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Cajones. Huevos. Testicular fortitude. I’m not sure how you say it in Dutch, and I’m not cluttering my Google search history to find out.
Around the world, saying someone lacks testicles is a profane way to say they aren’t tough or lack the necessary will to get the job done. However you say it, Atlanta United lacked that will on Wednesday in Bridgeview, Illinois.
The match was over within the first 15 minutes. I know the Five Stripes Don’t Stop, but let’s just say they kind of lightly jogged in place tonight. In the first half alone, they allowed 5 goals, 13 shots, and 7 shots on target. It was the ugliest start we’ve seen for Atlanta United.
Once the red card was shown to Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and the Fire scored their third goal, I knew we’d be treated to some choice nuggets from Frank de Boer:
Also looking forward to some new De’s Nuggets, maybe even one or two from FdB that earn a fine from MLS! https://t.co/VLpszEJqzB
— Paysoninho (@paysoninho) July 4, 2019
And as usual for the often straightforward and direct De Boer, the Dutchman did not disappoint:
“I said at halftime we have to be ashamed of what we showed. Embarrassed. You can only show some balls, some honor.”
The team did show some pride in the second half, but by then it was far too late to matter. (The first 45 was so ugly, I confess I didn’t even watch the second half. I’m sure I wasn’t alone.)
One bright spot is that rather than blame the loss on missing stars like Barco, Josef, and Tito, Frank de Boer instead took personal responsibility for not having his team ready to play:
“It’s not explainable, I think. In every aspect of the game we weren’t there. We weren’t ready. I have to blame myself first because I have to prepare them of course. And we have to be ashamed for the first 45 minutes. For our fans, who come here and want to see Atlanta United and we were embarrassing today, especially the first half. Explanations are always difficult but we weren’t there the first half, that was clear.”
You gotta respect the nuggets on FdB to own the loss like that. Now it’s time to see if he and his players can put this disaster behind them and prepare to play the Red Bulls at The Benz this Sunday.