Thank you Rob Valentino

"The key to success, as a manager, is your relationship with the players. Important clubs and important players succeed when the environment is correct. The players must enjoy their work and feel free to express their talents." - Carlo Ancelotti

Building a strong relationship with the players, making them believe in their potential as a group, these will be the hallmarks of Rob Valentino's Atlanta United in 2024.

However, Rob Valentino's time with Atlanta United has come to an end and for anyone who got to know him since he joined the club in 2018, and especially in this last interim stint as the manager of the first team, it's a sad time.

I needed a little time to process this, even though I felt it was coming after Sunday's loss in Orlando. No one involved in the playoff run wanted it to end, it was a special time that everyone will look back on with a smile and a hope that they can find those feelings again in the future.

The chips were stacked against Valentino when he took over the team on June 3 going into the June international break. The squad played eight games in May, including two Lamar Hunt US Open Cup wins, and was on fumes going into the two-week break. Giorgos Giakoumakis departed the locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the last time after the loss to Charlotte on June 2 and the rumors were swirling that Thiago Almada would soon be on his way as well. Caleb Wiley would also depart after the Open Cup match against Indy Eleven on June 9 for the Olympics and then for Strasbourg.

Adding to the challenges, the team was about to embark on another eight-game stretch in just over a month's timespan but adding a significant amount of travel to the mix. The team went from DC to St. Louis which was challenging enough. Then it went from New England to Salt Lake City and then back home to Atlanta and then heading to Montreal for a 6,500 mile trip that included four matches in eleven days. The team barely had any normal training sessions from the time Valentino took over until the team had caught up on rest after the Leagues Cup match against DC United. There was no time to implement things on the field, tired legs made tired mistakes, and results suffered. In that brutal time period though, Valentino started with 4 straight matches without a loss including a win and a draw on the road and earned a big home win over the defending champions Columbus.

With all of that said, Valentino never accepted any of that as an excuse for the results. He constantly tried to make the most of the situations dealt to him, tried to make the most of the roster that he had to work with which was constantly in flux, and tried to figure out ways to improve the team without the time on the training pitch to truly do it.

It was only after the disappointment of being knocked out of the Leagues Cup by Santos Laguna that the team had time to rest, recalibrate, and regroup. Pedro Amador had debuted by this point and Alexey Miranchuk was added to the group right before the trip to Los Angeles to face the best team in the Western Conference on August 24.

After a loss to the Galaxy that saw a strong opening half, we saw things start to turn for this group and you started to see the effect Valentino was having on the group. They got results on the road in the next five games. They showed resilience in bouncing back from losses, never losing back-to-back games since the 6,500 mile trip from July. They earned five results after conceding first starting with the 2-2 home draw with Miami on September 18.

And then there's Miami, an opponent and a playoff series that will never be forgotten in Atlanta United history. By this stage, the team was battled tested and had become Valentino's team molded in his image and personality. They won on Decision Day in Orlando, followed that up by knuckling up and winning a penalty shootout in Montreal three days later, then took Miami to the limit in Game One of the First Round series. I told Valentino that I would never forget the feeling of that game and that outside of the MLS Cup win in 2018, it was the game that I would remember the most in terms of the feeling it gave me. For some reason, the next two games became a series of Can You Top This as they each surpassed the first game in terms of being memorable and special. The scenes after Xande Silva's winner in Game 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium followed by the scenes after shocking the world in Ft. Lauderdale in Game 3 will never leave my heart and mind.

Players consistently talked about the belief that Valentino and his staff instilled in them. This wasn't a gimmick, this was real, you could see it and feel it. Even in Orlando in the conference semifinal, even after both strikers on the roster had been injured, with a makeshift lineup and limited substitution opportunities, the team went down fighting until the final breath of the season. That doesn't happen by accident, it happens through hard work and real human connections.

Rob Valentino will be a successful manager wherever he ends up. He will rally a group of people to follow him into battle. He will create real connections between the club and their fanbase. Most importantly, he will be consistent to who he is and constantly show up ready to work and make the best of any situation. His service to Atlanta United should not be forgotten. In a year where most were ready to file it away and forget, Rob Valentino made an unforgettable run to make the club's fans and its players believe.

Thank you Rob for being proof of the value of consistency, of perseverance, and of staying true to one's values and beliefs. You've always left the club in a better place at the end of both of your interim stints in charge, and now it's time for you to make a team yours from the start. Wherever you end up, I'm sure your new club will have plenty of new fans with Georgia mailing addresses.

✍️: Jason Longshore

📷: Sofia Cupertino (1,4-6) & Nick Aliffi (2-3)