In his introductory presser, Breel Embolo wasted no time getting to the heart of what the sport of soccer really means.
"Football is about connecting people, to feel free, to enjoy," Embolo said Tuesday afternoon. "It’s not about where you’re from, just connect and play free. That’s the biggest message. I try every time I’m on the pitch to have fun, to give it back, to inspire people to get into the sport."
How about that for your head being in the right space? Amid the early stages of a staggering move to the United States from Europe, Embolo demonstrated his professional demeanor from the off at his introductory press conference Tuesday.
Atlanta United's new designated player, who signed with the club Sunday, was praised by Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson for a variety of traits. The forward's mentality was one of the first to come up.
"You can see Breel's character and what type of person he is," Henderson said alongside Embolo Tuesday. "He's going to fit great into the way we want to play and fit into the locker room."
Henderson and Embolo said talks began while Embolo was in the United States during the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ representing Switzerland. During that time, he said the club made their interest in learning about him as a player and person stood out. Henderson and his team wanted to gauge his interest in the move, aligning in a shared motive to impact winning.
Though Embolo has grown accustomed to bouncing around throughout his career — having played in Switzerland and at multiple clubs in France and Germany — the jump across the pond is a big one. Having that period of time being in the U.S. warmed him and his family up to the possibility of making a move.
"I got in touch with the team during the World Cup, it helped my family and myself get used to the country," Embolo said. "The first day, the love I [got] since the beginning pushed me to make this decision. I’m looking forward to getting great moments in the stadium.”
Originally born in Cameroon, Embolo immigrated to Switzerland and 5 years old. He's no stranger to carving out a new life in an unfamiliar place, and Atlanta has already welcomed him with open arms. He was unveiled to 17s at halftime of the 5-Stripes' 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City Sunday night.
Embolo mentioned he had former Atlanta Hawks player and fellow Swiss international Clint Capela, among some other Americans he knows, convincing him to come to the A. His knowledge about the city beforehand, he admitted, was minimal. He had some of the essentials on lock, though.
"I know about a lot of rappers, music, and Coca-Cola, of course," Embolo said with a laugh.
In the end, though, it was the project at the club that sold him.
"They knew me as a player and as a man already," Embolo said. "The first thing, of course, now we can say the team is not in the best position. But I think that's my job to to help the team to get there where it belongs. It's a big club. [There's] a lot of ambition here ... The board and everyone around the club showed me a lot of love, so it was easy for me to come here."
His top-flight pedigree and tactical fit jump out on paper, but there isn't anything that can replace the intangibles: selflessness, desire, joy.
"Everyone can score goals. Not just me. I think we'd be stupid to just hope that I'm scoring alone," Embolo said. "Trying to help my team also [without] the ball, it's an important part in football now because you don't have always the ball. Making the people around me better, that's something that I love, that everyone has fun. If we get it that we have a flow and everybody feels that he can score and help the team, then we achieve the most difficult thing."
