Atlanta United’s Brad Guzan preparing for Tuesday’s TV gig

Brad Guzan said he would be objective, offering praise or criticism when relevant, when he serves as a TV analyst for Tuesday’s friendly between his employer, Atlanta United, and Pachuca at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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“It’s no different than when you’re on the field being objective,” he said. “There are times when I’m having a go at guys, there’s times when I’m building guys up and saying ‘Great job,’ so I think that part for me is it’s just, I guess, normal.”

If his past interviews are an indication, Guzan will be objective. He never has had a problem being positive or negative about the team when it was deserved.

“I’ve never been opposed to that,” he said. “I’ve never been against you guys being critical of us in our play because there’s nobody that’s going to be more critical than players. You don’t get to this level of playing, the standard of playing, by being accepted. Mediocre, accepting of just average, right?”

Guzan said he doesn’t yet know if shifting from the field to the booth will be in his future. He said he is rehabbing his ruptured Achilles, which is why he is free to serve as Tuesday’s analyst, with the goal of playing again next season.

As for his style, he said he doesn’t plan to try to be like any other analyst. He said he will be himself, which may include lots of “listens” and “if you wills” sprinkled throughout what should be unique insight into Atlanta United based upon his experience of playing for the team since 2017. He said he already has started preparing for the game and has had conversations with Kevin Egan, who will serve as the play-by-plan caller on the Bally Sports Southeast broadcast.

He said a difficult part of the preparation is not knowing if either team is going to field its strongest starting 11, so he’s trying to learn things about as many as 40 different players. The lineups will be announced about an hour before the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Guzan said he’s ready for the inevitable criticism he likely will receive on social media.

“You get judged about everything,” he said. “The way you cross the street, the way you ride a bike, I mean, the world we live in now it’s unfortunately a world where everyone feels that they’re better than, stronger than the next person. And so I’m not looking at this as trying to please those people. If I’m any good, then great. If not, you guys can hammer me, and I’ll never have to worry about it.”

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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule

Feb. 27 Atlanta United 3, Sporting KC 1

March 5 Colorado 3, Atlanta United 0

March 13 Atlanta United 2, Charlotte 1

March 19 Atlanta United 3, Montreal 3

April 2 Atlanta United 1, D.C. United 0

April 10 Charlotte 1, Atlanta United 0

April 16 Atlanta United 0, Cincinnati 0

April 24 Miami 2, Atlanta United 1

April 30 Montreal 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 4, Chicago 1

May 15 Atlanta United 2, New England 2