Giorgos Giakoumakis wasted little time establishing himself as one of MLS’ brightest stars in 2023.
Signing with Atlanta United from Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC just weeks before the season began, the Greek international hit the ground running by scoring in his first start. And he kept that torrid pace rolling, tallying 17g/3a by season’s end – good enough for third place in the 2023 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race despite playing nearly 750 fewer minutes than the award’s winner, LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga (20g/7a).
Now, following his first full offseason in 18 months – he switched from the European soccer calendar to American with no break last February – the goal-poaching No. 9 is fully rested and ready to hit new heights in what he calls "the most important year of my career."
"For me, [the offseason] was a lifesaver," said Giakoumakis Tuesday as preseason began. "... During the season like small, tiny injuries that I never had before, my body was reacting. And for me, it was very crucial to have these days off and to rebuild my body, my fitness and everything to be in the top level again."
Lofty goals
Achieving that "top level" will be paramount for Giakoumakis to reach his goals for club and country in 2024. Atlanta are looking to build on last year’s sixth-place Eastern Conference finish, while Greece await a four-team playoff in March to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024. If Ethniki outlast Kazakhstan, Luxembourg and Georgia in their bracket and reach Europe’s premier international competition, it would mark another massive accomplishment for the 2023 MLS Newcomer of the Year.
"I've never been with my national team in a big tournament and that's something that is really high on my list and it's on my mind for many years now," said Giakoumakis, who scored a crucial goal for Greece last October in a 2-0 Euro qualifying win over Ireland.
Setting high standards is nothing new for Giakoumakis. At just 29 years old and still in the prime of his career, he’s already racked up an extensive list of individual and team awards to rival any aging vet’s: a Scottish Premiership title with Celtic (2021-22), a Super League Greece title with AEK Athens (2017-18), the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer (2021-22) and Eredivisie’s top scorer (2020-21).
That accolade-rich history is a perfect fit at Atlanta, who won MLS Cup in 2018 (their second year) and followed it up with US Open Cup and Campeones Cup wins in 2019 – all while setting attendance records at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
"You have to put this pressure on yourself before the season even starts," Giakoumakis told reporters at MLS Media Marketing Day last week. "It's about the club. If you play in a club like Atlanta, you have to aim for the best."
The "winning mentality"
But since Atlanta’s two-trophy season in 2019, the club have hardly been at their best, twice missing the playoffs and twice falling in Round One of the postseason. A strong second half of 2023 has them trending in the right direction – thanks in no small part to Giakoumakis and the group’s scintillating attack – but they were still defensively frail when it mattered most, conceding eight times in their Best-of-3 series playoff defeat to eventual league champions Columbus Crew.
"We were very good offensively, but we were missing something in our game," said Giakoumakis, with Atlanta starting their 2024 slate on Feb. 24 at Columbus Crew (2 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
"One was probably how we defend all together and also the winning mentality that we lacked a bit during the season."
On that second point, Giakoumakis believes each Five Stripes player must fuel their fire from within: "We can say and speak about anything in the dressing room, but once you go out on the field, if you cannot put that within the four lines, then nothing counts. So first of all we have to show our character in the field. It's something individual for me, it's something that you’ve got it or not as a player."
With last year’s midseason signings – Tristan Muyumba, Xande Silva and Saba Lobjanidze – Giakoumakis also believes Atlanta found more players who’ve "got it."
"First of all with their quality, and also by bringing their character on the field with their experience, they can bring this winning mentality to us," said the 2023 MLS All-Star. "And they are guys that, with their help, we can go to the next level to aim for something bigger."
Quality in place
That trio of signings – coupled with Atlanta's winter additions of goalkeeper Josh Cohen, center back Stian Gregersen, and midfielder Bartosz Slisz – gives Giakoumakis hope that if his top partner in attack, Argentine phenom Thiago Almada, leaves for Europe this winter, Atlanta will have a contingency plan in place.
"I know for sure that the transfer fee is going to be a respectful amount of money. So I don't know how easy it is for a European team during January to spend all this money," said Giakoumakis of Almada’s transfer prospects, with Atlético Madrid recently reported as a potential suitor. "So if they are close to selling Thiago, I think possibly they will have a plan B to prepare the team for the next season.
"We know his quality, we know that he's young and he has to go somehow. And if it's not now maybe in the summer or next season."
Whether or not Alamda stays through all of 2024, Giakoumakis knows he can trust his head coach, Gonzalo Pineda, to guide both him and the team in the right direction.
"He's a very nice guy, and this is really important for me," Giakoumakis said of the chemistry between him and Pineda. "He's also a good manager. But for me, if you are a good manager and you're not a good guy, you cannot inspire me. Because I had managers like that in the past. So for me, he has the whole package."
And as Giakoumakis’ relationship with his coach, his fellow attackers, and the team as a whole grows by the day, the striker believes the last true obstacle standing between the club and more trophies can be conquered naturally: time.
"That's why I believe this year is going to be even better with the connection we are going to have, especially offensively," said the Designed Player. "I cannot combine with the defenders, but I can combine with Xande, with Saba, with Thiago if he is here.
"And that's the most important for us. It was only six months with these players, maybe not even. So I think for a team, in order to get built and put it together, the basis is in time. The quality, we have it. We showed that last year."
