ATLANTA — Ahead of their season opener against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, Atlanta United went through a cold and rainy practice Friday morning.
It has been 96 days since being eliminated in the MLS playoffs by the eventual Champion New York City -- and this team is excited to begin a new season.
“There is obviously a buzz. It’s nice to now go into the real deal," goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "Preseason is good and great, but there is nothing like a match day. There is nothing like 70,000 in a stadium."
After taking over this team in the middle of last season, Head Coach Gonzalo Pineda is excited that he got to implement his system during the offseason.
“It is very good to have that implementation and seeing the progress since the beginning almost from scratch," he said. "In the preseason, we have been trying to accomplish certain things and I think week after week, we accomplish most of those things."
Every practice is a testament to the team's potential, defender Miles Robinson said. Though he feels the team is ready for a great season, he said he continues to see the club make progress.
"We’re continuing to grow together," he said. "There is always going to be ups and downs throughout the seasons, but it is about sticking together.
Miles said though the team looks largely the same, some of their new members are already making them better and he's excited to see how well they all do together.
“Since we still have that core from last season with a few new faces that are definitely going to help us," he said. "It’s definitely looking bright.”
Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City kick off at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.