

I also get the feeling that, like the previous two hires, it is not going to be anyone that has been rumored, such as Marcelo Gallardo and Javier Aguirre, among others.

As Glass said in his introductory news conference, the players want to play. They want to succeed. They did under de Boer, as well.