IN A LOT OF WAYS, Atlanta United goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo has become a cult hero.

The 19-year-old came out of nowhere last spring during Atlanta United’s Round of 16 series with Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the 2021 Concacaf Champions League and delivered a composed performance in goal after relieving red-carded incumbent Brad Guzan in the second half of the first leg.

Then, of course, there is his trademark ‘bigote’, his moustache, which draws admirers far and wide.

Playing on-loan for a second season from Argentine club Lanus, the Los Angeles-born but Argentina-raised Rios Novo is embracing a another crack at things in Atlanta.

“I’m very happy for this new opportunity. I want to show everything that I am, everything I consider that I do well, my abilities, everything I have. I want to show that and contribute as much as I can to the team like always, so that we are where we always need to be, which is on top,” said Rios Novo this week in an interview with American Soccer Now.

Rios Novo arrived to Atlanta for his first spell prior to the start of last season and outside of his emergency goalkeeping duties in the CCL, he spent the season with Atlanta United 2, playing 20 matches.

The season-ending Achilles injury to Brad Guzan this past April prompted Atlanta to once again place another call into Lanus, and back came Rios Novo, this time serving as the club’s back-up behind Bobby Shuttleworth while Guzan recovers.

“The truth is that I feel very confident. There in Argentina I was playing, I played a lot of games, a lot of minutes, so I feel very confident about goalkeeping. I feel like I am able to bring my best and for the moment I am having patience. I’m just waiting for the moment when it’s my time to play and to be able to contribute my best to the team,” said Rios Novo.

Having the opportunity to learn from the injured Guzan and another veteran like the 35-year-old Shuttleworth has been priceless.

“I’m a young goalkeeper and to train every day alongside a goalkeeper with so much experience like Bobby or Brad, it helps me a lot. I try to copy the good things that they have and try to have them give me advice and listen to what they say to me. It helps my experience.”

Still, it’s impossible to not reflect on that moment in April 2021 when a red card right before halftime forced Guzan off, and the little-known Rios Novo was suddenly being thrown into the fray by then-manager Gabriel ‘Gringo’ Heinze.

“They were my first two games as a professional. They are great memories. I was lucky enough that they were both victories, that the team performed well, and it will always remain in my memory and my heart because they were very important games for me.

“I admit that I was very nervous, but I knew that if I was there, it was for a reason. El Gringo gave me the confidence to goalkeep, and my teammates, too, because my teammates always supported me from the first minute from when I entered the field, helping me give my best on the field. I felt confident because I had been training hard, I had been doing things well, so I was very happy,” said Rios Novo.

Like another player in MLS, CF Montreal’s Matko Miljevic, Rios Novo was born in the United States, but spent the large majority of his life growing up in Argentina. He was born in Los Angeles, but moved back to Argentina at age three with his mother, while his father went to Mexico where his father’s family all lives.

He does not have any family still living in the U.S. and never even traveled back to the U.S. until his loan deal last season. Since arriving in Atlanta, Rios Novo has not been back to L.A. to see the place where he spent his infancy, but he is keen to do so soon.

“I really want to get to know it, to see it. I know I was there for three years, but of course I was so young. I can’t recall how it was, but I want to get to know the place of my origins, where I was born, where I grew up those three years. I would love to,” said Rios Novo.

Not only did his strong play as a young goalkeeper in the Lanus youth system get Atlanta United’s attention, but he also opened eyes in Argentina, as Rios Novo served as the Argentina Under-17 National Team’s No.1 during the 2019 South American Championship and the 2019 Under-17 World Cup.

However, having been born in the U.S., Rios Novo still is eligible to play for the Stars and Stripes, but at this stage, with no contact coming from U.S. Soccer, it appears his future lies with the Albiceleste.

“Right now, I am only thinking about Argentina. I spent most of my life growing up in Argentina. They were the ones that gave me the opportunity to play with their youth national teams in various occasions, so I’m only thinking about Argentina. I’ve never received a message from people from the U.S., so the truth is that I’ve never thought about it,” concluded Rios Novo.