Atlanta United hires Dutch legend De Boer to replace Martino

Atlanta United will defend their MLS Cup with Frank De Boer at the helm.

The Major League Soccer side announced De Boer’s hiring on Sunday morning, a shade over two weeks removed from defeating Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup Final.

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De Boer takes over for Tata Martino, who is rumored to be filling the Mexico national team managerial opening.

“The club’s sportive ambitions, as set out in a long-term strategy to be the best in class, clearly fits my personal ambitions,” de Boer said. “I would like to build on the current success to develop a secure, solid foundation for the club at the top of MLS and beyond. Aside from the club’s ambitions, the values, culture and the philosophy for the entire organization are a vital part in realizing that point of success. This is exactly what I believe in as a person and as a coach. All of this combined, makes that I am really excited to be a part of it.”

The Dutchman has been out of management since a short-lived stint running Crystal Palace in 2017, and has also led Ajax and Inter Milan. He won four Eredivisie titles as Ajax boss, and was assistant manager for the Netherlands when the Dutch finished runners-up at the 2010 World Cup.

De Boer is better known as a defender, earning 112 caps and scoring 14 goals for the Netherlands in a career that saw him win the Champions League with Ajax and several domestic titles between the Dutch club and Barcelona.

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