Atlanta United announced today that they have parted ways with Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra effective immediately.
President and CEO Garth Lagerwey will assume Bocanegra’s duties for the remainder of the 2024 season as the search for the club’s next Technical Director will begin immediately. Lagerwey will also be acting as the general manager and will lead in the search to fill the head coach vacancy.
"I want to personally thank Carlos for his many contributions to the success of Atlanta United on and off the pitch. He was here from the beginning and deserves much credit for our MLS Championship; other trophies we’ve won over the last nine years; and the way our team captured the heart of this city even before we launched in 2017,” said Atlanta United Owner and chairman, Arthur M. Blank, in a statement released by the club earlier today. “Several dynamic players signed by Carlos have been foundational to our success, including some who have moved on to opportunities in elite leagues and clubs across the world. I will always have great affection for Carlos and his beautiful family, and deep gratitude for the passion and dedication he brought to our club over the years. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
Bocanegra joined Atlanta United in 2015 as the technical director and oversaw roster construction. He assembled the 2017 roster that became the second expansion team to reach the MLS Playoffs on its debut since 1999. He was promoted to Vice President of the club in October of 2017.
During his time with Atlanta, the club won three trophies, the 2028 MLS Cup, 2019 Campeones Cup and the 2019 U.S. Open Cup. The club also had three players win MLS Newcomer of the year, two players win MLS Young Player of the Year (formerly MLS Rookie of the Year) and one player, Josef Martinez, win the Landon Donovan MVP award under Bocanegra.
“We just wanted to evolve our player model. We wanted to really take a look at 2025 and have people in place that were going to be able to take maximum advantage of the salary cap flexibility, the two designated player spots that are open and really try to evolve things like the club philosophy going forward,” said Garth Lagerwey when he spoke to media today following the announcement. “Ultimately, we thought that a change in leadership at the head coach and GM positions were the best way to do that.”
In this search for the new general manager, Lagerwey expressed that the club will not do a dual role when it comes to the head coach and the general manager. He said that you need one person who can focus on on-field work like culture, tactics and lineups, and then someone who can focus on off the field work. Lagerwey also mentioned that when looking at replacements for the general manager role, it’s important to look at someone who has MLS experience because of how specialized the system is with the salary cap and roster rules.
“The reason why I came to Atlanta United is simply to win championships. It's nothing less than that. 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,” said Lagerwey. “At the end of the day, making the playoffs isn't our goal. At the end of the day, winning a playoff series isn’t our goal, we're here to win the whole thing. There's not really any point in doing this unless that's the objective. Given the resources we have, given the ambition of the club, everything is possible here. That's really what I'm excited about now is for the first time for me, truly, in two years, we have the ability now to truly go forward. We have cleared the decks, we have incredible possibility, we can now bring our resources to bear, and I'm really excited about that opportunity.”
✍️: Madison Crews
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