Hablando Con Thiago Almada: “The First Thing I Did Was Call My Family as Tears Were Falling.”

Coming from Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield in his native Argentina, 21-year-old Argentine midfielder Thiago Almada arrived at Atlanta United last season with the goal of contributing to the club with his on-field presence. In 2022, Almada was named the 2022 MLS Newcomer of the Year after an excellent debut season with Atlanta United. Thanks to his standout performance in MLS play, Almada was selected by head coach Lionel Scaloni as part of the Argentina National Team for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. On December 18, Almada became the first active MLS player to become a World Cup champion.

During his career in Atlanta, Almada has appeared in 35 matches in MLS and become the focal point of the club’s attack, recording 10 goals and 17 assists. He opened the 2023 MLS season with a bang and was selected as the Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchdays 1 and 4 in addition to being named MLS Player of the Month for February/March 2023.

Atlanta United, with the help of Almada as a force in the attack, is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference, having accumulated 15 points through Matchday 8 and will seek to maintain their momentum under head coach Gonzalo Pineda when they host the Chicago Fire at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Sunday, April 23.

Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire FC (Sunday, April 23, 4:30 p.m. ET / Free on MLS Season Pass / FS1 / FOX Deportes)Hablando Con Series…

You were called up to the Argentine National Team that competed in the 2022 World Cup in the month of December, literally at the last minute. How did you hear about your selection? Was it a person-to-person phone call, or a chat with your agent? How was it?

I was at the dentist when [Lionel] Scaloni called me, and he asked if I wanted to go. I said yes, I’m literally running there and then he told me to go with Angel [Correa], who was traveling at dawn to reach camp. I was very happy. The first thing I did was call my family as tears were falling.

Tell us a little more about the day before. Maybe that day before your mind was thinking about something else, weren’t you?

Yes, obviously, he had already finished the call-ups and I had already been left out and had already stopped training. We were training on our own or we were on vacation and just the next day, they called us. The coincidence of life.

A few weeks ago, the celebration of the World Cup win in Argentina took place with a friendly match…