Eduardo Domínguez joins Atlético, talks Hulk and Sunday’s clash

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·27 de febrero de 2026

Eduardo Domínguez joins Atlético, talks Hulk and Sunday’s clash

Atlético officially introduced its new coach this Friday (27), at Arena MRV: the Argentine Eduardo Domínguez, 47 years old. Formerly in charge of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won titles and established himself on the South American scene, the coach begins his journey with Galo with the mission of reorganizing the team amid the decisive phase of the Campeonato Mineiro.

In his first interview as the alvinegro coach, Domínguez spoke about the first days of work at Cidade do Galo and the initial assessment of the squad.

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In the first two training sessions, what we did was observe the characteristics, get to know the players better, even though we have already watched some matches. We saw the difficulties and how the goals happened. The first and foremost thing is to see what we are doing. Only then can we make a self-critique. We will work hard to try to solve these situations.

Balance between defense and attack

Known for building competitive teams, the coach countered the idea that his teams prioritize only the defensive system and emphasized the pursuit of balance: “They say my teams are more defensive, but we score many goals. A good defense is a good attack, and if you don’t attack well, you will have more difficulty defending. The ideal is to find the balance as quickly as possible, a compact team that knows how to attack and how to defend”.

Domínguez also made a point of praising the Atlético group and showed confidence in the technical and emotional recovery of the squad.

In my opinion, the best thing we have here is the number of good players in the squad. We have great players and good projects. They may not be functioning, they may lack the usual confidence. But we want them to believe in what we are going to propose.

Confidence in attack and central role of Hulk

Asked about Atlético's recent difficulty in converting chances into goals, the new commander highlighted the quality of the offensive sector and pointed to confidence as a determining factor.

I think we have players of hierarchy in the attack, as well as young South American highlights. Our main figure is Hulk, but even he needs to have confidence too. Everyone needs to have confidence, even if they are showing security, even if they say they are fine. We have great players in attack, but of course, we need to improve in finishing, but we need to give that confidence.

Speaking specifically about how to enhance Hulk's performance, Domínguez was direct: “By placing a player close to him! We know the characteristic of our central striker, a player as important as he is. We know the importance of Hulk not only in our team but in football. Now it's about understanding the individual qualities to enhance the collective qualities. As we understand and he comprehends what we are looking for, he, being such an intelligent player, we want him to feel good, because when he is well, he wins matches”.

Decision at Independência

The new coach already debuts under strong competitive pressure. Atlético returns to the field next Sunday (01), against América, at Independência, for the second leg of the Campeonato Mineiro semifinal. In the first match, at Arena MRV, a 1-1 draw. A new draw takes the decision to penalties. Whoever wins advances to the final.

Domínguez concluded the press conference by reinforcing the importance of the confrontation.

“The players know the importance of Sunday's game. It's a match that changes the mood, a match that goes beyond institutional objectives, but the group's objectives. They need to feel this! It's a decisive confrontation and we need to face it as such; second leg, semifinal, and we have to win. It won't be easy, it will be difficult, but we have to take on this responsibility to understand the real situation”, the coach concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.