Atlanta United’s Garth Lagerwey is going to be very busy

Atlanta United President Garth Lagerwey is going to be a very busy person as he tries to position the club for success in 2025.

Not only is he trying to lead the MLS franchise into the playoffs, he also is leading the search for a new manager, and following his decision to fire Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra, he announced Wednesday he will be leading the search for a new technical director, a role that functions like a general manager.

Lagerwey, hired after the 2022 season, made clear the reason he fired Gonzalo Pineda in June and announced Bocanegra’s firing Wednesday was about improving the present and finalizing the future.

“The reason why I came to Atlanta United is simply to win championships,” Lagerwey said. “I really felt like we were on a path where we weren’t capable of winning championships, and so we had to undo a bunch of things in order to set us up with a different foundation to go forward and be successful long term. Given the resources we have, given the ambition of the club, everything is possible here, and that’s really what I’m excited about is now, for the first time for me, truly in two years, we have the ability to truly go forward. We can now bring our resources to bear, and I’m really excited about that opportunity.”

Lagerwey said the two roles, manager and general manager, will not be combined. He’s never done it that way in his previous jobs at Real Salt Lake or Seattle.

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Lagerwey said internal candidates will not be considered for the general manager role. He said the next hire must have MLS experience because of its various rules and roster mechanisms. Because the season is ongoing, Lagerwey will not be able to talk to those candidates until teams are done.

Because the team already has beefed up its scouting and analytics will help the new general manager when he or she arrives.

“I sense that everybody wants us to sign three or four players every window,” he said. “And that’s not always possible. We have to preserve our resources and spend them wisely. And if we spend them wisely, then we only have to spend them once.”

Lagerwey said he and the search firm are talking to managerial candidates. He wouldn’t comment on any specific ones. He said it would be good if the next coach had an MLS connection, but that isn’t necessary. Interim manager Rob Valentino is being considered and will be a part of the search committee. Lagerwey said he hopes the new manager can be hired by season’s end so that person can be involved in roster decisions for next season. Lagerwey said he wants someone who is collaborative, pragmatic and flexible.

“Trying to maximize the potential to turn this thing around quickly in 2025,” Lagerwey said.

The two roles will work much like they have been. The general manager will handle the scouting and signing of first-team players and work with the academy. The manager will decide tactics, manage games and training sessions.

Lagerwey said he believes that both jobs will be of great interest. The team has one Designated Player slot open following the sale of Thiago Almada. It will have another after it buys down Stian Gregersen’s contract.

“We were very public about the players that we had sold, but that money hasn’t gone anywhere,” Lagerwey said. “One of the reasons that we were a little cautious in the summer, we said in the summer we would only sign players that were so good that any coach would want to coach, and they could fit any style of play. We refused to panic at the end of the window. We refused to push the envelope or to lower our standards even one iota, because we knew that having two DP spots open for a new general manager and a new coach was going to make our job enormously attractive and give us tremendous flexibility heading into 2025.”

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup