Atlanta United today announced it has named Gerardo “Tata” Martino as the club’s head coach and signed the Argentine to a contract through the 2027 MLS season. Martino returns to Atlanta after he led the club to one of the league’s greatest launches, culminating with an MLS Cup in 2018. His managerial career spans more than 25 years at both the club and international levels in South America, Europe and North America where he has won a total of 11 trophies. Martino will report to Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tata back to Atlanta United,” said Arthur M. Blank, Owner and Chairman, Blank Family of Businesses. “Tata is an exceptional manager who set the standard for excellence within our club and helped establish our identity in Major League Soccer. Since then, he has continued to achieve success on the global stage. There is a lot of work to do for us to get back to championship form. This moment is not about revisiting the past but about looking ahead and building a new foundation while embracing the continuing evolution of what it takes to contend in MLS on a regular basis. Tata is a steward of our club’s values with a proven leadership record, and he carries a championship mindset to everything he does. We are excited for the future of Atlanta United with Tata back at the helm.”
As the first head coach in club history, Martino led Atlanta to a historic expansion season in 2017 and an MLS Cup title the following season, the earliest an expansion team had won the championship since 1998. Under his watch over two seasons, Atlanta recorded the most points (124), most goals (140) and best goal differential (+56) in MLS and became just the second team in league history at the time to score 70-plus goals in back-to-back seasons. Martino was named MLS Coach of the Year in 2018.
“The further along we went in our coaching search, the clearer it became that Tata is the best candidate to lead Atlanta United to the standard of excellence that our fans deserve, a standard that he helped create,” Henderson said. “Tata’s teams have a clear identity, and his playing style and leadership qualities align with our club values. His success, along with his understanding of our league, is well established and we look forward to welcoming him back to Atlanta.”
“I want to thank Arthur and Chris for the opportunity to return to the club and a city where we hold wonderful memories and maintain great relationships,” Martino said. “This is a different project than my first stint with the club, however with great ownership and the collaboration of the players, coaching staff and everyone at the club, our objective will always be to form a winning team that makes our fans feel proud and well-represented every time that they go to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
At the club level, Martino has coached in the UEFA Champions League, Conmebol Copa Libertadores, the top divisions in Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and most recently MLS, notably managing Newell’s Old Boys (2011-13), FC Barcelona (2013-14), Atlanta United (2017-18) and Inter Miami CF (2023-24).
Martino, 62, most recently managed Inter Miami CF where he led the club to the first two trophies in its history, winning the 2023 Leagues Cup shortly after arriving mid-season and the 2024 Supporters’ Shield. He guided Miami to a record-breaking season in 2024 as the club set the single-season MLS points record at 74 and scored a league-best 79 goals. Martino orchestrated a historic turnaround, taking Miami from 27th place in 2023 to the Supporters’ Shield title and MLS points record in 2024.
At Barcelona, his side finished second in La Liga during the 2013-14 season after posting 100 goals and a league-best +67 goal differential. That season, Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Prior to that, Martino managed his hometown club Newell’s Old Boys from 2011 to 2013, immediately turning around a team fighting off relegation into a sixth-place finish in the Torneo Final in 2012. The following season, Newell’s finished second in the Torneo Inicial before winning the Torneo Final and advancing to the semifinals of the 2013 Copa Libertadores.
Earlier in his coaching career, Martino built his reputation on his success in Paraguay, winning four league titles between 2002 and 2006. Martino guided Club Libertad to three Paraguayan First Division titles (2002, 2003, 2006) during his two spells managing the side and in between led Cerro Porteño to the league title in 2004.
On the international level, Martino previously managed the national teams of Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico. Martino first managed Paraguay during a successful run from 2007 to 2011, leading La Albirroja to the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the best finish for the nation at a World Cup, and the 2011 Copa América final, marking the first time Paraguay reached a Copa América final since 1979. In his first year in command, Paraguay reached the quarterfinals at the 2007 Copa América while Martino was named South American Coach of the Year.
The Rosario, Argentina native later coached his country’s national team from 2014 to 2016, leading La Albiceleste back to the No. 1 FIFA World ranking for the first time in eight years in July 2015. Under Martino’s leadership, Argentina appeared in consecutive Copa América finals in 2015 and 2016 and finished with a 20-4-5 overall record during his stint at the helm. Martino also managed Mexico from 2019 to 2022 to a record of 42-11-13. During that time, Mexico won the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, reached the 2021 Gold Cup and 2021 Concacaf Nations League finals and qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Martino starred at Newell’s Old Boys as a player, where he still holds the club record for appearances with 505 and helped guide the club to three Argentine Primera Division titles.
