Rob Valentino will face a lot of pressure when he and Atlanta United convene Friday to begin prepping for the rest of their season.
Valentino was named interim manager following the firing of Gonzalo Pineda on Monday.
Atlanta United has one win in its past 11 MLS matches and is three points below the playoff line. Its season will resume when it hosts Houston on June 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
How much pressure can an interim feel?
Consider these two things said by President Garth Lagerwey on Monday:
First, if Valentino’s fresh voice results in the team producing what was expected at the beginning of the season, he will be considered to become the team’s full-time manager.
Second, if he doesn’t, the whole soccer side of Atlanta United’s operations may be revamped. That’s a lot of jobs on the line.
“If you believe we have a good team, then with a new voice and a new start, that team should start accruing points at a higher level,” Lagerwey said. “And again, if it doesn’t, then we need to spend more time really evaluating what are the root causes of that? Then maybe we haven’t been as successful as we had hoped over the last year, and then we have to maybe make deeper changes.”
Here are things that Valentino must solve:
1. Who will be the striker? Giorgos Giakoumakis is the team’s striker ... for now. There are reports that Cruz Azul in Mexico is interested in signing the Greek player. Lagerwey said Monday some of the facts in those reports aren’t accurate but confirmed there have been discussions. Giakoumakis refused to speak to journalists, thereby muddying the waters, following Sunday’s loss to Charlotte.
Giakoumakis leads the team with five goals, but is scoreless in his past seven appearances. He also has been injury prone this season, with only 11 appearances in 16 matches.
If Giakoumakis is sold, the other strikers are Jamal Thiare and Daniel Rios. Thiare has four goals, but three came in one appearance, meaning he has one in his remaining nine. Rios is on loan. He has one goal in seven appearances.
Atlanta United could sign another striker to replace Giakoumakis, but the process of signing, getting it approved, getting that player to the club, getting him acclimated and then into the lineup will take weeks that the team doesn’t have.
Whoever starts among the three on the roster, Valentino has to find a way to connect with them to give them more confidence and possibly increase their production.
2. Settle on a goalkeeper. Josh Cohen started the past two matches. He started at Miami because Brad Guzan couldn’t, the result of a red card sustained against LAFC.
Guzan could have started against Charlotte, but Pineda went with Cohen. Cohen shouldn’t be faulted for any of Charlotte’s three goals. Conversely, Guzan was having a good season. He also was serving as team captain.
Teams can feel unsettled, and Atlanta United isn’t the strongest team mentally, when managers can’t settle on a starter. Atlanta United needs all the confidence it can get. Valentino must pick a goalkeeper, explain that decision to the two players and the team, and then not waver.
3. Settle on a formation. Pineda mostly used a 4-3-3 but switched to a 5-4-1 in the past two games.
When Valentino previously was the interim, between Gabriel Heinze’s firing and Pineda’s hiring in the summer of 2021, he eventually settled on a 5-3-2/5-4-1.
Among the issues that Valentino faces is the roster is going to be in flux the next two months.
Winger Saba Lobjanidze and midfielder Bartosz Slisz are competing for their nations in the Euros. The Euros are scheduled to be played June 14-July 14 in Germany.
Centerback Luis Abram also will be gone because he will be competing for Peru in Copa America. The Copa America is scheduled to begin June 20, with Argentina hosting Canada at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The tournament championship is scheduled to be played July 14 in Miami.
Thiago Almada and Caleb Wiley will then be gone because they will be competing for Argentina and the U.S. in the Olympics. The men’s soccer schedule for the Paris Games are scheduled to start July 24, and the gold medal match is scheduled to be played Aug. 9.
There will be a lot of moving parts. It will be easiest for Valentino to decide on a formation in which he can plug-and-play as players come back or leave.
The 5-4-1 worked well for Atlanta United in the past two matches. It totaled five goals. It surrendered four, but one of those was an own goal.
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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1
March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0
March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0
March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0
April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1
April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2
April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1
April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1
May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1
May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup
May 11 D.C. United 3, Atlanta United 2
May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0
May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1
May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in U.S. Open Cup
May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0
May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1
June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2
June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.
June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.
June 29 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.
July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
July 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
July 26 vs. D.C. United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 4 vs. Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.
Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.
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