Javier Perez has been appointed by Atlanta United to the newly created role of Director of Methodology, which was created to replace the Academy Director. With over two decades of player development experience, Perez is directly responsible to Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra. He also wrote the U.S. Curriculum for Coaching Soccer. After leading the team’s academy as a director since 2021, Matt Lawrey has taken on an on-field position as an individual development coach.
“First off I would like to thank Matt Lawrey for his dedication and leadership during his time as Academy Director and we are happy he will continue working within the club in a new role that he is passionate about,” Bocanegra said. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Javier to Atlanta United. As our Academy evolves, we continue to enhance all facets of our player pathway, and Javier’s years of high-level experience in youth development and within MLS will prove invaluable.”
Perez will have the responsibility of managing the club’s young development in his role as Director of Methodology. In close collaboration with Bocanegra, Perez will improve the curriculum and approach of the club for every age level, ensuring that the development pathway remains consistent from Academy Futures to Atlanta United 2.
Before being elevated to temporary head coach in July, Perez served as an assistant coach for Toronto FC during the 2021 Major League Soccer season. In August 2021, Perez led Toronto FC to the Canadian Cup Final after being appointed head coach for the remainder of the season. After serving as an assistant coach with New York City FC from 2016 to 2019, Perez moved to Toronto to help the team win the Eastern Conference in 2019.
“I’m thrilled to join Atlanta United, which has established itself in a short amount of time as a club with a robust academy operation and is capable of developing young talent into professionals,” Perez said.
Before working in Major League Soccer, Perez was employed by the U.S. Team Men’s National from 2012 to 2016. In his role as an assistant coach for the U.S. national team, Perez assisted in guiding the team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Round of 16, where they advanced out of a group that contained Portugal, Ghana, and eventual champion Germany. Perez led the U.S. national team as a head coach throughout that time. U-18s and served as an advisor for the U-20s, who competed in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and lost to eventual champions Serbia on penalties.
Perez started his coaching career in Spain, where he was head coach of Real Madrid’s youth teams from 2001 to 2007 for a variety of age levels. From 2004 until 2007, he was employed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as an Associate Director for Educational Programs. Perez holds a master’s degree in sports science, a bachelor’s degree in physical education, and a PhD in exercise physiology. He also speaks five languages: Spanish, English, French, German, and Italian. He also has UEFA Pro and UEFA A licenses from the Spanish Federation and the English FA.
