After feeling anxiety while in Argentina waiting on his visa so that he could join Atlanta United, Thiago Almada said he got goosebumps when he took the field for the first time in the second half of Sunday’s win against Charlotte.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I felt like I was being filled with joy, and I want to return that joy to the fans.”
His debut in MLS was an important step – and Almada used the phrase “step by step” many times Tuesday in his first interview at the training ground – in a journey to the club that started more than a year ago. In addition to the time it took to negotiate, Atlanta United waited on a legal process that included Almada to end before it completed the transfer.
Once that was done, Almada joined the club in Mexico for about a week during the preseason before he had to go back to Argentina to secure his work visa. That took a month. He returned last week, had one training session with the club and took the field in the 56th minute of Sunday’s 2-1 win against Charlotte at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I wanted to be here,” he said. “I wanted to get to know everybody. It worked out well in the end. I’m here. I’m ready to fight for everything that we have to fight for.”
Almada finished with 18 touches in his 34 minutes. He was on the field for both of Atlanta United’s goals but didn’t contribute to either. He said it was a good introduction to the pace and level of the team and the league. He said that manager Gonzalo Pineda gave him confidence and reminded him that this is a process. Almada said he felt confident and had fun.
Because Almada and his teammates have had so little time to train together, Pineda said he doesn’t yet know if Almada’s best position is as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. He played both, interchanging with Marcelino Moreno, against Charlotte. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder at Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, where he scored 24 goals with 10 assists in 100 appearances.
“I feel OK about that,” Almada said. “I trust him a lot. I know that he understands my game, and he is going to find the best fit for me. I felt good playing on the left.”
Almada said he is fine with the integration into the team being a process, rather than him being penciled in as an automatic starter from Day 1. The team will host Montreal on Saturday, which will be Almada’s next opportunity to play.
“It’s normal,” he said. “I’m getting here. I need to adapt step by step. I had the same process in Velez, so I’m confident that this is the right way to do it.”
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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule
Feb. 27 Atlanta United 3, Sporting KC 1
March 5 Colorado 3, Atlanta United 0
March 13 Atlanta United 2, Charlotte 1
March 19 vs. Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 2 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 10 at Charlotte, 1:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN Deportes
April 16 vs. Cincinnati, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 24 at Miami, 1 p.m., ESPN
April 30 at Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 7 vs. Chicago, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 15 vs. New England, 2 p.m., ESPN
May 21 at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. FOX
May 28 vs. Columbus Crew, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 19 vs. Miami, 4 p.m., ESPN2
June 25 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 30 at New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 3 at NYCFC, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 9 vs. Austin, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 13 vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 17 vs. Orlando, 3 p.m., ABC
July 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 9:30 p.m., FS1
July 30 at Chicago, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 6 vs. Seattle, 3 p.m., ABC
Aug. 13 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 17 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 21 at Columbus, 6 p.m., FS1
Aug. 28 vs. D.C. United, 4 p.m., UNIV
Aug. 31 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Portland, 5:30 p.m., FOX
Sept. 10 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 14 at Orlando, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 17 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 1 at New England, 1 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 9 vs. NYCFC, TBD, BSSO/BSSE
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