This may be the most important week in Atlanta United’s history

This may be the most important week in Atlanta United’s history.

The franchise is in a tailspin.

It is being led by a second interim manager in less than a year.

It is winless in its past 11 games.

It is a whopping eight points behind the seventh-place team in the East in the race for the final playoff spot.

Positives need to happen, and soon, or the franchise risks losing relevancy in a crowded Atlanta entertainmentscape.

Looking at each of the issues: the team has reportedly targeted Paulo Fonseca as manager, who according to a report in Portugal on Monday turned down an offer to manage the club. The team needs/wants to become what it once was under Gerardo Martino. It wants to attack. It wants to thrill. For reasons not entirely their own, Frank de Boer couldn’t make that happen. Interim Stephen Glass couldn’t make that happen. Gabriel Heinze couldn’t make that happen. Valentino is trying but the team is 0-2-1 in his three games.

Fonseca was a good choice. He has a resume that includes stops at Braga, Porto, Shaktar Donetsk and Roma that would indicate he has the tactical ideas to bring back what the Five Stripes once were in winning the MLS Cup in 2018 and U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in 2019. Fonseca’s teams have a combined goal difference of almost 400 in his 16 years managing.

But a manager’s ideas can only go so far.

A team needs attacking talent.

Credit: Casey Sykes/Atlanta United

Credit: Casey Sykes/Atlanta United

Atlanta United has some in striker Josef Martinez, who is starting to look more and more like the player who dominated MLS in 2017, ‘18 and ‘19. It may have some in Marcelino Moreno, who has played well as an attacking midfielder in the past few games, and Ezequiel Barco, who has yet to fulfill his potential since joining the club before the 2018 season. Valentino will be the fifth manager to try to unlock Barco’s skill.

The team needs more talent.

That brings the next reason why this week is so important.

The MLS transfer window closes Aug. 5. The club has been reportedly tied to three attacking players, two of which are notable: Thiago Almada, an attacking midfielder/winger from Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, and Joao Pedro, an attacking midfielder/winger from Cagliari in Italy.

Almada, a 20-year-old native of Argentina, has scored 20 goals in 80 games with Velez. Pedro, a 29-year-old Brazilian, has 97 goals and 37 assists in 340 games for various club.

The issue is Atlanta United doesn’t have the best history with its recent signings, particularly its Designated Players.

Will Almada be a difference-maker, like Miguel Almiron or Julian Gressel were, or he will be more like Barco, a player who provides tantalizing glimpses but not consistency?

Will Pedro thrive in MLS like Martinez has since he left Italy to come to MLS, or he will he be more like Pity Martinez, a Designated Player signed by Atlanta United who proved to be just average before he was sold to a club in Saudi Arabia?

Atlanta United can’t take three more gambles, one on a manager, and two in high-priced players, and miss on all three. It really can’t miss on any.

It needs all three to come in and produce sooner rather than later.

It needs to make the playoffs.

Club president Darren Eales and vice president Carlos Bocanegra haven’t given up on this season. That’s part of the reason why they jettisoned Heinze after 17 games.

But time doesn’t care about hope.

The team has two games this week at Montreal and at Columbus. If it loses both, it could be as far as 14 points behind whoever is in seventh by Monday with 16 games remaining and likely to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

If it fails to make the playoffs, Eales could have to make a hard choice about Bocanegra, who is in charge of procuring talent. More importantly, team owner Arthur Blank may have to make a hard choice about Eales, who is in charge of the franchise.

That’s why this may be the most important week in Atlanta United’s history.

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