Erik Nicolás López Samaniego (born 27 November 2001) is a Paraguayan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

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Club career

Olimpia

Born in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, López began his career in youth system of Olimpia. On 25 August 2019, López made his professional debut for Olimpia in the Primera División against

Deportivo Santaní Club Deportivo Santaní, is a Paraguayan football club based in the city of San Estanislao, locally known as ''Santaní''. The club was founded February 27, 2009 and plays in División Intermedia, the second division in the Paraguayan football ...

. He started and also scored his first goal in the 28th minute as Olimpia won 4–0. In the following two matches, López scored another two goals, one each against

Deportivo Capiatá Club Deportivo Capiatá, is a Paraguayan football club based in the city of Capiatá. The club was founded on September 8, 2008 and plays in the Third División of the Paraguayan league. Their home games are played at the Estadio Lic. Erico G ...

and

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

. López finished his first professional season at Olimpia with 4 goals in 15 matches.

Atlanta United

On 18 July 2020, López signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

on a contract starting prior to the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

season. For the 2020 season, López would join

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professiona ...

, the reserve side of Atlanta United, in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Loan to Banfield

On 22 February 2022, López was loaned to Banfield for the 2022 season.

Mutual termination

On August 4, 2023, Atlanta United and López agreed to a mutual termination of his contract.

International career

In 2020, López was called-in as part of the Paraguay squad for the

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament The CONMEBOL Preolímpico ( en, Pre-Olympic Tournament) is an international association football event in the South America region organized by CONMEBOL. It is the qualification tournament for the football tournament at the Olympic Games. In 1960 ...

. He made his debut for the Paraguay under-23s on 19 January 2020 against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, starting in a 1–0 defeat.

Career statistics

Honours

Olimpia * Primera División: 2019 Torneo Clausura

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:López, Erik 2001 births Living people Footballers from Asunción Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Paraguay men's youth international footballers Club Olimpia footballers Atlanta United 2 players Atlanta United FC players Club Atlético Banfield footballers Paraguayan Primera División players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Argentine Primera División players Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina MLS Next Pro players