Nine appearances into his Atlanta United career, wide midfielder Jurgen Damm has only started two matches.
But in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Inter Miami CF, the Mexican international showed his quality with an incisive assist on Jake Mulraney’s 83rd-minute equalizer. His trademark speed created separation on the right, leaving Nicolas Figal on the turf and then expertly picked out the Irishman for a one-time finish.
After logging 33 minutes, the sequence raised questions around what Damm could offer with a longer runway. Injuries aside, he’s embracing whatever role interim head coach Stephen Glass offers up.
“I feel very good. I had that injury two weeks ago but right now I feel very good to play 90 minutes. But I always say I’m very respectful with the coach’s decision,” Damm said. “He thought this game was [for me] to enter the second half. I’m happy to help the team whether it’s the initial team or a substitute. I will always play for helping my team and always respecting the decision the coach takes. If there’s a possibility to play the 90 minutes I feel very good. I understand perfectly the decision of the coach.”
WATCH: Jurgen Damm assist vs. Atlanta United
Damm linked up with Erick “Cubo” Torres on Atlanta’s late goal, with that duo both brought in this summer from Liga MX. Damm was previously with Tigres UANL, while Torres was last with Club Tijuana.
That connection paid off to salvage a crucial road point, and now Damm hopes Atlanta can put together a more complete performance. They’ll surely need it when facing Supporters’ Shield leaders Toronto FC on Sunday (7:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info).
“I think the last 20-25 minutes were very good,” Damm said. “We need to play like that more. We play on Sunday and hopefully we can have those three points.”
Damm has some familiarity with Toronto, a team Tigres faced in the 2017-18 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals and 2018 Campeones Cup. That background, plus a look at the standings – they’re in the East’s 10th and final postseason spot – reinforces the test that lies ahead.
“It’s going to be a very difficult game,” Damm said. “They’re in first position, so it’s going to be a really good test for us to see where we are standing. Hopefully we can do a very good game to take three points very important for us to keep going. There are five more games important to us. We have to get the most points we can to be able to be in the playoffs."
