Training Ground Notebook: Atlanta United Searching for Control
- Jason Longshore
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
Build-up, responsibility, and the challenge ahead vs Real Salt Lake
Two matches.
Zero goals.
Two road losses to start the season.
For Atlanta United, the early results have raised obvious questions.
But listening to Tata Martino and Enea Mihaj today at the training ground, the explanation inside the locker room doesn’t begin with finishing or even defending.
It begins with the way the team builds the game.
Build-Up Play Is the Core Issue
Martino was direct when asked about Atlanta’s scoreless start.
“We don’t have a problem of goals because we have zero goals. We have a problem of playing better. We are not playing well.”
In his view, the issue is not the final action in the attack. It is the earlier phases of possession and how Atlanta builds the game.
Possession alone does not guarantee control of a match. Teams need structure with the ball and the ability to accelerate the tempo when opportunities appear.
When Atlanta has found that balance in small stretches this season, the team has looked dangerous. It appeared at times against Cincinnati and again in the final stages of the match in San Jose.
The problem has been what happens when buildup stalls.
When the ball moves too slowly or predictably, opponents have time to organize defensively. Passing lanes disappear and the game becomes more difficult to progress through midfield.
Mihaj described the San Jose match from the defensive side in similar terms.
“The biggest problem in the last game was not how we defend, but how we keep the ball.”
When possession breaks down too easily, defenders are forced into repeated defensive situations and the team spends long stretches reacting instead of controlling the match.
The first half in San Jose became the clearest example of that dynamic.
The System Is Staying the Same
Even with the early struggles, Martino made one philosophical point unmistakably clear.
The style of play is not changing.
“I have a way of playing. That way of playing requires time.”
He went even further.
“I am not going to choose another way to play.”
Atlanta’s approach remains rooted in controlled buildup and possession. The coaching staff believes the model works. The details within it must improve.
Better buildup does more than help the team move forward and create chances. It also strengthens the team defensively.
When Atlanta progresses the ball together, the lines stay connected. Midfielders remain close enough to support attacks and close enough to react when possession is lost. Defenders are not left dealing with transition moments in isolation.
That connection between buildup and defending is central to the philosophy Martino has followed throughout his career.
When the ball moves well, the team stays compact and organized. When buildup breaks down, the distances between players grow and the game becomes harder to control.
For Atlanta United right now, improving those early phases of possession is not only about attacking more effectively.
It is about stabilizing the entire match.
Players Accept the Responsibility
While Martino emphasized structure, Mihaj spoke candidly about accountability inside the squad.
“The players need to take their responsibility.”
For the defender, improvement starts at the individual level before it shows up collectively. Each player has to evaluate his own performance and raise his standard if the team is going to progress.
“Each player has to look at himself. What he is doing good, what he is not doing good.”
Mihaj also acknowledged something that has lingered around the group since last year.
“Last season was very bad for us. Passing a season like that is not easy to forget in one day.”
He was careful to frame that as context rather than an excuse. The players understand the responsibility for improving the team’s performances rests with them.
In Mihaj’s view, the difference this year is belief.
During parts of last season, doubt began to creep into the group.
“Last season sometimes I felt like it was not going to work.”
That feeling has not returned this year, even with two difficult road results to start the season.
“This season I never felt that even one minute.”
For Atlanta United, the challenge now is turning that belief into performances that reflect it.
The players see the progress that is needed. The next step is showing it on the field.
The Real Salt Lake Threat
Saturday’s opponent presents a very specific challenge.
Real Salt Lake is among the most direct teams in the league and dangerous when attacking in transition.
Martino’s answer about defending those moments did not begin with defensive tactics.
It began with possession.
“Everything comes down to managing the ball better.”
That response connects directly to the issues Atlanta has been working to improve this week.
If the buildup is cleaner and the team keeps the ball in better areas of the field, the number of transition opportunities for Real Salt Lake decreases dramatically.
Mihaj emphasized the same idea from a defensive perspective.
Spacing between players, quick reactions after turnovers, and occasionally committing a tactical foul to stop a break are all part of managing those moments.
But the simplest solution is preventing them in the first place.
Keep the ball.
The Opportunity of the Home Opener
Atlanta now returns home for the first time this season.
For Mihaj, the importance of the moment extends beyond tactics.
“We are really excited about this. The fans are excited to see us, and we want to make them happy with the result and with the way of playing.”
Saturday also begins a stretch of four straight matches at home, a run that Mihaj and his teammates see as an opportunity to rebuild momentum after the difficult start on the road.
He also knows what supporters respond to most.
“When the crowd sees players fight for every ball and sacrifice for the team, they come next to you.”
In those moments, he said, the supporters become “the top player.”
For a team still searching for its rhythm early in the season, the home opener offers both a test and an opportunity.
Inside the locker room, the belief is that the structure is there.
Now Atlanta United has the chance to show it on the field.