The “Magic Diamond” of Atlanta United
Atlanta’s attacking quartet is bringing back memories of a classic MLS trio.
Here is a fan post I contributed to the Dirty South Soccer website in 2017. I look back on this post and wonder if we’re about to have a new “magic diamond” in Atlanta with Almiron, Saba, Miranchuck, and Latte Lath. The original 2017 ATL Magic Diamond of Miggy, Josef, Asad, and Villalba certainly made a statement in the early days of the Five Stripes.
Image: Atlanta United X post
There have been some lesser versions of the ATL Magic Diamond with some very talented players like Pity, Barco, Almada, Vazquez, and Giakoumakis cycle through the team but the chemistry and goal production just didn’t reach Magic Diamond level status. Time will tell if this new quartet is as good as I think they can be…I think I got most of it right on the first diamond all the way to MLS Cup.
The original ATL Magic Diamond (Substituting Gressel for Asad in 2018) scored 103 goals (Atlanta scored 157 total goals as a franchise) with 63 assists in 2017 and 2018. That scoring pace was even better than the original DC United Magic Triangle production. The parallels even extend to Roy Lassiter, just like Gressel, coming in to spell Raul Diaz Arce in the triangle.
2025 could be something special if history repeats itself with a second coming of the ATL Magic Diamond…
The original article from March 2017:
Mar 24, 2017, 8:00am EDT
I’ve seen this all before…
The year was 1997 and on a rain-soaked October afternoon sitting in RFK Stadium I saw DC United defended their title to win the second MLS Cup. DC United had entered the MLS playoffs as the Supporters’ Shield winners finishing in first place in the Eastern Conference with a solid 21-11 record and took that momentum all the way to MLS Cup. Even more impressive was the prolific attack of the 1997 team who scored a league record 70 goals averaging 2.19 goals per game en-route to the title.
The DC United “magic triangle” of midfielder Marco “El Diablo” Etcheverry along with forwards Raul Diaz Arce and Jamie Moreno provided the high-powered attack (scoring 33 of the 70 goals) to the DC machine that rarely if ever saw the Eagles outgunned in a match. The first goal of MLS Cup 1997 summarized the triangle’s brilliance as Diaz Arce dummied a pass to allow Moreno to calmly claim the opening goal of the match.
So sitting in section 111 at Bobby Dodd this past game it hit me. The 2017 Atlanta United attack reminds me so much of that 1996-1997 “magic triangle” that DC United rode to two MLS Cups, a US Open Cup, and later a 1998 CONCACAF Champions’ Cup (Diaz Arce had since been replaced in the triangle by US International Roy Lassiter). I see the current Atlanta “magic diamond” of Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez, Yamil Asad, and Hector Villalba just as dynamic, just as exciting, and possibly more lethal than that DC “magic triangle” of 20 years ago.
The DC triangle-ATL diamond similarities are all there for me.
The DC triangle were all players in their 20’s with Etcheverry and Diaz Arce at 27 years old and Moreno at 23 years old. Diablo and Moreno were regulars on the Bolivian national team while Diaz Arce was a steady call-up for the Salvadorans. The chemistry was there from the beginning and the fluid possession and flair of the triangle was only overshadowed by the ruthless, cruel finishing of the group as they tormented defenses league-wide over that span.
Our ATL diamond also has all its players in their 20’s with the duo of Almiron and Martinez at 23 years old with Asad and Villalba checking in at year younger. Almiron and Martinez are headed to South America on World Cup qualifiers later this month to represent Paraguay and Venezuela respectively. And if you’ve seen any of the first three games you know these guys can combine, attack, possess, and finish as both individuals and as a collective unit.
It has been a thing of beauty to behold. Martinez has been the point of the diamond like Diaz Arce of the past and has a league-leading five goals to his account. Almiron has been the El Diablo of the diamond playing wicked balls (2 assists) that dissect opponents while also adding timely goals like the MLS Goal of the Week for Week 2. Asad who scored the first goal in club history (1 goal and 2 assists) along with Villalba (1 goal and 1 assist) have provided the balancing blades of the diamond just like Moreno did 20 years ago that both steady the ATL attack and unbalance the opponent’s defense at the same time. Just ask Chicago how they liked defending touchline to touchline and you’ll see the value of this balance and unbalance of the ATL magic diamond. ATL UTD has scored 11 goals from 8 assists this season with the “magic diamond” accounting for 9 of the goals and 4 of the assists. This is clearly ahead of schedule of the 1997 magic triangle production numbers but we do have an extra player in the ATL diamond than the DC triangle.
So whether it has been the brilliance of Tata Martino, the shrewd transactions of the front office, or just the courage to play this style of soccer from the diamond… it has all come together nicely to create an excellent product on the field this season.
Yes, it is very early in a long, challenging MLS expansion season. But this ATL UTD “magic diamond” is for real and it’s going to be exciting to see how far this group can go.