Javier Armas: Living the Dream

“It was a dream come true,” said Javier Armas about the emotions he felt when he was selected by Atlanta United in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

Armas, 24, usually spends the holidays with his family in Spain, but he stayed with his girlfriend (now his fiancé) in California with the illusion of being one of the 87 college soccer players selected during the draft.

Although Armas knew that being drafted was a possibility, he tried to stay humble and not get his hopes up in case things didn’t pan out. It wasn’t until the day of the draft that he learned he was going to play for a professional club.

Growing up in the Spanish city of A Coruña, soccer was more than just a game – it was a teacher. Armas spent 10 years playing in the youth academy system of Deportivo de La Coruña, a professional club that currently plays in the third tier of Spanish soccer. He credited the club for helping him grow as a soccer player and a person, and says he would like to return to the club someday.

In 2019, Armas took a big step and decided to play college ball in the United States for Oregon State University.

“It was actually not very easy,” Armas said in an exclusive interview with Scarves and Spikes, “I came to the US without speaking any English, so it’s a total new language, new culture.”

Armas described a culture shock going from his native Spain where he could walk everywhere to the United States where he has to drive to get where he’s going. But lifestyle shocks weren’t the only surprises he faced, he also admitted believing that being a soccer player in America would be easier than back home.

“It was actually very, very tough,” Armas said, “I actually lost my confidence my first year here as a freshman in college. It was good because I played – I was starting every game – but I wasn’t really at my best and I was kind of thinking ‘what am I doing here?'”

Despite those doubts, Armas found success at the collegiate level, earning numerous honors such as being named to the All-Pac 12 First Team, the All-Region team and the All-American Third Team in 2023. He recorded six goals and 10 assists throughout 77 appearances for the Beavers.

After the years of preparation, Armas’ work would pay off. Atlanta United selected him with the 48th overall pick of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft before being signed by the club’s MLS NEXT Pro team Atlanta United 2. In preparation for both squads’ 2024 seasons, Armas was part of the Five Stripes’ preseason tour where he was able to train and play alongside first team players.

“It was an amazing experience,” Armas said, “it was learning from the best, you know, playing with professional soccer players, something you see in the TV and you always want to do as a young kid, that’s your dream.”

From training at state-of-the-art facilities such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground and Mercedes-Benz Stadium to travelling with the team to Miami and Tampa, Armas was living his dream to the fullest. But to him, it wasn’t just about the trips and amenities, it was also an opportunity to learn from players who made it to that top level.

“I tried to ask a lot of questions, especially to the old players that I think they are wiser,” Armas said recalling a piece of advice he received from first team goalkeeper Quentin Westberg, “He [Westberg] told me one thing that is stuck in my head. He’s like ‘don’t compare yourself to anyone because everyone has different backgrounds, everyone has different stories behind the soccer player.”

Armas has played all 360 minutes of Atlanta United 2’s season so far with goals in a 4-0 win over Carolina Core and a 3-2 loss to Orlando City B. He wears the number 86, a combination of the two numbers he’s worn throughout his career, since he was told by the club that he couldn’t have a number below 40. However, probably more distinctive than his number is his tucked shirt, a habit he says he picked up from his academy days.

“All the players, we had to wear it tucked in,” Armas said, “The first maybe three, four years, I used to wear my shirt tucked in, and then I thought it wasn’t cool. But then, I think was three years ago in Oregon State, I started to wear it again tucked in. I think it looks good and I like it.”

The 2s have had a rough start to 2024 with a win and three losses through four games and an ACL injury to defender Daniel Russo that will keep him off the field for the rest of the season. While reflecting on how to turn things around, Armas said its a matter of focus and ambition to reach the next level.

“We have an amazing, amazing group,” Armas said, “Yes, sometimes it’s also true that when you bring different to a team, you know, from different places, we just have to get used to each other. Build that chemistry, and we have to work on that today.”

Although Five Stripe fans may recognize Armas on the field, they may not know as much about his activities off the field. After studying business administration at Oregon State, he is now diving into the world of investment and cryptocurrency. Working from 8am to noon gives soccer players like him a lot of free time to learn and practice new skills.

“Instead of yes, do nothing the whole day, let’s see what I can do with my life. How can I support my family?” Armas said.

That mentality of finding things to do led him to start creating vlogs with Russo on their YouTube channel Javi and Dan. The first two videos document a day in their lives as professional soccer players and their preseason match at Birmingham Legion. He also teased an episode they recently recorded with a friend that will be posted soon.

Armas said that he started recording the videos because he has this idea of working to his strengths and trying to support others.

“So Danny and I, I think we have some great stories behind us – Danny as an American and me as an international,” Armas said, “So we said, okay, how can we help young soccer players to make it to college or to make it as a pro?”

When asked about what advice he would give to young players, Armas replied to not put their identity into soccer.

“I know sometimes it sounds a little bit backwards because its your job, but don’t make soccer the most out of your life,” Armas said, “Don’t think soccer is your life because as you get older, you realize that health, family, your relationships – that’s the biggest thing that you have in your life. It’s not soccer.”

Of course, no interview with Armas would be complete without asking about his infamous coffee.

During preseason, first team player Dax McCarty threw Atlanta United Twitter into chaos by announcing that an unnamed teammate took his coffee with butter. It wasn’t until an interview with Soccer Down Here over a month later that Armas revealed he was the culprit all along.

First of all, relax, he doesn’t drink it every day. While he does regularly drink coffee (though not to the level of Gonzalo Pineda), he typically just has his coffee with cream and honey. Armas uses the best coffee he can get and uses all organic ingredients.

So what happened in Miami, you may ask?

“I didn’t like the cream they had at the hotel,” Armas said, “I heard about… it’s called ‘bulletproof coffee’ which is like the coffee that you use in the morning when you are not very hungry, but you want to have energy.”

Just add some butter, MCT oil, protein powder and honey to your coffee and you, too, can try Armas’ bulletproof coffee.

Finally, Armas expressed his gratitude for the fans by saying the team plays for them at every game. He encourages Five Stripe fans to bring more people to come out and support the 2s on matchdays.

“You will help us as soccer players. As a soccer player, all you want to do and see is a full stadium,” Armas said, “Of course we have to work better and create that curiosity of the fans.”

Armas now says he is well-adjusted to life in Atlanta. He lives close to the club’s training center in Marietta and enjoys the quiet nature of the area. Although he’s a long way from his hometown, he seems happy about his new home in the Deep South.