Last month, as Gerardo “Tata” Martino watched from the sideline in Toronto and saw his players dragging themselves to an ugly ending of the MLS regular season, he heard a sound in his head.



“Alarma — full alarma,” he said.



(No translator was necessary.)



“They looked distracted,” he said later. “It hadn’t happened all season. I was worried.”



Oh look — a worried coach going into the postseason in Atlanta. Martino, Atlanta United’s manager, blended nicely in the local sports landscape.



But something has changed since that season-ending 4-1 loss in Toronto, something sparked by a meeting Martino and players had before their first practice in preparation for the playoffs.



“Tata and some of the older players spoke up,” midfielder Julian Gressel said. “He and Jeff (Larentowicz) and Parky (Michael Parkhurst) just talked about their experiences and...