Darren Eales confident Gonzalo Pineda will lead Atlanta United to success

September 10, 2021 Atlanta - Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda celebrates with Atlanta United's midfielder Matheus Rossetto (9) after they won over Orlando City in a MLS soccer match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Friday, September 10, 2021. Atlanta United won 3-0 over Orlando City. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

September 10, 2021 Atlanta - Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda celebrates with Atlanta United's midfielder Matheus Rossetto (9) after they won over Orlando City in a MLS soccer match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Friday, September 10, 2021. Atlanta United won 3-0 over Orlando City. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Gonzalo Pineda’s success in his few weeks with Atlanta United is about more than the team’s 12 points and 12 goals scored in seven games, according to club president Darren Eales.

Pineda’s work across departments has brought fresh air into the franchise. From opening training sessions to the media and one to the supporters, to making sales calls, to him and his staff serving lunch at a barbecue, to something as simple as bringing back the staff soccer games, Pineda has been a hit. The most recent staff game featured more than 200 international caps: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Spector, Jack Collison and Maurice Edu, among others. Yes, Eales’ team won 10-9.

“And it sounds like a little thing, but it’s great for banter,” Eales said.

Of course, Pineda was hired to make Atlanta United fun and successful on the field, first and foremost. Taking over a team in mid-season didn’t lower Eales’ expectations of making the playoffs this season. That also was the goal last year when Frank de Boer was replaced by Stephen Glass. The team failed to make it to the postseason for the first time.

“Obviously, we want to make the playoffs this year and go on a run and have success,” Eales said. “But, you know, God forbid, if it were to fall short this year, I feel really good about the fact that, you know, we’ve got Gonzalo in with his assistant coaching staff, with the players we’ve got, you know, going into ‘22, I feel good about our chances of being competitive again, and I’m looking to win trophies.”

The team has won four of its seven games under Pineda, but has improved only one spot in the East standings, largely because the conference is a prime example of the parity wanted by the league. The team has six games remaining to try and secure a postseason spot for the fourth time in five seasons.

That’s not a lot of time.

This is where Pineda’s previous experience playing, as an assistant coach with Seattle in MLS, his relationships being built with the players and his ability to understand how to use the players in the way envisioned by Eales and Bocanegra may be the difference between helping the players peak during the final stretch and going for an MLS Cup or being one of the 13 teams watching from home.

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda looks on before the match against Nashville Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Jacob Gonzalez/Atlanta United)

Credit: Jacob Gonzalez/Atlanta United

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Credit: Jacob Gonzalez/Atlanta United

“Major League Soccer, one thing that I think we’d all acknowledge it’s competitive, it’s a tough league,” Eales said. “We’re seeing it this year, I mean, look at LAFC in the West, which is out of the playoff spots. In the East, Columbus, who every pundit at the start of the season was speculating on whether they would break the record this season, they’re at the moment on the outside looking in.

“I feel like with the squad, now with Gonzalo in place, I feel like we’re in a good place with six games to go to try and achieve that, and obviously, the great thing with Major League Soccer is you go into the playoffs, there’s a whole new season.”

It hasn’t been all sunshine under Pineda. The team has been shut out in two of its three losses. In the past two, a 1-0 loss at Philadelphia and a 2-1 defeat at Montreal, the team’s offense wasn’t as dynamic as it was in three of its four wins, each of which came at home.

But in the wins, the team has scored 11 goals and played exciting soccer reminiscent of its play in 2017, ‘18 and parts of ‘19, a style that mostly was dormant in 2020 under de Boer and Glass, and the first 13 games of ‘21 under Gabriel Heinze. Eales said that Pineda was among those considered for hire before this season, but he wasn’t among the finalists when the team selected Heinze.

Eales acknowledged a level of frustration with decisions made by previous managers in the way that certain players were being used. Eales said before signing players, the team does a great deal of due diligence. It has data-based and eye-tested ideas of what the players should do when put into successful positions.

“And, you know, with Rob (Valentino) and Gonzalo in terms of how the team’s been set up, where I feel a lot better now about we’re seeing the true abilities of those players,” Eales said. “There’s still a lot to prove. And we were still on the outside looking in. Whether it’s someone like a (Matheus) Rossetto ... just a sense of players have been put into positions that they’re better able to achieve to the levels that we’ve expected.”