As the wreckage of U.S. soccer continued to burn following Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago, a defeat that combined with two other results ensured that the Red, White and Blue won’t advance to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, names started being bantered as the team’s next manager.
One of the first thrown out, and tossed out time and time again on social media Wednesday, was Atlanta United’s Gerardo Martino, who has helped the MLS expansion team secure a spot in the playoffs with a style of exciting style soccer that has captivated fans.
His players weren’t surprised that he would be linked to the U.S. job, which isn’t yet vacant, but plenty of people are calling for the departure of manager Bruce Arena, whose contract expires next year.
“He’s been in the States for less than a year and he’s got a team playing a style of play that isn’t replicated in the league and we’ve had success right out of the gate,” Atlanta United captain Michael Parkhurst said of Martino.
Martino typically speaks to the media two days before a game, so he wasn’t made available for comment Wednesday. The details of his contract with Atlanta United haven’t been revealed, other than it’s for multiple years.
The Argentinian is one of the more respected managers in world soccer for his successes at many places, including leading the Paraguayan national team to the World Cup in 2010, and Argentina’s national team to the finals of Copa America in 2015 and ’16.
Many of his players, including Yamil Asad, Carlos Carmona and Miguel Almiron, have said they signed with MLS and Atlanta United because of Martino.
“The reason I’m here is because of ‘Tata,’” Carmona said. “Hopefully he stays here a lot longer. I think everyone can see the results we’ve had here. He’s a great coach, which is really important, but I hope he stays with us.”
Under Martino, 54, Atlanta United is second in goals scored (68) and second in goal difference (plus-30) in the league, despite missing key striker Josef Martinez for 13 games because of an injury.
The team plays at a fast pace with a pressuring style designed to create turnovers in the opponent’s half of the field. Once turnovers are created, most of the team storms toward the goal, which creates numerical advantages. It’s not uncommon to see the outside fullback as high up the field as the striker or wide midfielders.
But the team, which often plays out of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation, doesn’t lose focus on defense. Its 38 goals allowed is third-fewest in the Eastern Conference this season.
Aside from not yet being able to ask Martino if he is even interested in taking on the immense challenge that would be leading the U.S. men’s national team, there may be other hurdles, some easier to overcome than others if this were to be pursued.
First, Martino doesn’t speak English. He’s learning. He rarely speaks it, but does understand most questions. It hasn’t been an issue with Atlanta United because at least one member of his staff speaks English, and most of the players understand enough Spanish to know what Martino wants. If they don’t, teammates can translate. This is a small hurdle.
Second, it seems like it would be difficult for Martino to have enough time with a national team to get it to play the way he would want it to play. National teams get to spend time in training camps working on tactics, but it’s nothing like the time Martino gets to spend with a club team, fine-tuning what he wants. Mikey Ambrose said Martino is the most tactical coach he’s ever played for. Martino obviously was able to make things work with Paraguay and Argentina. It’s debatable if the U.S. has as much talent as either of those countries.
Lastly, would Martino want to again deal with this type of pressure? After coaching at Barcelona and Argentina, where the scrutiny never ends, would he want to be the man tasked with the immense challenge that would be not only guiding the U.S. to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, but starting it down a path of perpetual success?
“We all know the quality of coach that Tata is,” Asad said. “He’s proven he can take on the biggest challenges. I’d like to have him longer with me.”
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