There have been busy weeks around the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground, but this one might take the cake.
Between hiring a new sporting director, conducting a trade with D.C. United, announcing the 2025 regular season schedule and signing a new Homegrown, Atlanta United has posted a flurry of announcements the week before Christmas. The most recent news to drop, and arguably the biggest one of all, came Friday just after noon when the club announced Ronny Deila the new head coach of Atlanta United.
(And actually, it’s still not over. Friday afternoon the club will participate in the MLS SuperDraft, which you can follow along with here.)
Shortly after being named head coach, Deila met with media over Zoom. Here are some other major takeaways from our head coach’s (it feels great to say that) introductory press conference:
Ronny Deila was impressive during the interview process, according to club president & CEO Garth Lagerwey: “Ronny’s been excellent wherever he’s been.”
Here are just a couple reasons why:
- 2021 MLS Cup winner
- Titles in three different countries
- Back-to-back trophies in Scottish Premiership
A fantastic collaboration between head coach and sporting director should follow, chief soccer officer & sporting director Chris Henderson said during the press conference. He called Friday a huge step: “Today is about celebrating Ronny.”
Ronny Deila’s opening statement:
“I’m very excited and proud. Today is a big day for me to join a club like Atlanta United. I met them before when I was in New York City. I saw what kind of club it is, what kind of supporters they have, what kind of stadium. I also got to know everybody around the club. I can see how many people that work so hard behind the scenes. What kind of resources and facilities the club had to get the best out of all the people at the club. To see the eagerness to win. That’s what I really, really want to achieve together with all these guys. I want to thank Mr. Arthur Blank for giving me this opportunity and giving me the opportunity to work with Garth and Chris as well.”
- Three strong personalities make up Atlanta’s new front office leadership: Garth Lagerwey, Chris Henderson, Ronny Deila. “We have to trust each other and we have to work with each other and build something special together with all the fantastic people in the organization," Deila said.
In his opening comments, Lagerwey emphasized that Deila is a proven winner, which is what the club's CEO sought from his head coach (and one reason Lagerwey gave during his end-of-year press conference why Rob Valentino did not get the job).
Deila has extensive head coaching experience and has won trophies in three different leagues. When asked, here are some of the reasons why Deila said he succeeded:
- Likes working with people.
- Likes being a leader.
- Works hard to create togetherness.
How Deila is going to coach is about creating an identity, and his vision includes a lot of the buzz words that fit Atlanta United’s longstanding style:
- Offensive
- Attack-minded
- Championship-focused
- Dominant at home
“Everybody has to develop, and that is a constant circle that never stops.”
Deila credited Valentino for serving as interim the back half of 2024 and for the way he "created a good team spirit" to lead the group on a run through the postseason. These are good things to build on, and Deila was optimistic that the front office can find players to make the team better in the longterm.
How he’s going to manage is about creating a purpose. One area where Deila sees room for growth is enabling players to be leaders. Staff and players, he said, are both important to lead.
On staff:
- Deila plans to bring two assistants from his previous club Al-Wahda: Kenny Miller and Elliott Parish as goalkeeping coach.
- “You need to empower the people on the staff.”
- “On my staff, it’s important to have different people with different skills.”
He wants players to…
- feel safe.
- know what’s expected in their roles and the culture.
- feel loved.
- feel important.
- have fun.
“If you come every day and feel part of something and you have fun, then you use every day to get better. That’s easy to say. It’s more about how you do it. Hopefully I’ve shown in the other clubs, but I’ll have to prove myself again at Atlanta that I can create that kind of environment.”
Deila isn’t physically in Atlanta just yet, but he’s itching to get on a plane and be here. Being physically present and moving to the city is his first step in connecting with the supporters and the local community here in Atlanta:
- Communication: “You have to have a time and place to meet and to talk. That’s what I’m used to at many of the clubs I’ve been.”
- Ronny Roar: After games, Deila will make his way over to the stands and give a big emphatic shout. It's his way of connecting and sharing a celebratory moment with supporters.
- Social: Deila describes himself as a social guy. In his first interview, he said he loves good conversation around a table. With the fans, he’s fine answering questions, giving speeches, and wants to be close and available during the season.
“It’s my job to inform and educate the way we want to do it. If we do that well, all the fans will connect and understand the process of what’s going on. That’s going to be an important thing as a club, not only me, that we are good at communicating."
