ATLANTA UNITED FC 2025 preview: will familiar faces and big investments lead atlanta to past glories?
Kevin Gonzalez
February 5th, 2025
Joining the league in 2017, Atlanta United FC will be going into their 9th season in this 2025 MLS campaign. The team found early success by breaking multiple attendance records within its first two years and wining the MLS cup under world renowned coach Gerardo Daniel “Tata” Martino. Since its early success under Tata, Atlanta has struggled to reach the same heights, going through several head coaches and interim managers in the process.
season recap
The 2024 season for Atlanta United was underwhelming, though with some interesting moments. Early on, the team lost a few key team members, Miles Robinson left for FC Cincinnati for free and Esequiel Barco was offloaded to River Plate. The team did invest in signing a new designated player, Bartosz Slisz, to pair with their star players, including the forward, Giorgos Giakoumakis, and 2022 World Cup winner Thiago Almada.
Atlanta, under Gonzalo Pineda, set up in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, when Giakoumakis was out. Atlanta liked to play in the transition. When defending they would set up in a 4-4-1-1, that would give Almada little defensive responsibilities and Giakoumakis would drop and press the ball carrier in the midfield, all the while the defensive shape was set for a mid-block. Atlanta under Pineda were undefeated (3 W, 1 T) and had a positive goal difference of eight goals and excelled their average xG in games where they had less position than the opposing team (2.35 vs.1.33). When Atlanta had more position than the opposing team, their record was (1 W, 3 T, 8L). They also under-performed in goals-against vs, expected-goals -against (18 vs. 16.2). In the four games where United had less position, they would go on to score 10 goals, however in the 12 games they had more position, they would go on to only score 12 goals.
Atlanta did struggle with defending this season. Atlanta ranked third this season in xGC with 60 xGC and 57 actual goals conceded. With Robinson leaving, their starting backline consisted of Caleb Waley, Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams, and Brooks Lennon. Both Gregersen and Williams signed in the January off-season. Unfortunately, both center backs had early season injuries. We only saw those pair together in 5 games during Pineda’s tenure. After week five, Atlanta would go on to only have one clean sheet after 11 regular season games. Gonzalo Pineda’s last game for the 5 Strips was a 3-2 loss to southern rivals Charlotte FC in the Battle of the South.
After Gonzalo Pineda got fired, Rob Valentino was appointed Interim Head coach once again by Garth Lagerwey for the rest of the season. Atlanta cashed in on some of their key players during the summer window. By July, Atlanta would go on to sell Giakoumakis, Almada, and homegrown player Caleb Wiley. They did sign a replacement for Almada during that window with the signing of Aleksey Miranchuk from Italian club Atalanta.
Under Rob Valentino the 5-Stripes secured 24 points, qualifying for play-offs on decision day beating southern rivals Orlando 2-1. In the playoffs, Atlanta was the 9th seeded eastern conference team. In the play-offs, they beat CF Montreal in the first round one-game-series in penalties. The following round they faced, supporter shield winners and MLS favorites Inter Miami in the three-game series. Atlanta made history with the biggest upset in MLS, defeating Messi & co in a three game play-off series.
They lost in the following round in a one game series to Orlando City, ending their play-off run at the Eastern-Conference semi-finals.
Ronny Deila was recently named head coach for Atlanta United. In his 1-on-1 interview with the Atlanta United media team, he expresses how fitness will be key to the team’s success. He wants to play with high pressure and intensity up the pitch.
Deila’s style is to play very heavy-possession based and attacking-oriented. He likes winning the ball up the pitch and scoring goals on transition. Deila’s career has been mostly coaching European clubs such as Celtic, Standard Liege, and Club Brugge. However, Deila has had remarkable success in the MLS by winning the MLS cup back in 2021 with New York City FC against the Portland Timbers. During the 2021 season, NYCFC was an attacking machine. They led the league in shots with 579, touches in the opposition box, and big chances. They also ranked second in goals per match at 1.7 per game, and they average around 54% ball position dominating most games.
Atlanta has been adding players who fit exactly what Deila is looking for, with the re-introduction of club legend, Miguel Almiron, and record-breaking transfer Emmanuel Latte Lath. Atlanta United is set to have the strongest attacking team in the league.
Roster:
New signings confirmed at time of publication are Emmanuel Latte Lath (Middlesbrough FC, EFL Championship), Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United FC, EPL), Mateusz Klich (DC United, MLS)
Emmanuel Latte Lath
Emmanuel Latte Lath
For £22.5m, the 5-Stripes broke the MLS transfer record. Latte Lath was Middlesbrough’s FC top goalscorer so far into the season. Latte is also a Republic of Côte d’Ivoire national team player, having debuted in June for a World Cup qualifier. Latte is known for his pace and rapid runs in behind. He has been a top performer for Middlesbrough. Lath will be one of Atlanta’s Designated Players.
His offensive output this campaign is in the top 5 of the Championship league. Before his transfer, he had scored 11 goals for Boro, his shot accuracy was 45%, and all his goals came from inside the box. Latte will be one of the fastest strikers in the league this season.
Miguel Almiron
Miguel Almiron
He returns! Almiron is known for his hard work-rate, speed, and vertical attacking. Almiron returns after leaving the club in January 2019, after winning the MLS cup 2-0 against the Portland Timbers. During his first stint with Atlanta, Josef Martinez and Almiron created the deadliest striking duo combining for 76 goals and 38 assists in the two seasons they played together.
Delia likes to play in either a 4-2-3-1 shape or a 4-3-3. With Miranchuk also being a creative player, we could see Almiron be the versatility of this front-line. Atlanta still has top talent with Labzhanidz on either wing. Almiron will play on either the right wing or left wing when this attacking trio is fit. He will be another one of United’s Designated Player as well.
Mateusz Klich
Mateusz Klich
Atlanta signed another talented player this offseason. Klich joined DC United two years ago as a Designated Player. Atlanta managed to sign him this season from DC United for the 23rd overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. Klich adds another option to this team. He could par up with his Polish counterpart in the midfield. For DC United, he was the team’s primary ball-passing progressor. Up the field, he attempted over 339 long passes last season, only being bested by MLS outlier Riqui Puig and Charlotte’s Ashley Westwood. Klich should be more productive on his pass completion this upcoming season having more talent up the field compared to DC United.
Designated players:
Aleksey Miranchuk
Aleksey Miranchuk
Aleksey signed from Atalanta last season, where he played four years in the Serie A. He mostly played with Atalanta and had a one-year loan at Torino. He joined in the summer transfer window so his time at Atlanta United has been limited. He played a total of 14 games including playoffs for the 5-Strips. His brief time at Atlanta has been an immense success where he has scored 3 goals and 4 assists to help United reach the Conference semifinals. Like stated above, Miranchuk will most likely be the team’s number 10.
Key Players:
Bartosz Slisz
Slisz signed for Atlanta United last season for €3.20 million from Legia Warszawa. He is a Poland international player having last featured for his national team in the UEFA Nations League in November. Slisz plays as a defensive midfielder, who can progress the ball up the field. He was United’s main ball carrier; he connected the defense and the attack. Silsz is also a great defender when it comes to aerial duels, where he ranked 4th last season.
Brooks Lennon
Brooks Lennon was Atlanta’s best player last season. Unfortunately, Lennon suffered a dislocated shoulder injury in the first playoff game against Inter Miami. The injury could potentially rule him out for the first 2 months of this upcoming season. The former Liverpool graduate was United’s assist leader. His offensive output for Atlanta last season was in the top 90th percentile in the league. Last season, only Kai Wagner managed to get more assists from a wing-back role. This could be his last season with the team, having signed only a three-year extension in 2022. Brooks is a modern day attacking full back, he was second for Atlanta last season in progressive distance up the field. It’s very likely that we will see Brooks Lennon overlap Almiron up the field and operate as this team’s key creator from the wider right area.
Stian Gregersen
Gregersen signed for Atlanta United last season from Bordeaux. He will be the most important player for this team defensively this season. In 2025, he will most likely pair with Derrick Williams. Last season, Gregerson managed to have the most tackles in the defensive third for this team with 33, even though he was only healthy enough to play 23 games. A healthy Gregersen will be important for an Atlanta defense that will want to concede less goals than last season.
Saba Lobzhanidz
This is going to be Saba’s third season with the 5-Strips. He was the team’s top goal scorer last season with 10 goals including in the playoffs. Lobzhanidz also had the highest xG for this team with 11.6, however he also had the biggest chances missed with 16. That was double to second place Jamal Thiaré. Labzhanidz and Lennon were the primary outlet of the getting the ball into the box last season. Labzhanidz would generally cut when Lennon would overlap. With more attacking pieces, Saba will have to be more clinical this year.
upcoming season expectations
Atlanta United’s ownership group made it clear that they want to challenge for the MLS cup this upcoming season. Over the offseason, Atlanta United made improvements from the coaching staff, front office, and team. Chris Henderson was appointed as Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director. He has worked with Garth Lagerwey at Seattle for 13 years during which he won 2 MLS Cups, 4 U.S. Cups, and one Supporter Shield. Atlanta United signed former NYCFC coach Ronny Delia. Delia’s coaching philosophy matches the attacking and intensive soccer culture that Atlanta United was built on. The organization reinvested the money they made during the summer window with the sales of Almada, Caleb Wiley, and Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Atlanta fans can be eager for next season with club legend Miguel Almiron returning to his happiest place on earth and breaking the transfer record with Emmanuel Latte Lath. Atlanta United have set themselves up to be the best attacking force in the East Coast and potentially the whole league. They added another quality midfield player in Mateusz Klich, adding to the depth of Ajani Fortune, Tristan Muyumba, and Bartosz Slisz. The only area Atlanta has not invested in has been the defense and goalkeeper. This defense was one of the worst last seasons in the MLS. They’re already missing Brooks Lennon for the beginning of the season. Their two primary defenders Derrick Williams and Stian Gregersen were out for a couple of months throughout the previous season as well. Atlanta also still has no solution for life after Brad Guzan. They brought in Josh Cohen last season, but he was unable to take Guzan’s place. With Guzan now being 40 years old, can Atlanta rely on him to overachieve another season between the sticks?
summary
Atlanta invested well in this team; they will be one of the most lethal attacking teams in the MLS this season. Atlanta could challenge for the cup if they can solve defensive woes.