Despite leaving the club this winter, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez still has Atlanta United on his mind. In particular, former teammate Josef Martinez.
The center back, now with Club Tijuana, scored in Copa MX play on Tuesday in a wild 4-3 win over Toluca. He flashed Martinez's signature celebration in which he drops to a knee, before blowing a kiss to the camera and putting up seven fingers. Martinez, who wears the No. 7, suffered a torn ACL in Atlanta's season opener at Nashville SC two weekends ago.
Martinez appreciated what he saw.
Gonzalez Pirez and Martinez were both inaugural members of Atlanta United, playing together from 2017-19. The pair enjoyed great success, winning MLS Cup, the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup as they took the league by storm. Another member of that inaugural squad, Miguel Almiron, also played tribute to Martinez when he scored for Newcastle United last week.
Since joining Xolos, LGP has played every minute of their Clausura slate. Tijuana are struggling, though, sitting in 16th place of 18 teams.
Here's the goal:
