Atlanta United has their new head coach.
After about six months without a permanent manager, the club has found their guy. Ronny Deila will take over head coaching duties ahead of the 2025 MLS season, the club announced on December 20.
Deila is new to Atlanta United, so after the announcement we caught up with him over Zoom for a brief introduction. He talked to us about his coaching philosophy and how he feels about becoming the next coach of Atlanta United. We finished up the interview when Deila was on the ground in Atlanta, which was recorded in early January.
From our first two interviews, here are 17 things to know about your new head coach:
First of all, can you tell our supporters how you'd like us to pronounce your name?
Ron-ee DIE-la - Click here to listen to the pronunciation
Alright, now we can get into the nitty gritty. So, why Atlanta United?
First of all, I'm unbelievably excited to come. When this opportunity came up, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to do it. I also have visited you guys to see what the city is about, know the people, feel the people. It feels like a family club. Something I really like is that we can work together as a team. At the same time, I played against Atlanta before. I know what kind of fans they have, what kind of stadium and what kind of opportunities they have to win something and to create something special. This is a dream to have an opportunity to come here and work with you.
Chris Henderson was announced as the club's new chief soccer officer and sporting director the same week you were named head coach. How much did he, along with CEO and president Garth Lagerwey, play into your decision?
It's about the person. It's always about that to get the chemistry. We three are very similar in the way we see things. We all love to win, but at the same time, we understand that we have to be a strong team together. We have to understand that we have different roles into the team and that we support each other and if we have a strong united culture from the top, then it will come down through the whole organization. I feel like the values they have is very similar to the values that I've had all my life as well and that we can get the best out of each other. I have very good feelings so far in these things.
What makes Major League Soccer so special to you that makes you want to return to coaching the league?
It's a league that is developing a lot, quickly. There's a big growth there. It's exciting because everybody has a chance to win. That's not common in the other countries that I've been to -- it's maybe three, four teams that can win. But here it's actually everybody that has an opportunity, because it's a lot of the same foundation in every club. Also, there's so many nice stadiums around and a lot of people in the stands. A very high average in every game. Also, now it's not about players that are old and want to finish their career only. There's some still like that, but that's good, like [Lionel] Messi coming to the to the league. But there's also a lot of young talent coming from all over the world, and I see it just from my home country in Norway, and also in Europe, that many more and more players now are looking to come to U.S. to play in our league. It's a fantastic league that is growing quick. When I was here the last time, it was an unbelievable experience being through the playoffs. Feeling the atmosphere in these kind of games as well was amazing.
You've been to Mercedes-Benz Stadium before. What do you make of the stadium and how does it feeling knowing you now have the support of the 17s and will get to coach at the best venue in the world?
I get goosebumps to think about it. In my opinion, this stadium is one of the nicest in the world. I've seen a lot of stadiums in my life, but when I came in there, I was like, 'Wow, what a stadium.' And when we played, to see how many fans that meets up when you have 40,000 average. Hopefully, we can get back to the big heights as well and get even more people into every game. That's special. Not only in the U.S., especially in the world, when you can put together so many supporters in a club and and see that foundation. That's also one of the reasons that there's a big opportunity to build something huge here because we should make our home games to be like a castle. Nobody should come there and dictate anything. That should be our our home. It's going to be a tough place to come.
If you could pick one soccer legend to have dinner with, who would it be?
Diego Armando Maradona. That would be a good dinner. I think he'd have some stories to tell.
What's your earliest memory of playing soccer?
As a player, it was my first goal when I was eight years old. I was coming from a farm, so we lived quite far away from the football pitch -- three kilometers away. My father in the end said because I played everyday in school and at home, I started football exercises, and they took me there. I get my first game. Then, I scored the goal in the last second. It was a tap-in. Clinical. It also happened when I was three years younger than the others. But the bad thing was that the referee blew off the game when the ball was on its way over the line. So, I didn’t get it. I felt the feeling, ‘Oh yes, I scored!’ But at the same time, I got upset. It’s like VAR nowadays. You get it but then you get it taken away from you.
Can you describe your coaching philosophy?
Winning is the most important thing when you come to professional sports, that's for sure, but I don't believe that you win things if you don't have your own play. You need to control games with the ball and also without the ball. To have as much possession in their half and dictate the tempo in the game. Every game, when you go into it, you will see the same pictures over and over again. I believe that you have to have a foundation with hard work. You need a family feeling. Everybody is carrying the team together and doing that very, very hard defense job. From there, you build your own play on the ball, and that's the hardest part in football. That is about being direct enough. It's about putting balls in the box, getting forward. It's about counter pressing when you lose the ball, so you can keep energy and and intensity into the game. When you see the best teams in the world, that is what they are the best at. We will try to have a very clear identity and how we want to play, and that's about being offensive-minded, attacking-minded, but at the same time also very energetic, hard-pressing and forward-minded.
How have you assessed the current group of players on the roster?
I think they got better and better during the playoffs. Even before the playoffs started, it looked like the players, the whole team, really felt there was everything to win, to go for it. I liked what I saw in the team. They were pressing better. They were more energetic. They did more on the ball. So, they've already made a good foundation there. You can see it's a group that works hard together, want each other well. Good energy. They are organized well already. So, when I come in, it's about getting the details even better so we can develop many of the things that are already there.
You previously won the MLS Cup when you were head coach of New York City FC in 2021. Atlanta lifted the trophy in 2018. What makes you believe Atlanta United can lift the trophy again?
Atlanta is a big, big club. When you are in a big club with this kind of organization, you have a better chance to achieve good things, top things, and to win. There’s already a good foundation here. They have won before, so they also know what it’s about. Now, it’s about getting improvement in every player and every member of the staff around the team so we as a unit take the next step. Right now we are ninth, 10th in the league. That’s how we ended last year, and everybody needs to improve. We need to take steps individually and also collectively as a culture and as a group. Something that can help is when you have opportunity economically to get in some players that can add to the roster or the squad. I see this a little bit like a longterm thing. A club where you can build unbelievable things. But we have to know where we are and we have to start work everyday to get a little bit better. Over time, if we work well, everything is possible. Because here the foundation of this is not normal in this league. Also, when you look at the stadium and the fans that are also in my opinion by far the best in the league.
Is there one particular area on the pitch that you looking forward to working on the most?
Both offensively and defensively, we need to improve. What we want to be is a team with a lot of intensity. We also want to be dominant in the games. That means that we need to be very good in our pressure to take them as high as possible up the pitch. We need to be very aggressive. We need to be close together and be tight as a group. When we win the ball, we have to take the other team unbalanced when we have opportunities to do that because that’s the easiest goal [to score] in football is when you win the ball high, you just put it straight forward so they are not organized. At the same time, if we get to that stage, that we have a lot of possession as well, we need to have a pattern that opens up the opponents and that we get our players into their best skills in their positions on the pitch. That’s the main target. The hardest part of course is the offensive established play. That takes time. It's about relationships, clear tasks on the pitch and having repetition. Improve all the time through these experiences. That’s our job.
If you could pick one actor to depict you in the movie of your life, who would it be?
That's difficult to copy me. That’s very difficult, but I think I will say Russell Crowe. He’s a top actor. I love him.
When you were at your previous club Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, you had a tradition of running up to the stands after a big victory that was called the "Ronny Roar." How do you feel about us carrying that on at Mercedes-Benz Stadium?
Oh, I'm looking forward to that, to get a great relationship with our fans. It's something that's important. We play for the fans. The football is very, very boring without it. That we feel as united as possible is important. We also have to give from ourselves. When we are winning and we are happy, I would love to come celebrate with some Ronny roars.
As a coach, you eat, sleep, and breathe football, but when you're away from the game, how do you like to unwind and relax?
I love to compete. Everything with sports and games and all these different things. I play with my daughters and my father and my friends all the time. Just playing cards can be... I lose time and place. That's one way. I love to see movies. I'm a social guy, so I love dinners with my friends and my family and good talks over the table. That's things that I really do. I love to train. I train every day, almost, to keep my head sharp and keep my body as good as possible, even though I'm already almost 50 years old. I can feel that I've had a football career behind me. But I try to do these kind of things to keep up my energy. And I love to travel. That's also one thing that I love. I'm traveling around the world now with the work also. So now it's exciting now to come to Atlanta to meet new people and and try to create something special together with you guys.
What kind of music do you listen to heading into a match?
Different things. I like a lot, but I’m a big country fan. Johnny Cash. I don’t think he’s so country, but I love him a lot.
Now that you're in the ground in Atlanta, and preseason is just around the corner, what will be your first message to the team?
In the beginning, I’m not going to say a lot. First of all, we have to get to know each other. Then, the basic things have to be there. The most important thing to start is that everybody needs to be fit. That means they have to be in good physical shape. When we talk about running, strength and all those things, but also body fat. There’s different things that have to be at the top because we cannot have any excuses for not performing and these kinds of things have to be there. Number two, everyday is like a Cup final. You need to train as a game, as a Cup final, everyday because then you get everything into football exercises. You get tempo and speed and you have to handle the ball. You have to read the spaces quick. So, when you come to games, then sometimes it can feel easier than it is in training. These are the two more important things to get in. When you get to your absolute maximum everyday, you will improve yourself. But that’s easy to say. That’s the hard part. To be prepared everyday means you have to do a lot of the right things outside the pitch to get that on the pitch.
Finally, what else do you want our supporters, the 17s, to know about you?
First of all, know that I’m honored and happy to be here. I’m full of energy now to get started. I’m looking forward to meeting the players and more of the staff. And also you, the supporters. Hopefully we can create a great relationship together. We will work so hard now to get into the season in a good way so we can give you and we can give ourselves together fantastic memories during the seasons.
