Is this really Atlanta United’s ninth season?
I started covering the team in late 2015, ahead of their inaugural season in 2017. And a lot has changed. We’ve seen the highs of 2018, when Atlanta won MLS Cup. There have been lows as it barely struggled to make the preseason.
Then, of course, was 2020, which everyone wants to forget completely.
But 2025 feels different: expectations for this team haven’t been this high since…2019? There’s a new MLS Cup-winning coach on the sideline, a record-breaking transfer at striker, and a club icon making his return after the better part of 6 years away. If you’re considering buying stock in Atlanta United, I’m not going to convince you to do otherwise.
In the spirit of Atlanta’s ninth season of play, here are nine questions surrounding the team ahead of the opener against CF Montreal on Saturday.
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Is Latte Lath the real deal?
Simply put, if Latte Lath even gives the slightest indication that MLS just might not be the right fit, there will be more than a few rumblings among Atlanta United fans and MLS at large. I mean — gestures at the $22 million transfer fee — you didn’t bring the guy in to score 10 goals a season.
That’s not to say that he’ll need to score a hat trick on his debut, but he’ll need to show almost immediately that he was worth every cent Atlanta United paid for him. I think he’ll win the Golden Boot despite a few brief fits and starts.
How will Miguel Almiron fare in his return to Atlanta United?
We’re well aware of what 2017 and 2018 Miguel Almiron was capable of. What will 2025 and beyond Miguel Almiron bring to the table?
Spoiler: he’ll be good. I think he won’t be quite the player he was during his first stint with Atlanta — that pace at 31 isn’t the same as it was at 23 or 24 — but he’ll be good. His presence and leadership alone will elevate the team more than anything. Statistically? You can easily talk me into a 10g/10a season.
How long will it take for the full attacking corps to gel?
Saba Lobjanidze is a known quantity even if he underperformed relative to his underlying numbers and Alexey Miranchuk grew into things the later the season went, but both will be playing with a brand-new striker and right winger. Much of this will be on-the-job training: some missed passes, scuffed chances, and how-did-he-miss-that reactions from the fans (and teammates, to be fair). We know the finished product will be good, but how long it will take to get there is the main thing.
Can Brad Guzan continue the form he enjoyed in the 2024 playoffs?
Not sure what Brad Guzan did to prepare for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but more of it, please.
The reality is that he’s 40 years old, turning 41, and is in the final year of his contract after having his option for 2025 picked up. By all accounts, this might be his final season with Atlanta United. But I’ve been wrong about making that assumption before, so I’ll just enjoy watching him play and hopefully show more of what he did late last year.
Can Bartosz Slisz take the next step?
I really, really liked what I saw from Bartek the latter half of the season and in the playoffs. I’m not quite sure how many players, after missing two penalties in a match, would even bother talking to the media the way he did after a loss in Leagues Cup to D.C. United in July.
He matured, improved, and ultimately scored the match-winner in Game 3 against Inter Miami.
We talk a lot about “the Darlington Nagbe replacement” around these parts. I’m not sure if Slisz will get there because Nagbe’s in a class of his own, but if Atlanta United end up among the top teams in the league as expected, the Polish international will play a big role.
What can Pedro Amador do in his first full season?
Nobody — nobody — expected to see what Pedro Amador provided this team after his arrival: 8 assists in 14 appearances. Atlanta needed a viable option at left back after Caleb Wiley was sold, and to say Amador exceeded expectations is an understatement.
Sadly, we didn’t get to see much of him during preseason thanks to a minor hamstring injury which should see him back for the season opener in some form. But I’m staying on the Amador hype train especially as he and Saba build chemistry on that left side, and I imagine several others from around the league will be joining me.
Can Atlanta United’s younger players affect the first team consistently?
We saw this with Jay Fortune last year when Tristan Muyumba went down. Who’s this year’s Jay Fortune? We’ve talked up Luke Brennan, who Ronny Deila said would play a big part as starters needed to rest throughout the season. Matt Edwards had an strong preseason along with Ronan Wynne. Will Reilly could get a few looks.
As for Dom Chong Qui, while the plan was to give him much-needed time down with ATL UTD 2 in 2025 before becoming a Homegrown in 2026, he’s impressed Deila to the point that he may get himself some first-team minutes.
Can Atlanta United’s depth fill the void consistently?
Players like Edwin Mosquera, Tristan Muyumba, and Xande Silva will need to show improvement, because there’s younger options at each of those spots ready to step in. And I think they will under Deila’s system.
I’m concerned about outside back, though. Deila said that the team is OK there depth-wise, but I wouldn’t hate a veteran coming in to back up Amador. (Of note: longtime Real Salt Lake defender Andrew Brody, who can play on both sides of the pitch, just became available.)
Can Atlanta United stay healthy?
The hiring of David Tenney, who worked with Garth Lagerwey in Seattle before moving to the NBA and later Austin FC, as director of high performance is one of those under-the-radar moves that can truly benefit a team.
They stayed largely healthy during preseason with Amador’s hamstring injury the only significant one, but Brooks Lennon’s recovery from surgery is an obvious carryover from last season. No one can predict injury — no repeats of 2022, please — but hopefully Atlanta can stay relatively fit in 2025.
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I do expect we’ll be in contention for top 4 in the east with a floor of 5 or 6, but I also fear that we havent gotten that much better with the exception of 2 notable signings and a small number of additional not insignificant moves. Or at least to clarify, that much better such that we should start talking about MLS cup expectations.
Im expecting the east to be a bloodbath, and other teams have presumably improved too. I hope fans arent disappointed if we dont stay somewhere in the range of top 3 in the east all season.
I do expect the team to be much more fun, and that alone is something that Im excited about.
Probably kind of obvious since he played in the last preseason game, but Henderson confirmed on the radio this morning that Latte Lath has his visa squared away and will be available for game 1 against Montreal.
Is Brooks ready to move from RWB to RB full time, and is his defense good enough for this move?
he has mostly played RB. it was just that last year, our defense was so broken that we had to go to 3 CBs, so he ended playing RWB/RB. i think he has enough pace to play decent RB.
If Hernandez continues to play the way he did in preseason, Lennon may have a hard time getting his starting job back.
If we want better defense, IMO Hernandez is the obvious choice. If we want more obvious, the reverse is true.
Questions are…
Will we put 5 in the net in the opener? I’d love to see an early goal, get a little blood in the water for the fan frenzy.
Saba, Almiron or LL, who will get that 1st goal?
Will Montreal petition MLS to add a 12th player for their inevitable 90 minute low block?
Will BG&theD get a clean sheet?
nice write up!
my nine cents:
You reminded me of Marcelo with your “I have spoken”, haha. Maybe we’ll be seeing more of him here with Almiron back?
let’s hope so! i know he has his detractors here, but i always welcome his comments and insight.