The headlines poured in from all corners of the Internet after Atlanta United’s stunning 3-2, winner-take-all Game 3 victory over Inter Miami in the MLS Cup Playoffs’ first round.
The Guardian called it a “seismic playoff upset”. ESPN billed it as “stunning”. “A crushing end to (a) magic season” was the title of Greg Cote’s late Saturday night column for the Miami Herald.
Inside Atlanta’s quarters, “special” is the word of choice.
“Listen, the last couple weeks, there’s something special. There’s something special in the group,” Brad Guzan said after his heroic seven-save performance. “There’s something special in the locker room and (it) is belief, is confidence, is desire to to help the group, and when you have those things, the margins are fine.”
Of course, the headlines weren’t so much about Inter Miami as they were about Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Arguably the greatest player in the world — on arguably the greatest team in MLS history with Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets — blazing through the regular season only to crash out in the first round of the playoffs against a team that barely got in?
Preposterous. Then again, what about these past three weeks have made much sense for Atlanta United, especially with the regular season they had?
“[We’ve] just been talking about all along, internal belief, fighting and sticking together,” Rob Valentino said. “You can’t have passengers. So whatever shape we play, whatever tactics we give them, it’s going to have to be everybody in it together. And you could see that they really believe that they can do something.”
And that belief shone through all throughout the series, even after Atlanta fell 2-1 in Game 1 in Fort Lauderdale but evened the series at home behind a thrilling stoppage-time goal from Xande Silva. It persisted even as Atlanta fell behind 1-0 in the 17th minute in Game 3 before Jamal Thiare’s quick-response brace made it a 2-1 lead in the 21st, as Guzan made save after save to keep Miami off the scoreboard, and even as Messi scored his first playoff goal in the 65th minute before Bartosz Slisz headed the eventual match-winner past Drake Callender in the 76th.
“When I sit there and I reflect on what the season has been for them, it’s been really difficult, and they keep showing up,” Valentino said. “That’s what my message has been to them about continuing to show up the next day. Do your job, no matter (if) it’s been good, bad, indifferent. You have to show up and do the work.”
That’s led Atlanta to a matchup with Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Fourth-seeded Orlando, pushed to the limit by Charlotte FC, won their Game 3 in penalties after Facundo Torres’s equalizer deep in second-half stoppage time.
Maybe Atlanta can rewrite even more headlines on November 24.
“I’m really proud of them,” Valentino said. “The work that they put in on the field in the games (is) great, but every day at training and the attentiveness to the video sessions or whatever it might be … they’re really bought in. …
“I just don’t want this to end. So I hope we can keep kicking on here.”
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Amador has been an absolute joy to watch as he has grown into the team over a short period of time. His crosses AND passes have been elite during his assist streak. I particularly loved his reaction after the wining cross against Miami. As soon as he saw the header go in, he just turned around and faced our bench, expressionless…like, what’s the big deal?? It was brilliant.
Also a shout out to Dax, specifically on his beautiful one-touch feed to Alexey to set-up our 2nd goal. As we steal the ball, way before Dax even gets the ball, Dax quickly looks up to see where Alexey is. Dax knew what he was going to do with the ball way ahead of time. Just great anticipation.
Jim Curtin leaving the Onion is not good news. I’m not sure if Valentino should get the job permanently, but if Curtin is the only choice, I’m 100% Team Valentino.
I did not watch the second half, and was surprised to see the result. Well, something happened,. The real test comes now, with a normal MLS opponent, Orlando. Beat them, and I think this coach has earned his position.
I saw your Mr Blank in Miami, cool. I guess your coach can count on having real investment for 2025.
Best luck!
The people who keep saying RV needs to go back to being an assistant coach for a few years, what do you believe he’s missing? The team is playing better with significantly less talent, the team is playing hard and believes in themselves, and he clearly loves this team.
I can tell you he’s not going to be an assistant for us if he’s not the guy. No new HC is going to want the guy who beat Miami on the sideline behind him because the second he loses a game, especially to Miami, the fans are going to want RV back.
It would depend on who the coach is. Do you think someone with an established record or reputation is going to be threatened by an interim coach that went on a heater for a couple months? Now, if we were to go hire another version of Pineda, with zero HC experience, you’d definitely have a point. And at that point, you might as well have Rob as the HC.
I never thought Rob would get this HC job, but at this point, he’s making about the strongest case possible for himself. I think there’s definitely some potential there, but there’s also a real risk he’s just catching lightning in a bottle in some favorable matchups now and won’t replicate this with a different (and hopefully improved) roster. Then what? I feel like the margin of error for Lagerwey on the next HC hire is kind of small given how this year unfolded. We will see. In the meantime, we’ll see how far our boys can grit and grind on this run.
I understand what fans have been saying about the difference between the regular season and the post-season under Valentino. I’m seeing a coaching staff and a group of players who have found something together after working through a lot of adversity. I see a group defined by a mutual desire to fight for each other. They believe in themselves, in each other, and in this coaching staff to prepare them to compete in each match. That is powerful.
We are also playing with a team that was more of a collection of supporting pieces around Almada and Giakoumakis who had to find their own identity when they left. The quiet grit and competitive brilliance we have seen from Amador, Slisz, Thiare, and Saba along with the maturation of Fortune and Guzan’s heroics are forming a new core identity for us. Each of these guys wants to be here and wants to fight for each other. If we keep adding these high-character players who can bring specific talents to the squad while keeping the integrity of the squad’s character intact, this could be a very dangerous group in 2025.
I support retaining Rob and his coaching staff for 2025 while adding other key assistant coaches and supporting staff to fill out the kinds of expertise we may need. If Dax would come back as a coach, that would be huge for us.
I know the impulse is to spend vast amounts of money on two star DPs and new flashy U-22s this offseason, but I don’t think that is the right model for us right now. Continuing to add guys like Slisz, Gregersen, Thiare, Saba, Miranchuk, Amador, Williams, etc to create a deep group of quality players will make success more sustainable.
While Thiare is fantastic and heroic, we do need another 9 that can compete for the starting spot. I’m curious whether Josef would return for less than a max-TAM salary that could be bought down. We also need a 6 that can replicate what Dax does so well. Other than a backup left-back, the remaining needs on the wing or in the midfield are dependent on what kind of formations and tactics we want to use next year. What we saw in Game 3 against Miami with Miranchuk and Thiare as a two-forward set could be highly effective going forward if we prioritize transition and counter-attacking rather than possession as our default.
While I agree with your assessment of how we’re playing, I see no reason to not bring in a high quality coach and amplify the success you’re talking about
I think you risk a lot in shaking things up. A lot of guys who would be described as a “high-quality coach” have dedicated staff who have specific ways of working, specific methodologies they would want to introduce across the club, and would need to build new relationships with everyone. My concern would be messing up a good thing as it is emerging and messing with the culture that is building right now from the first team all the way down to the U-13s.
There is a lot that we don’t get to see behind the scenes despite how transparent the club has been with media and fans. If the people inside the organization who make decisions like the nuance and depth of what is happening behind the scenes, they may also be inclined towards giving Rob and his staff all of the tools they need to succeed in 2025. At the beginning of September, I would not have suggested this but the transformational process that got us from there to here has been impressive.
I’m wary of recency bias. We barely backed into the playoffs and were not very good this season at all. Then we caught fire. I’m not sure that’s a reason to keep RV as Manager.
We had a long season of questionable tactics and poor adjustments, and a lot of complaints about the HC and staff, as well as players. Maybe a light went on for RV and he’s a better coach now, or maybe we were fortunate to have 2 good matchups in the playoffs. I don’t know why we play so much better against Miami – maybe our guys just don’t want to be embarrassed in front of Messi. But we do. It will be interesting to see what happens against Orlando.
It keeps working so I’ll say it again – I’m sure we will play very hard and ultimately lose to a better squad on the road.
I’m still not convinced Alexey is our 10. Maybe a winger, maybe an attacking 8, but as a 10 i’m not sure. We definitely need a leader at that 6 though, Dax has shown why that’s the case and hopefully that example continues to shine.
We absolutely need a strong 9. Thiare and Rios aren’t horrible but they don’t feel starter quality most of the time.
Thiare and Rios are really good options at the #2 and #3 center forwards on a roster. The great thing about Thiare is that he will push the player ahead of him for starts.
I really like the Fortune/Slisz pairing in midfield and could see both of these guys heading to a big league in Europe in 2026. The 6 and 10 spots on either side of them should reflect the strengths and limitations of this duo. The nice part about Alexey is that he can play 10, wing, or second striker so I’m not worried about them finding a place for him. I’ll also be watching MLS free agency and the waiver wire in a few weeks because we might be able to find Dax’s successor there, but I wouldn’t count out Javier Armas from the 2s.
I think the awareness Dax brings is hard to find. As Marcelo would say “he has football in him”. Going to be hard to replace him.
He assisted on the first goal with a nonchalant chip shot and did the same thing for a secondary assist on goal #2. That kind of vision and finesse is what creates the chances our team is built on
I agree, especially at the low cap hit we were able to spend on him. Then again, look at how impactful Amador has been so far on such a cheap contract. I trust this new scouting team to find us a good option. Two that I was able to find are Guingamp’s Dylan Louiserre and AZ Alkmaar’s Jody Clasie.
Agreed. Mission #1 in the off-season should be trying to find a in-prime, veteran replacement for Dax.
The first goal was an attempted through ball that deflected off a defender and fell kindly to Jamal, not a chip. It was good luck.
Josef was the best (or one of the best) players this year for Montreal. He proved he still has the collective goods to demand a DP salary, and I see no reason why he would take a pay cut towards the end of his prime to come back to a franchise that decided to move on from him.
All of the people he would be mad at are gone. He also wants to win, which is not happening in Montreal any time soon. He made $1.3 million in Montreal this year so a TAM deal in 2025 with ATL wouldn’t be a pay cut at all. If we paid him approximately what he made in Montreal this year, he would be very interested in being back with Brad again and playing in front of our fans at the Benz.
The people wanted Messi, Suarez, Busquets, and Alba. The people will get Alexey, Jamal, Dax, and Pedro.
Is it just me, or has the defense looked more organized in the last 5-6 games than it jas in years?
They are being asked to do simpler and more specific assignments. Having a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities has helped them more effectively communicate and help each other. We have also improved as a unit in whole-team defending where every player contributes.
they’re not bunching up like they used to and attacking those middle threats. Still have some issues with switching the play and pressing but if you watch older games where we conceded multiple goals, all of our guys were bunched up together and causing pockets to form.
It reminds me of Tata in 2018. That team went from guns blazing attacking soccer during the regular season to pragmatic defending/counter attacking soccer in the playoffs. When you shift from 34 game regular season soccer into elimination games the tactics have to shift with it.
So at what point does Rob win the full time manager seat? I’m not saying he should get it, I have some doubts long term. But if he wins the thing surely he should get the position right? What about taking us to the ECF?
I guess it will depend on who Atlanta talks to about becoming HC. As much as I love Valentino, I still think results from the regular season matter as well. And Atlanta did not look good in some of their losses this season. Unless Atlanta wins the whole thing, I think the best case scenario for Valentino is to remain as one of the top assistant when Atlanta brings in the new HC.
Totally agree. I didn’t give ourselves a Million in one chance; unbelievable. RV should stay on as an assistant and in a couple of years he could be super coach.
I think he’s showing he’s ready to be given a chance as a head coach, but not here. Maybe Philly should interview him, or I’m sure there will be some openings at other smaller clubs a year from now.
I personally think Viera is a done deal to come here and they are just waiting for the season to end to announce it.
I really appreciate that RV has been flexible based on the circumstances. I’m sick of coaches hellbent on implementing their systems to our detriment.