Atlanta United announced that Ronny Deila will be the fifth head coach in club history today. Deila, 49 years old and hailing from Norway, has won seven trophies during his managerial career including the 2021 MLS Cup with New York City FC. He has signed a contract through the 2027 MLS season.
“I want to thank Arthur M. Blank and Garth Lagerwey for this opportunity and couldn't be more excited to join Atlanta United,” Deila said. “This is a club with great ownership, excellent facilities and the ambition to succeed and continue to drive the league forward. I’m happy to return to MLS, a competitive league that I enjoy, and I’m eager to arrive and get to work with our group of players.”
A center back in his playing days, Deila played over 300 games as a professional in Norway, spending the most time with Odds Ballklubb from 1993-2004. He transitioned into coaching, first as a player/assistant, at Strømsgodset Toppfotball.
It was at Strømsgodset where Deila first built his name on the touchline, stabilizing the club in the top flight and winning both the Norwegian Cup and the league title (the club’s first in 43 years) during his time there. That success led to a move to Glasgow and Celtic in 2014 where he won two league titles in two seasons and added a League Cup. After a return to Norway with Vålerenga, Deila moved to New York to take over NYCFC ahead of the 2020 season.
Upon his appointment, he said, “When I come in, it’s important to continue to build on what’s already proven to be a strong foundation and to get some of my ideas across. The way I want to play and the way NYCFC has played is very similar. I’m a very attacking coach. We want to have the ball as much as possible, but also try to be direct when you have those opportunities.”
After reaching the playoffs in the Covid-impacted 2020 season, Deila took NYCFC to their first-ever MLS Cup appearances in Portland in 2021 where the Pigeons won the trophy after a penalty shootout. He also took the club to the semifinals of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League. Deila went 46-29-15 across all competitions during his time with NYCFC.
In the last year of his contract in 2022 and unable to come to terms on a new deal, Deila left MLS to take over at Standard Liège in Belgium. He has also worked for Club Brugge and for UAE top flight club Al Wahda FC since leaving New York.
Throughout his career, Deila has been known for recognizing and developing young talent including progressing the careers of Virgil Van Dijk, Martin Ødegaard, and Kieran Tierney.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Ronny as the new head coach of Atlanta United,” Club President and CEO Garth Lagerwey said. “He has a proven track record of winning in multiple leagues around the world, including the 2021 MLS Cup with NYCFC, and his knowledge of MLS was a key factor in our search. We believe his style of play aligns with the club’s philosophy as we look to build a team that will compete for trophies consistently.”
More to come from the SDH Network later today with an article from Jarrett Smith digging into Deila's career and a live show at 4pm on the SDH YouTube channel.
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