The breeze is blowing, and the long sleeves are showing. It's feeling like fall at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground as Atlanta United practiced Friday morning before traveling to Los Angeles.
With the colder temperatures, it wouldn't have been the worst day for the typical media availability setup — outside on the side of the building. But with the new expansion of the Training Ground now in use, that wasn't the case. Head coach Ronny Deila and Alexey Miranchuk walked into the new press conference room indoors, complete with a permanently stationed camera and mic, desks and all.
Their reactions walking into the room said it all, as the two were pleased with the upgraded scenery. They both spoke about the 5-Stripes' lengthy road trip to Los Angeles to face LAFC Sunday night — and what the squad needs to do during that match to head back home successful.
New facilities and their impact
It wasn't just a new place to answer questions that Atlanta United enjoyed during Friday's session. The existing gym is now all theirs, with a new gym specifically for Atlanta United 2 and the Academy in the expansion.
"I think it's a fantastic facility," Deila said. "In my opinion, now this club [has] the best facilities I've seen at all the clubs I've been to. It's something to be proud of. It says something about the commitment [from] Mr. Blank, that you put all the things that you need to get the best out of every player into place. In the end, it's no excuses. You have everything."
Expanding was just a necessary step for a club that has grown massively since its inaugural season. Innovation drives Atlanta United in its quest to "get back to winning championships." Those words were from Blank Family of Businesses Owner and Chairman Arthur M. Blank during the ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday. It's clear the high standards for club success come right from the top.
The facilities themselves are top-of-the-line, and they'll enable further player development, but Deila pointed out that physical development isn't the only plus.
"[With] more space, you don't need to have a lot of people around all the time, so you can create even more bonds inside the team," Deila said. "Because if you have too many people around all the time, then they talk to many people and you don't get that real togetherness."
Some of the changes will be felt even further down the line. A second phase of renovations are scheduled to be complete in new year, reallocating current space for player rest and recovery. A therapy treatment space, a hydrotherapy room and hyperbaric chambers will have dedicated spaces.
For now, the team won't have too much time to enjoy their new spaces as they travel to Los Angeles Friday afternoon. And that begs the question...
What do you do on a nearly five-hour flight?
That was one of the questions posed to both Deila and Miranchuk during their media availability Friday morning. On its surface, they proposed some of their favorite time killing activities: working on tactics, watching movies and, of course, sleeping.
Aside from finding out how to fill up their time, the trip will be a physical test as well, as the squad will have to battle more jet lag than most of their away trips. That's why the 5-Stripes are off to the City of Angels a day earlier than they normally do.
Leaving earlier is a move the club reserves for longer trips. The squad will train Saturday in Los Angeles before the Sunday night match. 17s tuning in will be up a little later than usual, as the match kicks off at 9 p.m. ET Sunday.
The lengthy trip isn't too worrisome for a squad full of players who are used to long international flights.
"I remember one, 10 hours one way," Miranchuk said. "[Four and a half hours] is chilling. Take a nap, one movie."
On the other end of the journey stands LAFC. Atlanta United will have their hands full with some notable attacking talents. Son Heung-min, their summer signing from Tottenham Hotspur, leads the lines alongside MLS veteran Denis Bouanga. The two have combined for 42 goal contributions this season in MLS, and Son has played just eight matches. They like to hit on the break with pace, something the 5-Stripes are wary of heading into the match.
"We need to have enough people around the [defensive] area," Deila said. "That's going to be good to force them wide, be very compact in center of the pitch. We also have to make progress for them. You cannot just go there and sit in and defend. You also have to go the other way as well."
Miranchuk, an attacking midfielder who contributes mostly going forward, was quick to call on his fellow midfielders and forwards to turn up their defensive intensity. Then, he said, the 5-Stripes can focus on what they're doing going forward to score goals.
"Away games, especially against good teams, we need to think first about defense, offensive marking and all this stuff," Miranchuk said. "... Us forwards and attacking players, not in only this game but especially in this game, [need to] help a lot in the defense to stop and then think about counter attacks and find some space. But I think, first thing has to be defense. Good, solid defense."
The 5-Stripes have two more road matches before heading home for the season finale. Building confidence through positive play is always welcomed, but the squad knows results are the biggest boost they can get. They'll believe they have what it takes to go toe to toe with another top Western Conference side, just as they did against San Diego FC September 20.
A big boost in recent weeks has been health. We'll see tomorrow how the availability report shapes up, but Deila said it should be the same squad ready for selection as last week.
"Now we have consistency," Deila said. "We don't have many players come up with injuries or different things. We have the same selections every week, and that is important to get success."
