Why Atlanta United dismissed Gonzalo Pineda & what's next | MLSSoccer.com

Now that responsibility falls on Valentino, who previously took over Atlanta on an interim basis in 2021 after the dismissal of Pineda’s predecessor, Gabriel Heinze. Valentino put together a 4W-2L-2D record during his brief stint in charge.

This time around, Valentino will likely be given more time to make an impact and potentially lock down the coaching job permanently. Lagerwey, the former Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC executive, referenced then-interim manager Brian Schmetzer’s MLS Cup-winning run with the Rave Green in 2016 to explain Atlanta’s lack of urgency in finding a permanent replacement.

“I’ve had some success in Seattle by supporting an interim coach,” Lagerwey said. “We do want to give Rob a chance to be successful here.”

In the event Valentino doesn’t work out, the MLS Cup 2018 champions are taking all the necessary steps to find the right person to take the reins of one of the league’s highest-profile clubs.

“With this incredible infrastructure, it’s going to be easy to recruit. We will be inundated with candidates for this job,” Lagerwey said. “… We’ll use some data, some analytics and some interviews to really sift through what will be an avalanche of candidates, I have no doubt.”

Lagerwey also acknowledged recent reports of negotiations between the club and Liga MX powerhouse Cruz Azul for Giakoumakis. The 2023 MLS Newcomer of the Year occupies one of Atlanta’s three Designated Player slots, along with Almada and Gregersen.

“Long-term we’re going to be committed to players who are committed to us,” Lagerwey said. “We have had conversations with Cruz Azul, I’m happy to confirm that. But there is nothing that’s happened at this point… Obviously it’s been out in the public, the possible transfer of Giorgos. The possible move of Thiago Almada, we’ve talked about that for months.”

As things currently stand, however, fans shouldn’t expect any major squad overhauls any time soon.

“If you’re looking for big changes, big evolutions in the roster, those are purely dependent on what happens in terms of sales of DPs in particular,” Lagerwey said. “And again our narrative, our belief is that after the last two transfer windows, we have a number of talented players on that roster and the potential of the roster as a whole is better than the results that we’ve seen.”