Is this Pity’s time?

It might be scarcely believable with the way things are going in the world right now, but MLS is indeed about to be back. Atlanta United will be returning to the pitch this weekend for their first regular season game since those halcyon days when the looming threat of a pandemic seemed like something distant rather than a daily fact of life.

It feels like a million years ago, but this is still the same MLS season that Atlanta United already has two wins out of two games in. It’s unfortunately still the same season where the Five Stripes will have to go without future statue candidate Josef Martinez for the duration.

Even though Atlanta United will have to play without the prolific goalscorer and the face of the club for the remainder of the season, I’m not necessarily writing this season off completely.

There’s no doubt that there’s going to be a bit of a step downward when you lose a player as ravenous a goalscorer as Josef is, but there’s still plenty of reason to feel optimistic about Atlanta’s chances at being a team that can compete at a high level in MLS this year. The main reason why I’m personally still very optimistic about this season for Atlanta United is down to one player: Pity Martinez.

Understandably, Pity has been flying under the radar a bit as Atlanta United enters the sloppily-named MLS Is Back Tournament this weekend.

It was hard to imagine that the 2018 South America Footballer of the Year could go from those lofty heights that he reached as a superstar for River Plate to seemingly just falling into the shuffle with Atlanta United in MLS by the time the 2019 season was over, but it actually happened.

However, I’d be shocked if Pity gets lost in the shuffle of things by the time this season is (hopefully) completed and finished. If anything, I’d expect Pity to have a fantastic season.