Atlanta Playing Different System under Frank De Boer, Claims Parkhurst

Atlanta United have undergone changes during the off-season with the appointment of Frank de Boer as the new manager, while influential players like Miguel Almiron have left the club. The players have admitted that the Dutchman has brought about a new system at Atlanta and it is a departure from the incredibly successful period under Gerardo Martino. The Argentine manager was able to lead Atlanta to a MLS cup title in impressive fashion last season and it was the first major title for the new franchise.

However, Frank de Boer has decided to go down his own way, according to captain Michael Parkhurst. The defender claimed that the manager is using a variation of the system that was highly successful last season. Even though the changes do not appear to be dramatic, the starting positions of players have changed and Atlanta are still getting to grips with the system. In terms of the man marking during set piece situations, the club has also been able to witness changes with zone-oriented marking being the preferred choice compared to man-to-man marking system. However, one of the little aspects that has not changed include the attacking mindset of the team, as Frank de Boer wants his team to entertain fans.

Hence, it is possible to expect goals from Atlanta once again this season. “We’re playing a variation of the system we played last year. So not everything’s completely new, but definitely some things out of our starting positions [on the field] are a little bit new. When he wants us to press and when he doesn’t and how he wants guys to rotate; it’s a little bit more zone-oriented than man-to-man. Little things that we still need to get used to. After every game, we watch a little bit of film, see a couple things we didn’t do well or how he wants to do it different,” said Parkhurst.