Júnior Alonso officially signs with Atlanta United
Atlanta United will take another stab on a free agent central defender to stop the bleeding and add options for Tata Martino.
UPDATE: Alonso officially signed today.
It had been coming for a while. With the transfer window officially open today, Júnior Alonso is an official member of Atlanta United. The club has signed the 33 (!) year old to a contract through the 2028-29 season. It’s unclear as of now if there are option years attached to that contract. Alonso is the first of what will very, very likely be two center backs joining Atlanta United this window. 31-year-old Paulo Diaz is up next.
You can read Joe’s initial assessment of the signing from the original transfer report below.
There are a couple of perspectives from which to analyze this deal: the cynical view of a struggling club once again attempting to find a stopgap solution at the heart of the team’s defense, and the optimistic view of a charismatic veteran leader who can help steer a team navigating through choppy waters.
Let’s start with the cynical view, which I’m sure many of our readers hold having endured not just failures on the field, but in these types of transfer dealings as well. The cynic already distrusts the front office tasked with identifying and acquiring players to help the team. And then they look at the player profile: a 33-year-old journeyman signed on a free and struggled mightily in a game they kept a close watch on recently when the United States dismantled Paraguay’s defense in a 4-1 loss. A true cynic, I mean a real sick person, might also notice that Alonso has a relationship with Miguel Almiron not just as Paraguayan selección teammates, but also through their time spent together in the Cerro Porteño academy and first team as youngsters. And that sicko wouldn’t see that relationship as helpful to anyone other than Almiron in an attempt to help the 32-year-old attacker find his form after a miserable World Cup.
The optimist sees it totally differently. That relationship is helpful – not just for Almiron to have someone he trusts, but to potentially help unite the squad given Alonso’s natural leadership qualities. These have been highlighted recently as Paraguay has navigated the ups and downs of the tournament, which included a stunning 1-0 win over Turkey following the disappointment against the United States. Take a look at some of what Alonso said after the win:
To suggest leadership is the only thing he potentially adds may not be right either. While we expect Father Time to do his worst to a player who turned 33 this year – almost exactly one year older than Almiron – Alonso was an influential player in Brazil. He was named the country’s Serie A Defender of the Year in 2021 and was praised for his ability in possession, which are skills he could theoretically continue using to his and the team’s advantage into his twilight years.
(Translation: “How Junior Alonso is impactful for Atlético's build-up play, delivering security and quality and enabling different alternatives for advancing on the field. He knows how to conduct possession, draw opponents, generate advantages from the back, and distribute both short and long.”)
We all know just how much head coach Tata Martino values this ability in his defenders, with the idea being the more quality you have to play with the ball at the back, the more players like Almiron, Miranchuk and others can remain stationed in the danger areas further up the pitch.
Will Alonso be a success story in Atlanta? Given the context, the odds are against him. But given what fans have seen from the back line this season (in particular the position opposite Stian Gregersen), how much worse could he possibly be? (Don’t answer that.)