Justin Meram said he wanted to make an impact for Atlanta United when he was traded to the reigning MLS champions in May.
Manager Frank de Boer agreed, adding that it was time to show it because he’s seen glimpses of greatness in training.
On Saturday, Meram did exactly that.
Meram fell one goal shy of a hat trick, scoring in the 35th and 83rd minutes to lead Atlanta United to a 2-1 victory against Montreal. They were his first league goals and reinforced why the Five Stripes acquired him.
At the 35th minute, Meram received the ball from midfielder Pity Martinez. He then took misdirection steps, faking out Montreal midfielder Mathieu Choiniere to get slightly in front of him. Less than three seconds later, from about 25 yards out, his right foot launched the ball with a high-arcing curl. Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush made a desperate, airborne effort to stop it. But he was already too late. The ball sailed over his outstretched hands, hitting the upper-right corner of the net.
With a grin on his face, Meram jogged to the goal and stretched out his arms in celebration similar to the now-viral Megan Rapinoe pose after she scored her first of two goals against France for the U.S. Women’s national team in the World Cup. His teammates later climbed on his back, congratulating him.
It was a much different celebration than when he scored his first goal for Orlando City last year. After that goal, he ran to the supporters in Orlando’s end and put his fingers in his ears.
Saturday’s celebration was one of embrace. The one in Orlando was one of admonishment.
Forty-eight minutes later, he scored again, this time at point-blank range off assists from Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and Brek Shea. Off a corner kick, Meram cleaned up the scrums of a failed header and a shot, blasting the ball to the top-left corner of the net. He ran away with emotion, cuffing his hands over his ears and yelling as his teammates chased after him again.
“For me it’s just simple to take advantage of this opportunity and help the team anywhere possible,” Meram said. “I was fortunate that a put a couple away.
“This was a joy for this city, and for these fans to really bring me in as one of the guys, that means so much as a player.”
Atlanta paid Columbus $100,000 in General Allocation Money and sent the Crew a second-round draft pick for Meram. Both he and coach Frank de Boer hoped the acquisition would spark the 30-year-old’s career after a bit of a backslide in recent years.
Drafted by Columbus in 2011, Meram established himself as an elite MLS player, scoring 32 goals and adding 29 assists from 2014-17. Eight goals came in 2014 alone. He requested a trade from the Crew to Orlando before the 2018 season, but it turned out to not be a good fit for either him or the Lions.
In 17 games and over 1,200 minutes played for Orlando City, he scored only one goal. Orlando traded him to Columbus again in August 2018, where he appeared in nine games, but had only one goal to show for it last season. Before the Atlanta trade, he played nine games for Columbus and hadn’t scored.
“It’s always tough when you get traded in the middle of the season,” Meram said. “But these guys in the locker room have really brought me in, and I really love coming every day to work. When you enjoy it, when the locker room is great, it just fuels you on a different level.”
Prior to Saturday, Meram appeared in four games, starting in one of them. De Boer said he felt confident in him, so he plugged him in the starting lineup again. That confidence showed, and he said he was pleased with Meram’s performance.
“He was really determined to show himself to the public and to the fans,” de Boer said. “He wants to be important. He said he wants to make an impact, so I said, ‘Show it,’ and he showed it. It’s great for the team, it’s great for me, it’s great for the fans.”
His teammates reciprocated the feeling. His goals displayed the scoring power Meram brings to the team, goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. With three games in the span of 11 days, Guzan said everyone on the team needs to fill a role. Meram’s awakening is the example they must use going forward, he said.
“When you’re a top team, you need depth,” Guzan said. “You need guys to be able to step on the field and contribute. With this stretch of games, it’s going to be important that we use that depth to make sure that we keep pace and continue to pick up points.”
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