De Boer’s league record with Atlanta United was 20-12-7.
“On behalf of Atlanta United, I would like to thank Frank for his leadership and commitment to the club,” Atlanta United President Darren Eales said in a statement provided by the team. “Under Frank’s guidance, the club had a strong 2019 season in both MLS and international competition. After discussing it with Frank, the decision was made mutually. By winning two trophies in his first season in charge, he will always be part of the club’s history, and with great appreciation and respect we wish him all the best in the future. “
The De Boer and Atlanta United players seemed to collide from the start regarding their tactics and communication. De Boer thought that the defense could be stricter, which meant that the offense couldn’t be as smooth. He was seen as arrogant by players and they may have loved the spotlight too much. Players questioned tactics and preparation.
The team struggled to find a rhythm to start the 2019 season with just one win in its first five games until a team meeting was held. De Boer changed the formations from a 3-4-3 to a 4-1-4-1 and then to a 3-4-2-1 that was used by former manager Gerardo Martino. The only reason the team moved three in the back, against Houston, was because it only had three healthy centerbacks.
Former player Leandro González Pirez said months later during the MLS All-Star Game that the team was upset by De Boer’s style.
“Of course it is difficult,” said González Pirez. “Two years playing the same way, which in return gave you results. Coming out as champions, winning the league in a dignified way. When there was no reason to change, things changed. “
Pity Martinez, speaking on an Argentine radio station, also questioned the team’s defensive style.
González Pirez tried to soften his comments by adding that he had no problems with De Boer.
“Yesterday I read the interviews,” he said. “It seems I am unhappy. It’s not like that. Things are changing. This is true. We are different, but we are trying to do our best. I have no problem with anyone. “
González Pirez was sold after the season, though it was never clear how much to say about Boer in terms of the team’s transfers in and out.
Still, the team won two more trophies and advanced to the Eastern Conference playoff final, though doing so was described as a yearlong challenge.
After a hectic offseason that included the exchange of Darlington Nagbe, Julian Gressel and González Pirez, the team started the season 2-0 with victories against the expansion side Nashville, in which prominent striker Josef Martinez was lost to the season and Cincinnati before COVID-19 Season stalled. The quality of the opponents may have covered up problems that have continued since last year. De Boer used training time during the break to return to work at 3-4-3 to use during the Orlando tournament.
The results were disastrous.
The team’s remaining two designated players, Pity Martinez and Ezequiel Barco, were not impactful in the tournament within the formation, and De Boer’s choices and lineup substitutions were also questionable.
De Boer accepted the blame for the team’s horrible performance in Orlando and expressed confidence that it will solve the team’s problems.
“I will always do my best,” he said. “I will continue to the end. I can change the environment we have now to a winning environment. We showed this last season. “
Speaking after the 1-0 loss to Columbus that sealed Atlanta United’s fate in the tournament, goalkeeper Brad Guzan seemed to hint that some of the problems in early 2019 were again affecting the team this season.
“In these three games and we can even go back to the Club America game, that’s not who we are as a club,” said Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan. “That’s not what it’s all about as a team. There has to be a change. There has to be some kind of change in the field. There has to be communication, conversations, but then there has to be an answer to that. It can’t just be talking, talking, talking, and then we go out in the field and do the same thing we’ve been doing. This didn’t just happen in one game. This has happened for four games. “
De Boer had legendary shoes to fill and his resume did not provide confidence.
De Boer was preceded by Gerardo Martino, who not only led the team to the MLS Cup in 2018, but oversaw an aggressive style of play that players enjoyed. He made stars for Martínez, Miguel Almiron and Gressel.
Martino resigned to become Mexico’s manager, and de Boer stepped in.
De Boer had previously managed Inter Milan and Crystal Palace, lasting but a handful of games in each before being fired. To be fair, De Boer was tasked at each club with installing a new culture, but none of the franchises seemed ready. Neither of them has been successful after he left.
De Boer was tasked by Eales and Vice President Carlos Bocanegra to continue what Martino started, in part through the development of the team’s younger players. De Boer was successful in the past doing that as Director of the Academy at Ajax in his native Holland.
The results at Atlanta United had yet to come. Fullback George Bello missed most of the 2019 season due to adductor surgery. Barco played better in 2019, but has not yet shown why the team paid more than $ 10 million to acquire it. Two of the team’s remaining Homegrowns, Andrew Carleton and Kunga Lakes, have long-term loans with USL clubs.
Under De Boer, center back Miles Robinson, the team’s first draft, flourished last season, finishing in the top five in the MLS Defender of the Year vote.
