Many would think that a 33-year-old veteran like Michael Parkhurst, with more than 300 appearances in MLS and abroad, wouldn’t relish making the move to an expansion side, where chances for success in the first season are slim. On the contrary, he is not only excited to be part of Atlanta United FC for their inaugural MLS season in 2017, he also believes his new club can make a big splash right away.
“Atlanta’s doing things right,” Parkhurst told MLSsoccer.com. “They brought in a world-class staff to help us on the field and they’re definitely putting those pieces there for us to be successful. Now it’s up to us.”
The future was uncertain for the defender towards the end of the 2016 season. Plying his trade at Columbus Crew SC, the former US international was pondering his next move, and then Atlanta technical director Carlos Bocanegra called him to gauge his interest in joining the expansion side.
“I had a say in it,” said Parkhurst about the trade that brought him to the club in December. “He was definitely interested after seeing the way the expansion club was handling their business in such a short period of time. I think everyone around the league has taken notice, myself included.”
Parkhurst had been contact with other front offices as the 2016 season wound down, but teams were taking their time making decisions. Not Atlanta, though.
“Atlanta was up front and willing to do something and get the ball rolling,” he recalled. “And at that point, I said ‘I don’t need to look anywhere else, let’s make this work.’”
Parkhust started preseason training last month with his new club and it has been a bit different than his previous experiences in MLS. Everything is new at Atlanta United, unlike the times when he joined clubs with established track records and rosters.
“In preseason usually you have to acclimate a handful of guys to the team and get them up to speed on how things run,” he said. “Here, there are 25 or so of us who are completely new to each other, new to the city, new to the team.”
Rather than see the unfamiliarity as a disadvantage, Parkhurst sees it as an opportunity for everyone at Atlanta to have an impact on the team’s identity and values, both on and off the field. Still, he’s not under any illusions that launching an expansion side will be easy, especially considering the amount of attention the team has attracted thanks to high-profile player signings, the hiring of world-class coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, and the news that the team has sold over 27,000 season tickets.
“We want that added pressure,” said Parkhurst. “We want to go out there and see if we can hang with everybody else in the league and really make a point.”
