Training Ground Notebook: What Atlanta United Is Sorting Out Ahead of Charlotte

Atlanta United training on Tuesday ahead of the trip to Charlotte. (photo: SDH Network)

Two different seats, two different vantage points on the same week. Tata Martino took questions before Wednesday's match against Charlotte. Tristan Muyumba took his own set a few minutes later. Between the two, a picture of where this team stands right now starts to come into focus.

Cooper Sánchez Trades the U19s for the Training Ground

Jay Fortune's early exit against Nashville left more than just a hole in the lineup. It also changed Cooper Sánchez's schedule.

With no midfield signing yet in place and Fortune sidelined for 3-4 weeks with a hamstring injury, the club reached out directly to the staff around the US under-19 team, which is preparing for Concacaf competition, and asked to keep Sánchez in Atlanta rather than release him for national team duty. Martino said he was personally involved in that conversation.

"We haven't signed players yet in midfield, and also we've lost a player, so there's been direct contact from the club, and also personal contact from me, with people from his technical staff," Martino said. "We've explained this situation to him, and for the next two matches, he'll stay with us."

It is a small transaction on paper. It also tells you something about where the depth chart actually stands in the middle of the field right now.

Junior Alonso, Still Finding His Voice

Ask Tristan Muyumba about the new center back and the first word out of his mouth is leadership.

"I think he will bring a lot of leadership, and also calmness into the defense," Muyumba said of Junior Alonso. In the locker room, he described someone still being read by his new teammates. "He's a bit quiet. We're still learning about him, but he's a good guy. He speaks a little bit of French because he played a couple of years in France."

Martino sees a second use for him beyond central defense. Asked whether Alonso could fill in at left back, the answer was direct. "He came in to play as a center back, but it's a totally valid alternative that in some matches we might have to use him at left back." Alonso played at left back during the World Cup with Paraguay out of necessity.

A quiet locker room presence with a passport that includes a French detour, and a positional insurance policy on the left side. Worth tracking both threads as the appearances add up.

Tata's Read on Nashville: Control Without a Payoff

Martino's account of the Nashville match was consistent whether he was asked about the performance in general or the attack specifically: the control was there, the finishing product was not.

"I think for a team that controlled a large part of the match, we should have translated that into more offensive chances," he said. "I think there's a deficit there, beyond the fact that the clearest chances of the match were ours."

On the goal conceded, he did not hedge. "I think positionally we made a mistake, and that's how they scored the goal." He still framed the overall 90 minutes as one of the team's more complete performances of the season, defensively. "The opponent didn't have a chance to create a goalscoring situation. Even the goal came off a cross, it wasn't a clear one on one play."

He also put the result in context of the opponent. Nashville sat atop the table entering the match, which colored how Martino weighed the afternoon. "I put it in a very positive light, because we're talking about the team that's in first place."

The Alexey Equation

I followed up by asking how Martino decides where to use Alexey Miranchuk. His versatility allows him to line up as a forward, a 10, a winger, or a deeper central midfielder. Tata discussed how the opponent factors into the decision-making. He reached for Nashville as his working example.

Miranchuk in training on Tuesday morning in Marietta before the trip to Charlotte. (photo: SDH Network)

He expected the two center backs who finished the match to start, that's why Miranchuk lined up as a forward Friday night. "They're two center backs who like to step up and press a lot, they track the forwards' drop movements without any problem, and that creates space behind them, which is good to take advantage of with whoever plays as the winger, whether it's Miguel on one side, or the other day it was Luke on the other side," Martino said. "I give this as an example. There are other examples where we've observed we need more depth through the middle, depending on the opponent's characteristics, which I'm not going to talk about, because I'd be talking about specific players. But it's based on those characteristics that we make our adjustments."

He also pointed to a simpler explanation for how often that positioning shifts. "Probably, if we had a settled lineup, maybe I wouldn't make so many changes."

Tristan Muyumba on Why the Midfield Is Vital

Muyumba was asked directly how central the midfield is to what Martino wants from this team, and he did not undersell his own position group.

"It's kind of the key, because as a midfielder you can see almost everything," he said. "You are the heart of the team, the balance. You have to help your defenders. You have to help your attackers, and help the team progress."

He connected that role to the rotation the group has been building between the six and the eight, with himself, Cooper Sánchez, Jay Fortune, and Will Reilly all capable of sliding between the two spots, or dropping into a double pivot when the game calls for it. "The most important thing is to stay organized and don't be disorganized," he said.

There was also an admission that this understanding is still developing in real time. "Now we start to understand a little bit more about what Tata wanted about us, which is good now," Muyumba said. Coming off the World Cup break, the midfield is still figuring out its coach as much as its opponents.

Atlanta United is in Charlotte on Wednesday night with pregame coverage starting at 7pm on 92.9 The Game and kickoff coming up after 8pm.