Garth Lagerwey: ‘Shame on us if we don’t take this opportunity’
Atlanta United President is bullish on MLS, Leagues Cup and his former team’s future prospects.
Editor’s note: This interview is being made available to everyone. In the future, though, full versions of interviews like this one will usually only be available to paid subscribers. You can access those for as little as $19/year while also doing your part to make Sounder at Heart and independent soccer journalism sustainable.
Garth Lagerwey may have left Seattle, but about six months into his new job it doesn’t appear as though Atlanta United has changed him all that much. When I caught up with him on Wednesday, he was almost as interested in talking about Sounder at Heart’s impending journey toward independence as I was in conducting our interview.
As usual, he was almost shockingly open about his personal life while speaking in very high-minded terms about Leagues Cup, what Lionel Messi means for MLS and the challenges he is still sorting through at Atlanta United. He also had some very encouraging things to say about Craig Waibel and the foundations of success that he believes remain in Seattle.
Here are some of the highlights of the conversation:
On how his new job as CEO and President of Atlanta United differs from his previous job with the Sounders: “Everything on the business side, managing budgets. In Seattle, I’d have to wait to see what resources were allocated to the soccer team, and here in the more strategic role, I’m able to say I want to allocate such and such efforts toward driving revenue and I’m going to direct the revenue into a, b and c on the soccer side. It’s still a shared enterprise, we share ticketing, and corporate partnerships, it’s not that simple, but it’s being involved in that stuff. It’s a degree of insight and it was important to me that I keep learning. This was an opportunity for growth.”
On how involved he is on the soccer side: “The buck stops for me, I’m responsible for everything, whether it’s praise or criticism, it’s still going to come my way same as it was in Seattle. Same as Seattle I’m building a team on the soccer side and you’re going to have scouts and data analysts. One of the biggest adds is we have Dimitrios Efstathiou. He’s a really high-level guy and he’s running all the transactions for us. That’s the single most liberating thing for me, to be able to pop up and work on strategies. We’re still going to source players in a similar way — using scouting and analytics — Carlos Bocanegra will direct that. Jonathan Spector is the head of recruitment. But when it gets to a certain point, they hand it off to Dimitrios and he directs the transaction. That was my job. You’re in the trenches, you’re negotiating, you’re managing a visa process, and your fingernails are dirty. That’s not to say I do none of that now but in general we have folks who can handle that which allows me to step away and be strategic. The summer transfer window becomes ‘here’s the blueprint I want to get to.’ I’m setting the plan and the course of the ship. But someone else is on the rudder steering the ship. It’s about hiring the right people and putting the right processes in place and hopefully, empowering everybody and making them successful.”
On how his family is settling into Atlanta: “I think my wife’s not pissed at me anymore. We love Seattle, I never tried to hide that. It’s a wonderful place. My oldest is 11 and was 3 when moved there. Definitely hotter, more churches, it’s a different culture. There are pros and cons and definitely some of both. Moving was hard on the family. Everyone assures me it makes your kids resilient. But in the process of acquiring that resiliency there are bumps along the way. I think it’s worth it, but does that mean it’s all smooth? ... It’s been a process. We’re getting adjusted. But it will be nice to be back in Seattle and see familiar faces.”
On how much politics and pop culture he gets to talk these days: “I still interject them, it’s just a matter of if they are received well or not. Some of my pop culture references are not that relevant. A significant point of pride is my 11-year-old, my biggest D&D enthusiast, looked long and far for a game, so we started a D&D club here in Atlanta. He has 8-10 kids who are coming once a week and playing on Sunday afternoons. I couldn’t be prouder. He’s Dungeon Master, he’s running the game. We’re keeping that Seattle flame alive and well in Atlanta.”
His thoughts on Leagues Cup: “I love it. I think it’s fantastic. We went out in the group stage. It was a really cool game. It reminded me of the Pumas match or playing Leon in Leagues Cup. You had this multicultural audience and friendly rivalry atmosphere, any play in the game got loud raucous support and it does make for a fun atmosphere. ... If we’re inclusive and we’re diverse with a great soccer stadium where everyone feels safe and can express their culture, that’s a pretty good formula for trying to grow this. I think the Leagues Cup can be an important part of that.”
On how Messi’s arrival might change things: “There is some hard evidence that if you increase the level of play, maybe that’s by simplifying the salary cap, eliminating some DP buckets, maybe it’s the TAM and GAM and all the stuff that makes the league confusing to follow, there is some opportunity to examine that and make it more accessible to general sports fans. So maybe Messi captured a couple of people who weren’t paying attention before and maybe we can keep them by having a system that’s transparent so that everyone can understand and maybe that is providing more options and ways to spend money on teams so you can get creative team building?”
On how quickly we might see those changes: “The specter of the NASL still seems to haunt us, but there’s some real opportunity. Shame on us if we don’t take this opportunity before the 2026 World Cup. You’re talking about Copa America in ‘24 ... followed by the Club World Cup (in 2025). It’s a once-in-a-lifetime ramp and we owe it to ourselves to get on the ramp and try to push as much as we can to make it as big as we can.”
On his assessment of the transfer window: “What I’d say is the ability to not have to do a bunch of things is a real privilege, one that maybe one I underestimated. I think the last summer in Seattle we also didn’t do anything. You come to Atlanta, we’re trying to implement a different model, but it’s been really, really challenging. We have a number of guaranteed contracts over the long term that we don’t have flexibility with, we’ve had to reposition some things and have been as focused on moving players out as on bringing players in. It’s been a really complex enterprise and we probably have one more transfer window before we get to the foundation I want to have to build us toward sustainable success long term.”
On the Sounders’ situation: “What I’d say is the Sounders are in really good hands with Craig Waibel. He was my right-hand guy my last couple of years there; Adrian Hanauer is one of the most engaged owners in the league and very knowledgeable in terms of the workings of the league and team; you have long-term stability in the organization; and you have a vocal supportive fan base. You have all the ingredients you’d look for in a successful franchise and certainly in moving on it’s given me some perspective on the challenges of having to institute a new plan in a new place.”
Lagerwey and Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda will be honored ahead of Sunday’s game at Lumen Field.