When Atlanta United hired Frank de Boer to succeed Gerardo "Tata" Martino as manager after their title-winning season in 2018, there was more than just a temptation to think that the Five Stripes machine would keep chugging along. Atlanta's talent pool remained largely intact -- aside from the record sale of Miguel Almiron to Newcastle United -- while the team also added Gonzalo "Pity" Martinez, the reigning South American Player of the Year.
In De Boer, Atlanta brought in an experienced manager committed to mining the team's youth pipeline and someone who was also fluent in Spanish, to better communicate with the team's sizable South American contingent.