3 Takeaways from Atlanta United’s first 3 games
By Alex Miller
3. Santiago Sosa will be the guiding force of this team
This new attacking style that actually brings Atlanta back to its Tata Martino roots can only really happen because of Santiago Sosa. Sosa, a 21-year-old Argentinian from River Plate, plays the defensive midfield role as a “Regista” or director. Almost every attack builds through him because he drops deep enough to sit between the two centerbacks, but he pushes forward enough to win tackles between the defensive and midfield lines. This allows the possibility for the fullbacks to free up their positioning.
In Atlanta’s opening match against Alajuelense, Sosa was never dribbled past, and won seven of his 11 duels. He had a similar defensive record in the second leg. When Atlanta showed up to its league opener against Orlando, Sosa was used far less for his defensive positioning, and more so for his passing ability — which he also has an abundance of. Sosa managed to log 90 percent pass accuracy and reclaimed possession five times from Orlando’s two strikers.