Exclusive Q&A: Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron

Miguel Almiron’s smile is always powerful. But on Friday, during his reintroduction as an Atlanta United player, it seemed as if his bright whites could power all of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Almiron pointed and waved to people he remembered from his previous time with the Five Stripes in 2017 and ‘18. The somewhat reticent interviewee then was, after six years playing for Newcastle in England’s Premier League, a more open subject, giving deeper answers to questions and sharing more about his life.

“I don’t think I’ve changed a lot,” he said. “I’m still the same Miguel, the same will to compete, the same will to win, but now I’m going to have to work hard just to repay all the confidence that the team and the fans have in me.”

Almiron said he and his wife had always talked about returning to Atlanta and playing for the club. When it was clear that Newcastle needed to sell him to comply with EPL financial rules, and that Atlanta United was interested in bringing him back, Almiron said there was no hesitation.

“First time, I was very happy, and also because we were starting a new project,” he said. “So we felt a great responsibility as players to be a part of that. But now here today, I think I’m more happy to be back and to be able to share these moments with my family, but at the same time also with an increased responsibility to help this team.”

The only player remaining from Almiron’s first go-round is goalkeeper Brad Guzan. It has gone through a slew of managers since Almiron played for Gerardo Martino. It hasn’t won MLS Cup since Almiron helped it do so in 2018.

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

He understands that Josef Martinez, whom he formed a defense-breaking partnership with that culminated with a very memorable goal celebration, is now on the other side of the country with San Jose. The two won’t even get to play against each other this season.

Everything has changed.

But perhaps in the most important way, Almiron hasn’t. The smile remains the same. The joy of playing football is still very much there.

“I’m a player who’s coming here to support the team, to work for the team, to try to help my teammates, so we can win,” he said. “It’s a great challenge, but working together with everyone at the club, I think we can achieve it.”

Almiron gave an exclusive interview to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity.

Q: Are you watching (the cartoon) Dragon Ball Z with your son?

A: Two days ago, I showed my son the celebration I would do with Josef. We were watching, yeah, OK,

Q: Speaking of Josef, the two of you had great chemistry on the field and off the field. How will you try to develop that with your new teammates?

A: You just achieved that day by day by working together. I think Atlanta has great players.

Q: How would you describe the type of player you are now, compared to when you were here?

A: I think I’m more mature. I think I’ve matured both and learned a lot, both as a player and as a person. I think playing in the Premier League helped me a lot. But I’m the type of person who’s always trying to improve, both as a player and a person every day.

Q: What was the number one thing you improved upon at Newcastle?

A: I think, footballistically, (Almiron coined a new word) maybe now I’ve learned when to keep the ball a little bit. I think the coach (Eddie Howe) at Newcastle helped me with my finishing, because maybe that was something that I was missing a little bit. And also to provide assists to my teammates. Because, of course, as a player, we all love to score goals, but it’s also important to try and provide those assists to teammates.

Q: Was your family excited? I mean, your son wasn’t here before but was your wife excited about coming back to Atlanta?

A: I think my wife was very happy when we found out about this possibility. We lived really good moments here in Atlanta, and now hopefully, God willing, my son will be able to experience similar moments.

Q: I know you’ve learned to speak English. Do you speak it with a Geordie (Newcastle) accent?

A: Yeah, sometimes.

Q: There’s a phrase in English, I don’t know if there’s a similar one in Spanish, that you can’t go home again. Is there a risk in you coming back to Atlanta and playing and maybe it not being the same as it was in ‘17 and ‘18?

A: I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I’m someone who’s always going to work hard. I try to keep a low profile and not garner too much of the attention, just someone who likes to keep working. So as I said, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but hopefully things will go well.

Q: What did Josef say when you told him you were coming back?

A: He just asked me if I was coming, and I told him, yeah, I’m coming back. And then we were joking about when we would get to play it together again.

Q: Was there anything you missed about Atlanta, anything specific, a restaurant or something like that?

A: I think mostly the friendships that my wife and I with, people just being able to go out to eat with our friends.

Q: What are expectations for this season?

A: Just to try to do our best, the best that we can as a team, to try to go as far as possible, to try to get to December is always the goal.

Q: When you watched MLS games when you were in England, how has the league changed in the past six years?

A: I think the league is very competitive. I think great players are coming here, and it’s making the league more competitive. Lionel Messi is here. He’s the greatest player in the world. So the fact that he’s also here, it makes it very attractive.

Q: Favorite memory from Newcastle?

A: My first goal with Newcastle, because at that time I hadn’t scored in a long time, and it was at home. It was a full stadium, so being able to score my first goal and just celebrate that feeling with the fans, and then also my goal against PSG in the Champions League, because Newcastle hadn’t been in the Champions League for 20 years, so I was able to score the first goal for the club.

For more content about Atlanta United

Follow me on Twitter/X @DougRobersonAJC

On Bluesky @dougrobersonajc.bsky.social

On Facebook at Atlanta United News Now

On Instagram at DouglasDavidRoberson

Atlanta United coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta United’s 2025 schedule

Feb. 22 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m., Apple

March 1 at Charlotte, 2 p.m., Apple, Fox

March 8 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m., Apple

March 16 vs. Miami, 7 p.m., Apple

March 22 at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m., Apple