Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan on Wednesday said the team does not want to repeat last year’s playoff-less performances this season, which is among the reasons why the players are embracing new manager Gabriel Heinze’s intense training sessions.
“We can sit here and say the focus is the same, we want to win, blah, blah, blah, but there’s a real determination to correct what happened last year,” Guzan said. “It was not good enough, not acceptable for the club, for the city, for the fans.”
Atlanta United suffered through its worst season last year, going 6-13-4 and scoring the second-fewest goals (23) in MLS.
Guzan said the team is leaving “no stone unturned” in trying to learn what went wrong and working to fix it. He mentioned watching film of specific moments in last year’s games and working on them on the training pitch under Heinze.
The team has been practicing twice a day several times the past few weeks as they work to improve their fitness levels and hone his preferred tactics.
“If the group wasn’t accustomed to this type of training before, I think now you see the willingness,” striker Lisandro Lopez said. “I think there’s no doubt that this group is going to compete. It’s a very prepared group because of the intensity and passion you see in training. We will compete.”
Guzan said that Heinze’s reputation among the young “impressionable” South American players on the team is helping, as is his open-door policy to answer any questions that anyone may have about what’s going on. As a player, Heinze appeared for powerhouse clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris-Saint Germain, Roma and Marseille. He was capped by Argentina 72 times before starting a management career that included twice leading Velez Sarsfield to the Copa Sudamericana tournament qualification.
“When he walks into the room, he has the attention of the room and rightfully so,” Guzan said. “That will only help us in terms of what we want, in terms of what works for the team. It doesn’t always happen that way.”
The extra work done now should benefit the team during the season, he said.
“The intensity, the demand, the accountability, those raise the level of guys around you and make you want to do more,” Guzan said. “When you are tired and feel like you can’t do an extra run, when you see the guys next to you doing it and pulling you along, having that camaraderie and togetherness is encouraging. There will be moments when things will get hard. We will need togetherness when things get hard.”
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