Atlanta United appoint de Boer

FRANK DE Boer, who appeared in two FIFA World Cups for the Netherlands during an illustrious playing career and went on to capture four straight league titles as Ajax coach, is taking over at Atlanta United.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) champions announced the coaching hire yesterday, with plans for a formal introduction after the holidays. The 48-yearold de Boer agreed to a multiyear contract to replace Tata Martino, who left Atlanta after two seasons amid reports that he is taking over as coach of the Mexican national team.

De Boer takes over a club that won MLS Cup in just their second season and set numerous attendance records, averaging more than 53,000 per game. United return to action in February, making their first appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League, before the start of the MLS season in March.

BUILDING ON FOUNDATION

“I would like to build on the current success to develop a secure, solid foundation for the club at the top of MLS and beyond,” de Boer said in a statement. “Aside from the club’s ambitions, the values, culture and the philosophy for the entire organisation are a vital part in realising that point of success. This is exactly what I believe in as a person and as a coach. All of this combined makes that I am really excited to be a part of it.”

De Boer is looking to revive his coaching career after getting fired from his two previous jobs.

In 2016, he took over at Internazionale in Italy’s Serie A, but was dumped after less than three months on the job with the club mired in 12th place. The following year, de Boer had an even shorter stint at England’s Crystal Palace, getting sacked after the team lost their first four English Premier League games without scoring a goal.