What did Atlanta United receive when it traded for defender Michael Parkhurst?
A player who is tough: He played through a shoulder injury part of last season, never missing a game even it was obvious he was in pain.
A player who is smart: Eric Wynalda said he would bet his mortgage that Parkhurst will one day become a general manager or president of a soccer team.
A player who is skilled: His ability to play out of the back with passes to midfielders or to forwards is one of the reasons that Atlanta United President Darren Eales, technical director Carlos Bocanegra and manager Gerardo Martino wanted Parkhurst when it became evident in September that he was playing his final games for Columbus.
Lastly, he’s a leader. Of all the elements that “Parkie,” as Wynalda and Eales call him, will bring to the MLS expansion team, it’s his leadership that may be most important for a squad that is in the beginning of what will be a years-long construction of a culture.
“I’m excited about the challenge,” Parkhurst, 32, said. “I’m excited about the way the club has handled everything so far.”
It would be a surprise if Parkhurst isn’t named a team captain for the opening game, which will take place in early March, because he’s “just pure class,” according to Wynalda.
“The reason he’s perfect for Atlanta … is when you start from the ground up, you are going to have certain people who are good pros and every experienced and can start to mold an identity,” he said. “You want guys like that in the locker room.”
Parkhurst will be entering his 13th season as professional. He was drafted by New England in 2005. He played four seasons with the Revs (all with new teammate Jeff Larentowicz), before moving to Europe to play in Denmark and then Germany. He returned to MLS in 2014 with Columbus.
The first two seasons with the Crew went well. The team finished third in Eastern Conference finals and were beaten in the semifinals of the playoffs in 2014. They followed that with a second-place finish and loss in the MLS Cup to Portland in 2015.
Things fell apart during this recently completed season. The team traded its best player, Kei Kamara, and injuries took their toll. Parkhurst played alongside different centerbacks, which affected chemistry and results. Still, Parkhurst started all 34 games.
“You hope to play with someone more long-term across many games and build that chemistry and familiarity with tendencies,” said Parkhurst, a four-time MLS All-Star. “It didn’t happen last year. Made things more difficult.”
In the last year of his contract, it became evident that Parkhurst wasn’t going to receive a satisfactory offer in September when Crew manager Gregg Berhalter told the Columbus Dispatch, “The most important thing is when (Parkhurst is) given the opportunity — he’s been given plenty of opportunities — that he (plays well) just like any other player.”
He added that they valued Parkhurst’s opinions on the team, “but it also comes down to performance, and we have to look at that objectively then make a decision moving forward.”
Parkhurst said he received a contract offer that wasn’t close to what he thought he should receive. However, Berhalter told him that if he could find a situation that felt right for himself and his family he would do what he could to execute a trade.
That right fit turned out to be in Atlanta.
“They showed a lot of interest in me,” Parkhurst said. “Once I realized the direction the team was going, a lot of it was right up my alley. I wanted to play for a club that bought into everything and doing things the right way.”
The swap of Parkhurst for General Allocation Money was announced Sunday. By the middle of the week, Parkhurst was attending players union meetings in Las Vegas, where he said there was a buzz among those in attendance about the moves Atlanta United had made. That included hiring Martino, formerly the coach for Barcelona and Argentina’s national team, and signing players Kenwyne Jones, Hector Villalba and Miguel Almiron.
“The cumulative moves have really been impressive to anyone,” Parkhurst said. “Bringing in ‘Tata’ (Martino) has been a clear indication of the direction the club wants to go. The fact that they are willing to go out there with new ideas and the resume he has and not just recycle an MLS coach. That speaks volume to what the organization wants to do out on the field.”
Parkhurst hadn’t yet met with Martino as of Thursday mid-afternoon — he said he thinks it’s on a long to-do list for the day — but was confident he wouldn’t soon be wearing red, black and gold if his skills didn’t fit what Martino wants to do.
Parkhurst didn’t want to try to project what Atlanta United may be able to accomplish because he said the first season typically is challenging for expansion teams. The team has just 18 players, a few of whom may not make the senior squad. The players haven’t practiced together. Some haven’t even met each other.
Instead, he said let’s see where the team is in the Eastern Conference standings in mid-August as it pushes to be one of the top six that will make the playoffs. Seattle was the last to make it to the playoffs in their first year.
“I don’t think we are an ordinary expansion team, but at same time expectations need to be tempered,” he said. “If we keep making same moves we’ve been making, we are on a good path. They are setting us up for success.”
