Coello will look to pick up the slack in Flores’ absence: “Be more aware of my position and trying to cover for what we’ll miss in not having him. Bringing that physical side of the game that I know that I can bring and trying to do a little bit of what he does.”
Losing internationals comes with the territory.
“A big blow, but when you sign international players you know that that’s part of it,” balanced John Herdman. “It’s part of what keeps them motivated and some of the levers you’re pulling as a coach to keep them performing at the highest level.”
Atlanta, for their part, will be missing six players, including four key starters in Thiago Almada (Argentina), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Greece), Bartosz Slisz (Poland), and Caleb Wiley (USA Olympic Qualification).
“As an international coach, it used to drive us nuts,” recalled Herdman of the club-vs-country conflicts while managing Canada. “You’ll be getting the phone call inevitably: ‘Can this guy come back early? Can this guy just play one game?’”
“You only see players for two matches in a three-month period, you’re trying to build chemistry, give people opportunity,” he explained. “It’s a tough one. Atlanta should be coming here with Almada and their top players.”
“That’s what we want to see, what the fans want to see,” Herdman added.
An early season injury front has worked its…
