Matt Edwards is the man of the moment. Atlanta United’s homegrown right back is already playing at the top level early in his footballing career. The 22-year-old made his first ever MLS start Saturday Feb. 22 against Montréal in front of a packed-out Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Edwards held his own in the home opener, and head coach Ronny Deila called on him again to handle Wilfried Zaha and other top talent attacking talents when Atlanta United faced Charlotte FC. As his responsibility in the squad grows, Edwards is becoming more and more confident.
We sat down with Matt to ask him 17 Questions and give 17s a chance to get to know their right back better:
What’s your earliest memory playing soccer?
I did little kickers on a turf field. Just a bunch of little kids running around, kicking the ball when I was about three, four years old.
If you weren’t a professional soccer player, what would you be doing?
I wish I was a golfer. I feel like that would be the best career path. That would be a fun career path, too. The PGA Tour.
Do you have any pre-match routines or rituals?
Yeah, I have a book I read before every game, just to get in the mindset. It's called "The Confident Mind". It just helps me mentally get locked in. And I try to always have Chipotle the night before. Something about it, I just always do it now. I get a burrito bowl, side tortilla, chicken, beans, rice, things like that. And then I get sour cream and vinaigrette on the side. It’s fire.
Do you listen to music before matches?
It depends on my mood. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I just watch TikTok. I do have a pre-match playlist, mostly rap, hip-hop.
If you could be one teammate for a day, who would you be and why?
Oh, that's interesting. Shoot, I'd probably be Xande Silva\]. I feel like he just lives a crazy life. [Alexey [Miranchuk]’s another one, I don’t know what he does all day. One of those two.
Who do you learn from the most in the squad?
Pedro [Amador]. I try to watch everything Pedro does, because he's class, so I try to mimic what he does.
What did it mean to you when you were given the captaincy with the 2s last season?
I was surprised at first, but it's just another responsibility, something that I learned from for sure.
What was the most important thing you learned at the University of North Carolina?
I learned how important education is. Always being in the mindset that you can learn is huge. I mean, that's the only way we can grow as humans is to just keep learning.
Why did you study economics?
The science of money and what we do with it, and how everybody moves with their finances. It's just interesting to me and something I wanted to improve on.
Would you rather be forced to root for Duke or NC State?
NC State, for sure. I could never root for Duke.
You come from an incredibly athletic family. Your siblings all played collegiate sports, and your mother was an All-American runner at Georgia Tech. How was competition growing up for you and are you the fastest in the family?
It’s not even close, I'm the fastest. I've raced every single one of my siblings and beat them in many races. My mom is the only one that might be close to me, but I think in her prime I’d beat her. My brother [and I], we compete in every sport. I usually win, except for baseball. He can have that one, but I beat him in everything.
What’s the best East Coast beach?
That's actually a tricky question. I'm going to have to go Wilmington Beach or Myrtle Beach. It's one of those two. I'm going to go Myrtle Beach, that's the bigger one.
How would you write your own scouting report?
Defensively minded, fast right back.
Why do you wear No. 47?
47 just looks cool. That was my main reason. And my grandpa's birthday is April, oh four, and then 1947 so it was kind of a meaning behind that too.
You recently made your first start for the club in front of 65,000 people. How did you handle that?
I was nervous until the whistle blew. Once the whistle blew, I was fine. That was an amazing experience, something I'll remember for the rest of my life for sure.
How special is it to wear that badge with first team having come up through the academy?
It’s a great inspiration story for a lot of the guys coming through here too. You can go whatever path, and you can still get to the first team. It’s sick, for sure.
And finally, what do you want 17s to know about you?
No matter what I do, I'm going to always try my hardest and do my best no matter the task, and you can always count on me to be there for everyone around me.
