Training Ground Notebook: Two teams in process, one game with real urgency

Atlanta United and Columbus both enter Saturday under new managers, new ideas, and incomplete results. That makes this matchup less about reputation and more about which team can make its progress look more convincing now.

Atlanta United came out of Thursday’s training ground sounding like a team that believes its progress is real, even if the standings have not caught up to it yet.

That was the consistent message from Tata Martino, Tristan Muyumba, and Chris Henderson. None of them tried to soften the disappointment of the results so far. None of them acted like the job is close to finished. But all three described a group that is learning a new way of playing, growing into it, and still expecting that growth to show up more clearly in the table soon.

That is what makes Saturday against Columbus so interesting.

Atlanta United ahead of Thursday's training session in Marietta.

Not because Atlanta is measuring itself against some fully formed machine. Not because the opponent arrives in complete control of its identity. This Columbus team is also under a new manager, also installing new ideas, and also still looking for its first win. That gives the match a different feel. It is not just a tactical challenge. It is a collision between two teams trying to make their process look real.

A team that believes it is growing

Martino said he has a lot of expectations for this group because he can clearly see an evolution in its play from the first match to the fifth. He was honest that the results have been poor and that Atlanta could have more points than it does now, but the bigger takeaway from his comments was that the progress inside the performances still gives him optimism.

“I have a lot of expectations because I can clearly see an evolution in the team’s play from the first match to the fifth match.”

Muyumba described the same tension from a player’s perspective. He said the team is improving, even if not as quickly as it wants, and pointed out that some of the early performances were better than the final outcomes suggested. That is an important distinction in this moment because it helps explain why the tone inside the building does not sound defeated. Atlanta does not look at these five matches and see a team with no direction. It sees one that has not yet turned its direction into enough points.

Henderson reinforced that from the front office side. He said these first five games have given Tata a real chance to evaluate the roster, understand player tendencies, and see how the complementary pieces fit the coach’s very clear vision of how the team should play. He added that what he has seen in training over the last three weeks is going in a really good direction. Now, he said, it has to translate into points.

That is probably the clearest summary of where Atlanta sits. The project does not feel lost. It feels incomplete.

More structure, more stability

The work during the break was described less as a reset and more as a sharpening of the team’s overall framework.

Martino said the staff did not focus on one isolated trait. Instead, the emphasis was on the team’s overall play: building from the back, recovering the ball, and understanding the different heights and spaces where Atlanta wants to win possession. Muyumba’s description matched that. He said the group spent time on fitness, buildup, and pressing, while also using the stretch to keep the rhythm high and bring younger players into the environment.

That matters because it shows how Atlanta sees itself right now. This is not a club talking like it needs to rip everything up. It is talking like it needs more repetitions, more precision, and a cleaner translation of the work from the training pitch into matches.

One of the clearest signs of that progress has been defensive improvement, even if it has been overshadowed by the attacking conversation. Muyumba said the team has been more solid and stronger defensively over the last couple of games, and he connected that to preseason work on fitness, shape, chemistry, communication, aggressiveness, and trust. He also noted that some players who joined during last season are now benefiting from a full preseason and more time training together, which has helped the group look more connected.

That should not be overlooked. Before Atlanta becomes the kind of team it wants to be with the ball, it has to become a stable team without it. The early signs suggest that part of the build is starting to take shape.

The next step is clarity in the final third

If Atlanta believes the structure is improving, the next challenge is much more specific: solving games better around the penalty box.

Martino gave the most revealing comments of the day when he broke down what happened against D.C. United’s low block. He said he is actually more comfortable when opponents drop off than when they press, because the problem becomes more defined. In those situations, he said, what makes the difference is deception, dribbling, combination play, and short, surprising movement. He believes Atlanta has players who can do that.

The issue, in his view, was not just that D.C. defended deep. It was that Atlanta did not solve those moments with enough clarity.

That is where his diagnosis became especially useful. Martino said the team had two problems. One was missing the final pass. The other, and perhaps bigger one, was choosing the wrong pass. Too often, he felt Atlanta did not identify where the real opening was. The best play was on one side, but the ball went somewhere else. The space to hurt the opponent existed, but the team did not read it quickly enough.

“What surprised me negatively was that in the training sessions before the game I had seen a lot of sharpness in solving situations in tight spaces, and we did not show that in the match.”

That is a much sharper explanation than simply saying Atlanta needs to create more. It suggests the next step is not some dramatic tactical reinvention. It is better recognition, better decision-making, and better execution in the moments that decide matches.

Henderson’s comments lined up closely with that view. He said Atlanta needs to figure out the best way to create chances consistently and find solutions to break teams down around the penalty box. His phrase was a good one: be more precise in both boxes. That feels like the cleanest summary of what Atlanta is chasing right now. The defensive base is improving. The next jump is turning that platform into more decisive attacking actions.

Muyumba added another layer, saying the group had discussed ways to handle teams that sit deep, including playing wider, delivering more crosses, and bringing more players into the box. That fits with Martino’s broader point. Atlanta is not short on possible routes. The challenge is reading the game quickly enough to choose the right one.

Columbus brings urgency, but also a very clear style

Columbus comes to Atlanta without a win, but the record alone does not tell the story. The Crew have still controlled large stretches of possession, territory, and field tilt through five matches. The problem has not been getting the game where they want it. The problem has been turning that control into enough clean final actions and enough defensive stability to actually win.

That makes them a very specific kind of opponent for Atlanta. This is not a team that wants to sit deep and wait for transitions. Columbus wants long spells with the ball, wide circulation, repeated crosses, and second phases around the box. Wessam Abou Ali remains the clearest finisher, Diego Rossi is still the most proven roaming threat, and the wide service from players like Max Arfsten and Andrés Herrera is central to how the Crew try to tilt the field.

But this is also a team in process. The broad identity from the previous era is still visible, yet the 2026 version has not looked fully connected. Columbus still wants to dominate territory, but too often the control has looked more complete in the middle third than in the box. The best description might be that its control has outpaced its efficiency.

That is what makes the matchup so interesting. Atlanta is not dealing with a team in tactical panic. It is dealing with one that still believes in the direction of the work, even while the results have not arrived. Columbus sounds a lot like Atlanta in that respect: new manager, new ideas, visible signs of progress, and a growing need for the table to catch up.

Making Columbus work for its control

From Atlanta’s perspective, the challenge is not simply surviving possession.

The real issue is whether it can make Columbus’ control feel sterile rather than dangerous.

If the Crew settle into comfortable field position, recycle the ball wide, and keep serving crosses and second balls into the area, they can tilt the match for long stretches even if they are not fully sharp yet. Atlanta has to interrupt that rhythm. It has to protect the box well enough to blunt the first service, the second service, and the loose phases that follow. It also has to be smart about when to step into Columbus’ circulation and when to stay compact enough not to open up the next pass.

That is where this game feels like a useful measuring stick for Atlanta’s defensive improvement. If the team really is becoming more solid, more connected, and more reliable, this is the kind of opponent against which it has to show it.

And if Atlanta can do that, the early-season profile of Columbus suggests the Crew can be frustrated. They have had enough of the ball in plenty of matches already. They just have not always turned that into enough danger where it matters most.

Patience and urgency can exist together

Henderson offered the best big-picture framing for where Atlanta sits in all of this.

He said there is pressure because everyone wants to win, but there is also a process and a real belief in the group being assembled. He talked about the balance between patience and urgency in MLS, especially in a season shaped by the World Cup break, and noted that the league calendar still leaves a long runway after summer for teams that improve at the right time.

That context matters, but it should not be mistaken for an excuse. His point was not that Atlanta can drift. His point was that the project has to be judged over the full season, not only one week at a time.

That idea connects neatly with what Martino and Muyumba said on the training ground. Atlanta believes the work is taking hold. The defending is improving. The structure is clearer. The coach sees evolution. The players feel it too.

Now comes the harder part.

Against Columbus, Atlanta has a chance to show that progress in a match where the opponent is carrying its own urgency. New manager. New ideas. No first win yet. A team trying to impose itself before frustration grows louder. Atlanta is living in similar territory, which makes this less about reputation and more about timing.

Who can make the process look more convincing now?

That is the real question on Saturday.