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Atlanta United are officially in. For the first time in club history, the Five Stripes have clinched a spot in the Concacaf Champions League. The club have qualified for the 2019 competition via a new mechanism that granted a berth to the team from the United States with the highest points total combined from the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.
The CCL has been an elusive prize for MLS with no club from the league being able to capture the trophy since it’s inception in 2008. A Mexican club has won the competition every year of it’s existence. Chivas de Guadalajara is the most recent Liga MX side to lift the trophy after they prevailed over Toronto FC on penalties.
Atlanta has been about thinking like a big club from day one. Their inclusion into this competition is a sign that their mission is on the right track. If they can become the first MLS club to ever win the CCL, it would go a long ways in proving that they are the cream of the crop in North America. See you in 2019, Concacaf.