Pleasant surprises set up run to playoffs

So much went right for Atlanta United in its inaugural season.

It became the first MLS expansion team to reach the playoffs since Seattle in 2009.

Led by Josef Martinez, Miguel Almiron and Hector Villalba, the team was No. 2 in the league in goals (70).

Led by Brad Guzan, Michael Parkhurst and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, the team had the second-largest goal difference (30).

“It was a great season, but we are already looking ahead to 2018 and how do we get better, improve on the season and get better and better?” Atlanta United President Darren Eales said.

Three of the many things that went right:

Gerardo Martino. When the team announced Martino would be its first manager, the hiring was announced with shock (former managers of Barcelona and Argentina don’t come to MLS, much less expansion teams in MLS) and then some skepticism (foreign managers haven’t had the best track record in the league).

But Martino came prepared.

Despite having just a few weeks to work with the play- ers, and a few days with the full team, Martino implemented his high-pressing, aggressive style out of his preferred 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation. The roster had few holes and never experienced a losing streak longer than two games, with winning streaks of four, three and two (three times). The team was 5-1-2 during a stretch of eight games in 24 days.

Though he rarely spoke English, he got into a few verbal scraps with opposing managers, didn’t hesitate to criticize MLS’s referees and charmed the media and the team’s supporters.

“I want to say a profound thank you to all of the fans,” Martino said after the playoff loss. “Starting from when we didn’t even have any players, the support has been there all year”

The Designated Players. How well did Atlanta United do with its Designated Players? They scored more goals (41) than did the entire teams of Sporting KC (40), San Jose (39), which made the playoffs in the Western Conference, Orlando City (39), D.C. United (31) and Colorado (31).

Martinez, from his time in Italy, was a known player when he signed with Atlanta United as the final Designated Players. Other than YouTube videos, the same couldn’t be said of Villalba and Almiron, who joined from clubs in Argentina.

With speed, vision and technical ability, the trio also combined for 26 assists.

The center of the defense. Throughout the first 19 games, the oft-used analysis of Atlanta United was, “The offense is great, but that defense can be had.”

That belief started to change around the 20th game when Atlanta United shut out Orlando City 1-0. The team would go on to post seven more shutouts in its next 14 regular-season games. It finished with 12.

The quartet of center- backs Parkhurst and Gonzalez Pirez, playing in front of Guzan, who allowed less than a goal per game after making his debut at Orlando City, and behind holding midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Carlos Carmona, developed a chemistry that fostered even more confidence.