Atlanta United reportedly is pursuing former Roma manager Paulo Fonseca to become its manager, according to numerous outlets. The Athletic was the first in the U.S. to report the potential relationship.
Fonseca, a 48-year-old native of Portugal, would replace Gabriel Heinze, who was fired by Atlanta United after 17 games in charge.
Fonseca has had a nomadic coaching career, most recently leading Roma to the semifinals of the Europa League in 2019-20. Other stops in his career include Shaktar Donetsk in Ukraine, where he won several trophies, and Porto, Braga and Pacos Ferreira in Portugal, among others. He has a career record of 315-131-148.
An Atlanta United spokesman declined to comment.
Club President Darren Eales and Vice President Carlos Bocanegra said on the day that Heinze was fired almost two weeks ago that they were going to move quickly to replace him.
The club is winless in its past 11 games and is well below the MLS playoff line. There are 18 games remaining in the regular season.
Fonseca, who speaks English, reportedly was the front-runner to take over at Tottenham Hotspur until the negotiations broke down. He previously had been tied to taking over at West Ham and Everton, as well.
Fonseca doesn’t seem tied to any particular formation, instead choosing what works best with the personnel. One thing is clear, Fonseca prefers to play attacking football, which is what Eales and Bocanegra want. His teams have produced a goal differential of almost 400 in his 16 years managing.
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