Atlanta United today announced it has added five members to head coach Gabriel Heinze’s staff for the 2021 season. Assistant coaches Mariano Toedtli, Nicolas Pavlovich and Pedro Mateo Leivas, fitness coach Javier Vilamitjana and video analyst Diego Navone will join current goalkeeper coach Liam Curran to round out Heinze’s First Team staff. Stephen Glass and Henry Apaloo have returned to their respective roles for Atlanta United 2, while Tony Annan continues his role as Academy Director. In addition, Rob Valentino will continue on with the club as staff coach with a focus on player development.
Toedtli has been an assistant with Heinze since his first head coaching job at Godoy Cruz. The former striker spent time in Portugal, Spain and Argentina as a player. Among other teams, he played for Sevilla in La Liga, finishing his career with 133 goals scored. Pavlovich is also a former striker who most recently coached with Heinze at Velez Sarsfield. The Argentine started his playing career at Newell’s Old Boys in 1998. He went on to play in Russia, Germany and Mexico before returning to South America to close out his playing career.
Leivas will serve as assistant coach, aiding in translation. His most recent role was as Technical Director at Sporting Global LLC, an official partner of the FC Barcelona Academy in the United States. Curran will round out Heinze’s assistants, continuing in his role as goalkeeper coach, which marks his second season with the First Team and sixth year at the club.
Vilamitjana joins as fitness coach, which he has served for Heinze at each of his previous clubs, beginning with Godoy Cruz in 2015. He’s also previously worked in the same capacity for the Argentine National Team.
The final addition to the club’s technical staff is Navone, who follows Heinze to Atlanta after being in the same role as Video Analyst at Velez Sarsfield. Navone has been a valued member of Heinze’s coaching staff at Godoy Cruz, Argentinos Juniors and Velez.