Atlanta United and Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson held the Wednesday end-of-season press conference at the team’s practice facility.
In his first season with the team, Henderson, a veteran MLS executive, admitted that this season was a disappointment.
“We need to focus on 2026 and what’s ahead of us,” Henderson said. “We have to learn from what happened this season.”
Henderson said that, in 30 Major League Soccer seasons, this past season has been his most difficult.
“The best teams I’ve been part of as a player, coach, or as management have been teams that have had strong bonds,” he said.
With free agency, the MLS Draft, and trade opportunities possible after the MLS Cup, Henderson said, “There are a lot of opportunities to improve our team.”
Henderson spoke about the team’s Designated Players, Miguel Almiron, Emmanuel Latte Lath, and Alexy Miranchuk, all being on the squad next season. He said they would have to be better if the playoffs are in this franchise’s future.
“Some of the players had good beginnings and faded,” Henderson said. “It’s important to take the lessons we learned this year. Some of that is how do we get our players to adjust who come from Europe.”
Complementary to both Almiron and Miranchuk, both of whom had strong individual seasons considering the overall team performance, Henderson said, “We need more of those moments from all three of them.”
For example, Latte Lath started his career with The Five Stripe strongly, scoring a pair of goals in the season-opening win over CF Montreal. He tailed off after that, only managing a few more goals during the rest of the season.
Atlanta United, 5-13-16, finished the 2025 season second to last in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of D.C. United, which had 28 points.
Henderson said the young talent on this squad will continue to be utilized next season, particularly players like Luke Brennan, Ajani Fortune, Matt Edwards, and goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert.
On Hibbert, who manned the starting position between the pipes towards the end of club legend Brad Guzan’s career, he said, “He is maturing every day” and will be in conversations about the 2026 season and beyond.
“We’re happy with the progress Jayden has made,” said Henderson.
“I like to have a team that has something to prove,” Henderson said. “This club has something to prove after what we went through in 2025.”
Asked if he could talk directly to the Five Stripes fans, arguably the most loyal in Major League Soccer, Henderson said, “We are going to do everything that we can in this offseason to bring a contender to Atlanta, because that’s what the fans deserve.”