MARIETTA, Ga. — Four games into the 2019 Major League Soccer season, Atlanta United, the defending MLS Cup champion, remains without a victory. This was unexpected.
Atlanta has struggled for numerous reasons: A congested schedule to start the year, a new manager implementing new tactics and a new arrival replacing a departed star, to name a few. A winless month to open the campaign could cause a team accustomed to success to show signs of cracking. New York City FC, which sits just ahead of Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings with four points — a loss and four draws — through five games, is getting chippy at training, according to a report from the Athletic.
That sort of mood is not descending upon the Children’s Healthcare Training Ground.
“No, we’re all calm,” midfielder Ezequiel Barco said Tuesday. “Obviously we all want to win, so we’re working hard in training for that. … [A]ll we can do is work as hard as we can during the week to try and do everything that [the coaches] are asking us.”
Barco said he and his teammates are eager for a win that would boost confidence and “show what Atlanta is.” Claiming their first three points of the season comes down to igniting an attack that was the talk of MLS the last two years, but that has not gotten off the ground this year. Atlanta has two goals in 360 minutes. The Five Stripes have failed to score twice, in the first league game of the year at D.C. United and in their most recent game, March 30 at the Columbus Crew.
Throughout the season, manager Frank de Boer has said his team must do more to create quality chances. At times, players have looked stagnate, watching the ball as it is passed around without making the necessary runs to find space in dangerous positions.
Understanding de Boer’s tactics isn’t the issue, according to Barco. It’s simply a matter of executing on game day.
“During the week, we’re working on [de Boer’s tactics] the best way that we can,” Barco told reporters. “We just have to apply it on the weekend. So it’s something that we’ve been training a lot during the week, and we feel good, but it’s all about applying it during the game.”
Pogba ready to contribute
Another new face in Atlanta is Florentin Pogba, who signed in February to join the center back rotation. So far, paperwork issues and a hamstring injury have kept Pogba out of action for much of the campaign — he has played just 14 minutes in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals second leg against Monterrey.
Pogba went 45 minutes for Atlanta United 2 on Saturday, and he says he’s feeling good. He is anxious to make his first league appearance.
“I can’t wait to play my first game in MLS,” Pogba said Tuesday. “I’m very, very excited.”
Asked if he expects to play this Saturday against the Revolution, Pogba said, “I don’t know, but I want to.”
Easing Pity’s transition
Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez, signed from River Plate in January as a replacement for Miguel Almirón, has looked uncomfortable. Martínez has displayed impressive ability to beat defenders on the dribble, but he has rarely connected passes after doing so. The Argentine has routinely settled for low-percentage shots from great distances.
Martínez is back in training after missing the game at Columbus with a hamstring injury. It’s the first time since preseason all of Atlanta’s first-choice attacking players can train together under de Boer’s tutelage without the grind of consecutive two-game weeks. The team recognizes that as long as El Pity struggles, attacking success will be difficult to achieve. As someone who made a similar high-profile move from Argentina to the United States before last season, Barco is doing what he can to ease Martínez’s transition.
“All of the South American guys, we’re always talking to him,” Barco said Tuesday. “I think it’s a big adjustment coming from the Argentine league to MLS, and it takes a long time. But I think Pity has shown, through what he has done in Argentina that he’s a really good player, so we just want him to get adapted as fast as he can.”
Pogba impressed with Atlanta facilities
Pogba spent time with Celta Vigo’s youth teams in Spain, and he has played with clubs in France and Turkey. The Frenchman said Atlanta United’s training ground is second to none.
“This is the best one that I’ve been at,” Pogba said through an interpreter. “I think the structure, and how everything is very new in general [is impressive]. So for me, it’s the best one that I’ve seen.”