To say that the firing of Gabriel Heinze as head coach of Atlanta United was not dramatic is an understatement. The former five stripes boss has been accused of limiting his players intake of water during training sessions to being considerably disorganized in his day-to-day relationships with other employees of the club.
Now a report has surfaced in Argentine newspaper La Nacion where someone close to Heinze’s camp has called the allegations a media “witch hunt” and that many of the things reported are false or overblown.
The people in Heinze’s camp have claimed to be “shocked by the witch hunt in the press”, and that it is a “campaign to smear” the former head coach. During his short stint at Atlanta United and MLS, Gabriel Heinze won 2 games in 13 that he coached.
Heinze’s camp claims Atlanta media reports are overblown
Gabriel Heinze argues with the official during the second half against the Seattle Sounders (Getty)
In the La Nacion article the Heinze camp believes that the media smear campaign is an attempt to discredit the head coach and that they could take legal action during the resolution of Heinze’s contract situation upon his termination.
Most striking is that the article stated that many of the players were surprised to find out that Heinze was fired and that many of the Atlanta United players went to Heinze’s residence to say goodbye and renounce what was published in the media.
The person in Heinze’s camp also said that the team’s WhatsApp group also echoed theplayers sentiments. The sources within Heinze’s camp also stated that it is “ridiculous” to think that Heinze would deny his players water and that he was harassing players to have their phones with them at all times to train at a moment’s notice. It was also stated that while Heinze is a very intense coach the notion that he was distant with his players is completely false and that many former players from Argentinos Juniors and Velez have expressed gratitude towards him on many occasions.
The same source also stated that while it is true that Heinze and Josef Martinez had a rift, the issues stemmed from differences of opinion in which Heinze worked. That the issue was not personal but professional.
One thing is for sure that while Gabriel Heinze’s time as Atlanta United head coach was short, we may not have heard the end of this story for quite some time.
