Kevin D. Liles for The New York Times
ATLANTA — Most teams that win championships enjoy a honeymoon. There are parades and victory laps and time to prepare for a title defense.
Not so with Atlanta United, which won its first M.L.S. Cup on Dec. 8 and, because of Major League Soccer roster rules, had to spend the next day releasing some of the players who led it to the title. In fact, from almost the moment the final whistle blew in Atlanta United’s 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers, the club president, Darren Eales, has had to grapple with a host of changes, including finding a new coach, selling one of his team’s best players and juggling the remaking of a star-studded roster.