The 2018 season feels like an eon ago. We've all aged tremendously since then.
If you can remember all the way back about 24 months ago, though, Atlanta United and the New York Red Bulls had a Supporters' Shield chase for the ages. It was incredible, it was feisty, it was so much fun. The clubs having a mutual, genuine disdain for each other amplified everything. They had a late-season matchup at Red Bull Arena, too, and it felt like a big-time playoff clash. You don't say that often about regular-season games. The Red Bulls won that day, 2-0.
It was part of RBNY's closing run of five consecutive wins to seal the Shield. Atlanta ended their season with five wins from their last seven games, falling short of what would be their first trophy. They didn't have to wait long, of course. Atlanta got their revenge by beating RBNY in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs en route to lifting the Cup. Still, these were two titans at the top of their game and the league.
Two years later, both teams are fighting near an expanded playoff line with interim coaches roaming their sidelines. Things change quickly in MLS.
Here's where both clubs stand as they search for their next head coach.
Atlanta United
Updates have been sparse surrounding Atlanta's coaching vacancy.
When the club mutually agreed to part ways with Frank de Boer after the MLS is Back Tournament, original reports suggested they'd focus the search on South America. Fans suggested names like Gabriel Heinze, the well-respected manager most recently of Velez Sarsfield, former Mexico national team boss Javier Aguirre, or even River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo.
Mum is still largely the word around the search, but ATLUTD executives say they have trimmed down the list.
“The coaching search is tracking positively for us, we’ve narrowed down our search," technical director Carlos Bocanegra told reporters this week on a virtual conference call. "This is something we want to get right, we’re making sure we’re doing our due diligence in making the right hire. But it’s not something I can speak publicly about at the moment.”
Bocanegra also declined to give a timeline on when they expect to make a hire. One thing is for sure, though, the next boss will be one to re-instill Atlanta's ethos in their first two years under Tata Martino: front-footed, high-energy, attacking soccer. Interim coach Stephen Glass has worked to rejuvenate the squad in that vein, despite being without superstar forward Josef Martinez and recently transferring Designated Player Pity Martinez.
New York Red Bulls
UPDATE (Sept. 25): Another name has emerged in the Red Bulls coaching search, with Once a Metro reporting that 44-year-old Portuguese manager Jorge Simao is a potential candidate for the position. Simao most recently managed Saudi Arabia's Al-Fayha, but has otherwise spent his career managing in his native Portugal.
Struber was also asked about the Red Bulls links on Friday, to which he responded, "It is not a new one for me that some clubs are interested in me. It is the situation. But right now, I have a big focus and concentration here in Barnsley.
Sept. 24: The Red Bulls parted ways with Chris Armas at the beginning of September after a disappointing loss to D.C. United.
Fully embedded with the club after joining in February, head of sport Kevin Thelwell is now heading the search for Armas' successor. The English executive has begun to make his mark at his new club since MLS returned.
“In this business, we have to make difficult decisions based on performances and, fundamentally, results," Thelwell said in a club statement when the coaching change was made. "At this time, it’s my decision that we must go in a different direction in order to meet the ambitions we have for our football club. ... We will conduct a wide, thorough search for our next head coach."
Reports around where the Red Bulls may turn have been limited. The first candidate linked with the gig is Barnsley head coach Gerhard Struber, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.
Struber took charge of Barnsley in November of last year with the club languishing last in the Championship, England's second tier, and led the club to safety. His style fits the Red Bull way, as he's been described as "courageous and direct" with pressing tenants that fans come to expect from all Red Bull teams.
The Austrian also has ties to Red Bull global. He played for the RB Salzburg (when they were SV Austria Salzburg, before Red Bull purchased them) during his own career. Upon retirement, he coaching several RB Salzburg academy sides and feeder club FC Liefering before leaving to take his first senior job with Wolfsberger AC in Austria.
It's Thelwell's first big period of transition at the club, and in addition to overseeing a coaching changes, he has also been busy in the transfer market. Under his stewardship, the Red Bulls have acquired, among others, English midfielder Dru Yearwood from Brentford as a Young Designated Player and attacker Samuel Tetteh on loan from RB Salzburg.
