It wasn’t all bad, as bad as it feels.
Tristan Muyumba was fantastic
For as down in the dumps as Atlanta United fans are about the team’s recent performances, we did see one green shoot in the performance of French midfielder Tristan Muyumba. He showed technical ability that is greatly needed in Atlanta’s midfield, but more important than his ability on the ball is his soccer soccer IQ, which he showed by passing and moving forward into space (a revelatory concept here). He will make an immediate positive impact, and finally we can say that the area of the team is improved from what it was a month ago — though vulnerabilities remain.
But what’s perhaps most encouraging about Muyumba’s signing is what it signals to us as to how the front office is operating. He clearly fills a need the team has in his style of play, and it shows the recruiting ability to find that player from relative obscurity. We knew that Garth Lagerwey has a near unimpeachable record of transfers and roster-building in MLS, and while he’s not the General Manager here, he clearly has instituted processes and supported individuals allowing them to find such a player as Muyumba.