Training Ground Notebook: High Press, High Standards, Opening Day Ahead

Jason Longshore
3 minutes ago
3 min read

Atlanta United’s preseason is over. The season is here.

And if Tuesday’s media sessions with Steven Alzate and Juan Berrocal revealed anything clearly, it’s that Tata Martino’s first camp back in MLS has been defined by two things.

Intensity and identity.

Alzate described it in one word.

Berrocal described it in a philosophy.

Now, the next step is Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon.

Steven Alzate: “Sprints” and a True No. 8 Role

Asked to sum up preseason in a single word, Alzate didn’t hesitate.

“Sprints.”

Atlanta’s work under Martino has been relentless, built around the physical demands of pressing and playing at pace.

“They ran us into the ground this preseason,” Alzate said. “Everyone’s feeling fit.”

For Alzate personally, that matters. He noted that this is the first time in several years he’s had a full preseason runway instead of arriving late and playing catch-up.

“This is probably my first preseason in a while… on a personal level, I feel good. I feel fit.”

Tactically, Alzate offered one of the clearest descriptions yet of what Martino wants from him in midfield:

An effective, two-way midfielder.

“Up and down the pitch,” he said. “Help build up from the back, but also be effective in the final third… bring goals and assists.”

Alzate also admitted the adjustment in this system: staying higher, being patient, and trusting that the ball will arrive.

“Sometimes I want to drop deep to get on the ball… but he wants me to stay high.”

That’s a key early-season storyline: Alzate’s license to attack, but within Tata’s structure.

Juan Berrocal: Intensity, Chemistry, and Being the “Protagonist”

If Alzate’s word was “sprints,” Berrocal’s word was just as direct.

“Intensa.”

Berrocal said the new staff has demanded a lot physically, but that it was necessary.

“They’ve required a lot from us… hard, but necessary to perform in the league the way we want.”

The center back also emphasized how different this preseason has been for him personally. Last year, he arrived midseason. This year, he’s been part of the full build.

“The fact of living together practically 24 hours with your teammates for a week is positive,” Berrocal said.

And then came one of the most revealing lines of the day, the kind that only shows up when a group is truly bonding:

“You end up caring more… it hurts more if something happens to your teammate, and you give more for him.”

That is chemistry, spoken plainly.

What Tata Means by “Protagonist”

Soccer players in white jerseys run in a grassy field, surrounded by trees and goalposts, under a cloudy sky. Focused atmosphere. — Atlanta United training Tuesday ahead of the trip to Cincinnati.

Martino has used the word protagonist to describe what he wants Atlanta to be.

Berrocal defined it simply when I asked him:

“To want to win games, to have personality to want the ball, and above all, not to have fear.”

This is Tata’s Atlanta: a team that plays, not reacts.

A team that presses high, takes risks with the ball, and doesn’t hide from the match.

Defensive Consistency: The Next Step

Berrocal was blunt about what must improve from last season.

“We cannot concede goals,” he said. “If we don’t concede goals, we are going to be close to win the games.”

Atlanta has attacking quality. Everyone knows that.

The leap comes from defending together for 90 minutes, in transition, in the difficult MLS moments that punish mistakes.

Martino’s high press can be demanding on center backs, but Berrocal sees the upside.

“If you get the ball in the opposite field, it’s more easy to attack and to score goals.”

Harder for defenders, better for the team.

Cincinnati First: Focus on Atlanta’s Foundations

Neither player treated the opener like a venue issue.

Alzate dismissed the idea of an “away advantage.”

“At the end of the day, it’s a game, 11 v 11.”

Berrocal echoed the same mentality: respect Cincinnati, but build Atlanta.

“We’ve seen little of Cincinnati so far… we’re working a lot on ourselves, on the bases of the game we want.”

The scouting will come.

The identity is being installed now.

Notebook Takeaways (Quick Hits)

Fitness is the foundation. “Sprints” wasn’t a joke, this group has been pushed physically.
Alzate is being shaped into a true two-way midfielder, higher and more aggressive than last year.
Berrocal believes the chemistry is real, built in camp and shared habits.
“Protagonist” means personality and fearlessness on the ball.
Defensive consistency is the demand: stop conceding, let the attackers win games.
Atlanta enters Week 1 still growing, but with clarity about what Tata wants.