Tata Martino has emerged as the clear frontrunner to be named Atlanta United’s next head coach, sources briefed on the situation told The Athletic.
Atlanta is still conducting interviews with candidates, but there’s a clear feeling that Martino, who previously coached Atlanta from 2016-2018, is the top choice, sources said.
Martino and other final candidates are expected to fly into Atlanta to meet with ownership, sources added. The two sides have begun outlining contract terms, though one source cautioned the club has discussed contract terms with other candidates too.
Martino was the first manager in Atlanta’s history, leading the club to its best period of success, which included winning the 2018 MLS Cup. He departed Atlanta after winning the final.
The club continued success over the following 12 months built mainly on Martino’s roster, but has struggled mightily in the years since.
Since Martino’s departure, Atlanta has cycled through four full-time managers. Routinely one of the league’s highest spenders – Atlanta is responsible for five of the top seven most expensive transfers in league history – it has missed the playoffs in three of the last six years and only advanced past the first round once. That came last year, when Atlanta upset top-seeded Inter Miami, which, at the time, was managed by Martino.
Atlanta is coming off a disastrous 2025 season, one that cost Ronny Deila his job after just one season. The club, which won just five games and finished two points off the bottom of the Eastern Conference, spent more money over two transfer windows building the team than any club in league history had.
That expenditure was highlighted by then-league-record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath, the return of club legend Miguel Almirón as well as a big deal to sign Alexey Miranchuk, three deals worth north of $45 million in transfer fees. And yet the club was still among MLS’s worst. Almirón (third), Miranchuk (10th) and Latte Lath (14th) are three of the highest-paid players in the league, per MLSPA salary data.
Since leaving Atlanta, Martino has managed the Mexican national team and Inter Miami, where he guided Lionel Messi & Co. to a Supporters’ Shield and league-record point total. He has not worked in management since his surprising departure from Miami last November.
Martino recently told The Athletic in an exclusive interview that he left Miami due to “a personal matter” that demanded “at least the first six months of this year from me, so there was no way I could stay on.”
The 62-year-old said, however, that he was ready to get back to work.
“As usually happens for those of us who’ve been in this game for so long, you can’t stay away for much more than that,” Martino said.
Atlanta’s roster will need further reconstruction, despite a complete overhaul already having happened in the last 18 months. Still, the club is viewed as one of the biggest jobs in the league given resources from ownership and fan support.
Paul Tenorio contributed reporting to this story.