The only way to describe Atlanta United’s 2024 MLS Playoffs run is with hyperbole, exaggeration to the point of at which it feels silly – because, in reality, it is.
Think about it – 34 points separated Inter Miami and the Five Stripes in the 2024 Supporters’ Shield Standings at the end of the regular season. In no fathomable world was there even the slightest indication that Brad Guzan and Co. would slay the three-headed dragon of South Beach that was Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Diego Gomez, one of MLS’ best attacking trios.
But here we are, just days out from the MLS Conference Semifinals, and Inter Miami’s season is over while Atlanta is alive, and thriving.
The 40-year-old Guzan was their savior during the three-match series, with Atlanta winning the final two matches after dropping the opener. The ex-USMNT goalkeeper stood on his head and grew a few extra pairs of arms each match to see his squad over the line. It was a three-game stretch of goalkeeping heroics that the league has rarely seen before.
But top to bottom, Atlanta are a team with character, and even though their postseason run feels unimaginable still, they’re ready to fight, ready to show their resilience. The latter word is the key. Entering the final day of the regular season, the Five Stripes only had a 10 percent chance to qualify for the postseason. They needed a monumental road victory, and help from multiple results around the league, just to get an invitation to playoff soccer.
Now, they’ve sent Messi, Suarez and Miami packing. The No. 9 seed, a Wildcard team, are now just two wins away from competing in MLS Cup. That is not hyperbole. It’s reality.
Interim head coach Rob Valentino has this team locked-in with a vision, and they’re playing some of the league’s best soccer at the moment. Perhaps it’s luck, maybe it’s the fact that this is just how the playoffs work in professional sports, or, just perhaps, the Five Stripes are just MLS’ team of destiny in 2024. GOAL looks at how the magic has come together.