The MLS secondary transfer window ended on August 14. During that July 12 to August 14 time period, Atlanta United added two new players – Portuguese defender Pedro Amador and Russian midfielder Alexey Miranchuk.
While Amador has already seen the pitch as member of the 5-Stripes during Leagues Cup, 17s don’t have long until they can see Miranchuk in an Atlanta United kit. Bocanegra confirmed that it is possible Miranchuk could see playing time as soon as Atlanta’s match against the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 24.
With nine games left in the regular season, and two new faces added to the roster, Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra spoke to local media on Friday about the moves made and excitement going forward as the club looks to make a push for the MLS Cup playoffs.
Coming into the transfer window, there was a list of objectives that the club looked to meet. The press conference began with the acknowledgement that every window is different. Bocanegra explained why Miranchuk was the only designated player Atlanta acquired during the window.
“Ultimately, we were looking at a wide forward, a striker, a few other positions and we did not feel that there was a right fit,” said Bocanegra. “We didn’t want to force something in to lock us into a bad situation for a long time. We didn’t go forward with that, but I think we’re really excited with the players that we’ve been able to add.”
Bocanegra emphasized the club not wanting to force a change if the right player was not available. The 5-Stripes will look forward to the next matches ahead, some of which include playing against teams that sit within striking distance in the standings. As of mid-August, Atlanta is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 28 points. Nashville, Philadelphia, and Montreal are three of teams they will see in the final stretch. Philadelphia and Montreal sit at 10th and 11th place respectively with 27 points. Nashville has 26 points.
Bocanegra said he feels the team has improved post transfer window and that confidence will be key in the following weeks.
“I think it was a nice little confidence boost for us, the group, everybody, beating Columbus heading into the window showing people what we can do,” said Bocanegra. “Now we’ve added Pedro, we’ve added Alexey back to the group, our forwards are fortunately popping in some goals for us as well so it’s very much getting into the playoffs and making a deep run and seeing what we can do.”
Since being acquired back in March on loan from CD Guadalajara, Daniel Ríos is one of the forwards that has stepped up offensively for the team. He is currently tied with Saba Lobjanidze, another player who has potted goals for Atlanta, with six goals on the season so far. In the month of July, Ríos scored 5 goals in 6 matches.
Atlanta’s first two matches back in action, against the Galaxy and Charlotte FC, will be road matches. They will be back at Mercedes-Benz on September 14 to celebrate Latin Heritage Night against their regional rivals, Nashville SC.
Fans not traveling to see the 5-Stripes can catch all the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. As well as listening on local radio 92.9 The Game and La Mejor.
