atlanta united fc why toronto fc they are the two ‘big’ teams MLS’s, who start the 2023 season with the intention of regaining lost ground. they both won mls cup Things have been far from ideal in recent years (2017 for the Scarlet outfit, 2018 for ‘The Five Bands’), but in recent seasons.
atlanta united comes from not classifying playoffs in 2020 and 2022, while canadian club It ranked last in the Eastern Conference in both 2021 and last year.
Both clubs seem to have entered the ‘shadow cone’ of their greatest achievements: the ‘triple’ of toronto (MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield and Canadian Championship in 2017, followed by a second place in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018) and the league title in its second year of existence atlanta (It was followed by the United States Open Cup and the Champions Cup, both in 2019).
crisis that has been dragging on for years
in simple terms, toronto fc Couldn’t find a successful replacement for coach’s illustrious champion team Greg Vanni Put together to achieve the feat of 2017: the Italian towering over all two attackers sebastian giovinco and american jozy altidorewith Michael Bradley (at the time, the best central midfielder in MLS who never left the club) and for Victor VazquezA creative midfielder who then brought his share of magic and who, after leaving in 2018, returned to the province of Ontario in 2023.
same thing happened to me atlanta: The first two campaigns were huge ‘five bands’which was almost a personal project at the time Gerard Martino, Rarely the inaugural roster – in any franchise MLS’s– It was so rich and with so many main characters. Of course, players with strong packaging stand out in attack, such as strikers Joseph Martinez (now a new figure of Inter Miami CF) and Miguel Almiron (For a few years now, he has been a star for Newcastle United in the Premier League). That complex had a stable luxury orchestra: tito villalba why Julian Gresel contributions from the wings, Leandro Gonzalez Perez why Michael Parkhurst in the center of the defense, and Brad Guzan As a symbol of power in the bow.
MLS Classics: The 2018 MLS Cup that made history by crowning Atlanta United for the first time
Those moments will not come back easily. with the departure of martino On the side of the Mexican team, the squad was getting worse year by year. Arrival of famous footballers in South America like Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martinez hey esquiel boat did not have a positive effect and landing only in 2022 Thiago Almada -Global Crack Project- brought peace of mind to Red and Black fans.
since the departure of ‘Tata’ Martino, atlanta united Fine for a coach who returns to the public Mercedes-Benz Stadium His best glory days. The former Paraguay and Argentina coach was succeeded by:
, frank de boerBetween 2019 and mid-2020 (with them he lifted the US Open Cup and the Campeones Cup): poor results in the MLS back tournament and his strained relations with some of the squad members determined the end of his adventure in MLS;
, Stephen Glass (tentative in 2020);
, Gabriel Heinz (2021) The experience barely lasted half a year, due to poor results and a difficult relationship with the squad;
, Rob Valentino (tentative in 2021);
, gonzalo pineda (Head coach from August 2021)
Mexican – with a long history as an assistant coach Seattle Sounders FC– He has so far been unable to make deep and successful changes, being in charge of a team that manages one of the country’s largest budgets MLS’s,
in the matter of toronto fc Have some commonality. nothing seems able to match the synergy that exists between a large
squad, a coach on the rise (eg Greg Vanninow in the LA Galaxy) and an overly ambitious general manager, like team bezbachenko (now president of the Columbus Crew). The arrival of a huge talent like the Spanish hitch alejandro pozuelo He didn’t settle for a team that slowly stopped giving stature.
The team showed its decline in 2020, when it was under the command of the coach for a few months Chris Armaswho were replaced in the middle of the season by an interim Javier Perez, which was put into effect at the start of 2021, but the club ended the year in last position in the Eastern Conference. The head coach and sporting director from 2022 is former US selector and former LAFC coach, bob bradley,
looking for a new era
do not enter playoffs stuck in the glory of a dagger for two years in a row torontoWhich made two very stellar inclusions in the middle of last year: the Italian franchise player lorenzo insigne why federico bernardeschi, During these winter months, the Canadian club was armed to the bone, with experienced people and huge reputations in the league, such as goalkeeper Sean Johnson (New York City FC), central defender matt hedges (FC Dallas), return of Victor VazquezFront Adama Diomande (years ago, LAFC player) and Norwegian defender Sigur Roastedamong others. Pound for pound, Toronto FC has put together another MLS Cup-capable roster.
In atlanta united fc last departure of Joseph Martinez It is something that can still be felt in the air. From the beginning of the franchise’s history, Venezuela was the symbol and figure of the club. Now it will be replaced – if the rumors are confirmed – by the Greek georgios giakoumakis, so far a Celtic FC player from Scotland. Signing for 2023 MLS season ‘five bands’ pale in comparison toronto fc: The only notable names are those that peak Derrick Etienne (arrived as a free agent from the Columbus Crew) and Peruvian central defender louis abramsFrom Granada of Spain’s LaLiga. The bomb signing took place in the offices of: Garth Lagerve (a successful man for the Seattle Sounders for many years now the president of Atlanta United).
things are looking clear for both toronto fc How to do atlanta united fc: To be left out of negotiations for the top positions in the Eastern Conference is a luxury expense that no club can afford. On behalf of the Canadian club, because the investment has been very strong, and any failure or deviation can be considered a failure. and from the perspective of the Georgia State club as the team and fans needed to make a successful ‘reset’ after several seasons of navigating inconsistency. Pineda’s ‘Las Cinco Bandas’ can no longer expect Joseph Martinez to end his woes with goals.
It’s time for both clubs to turn the chips.
