Atlanta United today announced the hiring of seven additional technical staff members to join head coach Gerardo Martino ahead of their inaugural 2017 MLS season. Joining Martino will be assistant coaches Jorge Theiler and Dario Sala, goalkeeper coach Aron Hyde, fitness coaches Rodolfo Paladini and Manuel Alfaro, video analyst Damian Silvero and head of sports science Ryan Alexander.
“We are very proud of the staff we have put together,” said Atlanta United head coach Gerardo Martino. “It was important for me to have a combination of coaches who I’ve worked with and trust, as well as having coaches and technical staff who are familiar with the league. I’m very excited to work with this group.”
Of the seven additions, six have either played or worked for respective national team federations, four have directly worked with Martino before and three have spent extensive time with MLS and U.S. Soccer.
Martino’s coaching staff will be led by assistant Theiler. A former Argentine international defender, who has been on staff with Martino at various successful stops in their career, Theiler has also previously been the head coach at Libertad and Cordoba. Sala, also from Argentina, enjoyed a 16-year playing career as a goalkeeper and retired in 2010 after six seasons in MLS with FC Dallas. He then served as general manager of the then-expansion Jacksonville Armada team in NASL. The final member of the coaching staff is Hyde, who spent six seasons as the goalkeeper coach with Chicago Fire and has most recently worked for U.S. Soccer.
“I think we’ve put together an exceptional blend of international and domestic experience,” said Atlanta United president Darren Eales. “If you look around the world, some of the most successful clubs in football have a diverse staff and assembling that was always a goal of ours. We feel we’ve done that with members who have worked at the highest levels in their respective fields.”
On the sports science and performance side, fitness coaches Rodolfo Paladini and Manuel Alfaro join the club. Paladini worked with Martino at Newell’s Old Boys and has most recently been with the Venezuelan National Team. Meanwhile, Alfaro was with Martino at FC Barcelona, the Argentina National Team and the Paraguay National Team. Alexander will head up the sports science department. He has been a Sports Scientist for the U.S. Men’s National Team since 2015.
National Team veteran Silvero will round out the soccer staff. Silvero has served as the First Team Video Analyst for the Argentina National Team since 2013.
Atlanta United Technical Staff
Jorge Theiler (Assistant Coach) joins Atlanta United from Newell’s Old Boys where he’s mostly worked with the club’s youth teams since 2008. Theiler is a former Argentine international with 20-plus years of coaching experience, who also played alongside Martino with Newell’s Old Boys in the 1980s. He has served as Martino’s assistant coach at a few different stops including Newell’s, Almirante, Platense and Cordoba. Theiler also served as the head coach at Libertad (2004) and Cordoba (2005). His extensive background with youth teams includes work at Newell’s and River Plate.
Dario Sala (Assistant Coach) brings extensive background in both the U.S. and Argentina to Atlanta United. Born in Cordoba, Sala spent 12 years playing professional football with some of the best clubs in South America before moving to FC Dallas in 2005. He spent six seasons with the MLS club, notching 39 wins in 99 starts. After retirement in 2010, Sala spent time as a player agent before taking over as general manager of Jacksonville Armada of NASL. Sala led the club during their expansion season in 2015.
Aron Hyde (Goalkeeper Coach) joins Atlanta United after extensive work in MLS and with the U.S. Men’s National Team. He spent six seasons as the goalkeeper coach with Chicago Fire (2010-15), notably aiding in the development of national team goalkeeper Sean Johnson. For the past two years, Hyde has worked with the U.S. Soccer Federation as a goalkeeper coach, both with the youth and men’s national teams.
Damian Silvero (Video Analyst) joins head coach Gerardo Martino in his move from the Argentine National Team, where Silvero has been the first team video analyst for the past three years. Prior to joining the Argentine National Team, Silvero worked for Newell’s Old Boys from 2009-13, where he notably created the club’s Department of Analysis, Video and Statistics. He’s also done video analysis during the Copa Libertadores for Caracacs FC (2007-11) and Zamora FC (2014). Elsehwere in his 13-year professional career, Silvero has worked at Tiro Federal (2004-06) and Porto Alegre (2005).
Rodolfo Paladini (Fitness Coach) joins Atlanta United from the Venezuelan National Team, where he’s been with the federation since 2014. He last worked with Gerardo Martino as the physical preparation coach at Newell’s Old Boys during the 2013 season, where Newell’s notably won the Torneo Final (second half of the Argentine season). Among Paladini’s 20-year professional career are successful stints with Zamora FC (2013-14), Real Esspor (2010-11), Caracas FC (1999-2010), Tiro Federal (1999) and Central Cordoba (1995-98).
Manuel Alfaro (Fitness Coach) has an extensive career as an athletic trainer, including plenty of experience with Gerardo Martino on both the national team circuit and at the club level. He joins Atlanta United after working for the Argentina National Team since 2014. Prior to that, Alfaro was on staff with Martino at FC Barcelona during the 2013-14 season. A national professor of physical education in his native Argentina, Alfaro has also had professional stops with the Peru National Team (2011-13), Paraguay National Team (2007-11) and Sporting Cristal (2005-07).
Ryan Alexander (Head of Sports Science) joins Atlanta United from the U.S. Soccer Federation where he’s worked since 2013. He most recently served as a sports scientist for the Men’s National Team since the beginning of 2015. Prior to that, he worked as a physiologist with U.S. Women’s Youth National Teams since starting with the federation. His extensive background in soccer includes work as a goalkeeper coach for Barry University (Tenn.) where he received his master’s degree. He then earned his doctorate from East Tennessee State.
