Escobar, 23, who was acquired on loan from Dynamo Kiev of the Ukranian League in February, has shown some nice pace in his first two appearances with FCD but not much else. In fact, his debut and second game in MLS haven’t left much of an impression to speak of.
He debuted by playing the final nine minutes of Dallas’ season-opening win against Montreal on March 8. And in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City, the former teammate of Fabian Castillo in their native Colombia played the final 29 minutes at Sporting Park.
Like many players new to MLS, Escobar admits he is still adjusting to the nuances of the league after playing most recently in Ligue 1, the French top division.
“I’m feeling better and better. It’s a new league for me. I didn’t expect the league to be so physical, so strong physically on the field but it’s similar in some ways to the French League,” he said through a translator.
However, Escobar admits that as far as integrating himself into his new club, that is a process that has gone really well, thanks largely to teammates who have welcomed him with open arms.
“The team has received me very well. I know that I’m still working on adjusting to the new league, to a new team, but the team is picking up points, I’m playing well and that’s good for me, it gives me time to get to my best,” he said.
Escobar wears No. 91, not a normal number in soccer circles, but dons those digits for a very simple reason. Ninety-one represents the year he was born, which makes me and I’m sure a number of others reading this story feel more than a bit old.
He feels players in France’s top division have more technical skill with the ball at their feet than most players in MLS do, but he did say that MLS is very similar to Ligue 1 in terms of the level of physical play and speed of play.
But there is one thing about his new league that has surprised him a bit and it’s not what many might think it would be.
“Yeah, something that has caught my attention is this is a 90-minute league. Some leagues, when you’re two goals up, the other team just comes down and you really just finish the work and that’s the end of the game,” Escobar said. “Here, the other teams continue to run a lot, continue to fight a lot and they are just going to come at you until the final whistle. So that’s something that surprised me and something that I like.”
New FCD head coach Oscar Pareja knows a thing or two about what it’s like to adjust to MLS, a process he experienced firsthand when he came to the States from Colombia back in 1998.
He sees that acclimation to MLS as consisting of three aspects.
“Three things-first one, the intensity of the league, of the training, that’s an immediate challenge for the players. Second, understanding the culture and the work ethic that we have here,” Pareja said. “Third is the language. Those three things are difficult and they adapt to it once they start just seeing it. It’s a different world. MLS is a different world.”
Escobar is not only glad to count Castillo as a teammate again, but he’s also pretty stoked about playing for a fellow Colombian in Pareja, who has made a quick impression on the young attacker known as “Manga”.
However, when discussing how he has liked playing for Pareja so far, Andres wanted to talk about the two sides of Pareja-the person and the coach.
“First of all, before talking about him as a coach, he’s a great person. He’s someone that’s interested in the well-being of the players, in their families and their personal life,” Escobar said. “That’s something I want to highlight because he’s a great, great person to every single player and that’s very important.”
Escobar added: “He’s a great coach. He’s a person who has a lot of experience. He’s been around. He played at a very high level and he’s bringing all that experience together. I am very happy (to be playing for him).”
