“This is just a kind of team that doesn’t rattle. They’re [Minnesota United] a really good team but it’s just tough to come in here and beat us,” said Larentowicz, receiving a pat on the back from coach Frank de Boer, who took over at the start of the year from the legendary Tata Martinez. “We proved that tonight. But I’ll admit that they put a lot of pressure on us. We did well to hold up to it.”
Larentowicz isn’t the kind of guy not to note the opponents’ fight on the night – which was formidable.
Minnesota United, who were also playing their first Open Cup Final, pushed Atlanta all the way in the second half. But there just wasn’t enough in the tank to overturn an early two-goal deficit.
If you squint hard enough, you can see into the past out on that pitch where the winners embraced and the losers scowled at their silver medals. There’s Manny Lagos – an MLS champion from 1998 and now Sporting Director with Minnesota United – and Carlos Bocanegra, the Atlanta United Technical Director and Vice President who was twice an MLS Cup winner and stalwart with the U.S. National Team.
Ozzie Alonso, the aging Minnesota midfielder, just played in his seventh Open Cup Final (it should be noted, he won four with the Seattle Sounders and played another Final with second-division Charleston Battery in 2008). There’s a continuum to the Open Cup and it goes all the way back, unbroken, to 1914.
A Trophy in Pieces
The Open Cup Trophy had a rough night. It must be said.
Shortly after it got to the Atlanta United locker-room, plastic sheets draping the floor and walls, the trophy somehow ended up in three pieces. But in the spirit of the night, there was only more to share. Club captain Michael Parkhurst had the lid, Guzan a supporting rod and Julian Gressel the body – it was now a true Cup and in went a sticky mix of champagne and beer.
Thankfully, the original Open Cup trophy – the Dewar Cup – is safe behind glass back in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. Soon it will be taken out (carefully with white gloves) and the name Atlanta United FC will be engraved onto its base, alongside the old ghosts like 1914 winner Brooklyn Field Club and Morgan Strasser and Maccabi LA and Bethlehem Steel and the Fall River Marksmen – a full and fair accounting of American soccer history.
It’s startling how quickly a stadium can go silent.
Later that same night, the confetti was swept away and the Open Cup finery pulled off the walls and terraces up in the stands of the Benz. The champagne mixed with suds and spun down the drain, and the players were on their way off home for some rest before the push to the MLS playoffs.
But somewhere in those halls and walls will remain the residue, the smoke of this special night when the flashy face of 2019’s American professional soccer – with its domes and tifos and lung-busting crowds – converged with the oldest prize around.
Atlanta United are through to the Open Cup Quarterfinals of 2024. Our 2019 Champs beat third-division USL league One Cinderellas Charlotte Independence 3-0 in their opener and USL Championship (Div. II) high-flyers Charleston Battery via shootout on the road in the Round of 16. They’ll now face Indy Eleven (also from the USL Championship) in the Last Eight on July 9th).
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.
