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Atlanta United fan's wildest dream is actually coming true. According to breaking reports, Tata Martino is returning to the club he lead to a 2018 MLS Cup.
Tata Martino is returning to Atlanta United as its head coach.
Atlanta United made the announcement officially on Thursday that Martino signed a two-year contract with the club.
Club owner Arthur Blank released a statement Thursday upon the announcement of Martinno’s signing:
“We are thrilled to welcome Tata back to Atlanta United,” said Arthur M. Blank, Owner and Chairman, Blank Family of Businesses. “Tata is an exceptional manager who set the standard for excellence within our club and helped establish our identity in Major League Soccer. Since then, he has continued to achieve success on the global stage. There is a lot of work to do for us to get back to championship form. This moment is not about revisiting the past but about looking ahead and building a new foundation while embracing the continuing evolution of what it takes to contend in MLS on a regular basis. Tata is a steward of our club’s values with a proven leadership record, and he carries a championship mindset to everything he does. We are excited for the future of Atlanta United with Tata back at the helm.”
While the feeling that Martino could return to Atlanta United has been simmering for weeks, a corner was clearly turned in the past several days since the club’s focus on candidates narrowed. Perhaps more importantly, Martino himself agreed to return to the arena and put at risk an already sterling record at the club.
In his return, Martino inherits a much different project than the one he accepted when he put pen to paper in 2016. Then, he was able to build a roster practically from scratch alongside then-technical director Carlos Bocanegra. Now, he will have a different — though familiar — partner in Atlanta Untied Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson. The two worked in a similar relationship at Inter Miami just a matter of month ago.
But there is a crucial difference this time around. The roster is already established. Sure, there will be players to acquire and a little bit of flexibility to shift the deck chairs. But Martino’s primary task will be to grab the wheel of the ship and start to turn it in the direction the club and Blank so desperately want to go. Martino at least has one key cog in the form of Miguel Almiron, whom he recruited as his first big-name signing to leave his Argentinian club of Lanus to join him stateside in 2016. Almiron struggled mightily in his own return to Atlanta a mere 10 months ago, but perhaps Martino understands the strings to pull to get the playmaker back in form.
Can Martino work with some of the other key pieces like Designated Players Aleksey Miranchuk, Latte Lath and Steven Alzate? How about the likes of Saba Lobjanidze, Tristan Muyumba and Jay Fortune? We will learn in due time what the future holds for these players and more under Martino’s leadership. But it seems impossible that an Atlanta United fan could have more confidence in anyone else.



Welcome home Dad!
So couple this with Josef being a free agent and it looks like we are all pretending it is 2018 again? Why not? Those first 2 years were great. Let’s sign Gressel as well and make it the comeback tour.