How did MLS expansion team Atlanta United convince the former leader of one of the world’s best club teams, Barcelona, and best national teams, Argentina, to be its first manager?
It turns out, Gerardo Martino, who was announced as Atlanta United's manager on Tuesday, reached out to club president Darren Eales and technical director Carlos Bocanegra first. Martino will be introduced on Wednesday.
“It’s such a unique chance and opportunity in world soccer to start a club from scratch,” Eales said.
Eales theorizes the contact happened because of a mutual friend, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino. Like Martino, Pochettino is an Argentinian. Pochettino started his career as a player at Newell’s Old Boys at the same time as Martino was reaching the twilight of his playing career.
After his playing career ended, Pochettino also became a manager. He is currently at Tottenham in England's Premier League. Eales worked with that team before taking the job at Atlanta United two years ago.
While football is played around the world, Eales said it can sometimes be much smaller.
“I’m sure at some stage there were chats between them,” Eales said.
Martino resigned as Argentina's coach in July after losing in the finals of the Copa America Centenario to Chile for the second consecutive year. But he was exposed to the developing soccer culture in the United States during that tournament.
After Martino reached out to Atlanta United, Eales and Bocanegra travelled to Rosario in Argentina to visit with him and lay out their vision for the team and to discuss MLS. Eales doesn’t speak Spanish and Martino is learning English (his wife is an English teacher), so Bocanegra likely led the conversation.
Though the vision that Eales and Bocanegra have for how they want the team to play – a pressing, attacking style – fits with what Martino has always coached in his time with the Paraguayan national team, clubs in that country, through to Newell’s, Barcelona and Argentina.
Martino also has a history of using the academy and its players to replenish and strengthen the first team, which is also important to Eales and Bocanegra.
“He felt that this was something that had a chance for success,” Eales said.
Martino was intrigued enough to come to Atlanta and tour the under-construction $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the team’s $60 million training complex, also being constructed, in Marietta.
Martino’s staff will be finalized in the coming weeks and will include at least one assistant that has MLS experience. The team’s roster currently includes seven players.
Martino will start as soon as his visa paperwork is approved.
“The resources from Mr. (Arthur) Blank all of those things we are doing in this process really convinced Tata that this was an opportunity that was perfect for him and a perfect fit for us,” Eales said.
