The pairing of Jeff Larentowicz and Atlanta United seemed natural.
The midfielder with more than 300 appearances gave a long list of the reasons he joined the MLS expansion squad as a free agent from Los Angeles:
- "They showed an interest early on. that's something that goes a long way. You want to go where you are wanted.
- "I like the idea of the challenge.
- "I saw they hired this coach, this staff, all the things you see that you've done before I signed.
- "It seems almost outside the realm of possibilities in MLS in a lot of place. It was a no-brainer."
Larentowicz could have been talking about the the $1.5 billion dollar stadium that the team will eventually call home, or the $60 million training facility, the player acquisitions, or the hiring of manager Gerardo Martino, formerly the coach of Barcelona and then the Argentine national team.
Larentowicz has seen a lot in his career, which started in 2005 with New England. As a rookie, MLS had just 12 teams. Atlanta United and Minnesota are the 21st and 22nd, with LAFC coming online next year, and four more expansion candidates yet to be picked from 12 cities vying for franchises.
In 2005, MLS averaged 15,108 fans per game. Teams now average more than 21,000.
And the league had 29 games on national TV in 2005, compared to almost 90 last season.
Martino said he likes Larentowicz’s experience and versatility He has one an MLS Cup with Colorado and played for several more with New England. Though Larentowicz prefers to play holding midfielder, he can also play centerhalf if needed. He has 38 goals and 19 assists in a career going back to 2005.
Like many of the players that Atlanta United has acquired, Larentowicz is an excellent passer. He showed that skill many times during training sessions at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he would ping long cross-field passes to a teammate.
It’s a skill that will be very crucial to Martino’s play-from-the-back, high-press, flip-the-field system.
There need to be players on the field who, when the opponent’s pressure is broken, can strike a 40- to 60-yard pass that will land at the feet of a sprinting teammate either deep down or across the field.
Trust is one of the keys to those long passes. Larentowicz has to trust that his teammate will make the run, and the teammate has to trust that Larentowicz will see him and hit the pass.
Larentowicz, 33, said that trust is developing.
“It seems we’ve got that going from the start,” he said. “Obviously, things change when points are up on the board.
For now, it’s good. It’s early, but that’s one thing you can point to.”
It will be interesting to see who wins the holding midfielder, or even if Martino uses one. Larentowicz and Chris McCann (though more of a central midfielder) have the skill. The team is rumored to be chasing Chile’s Carlos
Carmona, who is a defensive midfielder. Julian Gressel, picked in the first round of the SuperDraft, is versatile enough to be able to play the position.
Here’s how to read the AJC’s coverage of Atlanta United:
Web: On the Atlanta United channel on AJC.com.
Facebook: On our Facebook page at Atlanta United News Now .
Twitter: Follow Doug Roberson on twitter @DougRobersonAJC.
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Doug will be in Chattanooga on Friday covering the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s exhibition against Jamaica. The U.S. team features Lawrenceville’s Walker Zimmerman and Atlanta United fullback Greg Garza. Jamaica features Atlanta United forward Romario Williams.
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