Atlanta United on Friday named Ronny Deila as the club’s head coach through the 2027 MLS season.
Deila is making a return to MLS, having coached New York City FC to the MLS Cup in 2021.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Ronny as the new head coach of Atlanta United,” club president and CEO Garth Lagerwey said. “He has a proven track record of winning in multiple leagues around the world, including the 2021 MLS Cup with NYCFC, and his knowledge of MLS was a key factor in our search.
“We believe his style of play aligns with the club’s philosophy as we look to build a team that will compete for trophies consistently.”
Deila has won a total of six trophies, including four league titles and two domestic cup competitions in his 17 years of coaching. In two seasons in charge at Scottish Premiership club Celtic, Deila led the team to the 2015 Scottish League Cup and consecutive league titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
“I want to thank Arthur M. Blank and Garth Lagerwey for this opportunity and couldn’t be more excited to join Atlanta United,” Deila said. “This is a club with great ownership, excellent facilities and the ambition to succeed and continue to drive the league forward. I’m happy to return to MLS, a competitive league that I enjoy, and I’m eager to arrive and get to work with our group of players.”
The 49-year-old left NYCFC to join Standard Liege on July 1, 2022 and led the club to a sixth-place finish in the Belgian Pro League and a 17-14-9 record that season. His last job was as a coach for Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates, where he lasted only five months.
In transfer news, Atlanta United acquired midfielder Mateusz Klich from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round pick in Friday’s draft.
D.C. United receives the 23rd overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft.
Klich, 34, recorded six goals and 22 assists in 63 MLS matches (62 starts) with D.C. during the 2023-24 seasons.
The Poland international previously played for England’s Leeds United (2017-23) as well as stints in the Netherlands (Utrecht, Twente and PEC Zwolle) and Germany (VfL Wolfsburg II and FC Kaiserslautern) and Poland (Cracovia).
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