2012 Atlanta Silverbacks season

Atlanta Silverbacks
2012 season
Owners	Boris Jerkunica; John Latham
Head coach	Brian Haynes
Stadium	Atlanta Silverbacks Park
NASL	7th
Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Third round
Highest home attendance	6000
Lowest home attendance	2357
Average home league attendance	4504
Home colors	Away colors

Atlanta Silverbacks
2012 season
Owners	Boris Jerkunica; John Latham
Head coach	Brian Haynes
Stadium	Atlanta Silverbacks Park
NASL	7th
Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Third round
Highest home attendance	6000
Lowest home attendance	2357
Average home league attendance	4504
Home colors	Away colors
	← 2011 2013 →

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2012 Atlanta Silverbacks season was the club's sixteenth season of existence, and their second consecutive season playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Silverbacks has finished in 2011 at the bottom of the regular season standings.

Background

The 2011 season marked the Silverbacks return to American soccer following a two-year hiatus, that did not see the organization field a senior men's team throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons.^[1]

The return season was arguably an abysmal campaign for the Silverbacks, as the club lost 20 of its 28 regular season matches, drawing and winning four matches apiece. During the regular season, the Silverbacks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with seven weeks left in the NASL regular season. José Manuel Abundis, then the head coach, was fired following the season replaced by then-assistant coach, Alex Pineda Chacón, whom played for the Silverbacks from 2003–04. The announcement came on November 7, 2011.^[2]

Review

Offseason

On February 6, the Silverbacks released their preseason schedule, that involved matches against local college soccer and nearby NASL/USL Pro clubs.^[3]

Competitions

Preseason

March 3, 2012	Atlanta Silverbacks	2 - 0	UAB	Chamblee, Georgia USA
16:00 EST	Horth 11', 33'	Report		Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park

March 10, 2012	Atlanta Silverbacks	1 - 0	Charleston Battery	Chamblee, Georgia USA
16:00 EST	Paulini 11' Cox 67'	Report	Unknown 67'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park

March 17, 2012	Atlanta Silverbacks	1 - 1	Mercer University	Chamblee, Georgia USA
16:00 EST				Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park

March 18, 2012	United States U-23	3 - 0	Atlanta Silverbacks	Nashville, Tennessee USA
19:00 EST	Shea 31', 45' Stephens 67'	Report		Stadium: Lipscomb University Attendance: Closed-door

March 21, 2012	Atlanta Silverbacks	3 - 2	Clayton State University	Chamblee, Georgia USA
16:30 EST	Santamaria , Carr	Report	Cruz 23' Ray 85'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park

March 24, 2012	Furman University	0 - 0	Atlanta Silverbacks	Greenville, South Carolina USA
13:30 EST				Stadium: Stone Soccer Stadium

March 24, 2012	Georgia State University	0 - 0	Atlanta Silverbacks	Greenville, South Carolina USA
15:00 EST				Stadium: Stone Soccer Stadium

March 30, 2012	Atlanta Silverbacks	0 - 0	Charlotte Eagles	Chamblee, Georgia USA
18:00 EST				Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park

NASL

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
4	Carolina RailHawks	28	10	10	8	44	46	−2	40	Playoff quarterfinals
5	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	28	9	9	10	40	46	−6	36
6	Minnesota United	28	8	11	9	34	33	+1	35
7	Atlanta Silverbacks	28	7	9	12	35	46	−11	30
8	FC Edmonton	28	5	10	13	26	36	−10	25

Source: NASL Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
28	7	9	12	35	46	−11	30	4	4	6	18	20	−2	3	5	6	17	26	−9

Last updated: September 22, 2012.
Source: Match results

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Stadium	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	D	D	D	D	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	L	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	D	D	L	W	D	W	W	D

Updated to match(es) played on September 22, 2012. Source: Match results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results

8 April 2012 1	Atlanta Silverbacks	0–0	San Antonio Scorpions FC	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Moroney 38' Navia 89'	Report	Pablo Campos 14' Soto 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 5,000

15 April 2012 2	Carolina RailHawks FC	4–4	Atlanta Silverbacks	Cary, North Carolina
19:00	Palacio 2' Krause 26' Zimmerman 37', 74' Lowery 61' Shriver 89' Ackley 90'	Report	Matsushita 21' Navia 39', 80' Cox 42' Paulini 43' Hunt 54' 77' 67' O'Brien 70' Illyés 81' Colaluca 90'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,653

22 April 2012 3	Atlanta Silverbacks	1–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Robertson 73' Navia 86'	Report	Antoniuk 71' Mulholland 84'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 3,261

28 April 2012 4	Atlanta Silverbacks	3–3	Minnesota Stars FC	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Navia 48', 64' 81' Santamaria 79'	Report	Walker 66' Del Do 88' Davis 90' 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,176

5 May 2012 5	Minnesota Stars FC	2–0	Atlanta Silverbacks	Blaine, Minnesota
20:30	Ernest Tchoupe 24' 40' Takada 42' Davis 59' Ibarra 76'	Summary	Robertson 33' Lancaster 52' Carr 59' 88' McManus 70' 71'	Stadium: National Sports Center Attendance: 1,692

12 May 2012 6	Atlanta Silverbacks	0–2	FC Edmonton	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Navia 26' Moroney 58'	Summary	Hatchi 10' Cox 14' 77' van Leerdam 87'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,743

16 May 2012 7	Puerto Rico Islanders	3–0	Atlanta Silverbacks	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
19:30	Foley 19' 53' Faña 36' Ramos 78' Wilson 88'	Summary	McManus 30' Navia 40' Lancaster 52'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 1,000

19 May 2012 8	Atlanta Silverbacks	2–3	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Moroney 64', 89' Carr 80'	Summary	Antoniuk 12', 37' Yamada 60' Ambersley 78'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 5,000

26 May 2012 9	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	1–1	Atlanta Silverbacks	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
19:30	Anderson 27' 49' Blake 35' Gebor 59' Ståhl 68' 73' Glaeser 74' Restrepo 88'	Summary	Paulini 47' Navia 69' O'Brien 89'	Stadium: Lockhart Stadium Attendance: 2,404

2 June 2012 10	FC Edmonton	1–2	Atlanta Silverbacks	Edmonton
16:00	Hatchi 6' 52'	Summary	O'Brien 30' Moroney 40' Lancaster 78'	Stadium: Clarke Stadium Attendance: 2,521

9 June 2012 11	San Antonio Scorpions	3–0	Atlanta Silverbacks	San Antonio
20:45	Pablo Campos 27', 83' Ramírez 35' Harmse 45' Wagner 54'	Summary	O'Brien 45'	Stadium: Heroes Stadium Attendance: 7,007

16 June 2012 12	Atlanta Silverbacks	0–2	Carolina RailHawks	Chamblee, Georgia
20:30	Navia 31'	Summary	Schilawski 44' Agbossoumonde 45+2' Ackley 86'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 6,000

23 June 2012 13	Atlanta Silverbacks	1–2	Puerto Rico Islanders	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Horth 37' Lancaster 56'	Summary	Addlery 16', 70' vanSchaik 20' Telesford 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 5,000

31 June 2012 14	San Antonio Scorpions	3–0	Atlanta Silverbacks	San Antonio, Texas
19:45	Cochrane 15' Bayona 25' Pablo Campos 63', 81'	Summary	Lancaster 72' Robertson 81' Illyés 88'	Stadium: Heroes Stadium Attendance: 11,912

3 July 2012 15	Carolina RailHawks	2–1	Atlanta Silverbacks	Cary, North Carolina
19:00	Zimmerman 4', 50' 84'	Summary	Horth 15' Robertson 64'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,475

7 July 2012 16	Minnesota Stars FC	0–2	Atlanta Silverbacks	Blaine, Minnesota
20:30	Venegas 35'	Summary	Horth 10' McManus 68' Carr 75'	Stadium: National Sports Center Attendance: 1,728

14 July 2012 17	Atlanta Silverbacks	2–1	Puerto Rico Islanders	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Lancaster 9' Colaluca 45' 80' Horth 63'	Summary	Addlery 27' Edward 36' Richardson 86' Vázquez 87'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,869

21 July 2012 18	Atlanta Silverbacks	1–2	FC Edmonton	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	O'Brien 74' (pen.)	Summary	Barthélémy 63' Pinto 65' 89' Joseph-Augustin 73'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,250

27 July 2012 19	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	5–3	Atlanta Silverbacks	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
19:30	Paulo Araújo 5' Pecka 8' Anderson 28' Stewart 30' Hassan 54', 67' (pen.) 63' Shanosky 55' Motagalvan 85' Restrepo 90+3'	Summary	Barrera 22' Pedro Ferreira-Mendes 31' (pen.) Horth 41' Blanco 57' Paulo Ferreira-Mendes 76'	Stadium: Lockhart Stadium Attendance: 3,160

4 August 2012 20	Atlanta Silverbacks	4–2	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Pedro Ferreira-Mendes 8', 78' 79' Horth 29' Carr 64' Colaluca 73'	Summary	Gordon 26' Anderson 55' Orozco 66'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,090

12 August 2012 21	Tampa Bay Rowdies	0–0	Atlanta Silverbacks	St. Petersburg, Florida
19:30	Mulholland 84' Arango 90'	Summary	Willis 54' Randolph 70'	Stadium: Progress Energy Park Attendance: 3,027

18 August 2012 22	Atlanta Silverbacks	0–0	Minnesota Stars FC	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	O'Brien 61' 61'	Summary	Altman 23' Davis 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 3,911

25 August 2012 23	Atlanta Silverbacks	0–1	Carolina RailHawks	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Burciaga, Jr. 19' Navarro 26'	Summary	Agbossoumonde 29' Lowery 55' Ackley 66'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 4,896

2 September 2012 24	FC Edmonton	0–2	Atlanta Silverbacks	Edmonton
15:05		Summary	Horth 56', 61' Blanco 84'	Stadium: Clarke Stadium Attendance: 1,475

8 September 2012 25	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–1	Atlanta Silverbacks	St. Petersburg, Florida
19:30	Yamada 42' Ababio 53'	Summary	Horth 30' Carr 87'	Stadium: Progress Energy Park

15 September 2012 26	Atlanta Silverbacks	1–0	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Horth 11' Paulini 42' Pedro Ferreira-Mendes 81'	Summary	King 26' Motagalvan 74' 75' Hassan 86' Herron 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 5,511

19 September 2012 27	Atlanta Silverbacks	3–1	San Antonio Scorpions	Chamblee, Georgia
19:30	Hunt 3' Blanco 31' Wagner 40' (o.g.) Paulini 45' Pedro Ferreira-Mendes 74'	Summary	Harmse 30' Soto 68' 77' Wagner 83' Pitchkolan 90'	Stadium: Atlanta Silverbacks Park Attendance: 2,357

22 September 2012 28	Puerto Rico Islanders	1–1	Atlanta Silverbacks	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
19:30	Telesford 27' Fojo 54' deRoux 59'	Summary	Barrera 17' 30' Hunt 51' Pedro Ferreira-Mendes 67' Navia 79' Blanco 89'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 1,507

U.S. Open Cup

22 May 2012 Round 2	Georgia Revolution	0 - 1	Atlanta Silverbacks	Conyers, Georgia
19:30		Summary	Raphel Cox 61'	Stadium: RYSA Soccerplex

30 May 2012 Round 3	Seattle Sounders FC	5 - 1	Atlanta Silverbacks	Tukwila, Washington
22:00	Rose 44' Alonso 47' Caskey 54' Burch 59' Ochoa 62', 66'	Summary	Navia 53' 59'	Stadium: Starfire Sports Complex Attendance: 3,703

Southern Derby

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		NASL		U.S. Open Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	HUN	Daniel Illyes	22	0	22	0	0	0
2	DF	USA	Chris Klute	12	0	12	0	0	0
3	DF	USA	Shane Moroney	20	3	18	3	2	0
4	DF	USA	Patrick Robertson	14	0	14	0	0	0
5	MF	ARG	Lucas Paulini	13	0	13	0	0	0
6	DF	USA	Beto Navarro	8	0	8	0	0	0
7	MF	USA	Ciaran O'Brien	24	2	22	2	2	0
8	GK	USA	Joe Nasco	5	0	3	0	2	0
9	FW	CAN	Stephen Ademolu	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	BRA	Pedro Ferreira-Mendes	5	0	3	0	2	0
10	MF	USA	Danny Barrera	9	1	9	1	0	0
11	FW	CHI	Reinaldo Navia	19	8	17	7	2	1
12	MF	PUR	Fernando González	9	0	9	0	0	0
12	MF	JAM	Horace James	4	0	4	0	0	0
13	DF	USA	Willie Hunt	11	2	11	2	0	0
14	MF	USA	Nico Colaluca	17	1	15	1	2	0
15	DF	JPN	Kohei Matsushita	4	0	4	0	0	0
16	GK	CMR	Eric Ati	3	0	3	0	0	0
17	MF	USA	Andrew Duran	7	0	7	0	0	0
18	FW	USA	Matt Horth	25	10	23	10	2	0
19	FW	LBR	Borfor Carr	24	2	22	2	2	0
20	MF	HON	Danilo Turcios	14	0	12	0	2	0
21	MF	USA	Raphael Cox	18	3	16	2	2	1
22	DF	USA	Mike Randolph	3	0	3	0	0	0
23	FW	USA	Milton Blanco	9	0	9	0	0	0
24	MF	USA	Pablo Cruz	6	0	6	0	0	0
25	MF	BRA	Paulo Ferreira-Mendes	10	1	10	1	0	0
26	MF	USA	Jordan Davis	9	0	7	0	2	0
27	DF	ENG	Martyn Lancaster	27	0	25	0	2	0
28	DF	USA	José Burciaga, Jr.	15	0	13	0	2	0
30	MF	USA	Tony McManus	23	0	21	0	2	0
44	DF	BRA	Rilla	7	0	7	0	0	0
77	FW	USA	Jahbari Willis	6	0	6	0	0	0
99	FW	USA	David Santamaria	8	1	7	1	1	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Clean sheets

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		NASL		U.S. Open Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Clean sheets	Apps	Clean sheets	Apps	Clean sheets
1	GK	HUN	Daniel Illyes	22	4	22	4	0	0
8	GK	USA	Joe Nasco	5	2	3	1	2	1
16	GK	CMR	Eric Ati	3	1	3	1	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Disciplinary record

No.	Nat	Pos.	Player	Total			NASL			U.S. Open Cup
No.	Nat	Pos.	Player
1		GK	Daniel Illyes	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
3		DF	Shane Moroney	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
4		DF	Patrick Robertson	4	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
5		MF	Lucas Paulini	4	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
6		DF	Beto Navarro	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
7		MF	Ciaran O'Brien	4	1	0	4	1	0	0	0	0
9		FW	Pedro Ferreira-Mendes	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
10		MF	Danny Barrera	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
11		FW	Reinaldo Navia	7	0	0	6	0	0	1	0	0
12		MF	Fernando Gonzalez	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
13		DF	Willie Hunt	2	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0
14		MF	Nico Colaluca	2	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	0
15		DF	Kohei Matsushita	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
17		MF	Andrew Duran	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
19		FW	Borfor Carr	3	0	1	3	0	1	0	0	0
20		MF	Danilo Turcios	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
21		MF	Raphael Cox	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
22		DF	Mike Randolph	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
23		FW	Milton Blanco	4	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
26		MF	Jordan Davis	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
27		DF	Martyn Lancaster	4	0	2	4	0	2	0	0	0
28		DF	José Burciaga, Jr.	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
30		MF	Tony McManus	3	1	0	3	1	0	0	0	0
44		DF	Rilla	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
77		FW	Jahbari Willis	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
99		FW	David Santamaria	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: February 20, 2012
Source: SoccerWay.com
Only competitive matches

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
27	DF	Martyn Lancaster	31	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
44	DF	Rilla	29	Rio Verde	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
11	FW	Reinaldo Navia	33	Ñublense	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
9	FW	Stephen Ademolu	29	Windsor Stars	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
1	GK	Dániel Illyés	29	Eger	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
30	MF	Tony McManus	31	Carolina RailHawks	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
20	MF	Danilo Turcios	33	Olimpia	Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
8	GK	Joe Nasco	27		Signed	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
19	MF	Borfor Carr	24	Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves	Transfer	Spring	2012	Free	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
28	DF	Jose Burciaga, Jr.	30		Signed	Spring	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
77	FW	Jahbari Willis	21	Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves	Transfer	Summer	2012	Free	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
2	DF	Chris Klute	22	Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves	Transfer	Summer	2012	Free	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
10	MF	Danny Barrera	22	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
24	MF	Pablo Cruz	20	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
22	DF	Mike Randolph	26	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
23	FW	Milton Blanco	28	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
25	MF	Paulo Ferreira-Mendes	22	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
9	MF	Pedro Ferreira-Mendes	22	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
6	DF	Beto Navarro	23	Cal FC	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
12	MF	Horace James	27	Montego Bay United	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com

Last updated: 22 March 2013

Out

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
16	DF	Josh Casarona	19		Option declined	Pre-season		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
22	FW	Jon Cox	24		Option declined	Pre-season		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
17	MF	Moussa Toure	26		Option declined	Pre-season		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
7	MF	Jose Parada	24		Option declined	Pre-season		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
2	DF	Tyler Ruthven	23	New York Red Bulls	Transfer	Pre-season	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
20	MF	Danilo Turcios	34		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
44	DF	Rilla	29		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
15	DF	Kohei Matsushita	26		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
26	MF	Jordan Davis	29		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
12	MF	Fernando González	23		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
99	DF	David Santamaria	21		Terminate loan	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com
21	MF	Raphael Cox	26		Released	Summer		AtlantaSilverbacks.com

Last updated: 22 March 2013

Loan in

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
99	FW		David Santamaria	21	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Loan	Pre-season	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com
17	DF		Andrew Duran	22	Seattle Sounders FC	Loan	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com

Last updated: 22 March 2013

Loan out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
2	DF		Chris Klute	22	Colorado Rapids	Loan	Fall	Undisclosed	AtlantaSilverbacks.com

Last updated: 22 March 2013

References

^ Roberson, Doug (March 29, 2011). "Silverbacks are back". Atlanta Journal–Constitution. AJC.com. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
^ "Silverbacks Make Coaching Change". North American Soccer League. NASL.com. November 7, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
^ "Silverbacks Release Preseason Schedule". Atlanta Silverbacks Communications. AtlantaSilverbacks.com. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.

The 2012 Atlanta Silverbacks season was the club's sixteenth season of existence, and their second consecutive season playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Silverbacks has finished in 2011 at the bottom of the regular season standings.

Background

The 2011 season marked the Silverbacks return to American soccer following a two-year hiatus, that did not see the organization field a senior men's team throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons.^[1]

The return season was arguably an abysmal campaign for the Silverbacks, as the club lost 20 of its 28 regular season matches, drawing and winning four matches apiece. During the regular season, the Silverbacks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with seven weeks left in the NASL regular season. José Manuel Abundis, then the head coach, was fired following the season replaced by then-assistant coach, Alex Pineda Chacón, whom played for the Silverbacks from 2003–04. The announcement came on November 7, 2011.^[2]