Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda said Thursday he is happy that the club will be one of eight from MLS to compete in this year’s U.S. Open Cup.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said earlier this year that the league wasn’t going to compete in the tournament this year because of concerns about the quality of the tournament production and schedule congestion. Instead, MLS teams could send their Next Pro teams.
MLS and the United States Soccer Federation began negotiating again, and Friday the USSF announced that a handful of MLS clubs would compete this year. The other clubs are Dallas, Houston, LAFC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle and Sporting Kansas City. Each will enter the tournament in the Round of 32, scheduled to be played May 7-8. Atlanta United will field a mix of first team and Atlanta United 2 players, as they have done in the past.
“I‘ve been always a fan of that tournament,” Pineda said. “I had the pleasure to win it one time with Seattle. And it meant a lot to me. It was probably my first trophy in the U.S., so I really liked that tournament and where that tournament is going.”
Atlanta United won the U.S. Open Cup in 2019, defeating Minnesota 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Adding another tournament into league play that includes 34 matches, and the Leagues Cup tournament, which will feature at least two matches, will congest the schedule. Pineda didn’t seem concerned about the additional matches, saying the club should have the mentality that it wants to win every trophy.
Fullback Brooks Lennon said that’s why every player on the squad needs to be ready to compete.
“You never know when your minutes are going to come,” he said. “So that’s why training every single day is so important. If you’re not getting minutes, you’ve got to be taking care of yourself because those minutes are going to come this year, whether it be MLS, Open Cup, Leagues Cup, you know, some guys are going international duty, so there are a lot of games.”
U.S. Open Cup schedule
First round: March 19-21
Second round: April 2-3
Third round: April 16-17
Round of 32: May 7-8
Round of 16: May 21-22
Quarterfinals: July 9-10
Semifinals: Aug. 27-28
Final: Sept. 25
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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 vs. New England, 7:30 p.m.
March 17 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m., FS1
March 23 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
March 31 vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m., Fox
April 6 at NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
April 14 vs. Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m., Fox
April 20 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
May 11 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
May 15 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
May 18 at Nashville, 1:30 p.m.
May 25 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.
May 29 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
June 2 vs Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., Fox
June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.
June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.
June 29 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.
July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
July 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.
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