Caleb Wiley sets sights for Olympics, Chelsea after Atlanta farewell

At the time of this writing, Caleb Wiley is likely on a plane to France, where he’ll meet up with his U.S. teammates in Bordeaux ahead of the nation’s first appearance in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament since 2008 — a group that included current Atlanta United players Brad Guzan and Dax McCarty and former Five Stripes captain Michael Parkhurst (plus names like Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Brian McBride, Mo Edu, Stu Holden, and Freddy Adu).

Atlanta United will have several regrets from their 2-1 loss to Indy Eleven on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, and one of them will be not sending Wiley off with a win in what appears to be his final match in a Five Stripes shirt. Wiley, who started despite confirmation from Carlos Bocanegra that a deal was “imminent”, came off in the 57th minute to applause and chants of his name from an admittedly sparse weeknight crowd at Fifth Third Stadium, nine days shy of the four-year anniversary of his home debut as a professional player with Atlanta United 2 in July 2020 at the same venue. Barring something unforeseen, the next match he’ll play in a club setting will be as a Chelsea player on loan to sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1.

“I would say I’ve enjoyed every single day with the kid,” interim head coach Rob Valentino said. “When he first showed up to the first team pitches, and he was coming on just to train against the first team, essentially without having a contract, he was at a whole different level, and you could see there was some quality there for sure.”

That quality was on display as Wiley made his way through the ranks, first as a U-12 player, then landing a professional contract as a Homegrown Player, to becoming an emerging talent at left back in MLS at just 19 and now an Olympian. Top-flight European football will be next, as Wiley will launch the next chapter of his career with a Strasbourg side led by former NYCFC head coach and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira.

“He is now a massive example of a pathway from under-12s all the way through, and now into a massive career, (so I) really give those credits to all the coaches that I’ve worked with,” Valentino said.

The normally quiet nature of Wiley — Valentino discussed the blossoming relationship between the two and Wiley eventually coming to a place where he was comfortable enough to opened up — has given way at several points this season and last to a player not afraid to approach the game with a little bit of an edge.

A video of Wiley jawing at the Philadelphia Union’s Olivier Mbaizo during a 2-0 win last year at home went viral, while late in Atlanta’s dramatic 2-1 win over Toronto FC a few weeks ago, he was fortunate to not be sent off after shoving and putting his hand to the neck of Kobe Franklin after having his jersey pulled repeatedly by the TFC defender, resulting in a fine from the MLS Disciplinary Committee. On Tuesday, he was booked after a confrontation with an Indy Eleven player.

Valentino cautioned that Wiley need keep his emotions in check with the level of competition he’ll face at the Olympics and overseas set to be more intense. But it’s part of the continued development of a player that has done all he’s been asked so far.

“He’s taken every information, every little resource that he’s had at the club, and gotten better every single time he stepped in the field,” Valentino said. “And so I’m really proud of him and happy for him. I’m really happy for the club.”