MLS Footnotes: LA, Atlanta hoping to overcome disappointing seasons

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Editor’s Note: MLS Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the league and across American soccer.

It’s difficult to say which of the two marquee MLS clubs that will meet in Los Angeles this Sunday is having the more disappointing season.

On the surface, the answer is easy. Heading into the match between the LA Galaxy and Atlanta United (9:30 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports app), only one club — the Galaxy — are in playoff position, while Atlanta sits all the way back in 11th in the 14-team Eastern Conference standings.

But then this was supposed to be the season that the record five-time MLS Cup champion Galaxy finally took a step back toward restoring their status among the league’s elite. Instead, Greg Vanney’s side is tied on points with the eighth place Portland Timbers and just one point ahead of the CONCACAF champ Seattle Sounders following a three-game losing streak that includes their July 8 El Tráfico defeat to noisy neighbors LAFC.

If they don’t stop the bleeding soon, the Galaxy will be in serious danger of missing the postseason for the fifth time in six years.

Much of the Five Stripes’ struggles in 2022, on the other hand, come down to injuries. While Atlanta isn’t nearly as lethal as the Miguel Almirón-lead side that took the league by storm after its 2017 launch, they still boast some of the best attacking talent in MLS.

But season-ending Achilles injuries to goalkeeper/captain Brad Guzan and then central defender/co-captain Miles Robinson, who had emerged as starter on the U.S. Men’s National Team within the last year, plus less serious ailments that still sidelined other key players like Josef Martínez and Brooks Lennon for long stretches — have, understandably, been hard for Gonzalo Pineda’s team to overcome.

There’s a significant change off the field for Atlanta United to navigate, too: Darren Eales, the club’s only president and the architect (along with technical director Carlos Bocanegra) of its MLS Cup-winning 2018 roster, will leave Georgia’s capital next month to become the CEO of Newcastle in the English Premier League.

Still, Atlanta is the team in better form. Following a dreadful stretch during which they won just one of eight, Pineda’s picked up a victory over Real Salt Lake and a tie against Southeast rival Orlando City. They’re just three points behind surging FC Cincinnati for the final playoff spot in the East and have played one fewer match.

That makes Sunday’s contest is pivotal for both teams, even if the Galaxy probably need the three points more playing at home. The good news for them is that star forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and two-way midfielder Mark Delgado are expected to return to Vanney’s lineup after missing the last two games because of illness. Sunday could also mark the debut of Uruguayan destroyer Gastón Brugman. Signed on July 6, Brugman should immediately make the Galaxy harder to play against.

“I hope you will see how good he is on Sunday,” Hernández told reporters this week. “Hopefully he can adapt quickly because sometimes people underestimate this league [but] I think he wouldn’t do that. He has that strong mentality, that winning mentality that we need.”

MLS FOOTNOTES

1. Trading insults

As much as Almirón’s departure to Newcastle for an MLS record transfer fee of almost $30 million in early 2019 drastically changed the complexion of Atlanta’s front six, the trade that sent popular midfielder Julian Gressel to D.C. United a year later probably hurt them even more.

Gressel was Martínez’s main set-up man for three seasons, and injuries aren’t the only reason the Venezuelan striker’s production dropped from 33 goals in 2019 to just 12 last season. (Martínez, who has five goals in 13 appearances so far in 2022, tore his ACL in Atlanta’s 2020 opener and missed the rest of that year.)

Swapping Gressel for a measly $750,000 in allocation money is rightly considered one of the worst deals in recent MLS history. Which is why it was surprising to see league bottom-feeder DCU ship Gressel to the Vancouver Whitecaps for a measly $900,000 last week. Gressel, second in MLS assists since 2017, was blindsided.

The shock turned to anger when he found out that his wife learned they’d be moving to a foreign country on the other side of the continent from a report in the Washington Post:

Not surprisingly, Gressel torched D.C. United’s front office on his way out the door.

“My wife had gotten texts from people before I even talked to her,” he told the Athletic. “It was just an embarrassment.”

Vancouver, on the other hand, can’t believe their luck. “It wasn’t difficult to identify,” CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster said after Gressel was introduced on Tuesday, “the best wingback in the league.”

2. Black and blue

Fans in D.C. better hope that new manager Wayne Rooney knows what he’s doing. After all, there’s so much to be done. On Wednesday, Rooney — who is still awaiting his work visa — watched from on high as German powerhouse Bayern Munich beat up on the Black and Red 6-2 in a friendly at Audi Field.

That lopsided result came less than two weeks after DCU’s MLS record-tying 7-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union.

Rooney has already made several roster moves in addition to the one involving Gressel. The club officially inked well-traveled Jamaican Ravel Morrison on Thursday, one day after acquiring MLS veteran Miguel Berry in a trade with the Columbus Crew.

3. Friendly fire

D.C. weren’t the only MLS team outclassed in an exhibition against one of the sport’s biggest clubs midweek; Tuesday, Barcelona trounced East struggler Inter Miami 6-0. But the domestic league acquitted itself well in other friendlies against top-flight European foes, not the least of which was Minnesota United’s 4-0 smackdown of Premier League Everton.

Also on Wednesday, Orlando City outplayed Arsenal in the first half before losing 3-1, while expansion Charlotte FC beat mighty Chelsea on penalties following a 1-1 tie. Charlotte academy product Brian Romero, who only turned 16 in May, drew the foul that sent the match to spot kicks. USMNT star Christian Pulisic scored Chelsea’s lone goal in the first half.

It’s important not to draw too many conclusions from these games, which usually feature a mix of established starters and young prospects and unlimited substitutions. It’s also wrong to call them meaningless. If Charlotte goes on to make the playoffs in their maiden season, the confidence boost they earned by beating the 2021 UEFA Champions League victor could well be a factor.

4. USMNT pair heads home

This week also saw a pair of players who helped the U.S. men win the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer sign with MLS squads.

Nashville SC landed right back Shaq Moore Tuesday, the MLS Cup contender paying Spanish second division club Tenerife a $2 million transfer fee for Moore’s rights, according to ESPN.

Not to be outdone, Orlando signed U.S. forward Nicholas Gioacchini from French second-tier side Caen the following day.

5. Taty’s last dance?

Finally, this weekend could mark the end of the Taty Castellanos era in MLS according to New York City FC interim head coach Nick Cushing. 

“I think it’s fair to say it could be his last game,” Cushing said of Castellanos ahead of Saturday’s Yankee Stadium tilt versus Miami.

Castellanos, the 2021 MLS Golden Boot winner who helped the Pigeons win the MLS Cup last year, is leading the league in scoring again this season. The 23-year-old Argentine appears on his way to newly promoted Spanish La Liga club Girona.

One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.