ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta United hired Ronny Deila as its new coach on Friday, bringing him back to Major League Soccer three years after he guided New York City FC to a championship.
The 49-year-old Norwegian manager agreed to a three-year deal to replace Rob Valentino, who served as interim coach after Gonzalo Pineda was fired in early June.
The hiring of Deila completes a overhaul of Atlanta United's leadership team. Chris Henderson was brought in Monday as chief soccer officer and sporting director.
Both Henderson and Deila will report directly to team president and CEO Garth Lagerwey, who has stressed that each will have clearly defined roles. Henderson will be in charge of building the roster, while Deila will handle on-field duties.
Deila brings more than 17 years of head coaching experience across several countries and has won a total of six trophies, including four league titles and two domestic cup competitions.
“It was critically important to us to find a proven winner,” Lagerwey said during a Zoom call with Atlanta media. “We believe we did that with Ronny.”
Deila's only previous experience in MLS was two-plus seasons at New York City FC, which was highlighted by an MLS Cup title in 2021.
Atlanta United had immediate success after entering the league in 2017, making the playoffs in its debut season and winning the MLS Cup the following year, while setting numerous league attendance records.
But the team hasn't claimed a trophy of any kind since the 2019 season, when it captured both the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in addition to making a run to the MLS Eastern Conference final.
Atlanta has gone through five coaches in the last five seasons, including Valentino serving two stints as interim coach.
Despite the drop-off, Deila said United has everything it needs to be a championship contender, from state-of-the-art training facilities to a fervent fan base that has led MLS in attendance at 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium every season since joining the league.
“I see the eagerness to win and that’s a thing that I really, really want to achieve together with all these guys,” Deila said.
Lagerwey fired both Pineda and technical director Carlos Bocanegra, who had been with the team since its inception, during this past season. Atlanta barely qualified for the playoffs with the lowest point total of any postseason team, then pulled off a stunning upset of Lionel Messi and Supporters' Shield winner Inter Miami before losing to Orlando in the conference semifinals.
Henderson made his first major move on Friday, acquiring midfielder Mateusz Klich from D.C. United in exchange for Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
The 34-year-old Klich, a native of Poland, signed with D.C. United ahead of the 2023 season after a long career in Europe. He has started 62 of 63 matches over the last two years, scoring six goals to go along with 22 assists.
Now, Atlanta is turning to Deila in hopes that he can lead the team to the kind of success it had in its first three seasons.
Deila landed in Atlanta the same week he was fired by Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates, where he lasted only about five months in his most recent job. He was vague on the reasons for his dismissal, but Atlanta United was thrilled that he was available.
“Working with somebody like Ronny, the way he talks about people, the way he talks about building relationships, the way he talks about collaborating, the way he talks about leadership, I think those are all really consistent with our core values,” Lagerwey said.
Deila said he plans to install an attacking style of play that was a hallmark of Atlanta United during its first two years under coach Gerardo Martino.
“My style is very offensive,” Deila said. “You can defend to maybe not get relegated or to keep up, but if you’re gonna win something, you have to play yourself into it. You have to take charge in the games and and be — especially at home — very, very dominant in what you’re doing.”
AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
FILE - Brugge's head coach Ronny Deila celebrates at the end of the Europa Conference League group D soccer match between Besiktas and Club Brugge at Besiktas park stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. .(AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted eight people of involvement in the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty outside his school near Paris four years ago, a horrific death that shocked the country.
Paty, 47, was killed outside his school on Oct. 16, 2020, days after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. The assailant, an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, was shot to death by police.
Those who have been on trial on terrorism charges at a special court in Paris since the end of November were accused, in some cases, of providing assistance to the perpetrator and, in others, of organizing a hate campaign online before the murder took place.
The 540-seat courtroom in central Paris was packed for the verdict, which marked the final chapter of the Paty trial. The atmosphere became charged as the lead judge delivered the sentences.
Families of the accused, seated on the benches, reacted strongly — there were gasps, cries, shouts, and even ironic clapping erupted, prompting the judge to pause several times and call for silence.
“They lied about my brother,” shouted one relative. Another woman, crying on the shoulder of a family member, exclaimed, “They took my baby from me,” before being escorted out by police officers.
Heavy surveillance, with over 50 police officers, kept order during the tense session.
Prosecutors had requested sentences ranging from 18 months suspended imprisonment to 16 years in prison against the defendants. They include friends of assailant Abdoullakh Anzorov, who allegedly helped purchase weapons for the attack and the father of a schoolgirl whose lies started the fatal spiral of events.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor had asked the court to downgrade the offenses of four of the eight defendants, prompting ire from Paty's family.
“It's more than a disappointment,” Paty's sister Mickaëlle earlier told broadcaster TF1. “In a moment like this, it feels like one is fighting for nothing.”
Also, the public prosecutor dropped the charge of complicity in favor of a lower charge of association with a terrorist enterprise against the two young men accused of providing the logistical support to the killer. He asked for 14 years in prison for Naïm Boudaoud and 16 years for Azim Epsirkhanov.
The attack occurred against a backdrop of protests in many Muslim countries and calls online for violence targeting France and the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had republished its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a few weeks before Paty’s death to mark the opening of the trial over deadly 2015 attacks on its newsroom by Islamic extremists.
The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious. But the fallout from Paty’s killing reinforced the French state’s commitment to freedom of expression and its firm attachment to secularism in public life.
His death left an imprint on the nation, and several schools in France are now named after Paty.
Much attention at the trial focused on Brahim Chnina, the Muslim father of a teenager who was 13 at the time and claimed that she had been excluded from Paty’s class when he showed the caricatures on Oct. 5, 2020.
Chnina, 52, sent a series of messages to his contacts denouncing Paty, saying that “this sick man” needed to be fired, along with the address of the school in the Paris suburb of Conflans Saint-Honorine. In reality, Chnina’s daughter had lied to him and had never attended the lesson in question.
Paty was giving a lesson mandated by the National Education Ministry on freedom of expression. He discussed the caricatures in this context, saying students who did not wish to see them could temporarily leave the classroom.
An online campaign against Paty snowballed, and 11 days after the lesson, Anzorov attacked the teacher with a knife as he walked home, and displayed the teacher’s head on social media. Police later shot Anzorov as he advanced toward them, armed.
Chnina is accused of alleged association with a terrorist enterprise for targeting the 47-year-old teacher through false information. The public prosecutor requested a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment for him
His daughter was tried last year in a juvenile court and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Four other students at Paty’s school were found guilty of involvement and given suspended sentences; a fifth, who pointed out Paty to Anzorov in exchange for money, was given a 6-month term with an electronic bracelet.
Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who presented himself as a spokesperson for Imams of France although he had been dismissed from that role, is another key figure in the trial. He filmed a video in front of the school with the father of the student. He referred to the teacher as a “thug” multiple times and sought to pressure the school administration via social media. Prosecutors have requested a 12-year sentence for him.
Some of the defendants expressed regrets and claimed their innocence on the eve of the verdict. They did not convince Paty's family.
“It’s something that really shocks the family,” lawyer Virginie Le Roy said. “You get the feeling that those in the box are absolutely unwilling to admit any responsibility whatsoever. Apologies are pointless, they won’t bring Samuel back, but explanations are precious to us. But, unfortunately I have to make a more than mixed assessment. We haven’t had many explanations of the facts.”
Petrequin reported from London.
FILE - People hold a photo of the history teacher Samuel Paty , who was beheaded last week, during a memorial march in homage to him, Tuesday, Oct.20, 2020 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after paying his respects by the coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)
FILE - A Republican Guard holds a portrait of Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)
