Atlanta United’s search for its next manager will begin immediately and will be global, according to team president Darren Eales.
The search is necessary because Gerardo Martino chose not to renew his contract and will leave at the end of the team's season.
Eales said the ideal candidate will continue to implement the attacking style of play that has helped the club secure the most points in MLS over the past two seasons, and has it on the verge of winning this season's Supporters' Shield. The candidate will also fit within the franchise's core values, Eales said.
“We are not wedded to it being anyone from a certain part of the world,” Eales told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We will look at the merits of each and ultimate choose someone who is the best fit.”
» Timeline: Martino's career at Atlanta United
Eales said they would like to have the hire in place before training camp for the 2019 season starts in January.
Martino has a unique ability to get the best out of players. Josef Martinez came from Europe, where he experienced mixed success, and has scored 30 goals this season, a league record. Miguel Almiron came from Argentina and will likely be sold to a club in Europe in the January transfer window for at least $20 million. Julian Gressel became the MLS Rookie of the Year. Michael Parkhurst developed into arguably the most steady centerback in MLS.
Martino also started to play young players such as Andrew Carleton, 18, and George Bello, 16, more and more to prepare them for roles in future years with the club.
Eales is aware that the club will be linked to a lot of managers, and that 99.9 percent of the reports will be “poppycock” that he won’t respond to, which is the club’s stance on speculative personnel moves. As rumors circulated within the past weeks that Martino may leave, former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes was linked to Atlanta United, as has former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Hiring Atlanta United’s next manager should be easier than the hiring of Martino because Eales points out that the club is tangible now. It has a roster. It has a $60 million training facility. It has a $1.6 billion home that will likely have an average attendance that will be among the highest in the world for soccer next season. None of those things existed when Martino was announced as the team’s first manager in Sept. 2016.
“Now, we don’t have to concern ourselves with trying to present what Atlanta United is about,” Eales said. “You can see it, you can feel it, you can touch it, week in and week out.
“We are set up for success now.”
