MLS awards Atlanta United’s Tata Martino as coach of the year award

Atlanta United manager Tata Martino was named Major League Soccer’s Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

Martino, 55, won 32.72 percent of the overall vote, beating out LAFC’s Bob Bradley, who received 22.34 percent. Sporting Kansas City’s Peter Vermes finished third with 10.95 percent.

With the vote divided between players, club technical staff and media, it was the player and club votes that pushed Martino over the top, with the Argentine carrying a 46.92 to 20.53 edge in the player vote, and a 29.91 to 14.95 percent advantage in the club vote. Bradley carried the media vote 31.53 to 21.32.

Martino’s work with Atlanta United during the organization’s first two years has been impressive, leading the Five Stripes to the postseason both years. Atlanta just missed out on winning the Supporters’ Shield this season, losing out to the New York Red Bulls, but remains in contention for MLS Cup, and has already qualified for next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Martino has already announced he won’t return to manage Atlanta next season, with the club currently preparing for an Eastern Conference finals playoff tie against the New York Red Bulls.

Martino has also proven adept at attracting young, up-and-coming talent from South America, bringing on board MVP finalists Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez, who shattered the record for goals in a single season with 31 strikes in league play.

Prior to joining Atlanta, Martino garnered coaching experience at the highest levels. He led the Argentina national team back to a No. 1 FIFA world ranking in 2015 after guiding the Paraguay National Team to their best-ever World Cup performance in 2010.

On the club side, the former South American Coach of the Year also managed Barcelona to a second-place finish after his turnaround for Newell’s Old Boys (Argentina) led to a Torneo Final victory in 2013, the same year he won the Copa Libertadores.

As a player for Newell’s Old Boys, Martino still holds the record for games played, and led them to three Argentine Primera Division titles before transferring to CD Tenerife in Spain’s La Liga.

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