Three’s the charm: Atlanta United adds to its trophy haul
The players whooped it up. The champagne flowed. In the midst of it all, another trophy sat in the middle of the locker room.
When Atlanta United began play just three seasons ago, this is exactly what they had in mind. Winning championships. Lots of them.
“The biggest clubs in the world win trophies,” said midfielder Julian Gressel, his hair soaked by the increasingly familiar dousing of bubbly.
Completing its own version of the treble, Atlanta captured its third title in less than nine months, beating Minnesota United 2-1 in the U.S. Open Cup final Tuesday night.
The trophy haul began last December when United won the MLS Cup. Two weeks ago, they defeated Mexican powerhouse Club America to claim the Campeones Cup. And now, they’ve come out on top in the country’s 105-year-old national cup competition.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Super Cup, if it’s a Campeones Cup, if it’s an Open Cup, whatever it is,” Gressel said. “Within a year, we’ve obviously won three. We’d like to continue that, because that’s what big clubs do. We definitely see ourselves as a big club.”
This one felt especially satisfying because the U.S. Open Cup comes with an additional prize: a return trip to the CONCACAF Champions League in 2020, giving United a chance to make up for this year’s disappointing performance.
Atlanta was ousted in the quarterfinals by Monterrey after losing the opening leg 3-0 in Mexico. The Liga MX team went on to claim the title, denying United a shot at winning an actual continental treble.