Atlanta United: Meet the revitalized Justin Meram
Atlanta United signed Justin Meram hoping for a revitalized version of the former Columbus Crew winger. On Saturday, they got to meet him.
Justin Meram is an MLS veteran who arrived at Atlanta United looking to change some opinions with newfound hunger. There was a hope that the trade to Atlanta was the fresh start that Meram needed to revitalize his career and show that he still has something left in the tank.
He has all the ability make a major impact on this Atlanta team with high expectations of repeating as MLS champions, but could he actually produce?
The Iraqi international was born in a small town outside of Detroit, Michigan. He played at the collegiate level at the University of Michigan for the Wolverines for two seasons before being drafted 15th overall in the 2011 MLS draft by the Columbus Crew. He has since made 228 appearances in MLS.
In that span, Meram has scored 41 goals and assisted 37, with the majority coming during a stretch between 2014-2017. Since then, he has struggled a bit to find his form and was traded away from Columbus and then back to the Crew within the same year. Meram battled injuries and falling out with some of his managers, including Caleb Porter and current USMNT manager, Gregg Berhalter.
On May 7th, Atlanta United traded for Meram in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money as well as a second-round draft pick in 2020. Atlanta was in need of some depth in the midfield as they have been battling against injury and international duty for a major portion of the current season. The Atlanta technical staff saw something in Meram that gave them confidence that he would be a nice fit in coach Frank de Boer’s system. Thus far, they have been proven right.
This past Saturday, Meram announced to the Atlanta fans — and the league as a whole — that he is back, and in a big way. Atlanta United hosted the Montreal Impact and Meram was the difference maker in a much-needed win for the Five Stripes. He opened up the scoring in the 35th minute with a screaming finish, shifting the ball inside a defender and rifling it into the far top corner with a sumptuous, curling strike.
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Montreal equalized early in the second half. The Impact played the first half cautiously, seemingly as if they were content to just sit in and earn a point on the road in one of the toughest places to play in the league, but the goal shortly after the break injected confidence and it opened up the game for both teams. That was before Meram had something else to say about the result, smashing home the eventual game-winning strike from a loose ball at a corner after Brek Shea turned it back into the six-yard box.
Justin Meram made a statement on Saturday night, and he did so in some style. Perhaps he has something left to prove in his career after all. Atlanta seems to be a good fit for Meram’s style of play and there is confidence that he can make a major impact. Attacking depth and rotation throughout the midfield and forward positions is vital and, with Meram now in the fold, de Boer has plenty of options to turn to.
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As Saturday proved, Meram could yet be a crucial player as Atlanta United look to maintain their playoff spot and push for an Eastern Conference title.