Is Latte Lath a winger now?

Tata Martino showed a tactical wrinkle last week deploying Latte Lath as a winger with Alexey Miranchuk the center forward. Johann Cruyff explains why he did it, and why it just might work.

Tata Martino surprised Atlanta United fans tuning into the team’s friendly against Sporting KC last week when they saw Latte Lath, the team’s woefully underperforming striker, deployed on the wing in an apparent attempt to salvage some form from the Ivorian Designated Player.

“I got the feeling we could try him out there because he can give us a bit more depth, given that Alexey [Miranchuk] has been dropping back from the number nine position,” Martino would go on to say after the match.

It’s an interesting quote for two reasons. First and foremost, it seems to be an admission from Martino that he sees Miranchuk as the team’s best option in the central forward position. And only following from that premise, does the idea of Latte Lath The Winger come into play (and even then, only as “a bit more depth,” underscoring just how underwhelming the player has proven in Martino’s tenure.)

How should we be thinking about this dwitch in roles? Was it just something Martino was toying with in a friendly? Could Latte Lath actually add a dynamic to Atlanta’s attack playing from a wide position? Is this more about Tata planning for life after Latte Lath, and simply using him as a stand-in winger until Atlanta can make an acquisition in the transfer window? The answer may be a mix of all of these scenarios. But since the only thing we know for certain is that the season’s resumption on Friday is rapidly approaching and the squad is what it is until it isn’t, let’s earnestly look at what could be a new-look version of the team’s attack.

Here’s what a full strength team would look like under Martino with Miranchuk deployed at striker, as we saw in glimpses of in the first half¹ of the season. And before anyone gets too hung up on the arbitrary arrows I’ve assigned, let’s describe the whole thing this way: Miranchuk will be the center forward, but in the role of a creator who receives the ball to feet. The wingers, Miguel Almiron and Latte Lath, provide the forward thrust and impetus on the break to stretch teams vertically and in behind. And both of the homegrown central midfielders will be encouraged to get forward – even into the box looking to score themselves as each did in Thursday’s friendly.

The setup brings me back to a famous clip of Johann Cruyff describing the way his team’s played in his career and how a “diamond” midfield can be formed when a team doesn’t have a natural (or high-performing) No. 9 goalscorer.