Franco Nicolás Escobar (born 21 February 1995) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

Club career

Newell's Old Boys

Escobar began his career in the

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

academy. He made his first team debut on 7 June 2015, getting the start against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

in a 4–0 loss. He made 15 appearances during his debut season as Newell's finished 16th in the table. Escobar made 6 appearances during the 2016 season and 12 in the 2016–17 season, playing as both a rightback and a centerback. He made 2 appearance during the 2017–18 season prior to being sold.

Atlanta United

On 8 December 2017 Escobar signed with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

. On 3 March 2018 he made his debut for Atlanta, playing 90 minutes in a 4–0 loss to the

in the opening match of the season. He suffered a concussion on 17 March in a 4–1 win over the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

that would keep him out for the next 4 games. On 5 May, late in a 2–1 against the Chicago Fire, Escobar collided with Atlanta goalkeeper

Brad Guzan Bradley Edwin Guzan (; born September 9, 1984) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. A College soccer in the ...

and injured his chest. Escobar would miss the next 3 matches. He scored his first goal for Atlanta on 21 October, helping Atlanta to a 2–1 win over Chicago. Escobar finished the regular season with 22 appearances and 1 goal as Atlanta finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference. During Atlanta's playoff run, Escobar played every minute of the 5 games, scored 2 goals, and had an assist, including one in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

where Atlanta beat the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

2–0. He was named to the MLS Cup Playoffs Best XI. On 16 January 2019, on the first day of preseason, Escobar suffered a fractured right

clavicle The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavic ...

. The injury forced him to miss all of Atlanta's

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

matches as well as the first 3 games of the MLS season. After making an appearance for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in MLS Next Pro, the official reserve league of MLS. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional seaso ...

to regain fitness, he made his first MLS match of the season in a 2–0 loss to the Columbus Crew on 30 March. Escobar ended the regular season with 1 goal and 3 assists in 25 appearances, helping Atlanta finish 2nd in the East. In the opening round of the playoffs, Escobar scored the lone goal to give Atlanta a 1–0 win over the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

. He played every minute of Atlanta's 3 playoff games, with the run ending in the Conference Finals following a 2–0 loss to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. In the

2019 Campeones Cup The 2019 Campeones Cup was the second edition of the Campeones Cup, an annual North American football match contested between the champions of the previous Major League Soccer season and the winner of the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX. The ...

, Atlanta beat

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

3–2, but Escobar was forced out of the game due to injury. In a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Escobar played in 16 of the 23 matches and had 2 assists. Atlanta finished the season 12th in the conference, missing the playoffs for the first time in team history. In CCL play, Escobar made 3 appearances as Atlanta fell to Club América in the quarterfinals 3–1 on aggregate.

Loan to Newell's Old Boys

On 9 February 2021, Escobar returned to

on a loan deal until 1 January 2022. On 16 February, Escobar broke his foot (

fifth metatarsal The fifth metatarsal bone is a long bone in the foot, and is palpable along the distal outer edges of the feet. It is the second smallest of the five metatarsal bones. The fifth metatarsal is analogous to the fifth metacarpal bone in the hand. As ...

) in training. He made his first appearance of the loan on 17 July, playing 58 minutes in a 3–2 win over

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...

. In Newell's next match, Escobar had to be subbed off due to pain in his foot. He would miss the next 18 matches. He recovered from his injury to play in the final 5 games the year, ending the season with 7 appearances.

Los Angeles FC

On 12 December 2021, Atlanta traded Escobar to

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

in exchange for $600,000 in General Allocation Money. He made his LAFC debut on 26 February, playing the full match in a 3–0 win over the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in the opening game of the season. On 6 March, LAFC drew 1–1 with the

, Escobar was forced off 13 minutes into the game with a calf injury that would keep him out for 6 games. He scored his first goal for LAFC on 7 May, his second game back from the injury, to give LAFC a 2–2 draw with the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. Escobar missed another 4 MLS games plus an Open Cup game in May due to his calf. He also missed 3 games due to a concussion at the end of the season. Escobar ended the season with 1 goal and 1 assist in 19 regular season appearances, helping LAFC win the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

. He made just one appearance in the playoffs, coming on as a late sub in a 3–0 win over

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

in the conference final. LAFC would go onto win

MLS Cup 2022 MLS Cup 2022 was the 27th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the conclusion of the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. The soccer match took place on November 5, 2022, at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angel ...

3–0 on penalties against Philadelphia. Escobar's contract expired following the 2022 season.

Houston Dynamo

On 12 January 2023, Escobar signed with the

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Atlanta United *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Campeones Cup The Campeones Cup is an annual North American association football match contested between the winners of the previous MLS Cup from Major League Soccer and the winners of the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX. The competition was established by ...

Los Angeles FC *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

*MLS Cup:

Houston Dynamo *U.S. Open Cup:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Personal life

Escobar obtained a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

in 2020, classifying him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Franco 1995 births Living people Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine Primera División players Major League Soccer players Newell's Old Boys footballers Atlanta United FC players Los Angeles FC players Houston Dynamo FC players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders USL Championship players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Atlanta United 2 players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen