OFFICIAL: Ronny Deila named Atlanta United head coach

The Five Stripes' new regime is complete.

A new era of Atlanta United is officially upon us. The club announced today that they have hired Ronny Deila as head coach. The move completes an entire overhaul of the club’s brain trust that began with the addition of Chris Henderson joining as Sporting Director earlier this week.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ronny as the new head coach of Atlanta United,” Club President and CEO Garth Lagerwey said. “He has a proven track record of winning in multiple leagues around the world, including the 2021 MLS Cup with NYCFC, and his knowledge of MLS was a key factor in our search. We believe his style of play aligns with the club’s philosophy as we look to build a team that will compete for trophies consistently.”

Deila becomes the fifth permanent head coach hire in club history. He is tasked with getting the team back to winning matches and playing an attractive style of soccer that the supporters can enjoy.

The 49-year-old has had success is several leagues around Europe and won MLS Cup with NYCFC in 2021. He is known for playing a possession-based style and usually prefers a variation of the 4-2-3-1.

“I want to thank Arthur M. Blank and Garth Lagerwey for this opportunity and couldn't be more excited to join Atlanta United,” Deila said. “This is a club with great ownership, excellent facilities and the ambition to succeed and continue to drive the league forward. I’m happy to return to MLS, a competitive league that I enjoy, and I’m eager to arrive and get to work with our group of players.”

In addition to having success at the MLS level, he’s also won titles in his home country of Norway, will adding to his collection in Scotland and Belgium.

As 17’s have learned through the last five years, these hirings can only be analyzed on paper so much. While the fit might seem good, the proof will come with results. We can only hope that this is the hire that finally gets things moving back in the right direction for this ambitious club.