Five Stripes together again in Uruguay

A Reunion That Started in Atlanta

Franco Escobar has signed with Club Atlético Peñarol on a one-year deal. The move brings him back to South America after several seasons in Major League Soccer.

When he arrives in Montevideo, he will find a familiar face in Eric Remedi. Tito Villalba, another member of Atlanta’s first core, was at Peñarol last season but was released earlier this week. He and Remedi shared the 2025 season. Now the overlap shifts again, with Remedi continuing on as Escobar arrives.

Escobar arrived in Atlanta for the 2018 season, stepping into a back line that demanded early engagement and constant recovery. Remedi joined midway through that year, brought in to steady matches that were already moving at postseason speed.

Those seasons produced Atlanta’s first trophies. The club won MLS Cup in 2018, with Escobar scoring in the final and all three appearing during the playoff run. In 2019, Atlanta lifted both the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup. The overlap placed them inside the core of a team that was winning early and often.

Villalba left first, at the start of 2020. Remedi followed the next winter. Escobar stayed through the end of 2021, closing out that stretch of the roster.

Years later, their paths cross again in Montevideo. This time at Club Atlético Peñarol, where the framework already exists. The squad is established. Expectations are inherited.

Atlanta United, Shared Conditions

Atlanta United’s 2018 and 2019 seasons unfolded under two different managers. Tata Martino remained in charge through the end of 2018. Frank de Boer took over shortly after the MLS Cup final and led the team through 2019.

The 2018 version of Atlanta moved at speed. Matches opened quickly and stayed open. The team defended high, broke forward with numbers, and accepted risk as part of the exchange. When possession turned over, the response was immediate - counterattack, recover, press again. The pace created momentum, and the group leaned into it. There was little sense of restraint. If a match turned chaotic, Atlanta was comfortable living there.

2019 under de Boer, Atlanta slowed the game. Possession was prioritized. Defensive shape held longer. Attacks were built rather than released. The emphasis shifted toward control.

Escobar and Remedi played through both versions of the team, adapting from Martino’s faster, open matches to de Boer’s more structured approach.

The overlap ended there. Remedi left after the 2020 season. Escobar remained through the end of 2021.

Peñarol and Montevideo

Club Atlético Peñarol is based in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital. Founded in 1891, the club shares the city with Nacional. They have faced each other over 500 times, forming one of the oldest rivalries outside of England. Their stadiums sit roughly 6-7 miles apart ( my daughter just giggled ), close enough that players and supporters move through the same neighborhoods throughout the day.

Montevideo is smaller than Atlanta by a wide margin - roughly a third of the population - but it supports far more top-flight clubs within its city limits. Nearly every neighborhood carries a stadium. On a weekend, first-division matches unfold across the same urban grid: Peñarol, Nacional, Defensor Sporting, Danubio, Wanderers, Cerro, Liverpool, River Plate, Racing, Progreso, Miramar Misiones, and others all operating inside the same metropolitan space.

Most of those grounds seat between five and twenty thousand, inside residential areas, near parks, markets, and transit lines. Clubs were founded a century ago and never left.

Peñarol enters each season as a title contender. The club won the Uruguayan Primera División in 2024, while Nacional followed with the 2025 title. Between them, the two clubs account for more than 100 league championships since 1900.

Same Names, Different Demands

When the pair last played together, Atlanta United was still coming together. Matches moved quickly. Roles shifted. Style came about in real time, shaped by momentum. This time, the setting is different. The club already knows what it is and how it should be. Style, and expectations are ingrained by generations of fans.

• Escobar - His game has long leaned on early challenges, recovery runs, and decisions made under pressure. In Atlanta, that approach fit a team that played fast and accepted risk. Matches opened early, defenders were often exposed, and timing often mattered more than restraint. At Peñarol, defenders are tested repeatedly inside the same phase of possession.

• Remedi - He operates in front of the back line, positioning being key. His decisions are made before the ball arrives: where to stand, which lane to close, when to slow a sequence rather than chase it. Much of the work happens without the ball, often without interruption in play. At Peñarol, possession turns over in tight areas, and the ball rarely stays unchallenged for long. Because space closes quickly, spacing matters more than range, and favors players who hold their ground.

This time, the partnership between Escobar and Remedi begins with familiarity. Where the other tends to appear. They will each know how the other plays.

Closing

Escobar and Remedi last shared a locker room in Atlanta, a city where the club itself was new. Training happened on the edge of town. Matches were contained within a larger sports landscape. The team’s identity was still being written while games were being played.

Montevideo offers less separation. Clubs sit closer together. Stadiums are embedded in neighborhoods. Results follow players into the week rather than receding with distance. Peñarol operates inside that environment, one shaped long before either player arrived.

Escobar and Remedi step into it without having to relearn each other. Their movements are familiar. Their spacing is known. The work begins immediately, in a city where results are measured quickly and memory is long.