Atlanta United changed Major League Soccer before the team lifted MLS Cup on Saturday night, but the moment the confetti fell was a confirmation as much as a coronation.



The Five Stripes entered the league with the goal to do things differently. To go beyond what had been done in the league before and to redefine what was considered first-class. The club had an idea that there was more out there than what had been seen in MLS, and they put together a plan: Spend more. Spend smarter. Change the model.



The club proved its point in just two years. There is a better path forward for MLS. Saturday night’s 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers proved as much.



There are other ways to assemble teams, sure. But there are no other total packages like Atlanta: the 73,000-plus fans in the stands, an internationally-known coach on the sideline, and transformative players on the field like Josef Martínez and Miguel Almirón, who is almost certain to...