As the Atlanta United players lined up to practice free kicks at the end of a training session earlier this month, Frank de Boer banged one in past reserve keeper Brendan Moore, then another, and then another. Finally, a smiling Josef Martinez implored Moore to "Stop paying attention to him!" in reference to the new manager. De Boer cooled off eventually, but if the Atlanta players didn't know about his playing pedigree before then, they did now.

De Boer isn't with Atlanta to show off his prowess as a player, however, but rather his bona fides as a manager, and it's a significant challenge in some respects.

Atlanta is coming off an MLS Cup win in just its second year of existence. Yes, there are more worlds to conquer, such as the Supporters' Shield and the CONCACAF Champions League, although Atlanta is at risk of being dumped out of the latter by Costa Rican side Herediano. But overall, there is more room to fall than there is to go up in a domestic season that begins on Sunday at D.C. United (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Then there is the man de Boer replaced. Tata Martino was the avuncular uncle that everyone loved being around, quick with a smile and beloved by fans. His MLS Cup triumph, one that came after his departure had already been announced, cemented his status. De Boer is more taciturn, disciplined in the way he runs things and more conservative in his tactics. Atlanta captain Michael Parkhurst notes that Martino was a little more "loose" in his approach, from when meetings started to how the team played.

And now?

"Everything is a little more structured," says Parkhurst.

Indeed. Halfway through an interview, de Boer excuses himself because a team lunch is about to take place.

"I can't be late," he explains, although true to his word he returns 30 minutes later, and the conversation picks up where it left off.

The difference between the two managers is reflected in the team's tactics as well. That is not to say one approach is better or worse; they're just different. For the defending champions, that shift will take some getting used to.

Frank de Boer has big shoes to fill in the dugout of Atlanta United. John Duran/Getty Images

"Under Tata we had the freedom to attack with eight guys and play a little bit of one-on-one when we're attacking," Parkhurst says, and one can understand Martino's choice. Martinez is the league's record single-season goalscorer, the playmaking of Miguel Almiron -- who set the league record for most expensive sale in its history -- was the foundation upon which Martinez's gaudy numbers were built, and the likes of Darlington Nagbe, Ezequiel Barco, Hector Villalba and Julian Gressel, as immensely talented and influential as they are, have been peripheral figures. The squad was constructed to attack with abandon.

"Frank doesn't want that," Parkhurst continues. "He wants us to be more secure, he wants us to make sure we're ready for the counterattack, that we're able to press a little bit to keep them compact, keep ourselves attacking. We want waves and waves of attack, and his idea is that if we keep a couple of guys back, we're secure, we can win those second balls and stay in the attacking half."

In some respects, de Boer's more conservative tactical approach isn't a surprise. He was a central defender during his playing career, the vast majority of which was spent under the tutelage of Louis van Gaal. This was evident even during his six-season spell managing Ajax, where he won four Eredivisie titles.

"De Boer likes the typical Dutch way of playing, but in the end, he was also criticized [at Ajax] because the play was not spectacular enough," said Willem Vissers, a journalist with Dutch outlet Volkskrant. "In the end, people were saying, 'Hmm, there are too many balls being played back to the goalkeeper. We want to be more dominant, play more [penetrating passes].'"

De Boer's competitiveness, one where he values the result over style, is a factor as well.

"He's a very bad loser," said Visser about de Boer. "He and his brother [Ronald] want to win in everything they do. If they play golf or Scrabble or football, they want to win. This is now his third adventure in another country, so I think it's very important for him to win matches first and then maybe to make the style of play a little more attacking."

There is also the manner of de Boer's arrival in Atlanta. His two previous stops, with Inter Milan and Crystal Palace, both ended inside four months. His tenure at the San Siro lasted 14 matches, in which his side earned just 17 points. In South London, he managed a mere five competitive matches, Palace winning once (a Carabao Cup match against second-division Ipswich Town), losing four times and failing to score in those four Premier League defeats.

He says he never worried about not working again, although that's the kind of luxury that titles with Ajax can bring. Clearly, de Boer's reputation was inevitably damaged by back-to-back failures in high-profile leagues, but he insists he's not at all weighed down by those experiences. Rather, he says he's been liberated at what he's found in Atlanta. Everything is well organized. The club's talk of community and an emphasis on the academy is backed up by action.

"Everything has influence on the performance of the team, from the chef in the kitchen to the kit man to everybody," he said. "I think [ownership] have that very much under control and they created an ambiance to work very well."

In fact, de Boer was so taken with the way things were run in Atlanta that he turned down a chance to manage Belgian side Anderlecht.

"My wife was surprised that I didn't choose Anderlecht because it's so close by," he says. "From the beginning, I had a fantastic feeling about this club. It was a new adventure, but for me, I wanted to start with a club without all the negativity. I can really focus on the football itself."

It wasn't just de Boer's wife who was surprised. Back in the Netherlands, there were plenty of eyebrows raised at his decision. That said, there is acknowledgement that plenty of good can come from de Boer's stint with the Five Stripes, especially given the team's talent and level of support from the organization.

"Everyone thought he would do something in Europe," said Vissers. "On the other hand, his reputation wasn't so good anymore. I think it was important for de Boer to have a big, new start in a new country with nicer weather, a beautiful city, a league which is very spectacular with all the new players. And when people heard about such a big team with a beautiful stadium, and how it's full with 64,000 fans, and all the colors and the barbecues in the parking lots and all the American atmosphere, they said, 'Oh, that's a nice job.'"

Before needing another new start in another new country, there was Ajax, where he excelled as both a player and later a coach. He got his start in the coaching ranks with the club's U13 team. His pedigree as a player didn't carry all that much weight. If they wanted to hear about his legendary pass that set up Dennis Bergkamp's winner against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, they'd have to look it up on YouTube.

"The parents knew me better than the kids who played for Ajax," he says. "That was good for me. I was just a coach."

And so the process of transitioning from player to coach began, one that he says goes very slowly. De Boer estimates that mentally he was still "80 percent a player" in those early years. He knew that had to change.

"You want to participate in games because I still was as fit as I can be. That's a transition you have to make, and now I am a 100 percent coach."

In terms of his coaching influences, de Boer occupies a rare place in Dutch coaching spectrum. Dutch football is often characterized by its interpersonal feuds. Among the bigger squabbles was the one waged between Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal. Both were products of Ajax, but whereas Cruyff was often looked at as the romantic, Van Gaal was viewed as the pragmatist.

De Boer was caught in the middle to a degree. He was part of those great Ajax teams under Van Gaal, and he later followed his coach to Barcelona. But being an Ajax man means never being too far from Cruyff's shadow, even though the legend passed away nearly three years ago. But de Boer insists he doesn't feel pigeonholed by one or the other. He is the product of many coaching fathers.

"I want to pick from everything that's the best," he says. "Johan Cruyff was amazing when he was a coach and as a player. I have a lot of Van Gaal, but also Guus Hiddink and other coaches. That makes Frank de Boer. So you have to have your own identity. That's the most important thing."