via Atlanta United

Earlier this week, we took a look at the numbers behind Atlanta United’s miserable 2026. We followed it up with a look at the numbers behind the (mostly) miserable 2026 for Atlanta United’s DPs. Today, we’re going to take a look at nearly everyone else who’s played significant minutes.

Some folks, of course, aren’t worth looking at. You don’t have to care about Juan Berrocal’s Goals Added numbers anymore. You’re free.

Same for Matias Galarza. And there’s a decent chance the same will eventually be true for a few other key “contributors.” At least, that’s the theory this summer. We’ll see if there’s praxis behind it.

Saba Lobjanidze

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Could Atlanta United see one of its midfielder return to River Plate, while Atlanta adds a different River Plate midfielder this summer?

That sounds like it could be the case, as Argentinian journalist Sebastián Srur noted Friday that midfielder Giuliano Galoppo could be set to join the Five Stripes, with the matter becoming official as soon as next week.

River Plate fans responding to the X post appear quite pleased with the news, with some even joking about how much the team will pay for the 26-year old. In 2026, Galoppo was used mostly as a substitute who made only two starts out of nine league appearances. He’s notably struggled with injuries since 2023.

Prior to his injury bug, Galoppo had a promising career brewing. He rose through the ranks of Boca Jr.’s youth system before moving to Banfield to start his professional career. It took a couple of years before Galoppo became a first team regular, which is when he started pouring in goals from midfield scoring 18 times in all competitions in a two year span from 2020-2022.

Shortly after his form earned him a move one of the biggest sides in Brazil in Sao Paulo, injuries struck and have affected Galoppo ever since. A torn knee ligament basically erased his 2023 season. He scored often in minor competitions for Sao Paulo, but only played 385 minutes for the club in Serie A competition before sending him on loan to River in a deal that became permanent.

Once getting past injury issues that persisted after his move to River, Galoppo found his finishing form again in the 2025 Clausura (fall-winter), scoring 5 times in 12 appearances. Galoppo has experience on big stages, but health inconsistency has affected his form.

Yesterday, we took a look at Atlanta United’s overall numbers from the first 14 matches of the season. They were not good. They were bad, actually. Atlanta United is not a good soccer team. They are a bad one. Being bad is not good.

One of the main reasons they are bad and not good is the fact that their Designated Players have largely been bad and not good. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the numbers behind each DP’s 2026 so far. As you can probably guess: Bad. The numbers are bad. Mostly anyway. There may be a few things here that surprise you, though.

Emmanuel Latte Lath

Latte Lath, unfortunately, offers no surprises.

It’s easy to look at the numbers there and see there’s way more red than green. You don’t need me to tell you that it matches the eye test for Latte Lath. You don’t even really need Bradley Wright-Phillips to tell you, but we asked him anyway.

A few numbers of note here.

First,

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via Atlanta United

We interrupt your preparation for the World Cup to remind you that MLS and Atlanta United will return whether you like it or not.

We’ll let you get back to visions of communities around the world coming together to celebrate one of the great sporting events in human history in a moment, but first, we have to do our due diligence and talk to you about the first half of Atlanta United’s 2026 season. Even worse, we’re Five Stripe Final. There’s going to be a lot of numbers. Bad, scary numbers.

So, how bad was it?

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When Miguel Almiron walked through a set of doors at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in January of 2025, none of the hundreds of fans waiting for him in the lobby could’ve imagined his second stint in Atlanta would be as disappointing as it has turned out.

In his first season back, Atlanta United endured its worst campaign in club history, finishing just two points off the bottom of the table. To be clear, no single player is responsible for that kind of failure in MLS. It takes a village.

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But Almiron’s form certainly didn’t help. Led by then-president Garth Lagerwey, the club splashed a reported eight-figure transfer fee to bring him back and made him one of the league’s top-five highest-paid players. For a player who was nearly 31 at the time, the move was so drastic that some fans, rightly or wrongly, saw it more as a marketing play than a purely soccer decision.

Eighteen months later, any fan who said as much is probably feeling vindicated. Through his 39 games played since his return, he’s scored only six goals, half of which came from the penalty spot. This year, he hasn’t scored at all and provided three assists, all of which came in a single match.

The 2026 season has seen the situation progress from frustrating to uncomfortable. Awkward. The team has only won one game in which he’s started in all competitions. That’s not proof the team is better without him. Almiron remains a player with a resume that theoretically suggests he’d improve a struggling MLS team.

But I’m not holding my breath for a sudden turnaround here, either. Not to this team. Not from a 32-year-old who has produced so little to this point. Compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers in MLS this season, Almiron ranks in the 61st percentile in xG (and hasn’t scored), 55th percentile in xA, and 59th percentile in chances created. These are decent numbers for a homegrown or a rotation-type winger. These are terrible numbers for someone signed to, in theory, lead a good team in these offensive categories as one of its three Designated Players and the fifth-highest-paid player in MLS.

All of this, the statistics, the disappointment, the team dynamics, are why Atlanta United should end this experiment now in the form of one of the club’s two available buyouts.

“But why urge to buy out Almiron when almost the entire squad is underperforming to a man, and a player like Latte Lath has been a bigger disappointment with even less to show for his play? Other players deserve buying out more than Almiron” is a counterargument I often see to this idea (though one I see less and less as time marches on). But as Clint Eastwood and Snoop Pearson famously said, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.”

When evaluating buyout candidates from this squad, we aren’t prioritizing the worst performers alone. We’re prioritizing the worst performers relative to their cost. In Almiron’s case, it is less about the cost of his nearly $8 million contract, and more about the fact that said contract occupies one of the precious Designated Player spots.

Ultimately, Almiron is going to make his money regardless. Atlanta is on the hook to pay him what he’s owed for the next 18 months. The only question is whether Atlanta wants to also pay the opportunity cost during those 18 months that prevents them from signing a different DP to replace the aging club legend.

And Almiron’s age is also a critical factor in why the buyout is specifically needed on him, and not on Latte Lath. I agree with anyone who says Latte Lath has been even more disappointing than Almiron. But at age 27 and on half the wages, there is (in my opinion) a way for Atlanta to move on from LL that wouldn’t require a buyout. Yes, it will require a bath on the transfer fee, and the mechanism might have strigns attached in the form of loan agreements, performance incentives, etc. But I think there’s a way, where there simply is not with Miggy.

To put the two players’ contracts in comparison for my Football Manager brethren or anyone else used to seeing contracts in the form of pound sterling per week: Latte Lath is a 27-year-old on ~£54,000 per week. Miguel Almiron is a 32-year-old on ~£112,000 per week. Almiron simply doesn’t have a market for his transfer under these conditions.

Do I expect it to happen? No, for several reasons. First, I frankly don’t think the club’s leadership has the guts. Using the buyout is an admission of their own failure in spending the ownership’s money wisely, the same ownership they’d ask to pay the cost of the mistake AND fund a new transfer.

Second, Tata Martino seems determined to make it work. While not stated on record, I can’t help but imagine Tata returned to Atlanta in part because of Almiron’s presence and his affection for him and wanting to help his career.

And Almiron is a key marketing figure for the club, and leaders beyond those crafting the roster might be concerned about the way fans would perceive the treatment as being unfair, undeserved, or crossing the loyalties of their paying customers, at least the ones they have left.

Atlanta United is in a bad way. Mistakes were made, and drastic measures are necessary to correct course. But with new club president Mauricio Culebro arriving this summer, now is the time to wipe as many of those mistakes from the board to clear the slate to the greatest extent possible.

Atlanta United could have their first signing of the summer soon. In the winter a rumor emerged linking Atlético Mineiro defender Junior Alonso to the club. While nothing happened at the time, the player has now played out the remainder of his contract and confirmed in an interview that his next stop is in MLS.

Reports out of South America say that Alonso and Atlanta have had an understanding in place for several months that he would sign for the club as a free agent this summer. Those reports appear to be backed up by these candid comments, although he doesn’t specifically mention Atlanta United as his next destination.

The now 33-year-old left-sided center back has been named to Paraguay’s World Cup squad and has 63 caps for his country.

On paper, he seems a direct replacement for Juan Berrocal, who is likely to leave the club after his loan expires this summer.

For now, this is still just a rumor, but there seems to be massive amounts of smoke emitting from it. Stay tuned.

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Atlanta United ended the first half of the season with another miserable result, losing 2-0 in Columbus on Sunday.

We now get nearly two whole months to watch some World Cup soccer and hopefully discuss a boatload of interesting transfer rumors about players leaving and arriving.

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There is zero doubt that this roster needs massive changes. The question is, can/will Chris Henderson swing for the fences and make big moves to overhaul this mess of a squad?

As things stand, there’s not a ton of room for maneuvering. You can probably add one TAM player if both Matias Galarza and Juan Berrocal have their purchase options declined. While not official, Galarza has already departed the club and according to Tata, is highly unlikely to be brought back. He says the club is still negotiating for Berrocal’s return but that his situation is in a similarly difficult spot.

While all of that is fine, it’s clear this team needs more than one TAM addition. The Designated Player situation needs to be addressed somehow. Whether that’s offloading one or more on the cheap and losing a ton on investments or even possibly exploring a buyout. Something big clearly needs to happen to open up the chance for the team to recruit players that can change games.

A lot has been made about the team’s defensive issues the last few years and while center back is a clear need, so is finding some dynamic attackers to score some goals.

Basically, the squad needs just about everything and Henderson has a bunch of worthless or depreciating assets to try and deal from. It was this time last year we saw a few questionable decisions to trade some homegrown players to bring in the likes of Berrocal and Enea Mihaj because there were no other movable pieces. Here’s to hoping we don’t see more of those types of panic moves this summer.

We’re expecting a busy summer. Whether that materializes or not, who knows? What we do know is that we have some plans percolating for content all throughout the summer break that will look back on the first half, look ahead to the summer transfer window, and examine some difficult questions surrounding the club and its decision makers.

Can Chris Henderson pull multiple rabbits out of his hat and build Tata Martino a competitive roster? We can only wait and hope so.

We’ll be following up soon with some more in-depth analysis of what needs to happen this summer for that to come to fruition. For now, enjoy your Memorial Day.

We’ve reached the end of the beginning. The first half of the season is nearly over and the World Cup break has almost begun. Before we get to an extended vacation (and, potentially, a number of changes to the roster), Atlanta United has to go out there one more time and try to scrap together a point or three. Unfortunately, they have to do it against Columbus, the team they’ve lost to more than any other in MLS.

Should go great.

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With one game remaining until MS pauses for World Cup festivities in the United States, Atlanta United midfielder Matias Galaraza has left the club and his short-term loan is expected to elapse, ending his time on the roster.

Tata Martino told media today that a permanent contract couldn’t be negotiated to keep the Paraguyan international around.

“The conditions of his original loan make it very difficult, so we'll try to see if there's another way to make it work,” Martino said Friday through a translator. “The current conditions there makes it impossible because it would make him a designated player. So we'll see if there's another way, but it appears difficult.”

Galarza arrived on a loan from River Plate that ran through June 30, with a transfer option this summer. Thanks to Martino, we don’t have to speculate much about the situation — that the terms of the transfer option are too rich for Atlanta and their current cap flexibility.

While Martino’s words signal there’s some hope for an alternate arrangement that would require scrapping the current transfer option in place, the actions — specifically Galarza’s departure a game early by mutual consent — speak differently.

“I think "[Galarza] has served the team well, and I told him that this week when we spoke, that between him and the team it was a mutually beneficial situation. The energy and effort that he provided to the team was helpful, and of course that he was able to play and regain some of his confidence to help make a World Cup squad.”

Galarza’s departure settles a talking point around Atlanta United’s roster as to whether he would stay or go. And while he frees up some money that was counting against Atlanta United’s books, it wouldn’t appear to be a needle-moving amount. He was listed in the most recent MLS Players Association Salary Guide as making $945k in guaranteed compensation, but that may not be a totally accurate reflection of how much money is freed up given the complex nature of his deal.

Martino is correct in saying that he added something Atlanta United needed in it’s ability to be physical and aggressive across the pitch with and without the ball. But ultimately the Paraguyan’s form waned over the last several weeks. Hopefully his time gets him in the Paraguay squad to be announced soon.

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Atlanta United was ousted from the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in quarterfinals on Tuesday night. On the backend of a back-to-back against Orlando City, Tata Martino decided to heavily rotate his squad and try a new formation. The experiment quickly blew up in his face and left the Five Stripes in tatters in the first half, down 4-0 going into halftime.

Tata took full blame after the 4-1 end result in his media appearance:

“My responsibility. Absolutely me. It’s not the responsibility of the players.”

Instead of his usual 4-3-3 setup, he decided to deploy a 3-4-2-1 setup with only one natural center back in Stian Gregersen playing alongside Ronald Hernandez and Pedro Amador deployed as outside center backs, far from their natural positions.

Why did he choose to switch up his tactics so drastically? Here’s his explanation:

“Because I understood that the team was up to an evolution in its play and the idea was to match up with the five forwards that they use and we weren’t prepared for that and it’s absolutely my responsibility.”

In addition to trying to match the opposing team’s tactics, he also wanted to give some fresh legs a chance to play, something Orlando did not do, choosing to make only minimal personnel changes and keep their lineup from Saturday night virtually intact.

“Firstly because I understood that it was the best way to face this opponent taking into account the first 30 minutes of Saturday’s match. Secondly, because it permitted me to put seven players on the field who hadn’t played the match before and I felt that we had to take advantage of the players that we have who have played way fewer minutes than their players. Now, evidently, my lesson was mistaken.”

A mix of things can be true. Tata overthought this whole scenario after the 1-1 draw and tried surprise Orlando and it failed miserably. Or he could simply be covering for his players. There have been a lot of minutes played over the last month. In particular, the already-thin center back group has run a ton of miles and he didn’t think they could go the distance again.

No matter the real reason for the drastic changes, Tata is never going to throw his players under the bus. This is something we rarely encountered in his first stint as manager, but being faced with so much adversity this season, it’s clear he will take the brunt of the criticism instead of blaming any player.

Unfortunately, this is the type of result we’re all to used to around here. Getting embarrassed and played off the field is not a new experience. Whether it’s solely Tata’s fault or not, it doesn’t change the fact that this squad isn’t good or deep enough to compete at a consistent level and won’t be until Chris Henderson makes some bold moves.

Only one more match until the summer break and hopefully we start to see some of those moves for all of our sanity

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Originally this was going to be a self indulging article proclaiming Jay Fortune as Atlanta United’s best player. But I feel like patting myself on the back and calling myself a certified ball-knower probably wouldn’t be a very fun read. Instead it’s time to talk about just how good this young core is and what the club needs to do going forward.

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via Atlanta United

The first match of a rare back-to-back is almost here as Atlanta United heads for an extended stay in Orlando. Presumably, this is the first-ever extended stay in Orlando for a group that is not going to a theme park. Regardless, Atlanta could really, really, really use a win or two before the World Cup break begins in a couple of weeks.

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