Breaking down Atlanta United’s schedule, continuing with :
But first, recaps:
May.
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June 2, Saturday, vs. Philadelphia Union, 7 p.m., FSS
Last year's record: 11-14-9, eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Last year's meetings: The teams tied 2-2 on Aug. 26 at Talen Energy Stadium and Atlanta United won 3-0 Sept. 27 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Coach: Jim Curtin.
Designated Players:
Alejandro Bedoya: The 30-year-old midfielder had two goals and four assists in 28 games last season.
Notable new additions: None.
Notable players gone: Contract options were declined on Oguchi Onyewu, Giliano Wijnaldum, Roland Alberg, Maurice Edu, Chris Pontius and Charlie Davies.
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June 9, Saturday, at New York City FC, 12:30 p.m., FSS
Last year's record: 16-9-9, second in the Eastern Conference.
Last year's meetings: NYCFC won 3-1 at Yankee Stadium on March 1 on goals by David Villa, Rodney Wallace and Maxi Moralez. Carlos Carmona scored for Atlanta United.
Atlanta United 3-1 on May 28 at Bobby Dodd Stadium on two goals by Miguel Almiron and another by Hector Villalba. Jack Harrison scored for NYCFC.
Coach: Patrick Vieira, 32-24-18 at NYFC
Designated Players:
Jesus Medina: The 20-year-old midfielder was signed from Club Libertad in Paraguay.
Maxi Moralez: The 30-year-old midfielder scored five goals and had nine assists last season.
David Villa: The 36-year-old forward scored 22 goals and had nine assists last season.
Notable new additions:
Anton Tinnerholm: The 26-year-old defender was the defender of the year in Sweden last season.
Saad Abdul-Salaam: The 26-year-old defender appeared in 12 games for Sporting KC last season.
Notable players gone: Midfielder Andrea Pirlo retired and forward Khiry Shelton was traded to Sporting KC.
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June 13, Wednesday, at Columbus Crew SC, 7:30 p.m., FSS
Last year's record: 16-12-6, fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Last year's meetings: Atlanta United won 3-1 on June 17 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, won 2-0 on July 1 at MAPFRE Stadium and was beaten in a penalty-kick shootout in the playoffs on Oct. 26 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Coach: Gregg Berhalter, one of the more respected tacticians in MLS.
Designated Players:
Federico Higuain: The 33-year-old midfielder has 48 goals and 49 assists since joining Columbus for the 2012 season.
Jonathan Mensah: The 27-year-old defender appeared in 26 games last season.
Pedro Santos: The 29-year-old midfielder posted two assists in nine appearances last season.
Notable new additions:
Mike Grella: The 30-year-old midfielder made 73 appearances for the New York Red Bulls.
Eduardo Sosa: The 21-year-old midfielder comes as a Discovering signing from Zamora FC.
Notable players gone: Forward Kekuta Manneh is out of contract and defender Jukka Raitala was selected in the expansion draft. Other key players, including Ola Kamara and Justin Meram, have asked for trades in anticipation of the move to Austin. Jukka Raitala is also gone.
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June 24, Sunday, vs. Portland Timbers, 4:30 p.m., FOX
Last year's record: 15-11-8, first place in the Western Conference.
Last year's meetings: The teams tied 1-1 on May 14 at Providence Park.
Coach: Giovanni Savarese, first year.
Designated Players:
Fanendo Adi: The 27-year-old forward has 51 goals and 12 assists since joining the Timbers for the 2014 season.
Sebastian Blanco: The 29-year-old midfielder had eight goals and eight assists last season.
Diego Valeri: The 31-year-old midfielder and reigning MLS MVP has 58 goals and 53 assists since joining Portland before the 2013 season.
Notable new additions:
Julio Cascante:
Notable players gone: Midfielder Darlington Nagbe was traded to Atlanta United. Forward Darren Mattocks was traded to D.C. United
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June 30, Saturday, vs. Orlando City SC, 7 p.m., ESPN
Last year's record: 10-15-9, 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Last year's meetings: Atlanta United won 1-0 on July 21 on a screaming shot by Hector Villalba, who a week later forced a 1-1 draw with a goal in the final minutes at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Coach: Jason Kreis.
Designated Players:
Yoshimar Yotun: The 27-year-old midfielder had one goal and four assists in 10 appearances last season.
Notable new additions:
Sacha Kljestan: The 32-year-old midfielder scored 16 goals and notched 51 assists in three seasons with the New York Red Bulls.
R.J. Allen: The 27-year-old defender made 53 appearances with NYCFC from 2015-17.
Jose Villarreal: The 24-year-old midfielder made 68 appearances with the L.A. Galaxy from 2012-17.
Mohammed El-Munir: The 25-year-old defender is a Libyan national team player.
Notable players gone: Midfielder Kaka retired, forward Carlos Rivas and defender Tommy Redding were traded to New York Red Bulls, and the options were declined on the contracts of midfielders Antonio Nocerino and forward Giles Barnes. It appears that Cyle Larin, once an exemplary striker in MLS, will head to Europe.
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