Atlanta United déjà vu: Frank de Boer, Tata Martino meet in international friendly

Atlanta United fans experienced some déjà vu when tuning into this afternoon’s international friendly between Mexico and the Netherlands, which was played at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam.

Both countries are managed by former Five Stripes head coaches, with Tata Martino overseeing Mexico since 2019 and Frank de Boer recently appointed as the Oranje’s boss. 

Mexico would emerge victorious in the match, as Raul Jimenez drew and converted a penalty kick on the hour mark that wound up standing as the winner in a 1-0 result.

There were three MLS players were in the mix for El Tri, as Inter Miami CF’s Rodolfo Pizarro found himself in the starting XI for the matchup and played 63 minutes before making way for Oberlin Pineda. The LA Galaxy’s Jonathan dos Santos also featured for Mexico, subbing on as Pizarro came off, replacing Andres Guardado and finishing out the contest. Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido was also among Mexico's subs as he seeks his first cap since September 2018, but didn't find the field in this contest.

Martino memorably led ATLUTD during their first two seasons as they lifted MLS Cup in 2018. As for de Boer, he was brought in to replace Martino in 2019 and helped the club win last year’s U.S. Open Cup and the Campeones Cup. But de Boer and Atlanta mutually agreed to part ways this past July after they failed to advance beyond the MLS is Back Tournament group stage.

This was the first meeting between Mexico and the Netherlands since a November 2014 friendly, which the former won 3-2. For even further MLS ties, now-LAFC forward Carlos Vela scored twice and now-LA Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez also scored for El Tri.