Atlanta United 2022 Preview

Previous Year Recap (A Tale of Two Teams)

Gabriel Heinze (“Gringo”)

What initially looked like a dream hire for Atlanta United quickly turned sour under Heinze as his personality and approach failed to connect with the team, leading to dismal results on the field. Fantasy managers were rarely able to start Atlanta players with confidence outside of a few defenders when they had clean sheet chances. Heinze would eventually be relived of his duties in July just 8 months after being hired.

Rob Valentino / Gonzalo Pineda

I refuse to glance over the important role Rob Valentino played in the 2021 turnaround of Atlanta United. The interim manager stepped in at a very difficult time and changed the trajectory of the season. Enter beloved Seattle Sounders assistant coach Gonzalo Pineda! While his tactics weren’t entirely dissimilar it seemed, Pineda was able to put a very talented roster in much better positions to succeed. The results started to trend upward as did fantasy managers ability to use Atlanta’s stars with confidence. Much of the conversation around Atlanta late in the fantasy season was how to narrow your selections down to the 3 player limit.

Fantasy Players to Watch

Key Departures:

Anton Walkes – To the casual observer Walkes’ departure doesn’t seem grave but to those that remember his original loan spell in 2017 and his importance to the team in 2021, the loss will be felt. The writing was on the wall when he was left unprotected heading into the expansion draft and selected by Charlotte FC. The key takeaway here is that Atlanta were willing to let one of last year’s 3 starting CBs walk leading me to believe that Pineda will favor a 4 man back line.

George Bello – Atlanta finally realized their first major transfer fruit from their academy pipeline with the transfer of Bello to Arminia Bielefeld of the Bundesliga. Bello will get a chance to push his development forward against top competition in Germany and further cement his place in the USMNT. While it seems like a big lose for the team on paper it actual opens playing time for the talented Andrew Gutman (see below) and rising 17 year old homegrown Caleb Wiley.

Ezequiel Barco – While it wasn’t the huge transfer to Europe, we all expected after Barco’s MLS record transfer in 2018 it was time for Barco to move on from his time in Atlanta. Barco lands back in Argentina with Buenos Aires giants River Plate on a loan deal with an option to buy. He never found his best form during his time in Atlanta while playing for 5 different Head Coaches but should continue to progress under Marcelo Gallardo.

Key Additions:

Osvaldo Alonso – In what I believe will go down as a great piece of business Atlanta United signed 13 year MLS veteran and free agent Osvaldo Alonso to a low risk one-year contract. Alonso should serve a similar role to veteran Jeff Larentowicz when he spent his last professional years with Atlanta United. Alonso should see plenty of minutes while Santiago Sosa and Emerson Hyndman make their way back from injury. I don’t think he will make his way into your fantasy lineup, but he should allow other midfielders the freedom to thrive!

Andrew Gutman – The front office knew George Bello was soon on his way to Europe so had a replacement lined up. Gutman was technically already on Atlanta’s books spending the 2021 season with the New York Red Bulls where fantasy managers frequently considered him for their lineups. I think Gutman will give us plenty of reason to consider him for our fantasy backline, but it will take consistent contributions to choose him over Brooks Lennon and his constant crosses.

Thiago Almada – Following the departure of Barco, Atlanta have once again broken the MLS transfer record spending $16 million to acquire Thiago Almada from Velez Sarsfield. Almada arrives as one of the most highly touted prospects in South America and will look to join Araujo, Moreno, and Martinez in what should be one of the most dangerous attacking groups in MLS. Many fantasy managers will take a wait and see approach, but I believe there will be early season opportunities to include Atlanta midfielders/forwards in your lineups.

Potential Starting XI

The preseason talk and personnel decisions lead me to believe Pineda will opt for a 4 man back line, with Santiago Sosa (when healthy) dropping between the center backs at times to allow the full backs to get forward. Call it a hybrid 4-2-3-1. There is plenty of depth on the squad with George Campbell (CB), Ronald Hernandez (RB), and Emerson Hyndman (CM) coming to top of mind. The most variation should come in the more defensive midfield with options such as Matheus Rossetto, and Franco Ibarra capable of stepping in.