Franco Escobar waited 140 days to play 90 minutes in a soccer match.
Before doing so in last week’s 1-0 win against Colorado, the Atlanta United fullback hadn’t started and finished a game since doing so in the MLS Cup victory over Portland on Dec. 8. He will get many more chances when Atlanta United plays at Sporting KC on Sunday. It will be the first of six games in 20 days.
“I had been working really hard to get back,” Escobar said through a translator. “For me, it was important to come back and get on the field. To get a win in front of our home fans was really important.”
With Miguel Almiron gone, Escobar may be Hector Villalba’s biggest threat as Atlanta United’s fastest player. Escobar gets up and down the wing with ease. That speed made him one of the team’s more important players during last year’s playoffs, when the 24-year-old scored two goals and added an assist in five games.
He seemed a lock to slot in as a right fullback or right wingback for Atlanta United in its Champions League games to start the season.
But, as has been his unfortunate history since joining the team in December 2017, Escobar sustained a shoulder injury on the first day of training camp in January. That injury, at least his fourth with Atlanta United, sidelined him throughout the Champions League matches.
The injury not only cost Escobar time, manager Frank de Boer implied that his absence forced a change to the formation he wanted to play. Instead of playing four at the back, with Escobar as the right fullback, de Boer went with three at the back. Atlanta United went 2-2-0 in the Champions League, but was knocked out by Monterrey on aggregate goals.
“It was difficult,” Escobar said. “It was frustrating to not be able to play. Worked so hard last year to get ourselves in that competition, so it was difficult to miss. Then it was about me quickly being able to be ready in the league.”
Still without Escobar, but with his return on the horizon, de Boer eventually switched to four men at the back.
Escobar started in a four-man back line four games ago in a 2-0 loss at Columbus. He played 53 minutes in the driving rain and was subbed off.
After coming off the bench to play the final 12 minutes of a 2-0 win at New England, Escobar wasn’t used in the 2-1 loss at Dallas.
And then came Colorado.
Escobar wasn’t as sharp as he wanted to be. He was happy with how frequently he got into the penalty box to attack, taking two shots which weren’t on target. He wasn’t happy with his rhythm with his teammates, which he said will come back the more he trains and plays.
“It’s been a long time and a lot has happened since I played 90 minutes in the final against Portland,” he said.
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