Atlanta United announced on Wednesday that the club has parted ways with vice president and technical director Carlos Bocanegra.
The former U.S. men’s national team captain had been in the role since 2015. Atlanta made their MLS debut in 2017.
“We are deeply appreciative of Carlos’s dedication and success over the last nine years with Atlanta United,” said club president and CEO Garth Lagerwey in a statement.
“However, I believe it’s time for our club to move in a new direction. While we will continue to fight for a playoff spot down the final stretch of the season, this gives us a clean slate and a runway to properly assess all vacancies in our sporting operation ahead of what will be an extremely important offseason for our club.”
Atlanta United currently sits ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, which is the final automatic playoff spot. They’ve lost five of their last 10 matches under interim head coach Rob Valentino. During the most recent MLS summer transfer window, Bocanegra signed Russia international Aleksei Miranchuk to replace Thiago Almada, who was sold to Brazilian club Botafogo.
Bocanegra, alongside former team president Darren Eales, led the club’s front office during Atlanta’s 2018 MLS Cup title campaign. Eales left for Newcastle United in 2022 to become the Premier League side’s CEO. That left Bocanegra in charge of Atlanta United’s recruitment strategy, as well as overseeing the first team. Atlanta’s form and player recruiting strategy has since been under heavy scrutiny as the team has underperformed consistently since 2020.
“I want to personally thank Carlos for his many contributions to the success of Atlanta United on and off the pitch,” team owner Arthur Blank said. “He was here from the beginning and deserves much credit for our MLS Championship; other trophies we’ve won over the last nine years; and the way our team captured the heart of this city even before we launched in 2017.”
Lagerwey will take over Bocanegra’s duties moving forward. Since firing former manager Gonzalo Pineda in June, Lagerwey has personally managed the search for a new coach. He’ll now add a sporting director search to his list of duties. Because the MLS regular season is still active, qualified candidates are likely to become available in the offseason.
Atlanta United’s next match is at home against Nashville SC on September 14.
(Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
