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Austin FC look to continue hot start to second season
MLS

Austin FC look to continue hot start to second season

Updated May. 8, 2022 7:57 p.m. ET

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Are Austin FC for real?

We’re only nine games into the 34-match MLS season, but Austin started hot and have stayed that way. 

After failing to make the playoffs last year in their inaugural MLS season, Austin sit second in both the Western Conference and the Supporters Shield race. They’re unbeaten in six since their only loss in Portland more than a month ago, with the Verde gunning for a fifth consecutive win when they host the LA Galaxy on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports app).

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The turnaround has been remarkable.

"It’s challenging as an expansion team," coach Josh Wolff said. "We played eight of our first nine games on the road. There were injuries, COVID — there was a litany of things against us. You could use it as an excuse and choose to be the victim every day. We didn’t. We just fought on, took our lumps and grew from it."

Wolff and sporting director Claudio Reyna tweaked the roster in the winter, making some key additions in center back Ruben Gabrielsen, midfielder Ethan Finlay and forward Maxi Urruti. All have logged major minutes in 2022.

But really, it’s the core players from last year who have carried the team. Designated Player Sebastián Driussi, a 26-year-old forward from Argentina, leads MLS with seven goals. Playmaker Diego Fagúndez tops the league in assists, with six. Defender Julio Cascante and captain Alex Ring each played more than 30 games in Austin’s maiden season, and they are among the team leaders in minutes again.

Austin even successfully navigated the loss of DP midfielder Cecilio Domínguez, who was suspended indefinitely last month after an off-field incident. Domínguez rejoined the team this week following an investigation.

It speaks to the strong culture that Wolff, in his first job as a head coach after paying his dues as an assistant with D.C. United, the Columbus Crew and the U.S. men’s national team, has cultivated in Texas’ capital.

"I told people this year feels more like family than anything," Fagúndez said. "We’re having fun. The team is winning. Everybody’s happy."

FOOTNOTES

1. For Sounders, focus shifts back to MLS

The biggest story in North American soccer this week is obviously Seattle’s historic win Wednesday over Mexican side Pumas. The 3-0 rout made the Sounders the first MLS team to claim the CONCACAF Champions League in its current format and snapped Liga’s MX’s streak of regional titles at 16 years. 

With the trophy now secured, Seattle can turn their attention back to league play. That’s bad news for everybody else. The Sounders, who have never missed the postseason since entering the league in 2009, are currently 12th in the West. Only the top seven qualify for the playoffs.

"We’re going to move forward — we got a game against Dallas on the weekend," coach Brian Schmetzer said minutes after reaching the CONCACAF summit.

The good news for Sounders fans is that their team trails the seventh-place Houston Dynamo by just five points. Because of rescheduling caused by their Champions League run, the Rave Green also have played three fewer games than several of the teams their chasing in the standings.

2. Alaska-made, Seattle bred 

One of the best stories of the finale was the play of 16-year-old Sounders academy product Obed Vargas. Vargas entered the match in the 30th minute after Brazilian central midfielder João Paulo, a finalist for the MLS MVP award last season, suffered a knee injury.

"I mean, that was an easy decision," Schmetzer said of turning to Vargas in that high-stakes moment in front of almost 69,000 fans at Lumen Field. "The kid has played some big games for us, and he stepped in and performed."

3. Bale-ing on the Black and Red

A few weeks ago, Steve Goff of the Washington Post reported that D.C. United and reps for Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale "were exchanging proposals" about a possible move to MLS and that DCU, which doesn’t exactly have a reputation for splashing the cash, was willing to pay Bale more than the $3.5 million per year for which it signed Wayne Rooney in 2018. 

But Bale’s expiring contract with Real Madid is worth a whopping $38 million per season, and while the oft-injured 32-year-old will take a hefty pay cut no matter where he lands, FOX Sports understands that the Welsh star would require a salary close to the one Toronto FC agreed to with Italian national team forward Lorenzo Insigne, who will earn around $15 million annually in MLS after he arrives from Napoli this summer.

Insigne’s deal is easily the richest in MLS history. Carlos Vela was the league’s highest-paid player in 2021, with $6.3 million in guaranteed compensation, according to the figures released by the MLS Players Association. 

4. D.C. won’t rush coaching hire    

Staying in the nation’s capital, word is that second-year D.C. United general manager Lucy Rushton is in no hurry to replace Argentine coach Hernán Losada, who was fired April 20. That means interim boss Chad Aston, who had been an assistant with DCU since 2007, will probably see out the year.

United might prefer a domestic-based candidate after axing Losada just 40 games into his tenure, and they would have more options with MLS experience after the season ends. 

United is on the hook for Losada’s salary for the remainder of 2022.

5. Galaxy’s stars

The LA Galaxy have been better this season under second-year boss Gregg Vanney. Despite last weekend’s defeat to Real Salt Lake, Vanney & Co. still sit third in the West behind Austin and overall leader and crosstown rival LAFC.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez once again is among the league’s top scorers (though his last goal came April 9), and offseason additions such as Raheem Edwards and Marky Delgado have exceeded expectations externally.

But besides Chicharito, LA has struggled to get enough out of its other key attackers. Former Bayern Munich and Juventus midfielder Diego Costa has just one goal and no helpers in eight games. Kévin Cabral’s numbers are worse: The French striker hasn’t scored and has managed just three shots on target in 500 minutes on the field.

6. Wolff’s pack

Austin’s coach isn’t the only Wolff in the league; the former USMNT forward’s two teenage sons are MLS players. A striker like his dad, Tyler Wolff, 19, started Atlanta United’s first four games of the season and has made eight appearances across all competitions. Seventeen-year-old midfielder Owen Wolff is on Josh’s roster in Austin.

"Watching Tyler and having Owen here has been great," the elder Wolff said. "When they were younger, I didn’t get to see my kids play a lot because I was so busy coaching."

Tyler is still looking for his first professional goal.

"It’s about being prepared for that opportunity," Josh Wolff said. "Performance is what’s going to get you back onto the field. He’s enjoyed his time playing for [Atlanta coach] Gonzalo Pineda, and I think that stability has helped him immensely after having four or five coaches in about two years."

Meanwhile, Owen made his MLS debut in September and has come off the bench in three matches this year. "It’s been nice to have time with him and to help him develop," Wolff said of his younger son, who still lives at home.

"He’s made progress physically since last year. The difficulty is getting minutes. It’s very competitive here.

"He doesn’t love the news when I tell him he’s not gonna be playing," Wolff added. "But he also understands what the expectations are and that this journey is long. It’s not always going to be butterflies and rainbows."

One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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