Atlanta United’s coaching search is over as the club announced the signing of Ronny Deila on Friday.

The 49-year-old Norwegian won two league titles and a Scottish League Cup with Celtic from the Scottish Premier League. He also won the 2021 MLS Cup with New York City FC. He is moving to Atlanta after a short spell with UAE Pro League club Al Wahda FC.

In recent weeks, Atlanta CEO Garth Lagerwey has suggested that the ideal coach would be a proven winner. Deila succeeds interim manager Rob Valentino, who led Atlanta to postseason success. Atlanta eliminated Inter Miami in a three-game series before suffering a loss to Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I am now approaching my 18th season in MLS. “I’ve never had the opportunity to hire a coach,” Lagerwey said on Friday at Deila’s introductory press conference. “I inherited every single person I worked with. And that’s why I couldn’t be prouder today to say that Ronny is the first coach I have chosen and I look forward to working with Ronny for years to come and taking this club to the next level.”

A winner. A champion. Back in the MLS.

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/zs1aByxkIz

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) December 20, 2024

Deila has repeatedly made it clear over the years that he prefers attacking football. His NYCFC team’s goal tally of 56 goals in 2021 was unimpressive. Still, this team’s identity was more resilient than attractive, although Deila was not known for limiting its creative players. Deila is credited with developing former NYCFC striker Taty Castellanos as well as several young academy players.

In Atlanta he will have a similar squad profile to that in New York, namely United’s dependence on foreign signings.

The challenge for Deila will be to live up to expectations and turn a team of underperformers into league leaders. Towards the end of 2024, Atlanta showed a steely mentality, but in general the club was known for its lack of mental toughness. The vocal Deila will play a big role in shaping the club’s identity in the future.

“The (players) have to feel safe. You have to know what is expected of the role in the culture,” Deila said Friday about his coaching style. “And secondly, they need to feel loved. You need to feel like you’re part of something. And that’s my job: to see people, make them feel important and part of something. And the third is to have fun.

“These three things are fundamental to development. When you know what to expect, you come every day, feel part of something and have fun. Then use every day to get better. When I come to Atlanta, I have to prove again that I can create an environment like this.”

Deila returns to MLS after leaving NYCFC midway through the 2022 season after being appointed manager of Belgian club Standard Liège and leading the team to sixth place in the Belgian Pro League and a record of 17-14-9 in it season trained. From there, Deila moved to Club Brugge and led the club to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League.

Atlanta United opens its 2025 MLS regular season on February 22 against CF Montréal.

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(Photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)