Breel Embolo looks to "inspire people" with Atlanta United | OneFootball

By J. Sam Jones

The No. 36 bus used to take Breel Embolo to practice. Now, Atlanta United fans are eager to see where No. 36 can take them.

Embolo wears No. 36 on his jersey as a reminder of his beginnings. Born in Cameroon, his family moved to France and then Switzerland. There, he joined the FC Basel academy. There, the No. 36 bus took him to a career that started in Basel’s first team and continued at some of Germany and France’s biggest clubs. 

He went from Schalke and Borussia Mönchengladbach to Monaco and Rennes. And, as of last Sunday's formal announcement, his next stop is Atlanta United. 

Along the way, Embolo has scored 26 times in 92 caps with Switzerland. That includes the two goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup for a Swiss side that advanced to the quarterfinals.

This is a hard turn. He’s moving from the excitement of a World Cup run to an MLS reclamation project. Before last week’s three-game win streak – Atlanta’s first since September 2021 – the Five Stripes were last in the Eastern Conference. The club have struggled to replicate the on-field success of their first few seasons, when they took MLS by storm as an expansion team and won MLS Cup presented by Audi in 2018.

Big-money move

Atlanta paid Rennes a reported $18 million transfer fee to acquire Embolo. Nobody can accuse the club of being stingy, but spending does not guarantee success. Atlanta have paid many of the biggest transfer fees in MLS history, and arguably only one (Thiago Almada) has lived up to the price tag. 

So, what might be different this time? Well, aside from his clear ability and history of success at multiple big clubs, Embolo seems to understand the assignment. It’s not just about him putting up big numbers. It’s about changing a collective mindset.

“The most important thing is always that I'm really a team player,” Embolo said. “It's to get the job done and we fix the target as a team, and that's the first step. After that, everything is possible. So that's for me the most important thing, to help everyone off the pitch and on the pitch to get comfortable, to get the best out of themselves.

“I think it's about that, and to kind of create, let's say, a flow where everybody is happy to play, everybody is happy to score, and to assist them and to get this winning mentality there. Because that's the thing. I'm maybe not a striker who just wants to score 15, 30 goals. But I'm a big winning guy.”

New project

Embolo didn’t know much about Atlanta before arriving, but he did know a few things: Former Hawks center and Switzerland native Clint Capela, Coca-Cola, rap, and, most importantly, that coming to Atlanta United meant being a part of rebuilding something from the ground up. 

When he heard Atlanta United were interested, he looked at the standings. Atlanta’s place in MLS came as a surprise. He knew of the club. He didn’t know how tough things had gotten. That’s fine by him.

“I think the project is to help the team to get where it belongs, and that was for me my motivation to come here more than a fear,” Embolo said.

“So it was more motivation to put my quality in the team and to help the guys out there to make the next step as a team and get there where we want.”

Finishing touches

The route to getting Atlanta back on top won’t be straightforward, but Embolo seems up for the challenge. 

That’s obviously just one part of the equation, though. It’s great to say all the right things; it's another to help Atlanta United win. But if Embolo's previous stops are any indication, he’s got a pretty good chance of doing just that. 

When you watch Embolo, you see an imposing physical presence who doesn’t have to rely on his strength and size. He looks comfortable on the ball and seems to understand how to find space to receive it. That’s especially true close to goal. He doesn’t always find chances at a high-quantity rate, but he repeatedly finds high-quality chances. A look at his stats, tape and shot chart shows a player consistently putting the ball in the net from just a few yards away.

You also see a player willing to put in the work with or without the ball. In short, Embolo looks like a player who could make Atlanta United better in multiple phases of the game.

“First you can see Breel’s character and what type of person he is,” said Chris Henderson, Atlanta's chief soccer officer and sporting director. “He's going to fit great into the way we want to play. Fits into the locker room. He'll be a leader. On the field, he’s a goalscorer. He can occupy both defenders. Not only play with his back to goal, but he can stretch teams as well and use his speed and his power and his technique. He's a very good finisher when he gets chances inside the box.

"So, in the conversations we had with the staff, the type of profile he has, we were really excited when there was an opportunity to get him signed.”

Aiming big

Embolo appears ready to get to work. He mentioned multiple times that he’s not coming “on holiday.” He wants to achieve something.

At this point, the biggest achievement might be convincing Atlanta fans that the team is ready to win and win big again. It’s been a long journey for the Five Stripes. It’s been a long journey from the No. 36 bus in Basel to Georgia. Maybe it ends with a connection.

“I think football, it’s about connecting people,” Embolo said. “To feel free, to enjoy. It's not important where you're from. You just connect and play free … And to do it now, from my passion to a job is, of course, even more better. And yeah, I came from Cameroon to Switzerland. So football helped me to adapt.

"I'm trying every time I'm going to the pitch to have fun, to give it back, to inspire people."