Atlanta United likes first full training days under Valentino

Atlanta United’s players have experienced their first dose of training for consecutive days under interim manager Rob Valentino.

So far, they like what he is doing ahead of Friday’s MLS game at Orlando.

“It’s more of a traditional preparation. It’s what I’m used to from my previous teams in the league. It’s a little more familiar for me and the American guys,” goalkeeper Alec Kann said. “Not to say one is better than other, but it’s more in our comfort zone.”

Valentino didn’t get much of a chance to work with the team in training last week. He was named interim manager July 18, the same day that previous manager Gabriel Heinze was fired. The team played three days later on a Wednesday at Cincinnati, which it drew 1-1, and then again Saturday against Columbus, which it lost 1-0 to stretch its winless streak to 10 games.

The team took Sunday off and then began training again Monday.

Valentino said he was able to take a breath Sunday after a long week, but then his mind started to race when thinking about everything that needed to be done this week. He thanked the assistants, support staff and players for helping him.

Valentino said Wednesday that his focus the past three days has been for the players to continue to take risks on the field, keep pushing forward and to have positive reactions on and off the field. The team has scored only 14 goals in 15 games and is eight points below the playoff line.

Valentino said that working on taking more risks involves pushing the players to make that stressful pass that splits lines, or to make that run to try to reach a ball that they may not get to, but if they do, it increases the chances of scoring.

If they don’t succeed in completing the pass or reaching the ball, that’s OK. Just keep trying because that’s where staying positive helps.

“How are you reacting?” he said. “How are we building each other up every single day?”

Playing risky soccer isn’t something that Valentino has always thought about. But he said he’s been influenced by past Atlanta United managers and the reactions of the team’s supporters when those attempts work.

“You want to give people more of that feeling,” he said. “It’s risky because it might cost you. If you take more risks going the attacking way, it can be something that ultimately goes and gets you results.”

Tactically, midfielder Amar Sejdic said one difference between the two staffs is that Valentino prefers a zonal marking system compared with Heinze’s preference to man-mark. The team has been continuing to use Heinze’s drill.

In terms of preparation for opponents, Kann said that Valentino has continued to use elements borrowed from Heinze.

“We were well-drilled under him,” he said. “It would be silly to chuck that out the window now that he’s no longer with (the team).”

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