“It's a pretty big deal.”
Efrain Morales has paved the way for homegrown players in Atlanta. Having broken through from Atlanta’s first season as a club to playing his first game in MLS, he has a career worth paying attention to. Morales remains steadfast in his loyalty to Atlanta United and the growing soccer culture around the city as he finishes his eighth season with the club.
“Growing up before Atlanta United, training there, playing there, you know everyone,” Morales said. “You know everyone from the city. It's home for me.”
The 20-year-old center-back began his soccer journey in the close-knit community of Suwanee, Georgia.
Morales started his career with the United Fútbol Academy (UFA). After playing with the UFA for several years alongside familiar friends and coaches, he joined the first round of players to begin the inaugural season for the Atlanta United Academy in 2016-17 at the young age of 11.
“At the beginning, it was a little bit of hype,” Morales said of his early stages with the club. “Obviously a lot of fans, and there was a lot of promotion for it.”
Morales watched soccer take hold in the south from the inside. Growing up, Morales said soccer “was, kind of like, not cool you know? It’s one of those things people would make fun of you in class for.” The founding and explosive success of Atlanta United shifted this mindset entirely.
While joining the early stages of the Academy after the UFA was a period of uncertainty, Morales believes he owes his career to those defining moments in his early years.
When asked about what it was like growing up in a small, tight-knit soccer community, Morales said, “Being able to transition from the UFA into Atlanta United was not necessarily easy…but it was good.”
Morales made a profound impact in his early years. He scored four goals and made 22 appearances across all competitions in his first year. The next season, he played up two age groups, appearing in 16 matches across the Academy’s U-14 and U-15 teams. In the 2018-19 season, he was called up to the U.S. U-15 National team camps on two separate occasions. At only 14 years old, he was playing three age groups up and made 10 appearances for Atlanta’s U-17 team, as well as continuing to play for the U-15s.
He made his professional debut for Atlanta United 2 against Charleston Battery on Aug. 15, 2020 and scored a goal. Following this success, in 2021, Morales was the first player from the inaugural U-12 Academy team to sign a professional contract.
“I would say it's a pretty big achievement for myself, having been there since I was 11 years old,” Morales said. “I think it just shows my loyalty, but it also shows how well the organization has done. Having been able to develop me kind of step by step through the ranks. They were a big part of my development, and I wouldn't be the player that I am without them.”
On being one of the longest-serving players in the organization, Morales said that he has gone through many phases within this club, but he tries to keep his fundamental attributes the same throughout his time.
“I've tried to stay true to myself as a player,” Morales said. “I try to keep my game senses. Even though we've gone through different tactics and different formations and stuff like that, I think I like to try to stay the same.”
Homegrown players for Atlanta United have continued to be some of the strongest foundations within the club through periods of difficulty, and they keep the bench for the first team grounded in the roots of the city.
“My whole family's from here and all my friends know Atlanta United,” Morales said. “Since Atlanta United has been a thing, it's obviously grown in popularity and there's a level of respect for it now. So being able to be a homegrown for that club, it’s definitely … a big deal for me.”
Atlanta United has helped Morales to continue igniting his passion for the sport.
“It's a good balance between being comfortable but not too comfortable,” he said.
Being in the club for many years has helped Morales to grow and develop into the player he is today. Being around familiar coaching staff and teammates since he was a child has helped him to comfortably branch out within his abilities as a player. Coaches like Matt Lawrey and Jack Collison were notable figures in this growth.
When asked who has helped him to get where he is today, the coaching staff and team are his first thoughts. “I've kind of grown up with them my whole life,” Morales said. “They really helped me a lot and they were really nice to me. [They] were a big part of my development for sure.”
Though describing himself as a technical, methodical player, sometimes the club can stage unpredictability he has had to adapt to “because at the end of the day, it's very cutthroat in the sense you have to be always on top of things and you always have to be at the highest level.”
Morales’ experience with United has been unique in the sense that he has not had to transition into this unpredictability amongst a roster undergoing constant change throughout the years.
“Obviously being around people that I know very well gives me enough comfort and confidence in order to be able to show the player that I am,” he said. But, as comfortable as things may be, he has always stayed prepared to step up in important moments.
Morales faced unpredictability this season when he was asked to start in his first team debut against Chicago Fire FC on April 27 just an hour before kickoff. “It was kind of last second -- like an hour before the game,” Morales said. “So it was extremely unexpected. Which, I think was honestly a good thing.” Morales played a solid, full 90 minutes of that match, a key contributor in keeping a 0-0 draw on the road in a pivotal part of the season.
“It was definitely, I would say, one of the greatest days of my life,” Morales said. “Having been part of an organization for so long and finally to be able to make it to that highest level where you also know you're the team out there. Especially to be able to get a tie, [that] was a really big deal for me and my family. Obviously, I know my family was watching and they were pretty ecstatic.”
Following the Chicago Fire FC match, Atlanta United midfielder Dax McCarty, a 19-year MLS veteran, told the media, “Efrain Morales was the man of the match for me tonight. Absolutely fantastic performance from him. A kid who has been at this club for a long time.”
After hearing about the surprising compliment from his teammate, Morales gave both himself and McCarty props for seeing their good relationship off the field translate into a well-played match together. “Dax was helping me a lot up to that point as a player, giving me pointers, and having someone like that who's played 500 games in MLS has helped me tremendously,” Morales said.
Morales scored two goals over 1,259 minutes in his 15 starts with the Atlanta United 2 in MLS Next Pro this season, to go along with 243 minutes over four matches (three starts) in MLS. He also started and played all 300 minutes in Atlanta's three U.S. Open Cup matches.
Morales recounts the year and his varied experiences with both Atlanta United and Atlanta United 2 as a way to learn more about himself. The biggest lesson he learned this year is to stay steady.
“There's a lot of ups and downs in your soccer career, and it's really just important to stay steady because at the beginning of the season, things weren't going great,” Morales said. “And you don't necessarily know where you're at, but things can go up and things can go down as well, so it's important to just not go too high and not to go too low.”
Morales’ focus is set on being able to play more games for the first team. “I'm in and around it every single day, but being on the pitch is different than just being in training and being on the bench,” Morales said. “Even though I've played seven games this season, I would say I've helped the team a little bit. But obviously at a larger level, [that] is something that I would like to be able to do and I think I can do.”
McCarty tells Atlanta United fans this is “a kid who has grabbed [opportunity] with both hands and is fantastic. And when young players step in, in a tough environment, and have performances like they do, that should make everyone at this club very proud.”
✍️ & 📷: Sofia Cupertino
Comments