He may be only 19 years old, but Ezequiel Barco already understands the pressure of an international cup tie. As a 17-year-old, Barco played an instrumental role in Argentine club Independiente’s 2017 Copa Sudamericana title run. Their opponent in the final, Brazilian power Flamengo, had a teenage phenom of their own in Real Madrid starlet Vinicius Jr. Yet in the end, Barco was the hero and the focus of the flashbulbs and global headlines after scoring a pressure-filled penalty.



Despite a man-of-the-match performance in Atlanta’s 4-0 win in the second leg against CS Herediano on Feb. 28th, Atlanta United’s young playmaker hasn’t consistently impacted the club’s CONCACAF Champions League matches like he did in South America’s continental competition. In Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Liga MX’s Monterrey, Barco seemed off the pace, and simply never found his rhythm in the middle of the field.



It’s an emblematic contrast...