Eales compliments United’s VP

Atlanta United Vice President Carlos Bocanegra’s contract ends in March 2022. Atlanta United President Darren Eales declined on Tuesday to say if Bocanegra will receive an extension but did praise the work done by the Hall-of-famer since he joined the club in 2015.

“What we’re building as a club is something that we can be proud of,” Eales said. “You know, that doesn’t mean we’ve got everything right. By no means. But you know, we do work our socks off to give the best product for our supporters on the pitch. And I think over the five years that regardless of what happens in this playoff and how we do this year, we’re trending in the right direction. I think you can be really excited about next season for a lot of reasons.”

Under the leadership of Eales and Bocanegra, who was hired as technical director but promoted to vice president after 2017 season, the club won the MLS Cup in 2018, and the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in 2019. The club is in the playoffs this season for the fourth time in five seasons. It will play at NYCFC on Nov. 21.

This year’s team has played under three different managers and features a starting lineup that often includes as many as four players in their first year in MLS.

Bocanegra has come under scrutiny the past three seasons because of the team’s inconsistent performances. In 2019, manager Frank de Boer, who followed Gerardo Martino, was sometimes criticized by the team’s supporters for a style of play that lacked the flair shown during the team’s first two seasons. The team won two trophies in 2019.

After several players were let go or traded, de Boer was fired midway through the 2020 season. Gabriel Heinze was hired before the 2021 season and fired 13 games into the regular season with the team having earned just 13 points and having scored 13 goals. Gonzalo Pineda was hired and the team took 38 points from its remaining 21 games.

Bocanegra also received scrutiny for the team’s player signings. After Miguel Almiron was sold to Newcastle for a Mls-record transfer fee, Pity Martinez was signed. He never quite fit into the team and was sold less than two seasons later. That followed the inconsistent performances of Ezequiel Barco, signed before the 2018 season, in his first three seasons with club. Barco has posted career highs in goals (7) and assists (8) this season. Additionally, Bocanegra was criticized for trading Julian Gressel and Darlington Nagbe, two key members of the MLS Cup winning team, and selling Leandro Gonzalez Pires and Hector Villalba, before the 2020 season.

There have also been criticisms of how he has handled the salary cap, having given large contracts to midfielder Emerson Hyndman, who has missed most of this season with a knee injury, and Jurgen Damm, who has barely played.

While those moves have been criticized, Bocanegra has overseen an academy that has developed George Bello, who has become a starter for the club and was called up five times the U.S. men’s national team this season, as well several other players who are now on the senior roster.

Additionally, the drafts landed players such as Miles Robinson, who is a candidate for MLS Defender of the Year for the third consecutive season, and Gressel.

“From my perspective, holistically, the club is now sitting in a good position,” Eales said.