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.
As Martino rejoins the city where he was champion, on the other side of the country, all eyes are waiting on Josef Martinez to see if he’ll return. “The King” reached an agreement with the San Jose Earthquakes to go their separate ways, so fans will be watching closely to see his next move.