From the moment they joined MLS, Atlanta United were never shy about setting the bar high.
Fresh off a multi-year contract extension announced Monday, Atlanta vice president and technical director Carlos Bocanegra said none of that has changed, even with some of the mixed fortunes they've endured since a grand entrance to the league. Atlanta burst onto the scene during their expansion season of 2017, then won MLS Cup in a dominant 2018. But after coming within one game of going back to MLS Cup in 2019, the Five Stripes haven't quite matched those early heights the past two seasons, and cycled through two head coaches in Frank de Boer and Gabriel Heinze.
This season, Atlanta made the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs after a second-half resurgence that started under interim head coach Rob Valentino and continued under new hire Gonzalo Pineda. But on a Tuesday video call following his extension, Bocanegra said his sights remain set on guiding Atlanta to achieve goals beyond merely postseason qualification.
"Anytime you're in sports, you have ups and downs," Bocanegra said. "We've had some success, we've had some failures and had some struggles. But I think this is part of it. And you know, it's been five years now. We're back in the playoffs. We still have lofty ambitions. We want to compete for championships every year.
"We're always trying to get better. We want to be the premier team on this continent. We want to be a global brand, but we're not going to forget about what's gotten us to that point here and focusing on our community, our city and continue growing this club. ... It’s difficult to each year have that goal and aspiration and we're going to come up short sometimes, but we're swinging for the fences and we're trying our darnedest to get there."
In Pineda, Bocanegra said the early returns inspire confidence that Atlanta have the right coach to accomplish those objectives.
Pineda joined the Five Stripes midseason after establishing himself as a top assistant with the Seattle Sounders, where he also wrapped up his playing career in MLS after a distinguished run in Liga MX and with Mexico's national team. Being a first-time head coach is never easy, especially in a market that carries the weight of expectations like Atlanta, though Bocanegra said he's pleased with how Pineda has handled not just the on-field side, but the behind-the-scenes aspect as well.
"What I've noticed with Gonzalo is he's a young, hungry coach that has attention to detail, but he also has an excellent touch on the personal side," Bocanegra said. "And I think that's what you see and then you hear all the comments, whether it's from the players, the staff, the media, the fan base, he gets it, he understands how it works here. He came from a fantastic club in Seattle that has a great culture, they built some really special up there. So he's seen that. We're continuing to try to build excellence here and establish ourselves."
Atlanta are chasing a postseason run this year, but Bocanegra simultaneously feels there's a foundation to vault back into MLS' elite tier in 2022. Bocanegra doesn't expect to make wholesale changes this offseason, but rather find complementary additions that can turn a solid roster into a great one.
"We're really happy with this group," he said. "We had a really solid second half of the season. I think we showed what we can produce out there on the field. We've got a great group, obviously, we're able to secure Rob, as you guys saw, who did a fantastic job helping us correct the course so to speak towards the second half of the season. He's been an excellent person, culture fit, everything for us.
"Although those things are pointing in the right direction, what I would say is we'll probably look to add a veteran or two to the roster. But everything else, I'd like to save that until the offseason. Gonzalo and I have had light conversations about that. We have ideas in mind how we want to move forward, but we're really happy with the group now and we want to focus our attention on the players."
