ATLANTA —Atlanta United today announced it has acquired goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo from Club Atlético Lanús on loan through December 2022. Ríos Novo will join the team pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“We’re pleased to welcome Rocco back to Atlanta and look forward to integrating him into the team,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said. “He’s a young, talented player who we’re very familiar with who will add competition to our goalkeeping group.”
Ríos Novo, 19, returns to the club after spending the 2021 season with Atlanta United 2. On loan from Lanús, Ríos Novo signed with Atlanta United 2 on March 2, 2021 and made 20 starts in the USL Championship and led the team with 75 saves. He made his First Team debut on April 6 in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, coming on in first-half stoppage time against LD Alajuelense after Brad Guzan was given a red card. He made six saves, setting the club’s single-game CCL record, and was named the Man of the Match as Atlanta United secured a 1-0 road win. He started the second leg a week later, April 13, also keeping a clean sheet as Atlanta won 1-0 and advanced to the SCCL quarterfinals 2-0 on aggregate.
Ríos Novo was born in Los Angeles, California and moved to Argentina at a young age where he joined Lanús’ youth academy. He has been a fixture with Argentina’s Youth National Teams representing the U-15s and the U-17s. He was the starting goalkeeper during the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2019 South American U-17 Championship, where Argentina won its fourth title as Ríos Novo collected five clean sheets in eight matches.
Player Profile
Name: Rocco Ríos Novo
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 5-10
Birthdate: June 4, 2002 (19)
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Nationality: United States, Argentina
Transaction: Atlanta United acquires goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo from Lanús on loan through December 2022 on April 27, 2022.
2022 Atlanta United roster (as of April 27, 2022)
Goalkeepers (5): Dylan Castanheira+, Justin Garces*, Brad Guzan+, Rocco Ríos Novo^^, Bobby Shuttleworth
Defenders (11): Mikey Ambrose, George Campbell, Alex De John, Alan Franco, Andrew Gutman, Ronald Hernández, Brooks Lennon, Efrain Morales*, Miles Robinson, Bryce Washington, Caleb Wiley
Midfielders (12): Thiago Almada, Osvaldo Alonso+, Ezequiel Barco**, Erik Centeno, Emerson Hyndman, Franco Ibarra, Marcelino Moreno, Jake Mulraney, Matheus Rossetto, Amar Sejdic, Santiago Sosa, Tyler Wolff
Forwards (7): Luiz Araújo, Machop Chol, Ronaldo Cisneros^, Jackson Conway, Dom Dwyer, Erik López*, Josef Martínez
*-On loan to Atlanta United 2
**-On loan to Club Atlético River Plate
*-On loan to Club Atlético Banfield
^-On loan from Chivas Guadalajara
^^ On loan from Club Atlético Lanús
+- On Season-Ending Injury List
