Well, the day has come. Brad Guzan will play the final match of his career. Saturday night's match will be a celebration in many ways. Of identity, as Atlanta United celebrates its yearly Pride match. Of the 17s, who've showed out rowdy and proud for another full season. And, of course, of Guzan, the winningest player in Atlanta United's history.
Head coach Ronny Deila is giving Guzan one last start in his last match before retirement, and the longtime club captain will get the armband again. It'll be Guzan's 552nd match of his two decade long playing career that started all the way back in 2005.
In front of Guzan will be a back four, with Ronald Hernández and Pedro Amador flanking Enea Mihaj and Juan Berrocal in the middle. With Stian Gregersen listed as out on Friday's availability report, Deila turns to a center back pairing of the two new summer signings.
The midfield which, barring international break absences, has been a consistent in the last couple months of the season, remains for the last match. Bartosz Slisz and Steven Alzate will support Alexey Miranchuk. The position group has shown its talent and cohesion after experiencing a lot of injuries and rotation early on in the season.
Up front, Luke Brennan returns from his duties representing the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile. He'll take the spot on the right side, and Miguel Almirón will be on the left. The Paraguayan, like others in the squad, is back from international break and will be ready to give everything for the last match of Atlanta United's season. Deila has opted for Almirón on the left side in recent weeks compared to the right side, where he spent more time earlier in the year.
At striker, Emmanuel Latte Lath starts in consecutive matches for the first time since August. The signing from February leads the 5-Stripes in MLS regular season goals with seven, and he'll have one more match to add to that total from the first whistle.
17s will get one more chance to cheer on the 5-Stripes in 2025, all the while honoring their goalkeeper's accomplished career. You may even see some bald caps in the crowd. It all goes down an hour from now, at 6 p.m. ET.
Here's the full starting XI for Atlanta United vs D.C. United:
Brad Guzan (C), Ronald Hernández, Enea Mihaj, Juan Berrocal, Pedro Amador, Bartosz Slisz, Steven Alzate, Alexey Miranchuk, Miguel Almirón, Luke Brennan, Emmanuel Latte Lath
Reserves: Josh Cohen, Jayden Hibbert, Dominik Chong Qui, Cooper Sanchez, Saba Lobjanidze, Leo Afonso, Jamal Thiaré, Cayman Togashi
Roster Notes:
-- The match will be Brad Guzan's 552nd and final career appearance. Yeah, we can't believe it either. By the end of the night, Guzan will have played 262 matches for Atlanta United, the most in club history.
-- Guzan has recorded 99 wins with the 5-Stripes, 90 of which are regular season matches and nine being Audi MLS Cup Playoff games.
-- The Big, Bald Wall has 61 total clean sheets with Atlanta United in MLS regular season play, five of which have come against D.C. United.
-- Miguel Almirón is in line to make his 100th career start for the 5-Stripes. If he does, he'll be the eighth player in club history to reach triple digit starts.
-- Jamal Thiaré is on the bench to start today's match. If he makes an appearance, it'll be the 300th of his professional career.
-- The reverse fixture of this matchup was only the second time Atlanta United and D.C. United have drawn in MLS play. The 5-Stripes are 10-7-2 (W-L-D) in those games. At home, Atlanta has outscored D.C. 19-13 in the last eight matches of the series.
