AUSTIN — Every hero needs a sidekick. But sometimes, it is difficult to tell who is the hero and who is the sidekick.
“If you ask Julio (Cascante) if he is the best defender in this league and he says no, I will be disappointed in him,” Ruben Gabrielsen, the Austin FC center back, said on Tuesday following a 3-1 victory over Houston Dynamo FC. “If you ask me, ‘Are you the best defender in the league?’ Yeah, 100%.”
In reality, neither of the Austin FC duo made the MLS All-Star roster announced Tuesday. Sebastián Driussi was the lone player selected from the current Supporters' Shield leaders.
But together, they are making a compelling case as a top-tier duo. Verde is eighth in Major League Soccer in goals allowed, with 23 in 20 matches, allowing the league’s top scoring team (41 goals) to also boast the best goal differential.
It’s a far cry from where Austin was a year ago, when it shipped 56 goals and scored a league-worst 35.
You would be tempted to point to Gabrielsen as the difference, as Cascante led defenders in minutes during the expansion season. Individual mistakes were at the center of some of the team’s lowest moments, including a 4-0 embarrassment in San Jose on Oct. 20.
“Last year, I was very disappointed with myself,” he said. “I felt I could be a lot better. I own it.”
The numbers agree with Gabrielsen. On the whole, Cascante is having the better season in terms of goals added (G+), a metric created by American Soccer Analysis to measure a player’s total impact.
Cascante is third among Verde players at 3.43 G+, behind only Driussi (4.40) and Alex Ring (3.45). Gabrielsen (2.96) is sixth. For context, the top center back in MLS in that category is Bill Tuiloma (4.73) of the Portland Timbers. Cascante ranks 13th among all central defenders.
His biggest separator is in passing, where the Costa Rican has by far the best marks on the team with 1.33 G+ on that category alone. And when you watch an Austin match, you can see why. Cascante takes on a lot of line-breaking passes, and his total completion percentage is 86.5. He even has three assists, which is a lot for a center back less than two-thirds into a season.
Beyond the numbers, though, you can see that Cascante has a swagger about him that didn’t exist in 2021. And who wouldn’t, playing alongside a teammate who demands that he hold himself to the standard of the best in MLS.
“I think he had a big part in it,” Cascante said of Gabrielsen. “I think he brings the best out of me and I try to help him bring his best.”
Gabrielsen’s early steps in adjusting to MLS weren’t easy. He arrived late into preseason, did not start either of the first two matches as he caught up to rookie Kipp Keller, then was at fault for the lone goal scored during his first start against the Timbers.
On Tuesday, the Norwegian who has played in the top leagues in Norway, France and Denmark called MLS “the hardest league I’ve ever played in.” He’s had to adjust to cross-continental travel, changes in climate, altitude and schedule congestion.
He said he received a particular shock April 30 in Houston, when the temperature for a 12:38 p.m. CT kickoff was over 80 degrees, with humidity greater than 50%.
“I couldn't move. I was not happy. I wanted to cancel my contract,” he joked. “I didn't want to be here at all. called my wife and I said this is not for me. I'm going back home.”
Gabrielsen has a deadpan sense of humor that is unrivaled in the Austin FC locker room. He can hold court with media, and has an air of confidence that comes off as more goofy than cocky. When he has an opinion, he doesn’t hold back.
For example, when asked by Spanish-speaking media what it was like to play against Mexican national-team veteran Héctor Herrera in the second half against Houston, he treated him like another second-half sub getting acclimated to a new league.
“What is it, 105 (degrees)?,” he said. “We don’t have to adapt to him at all. It’s his problem now. All respect to his career and everything, but when we play there’s no respect at all.”
Gabrielsen also showed up one of the league’s best forwards last weekend, Josef Martínez, by holding him to only three shots and 0.29 expected goals (xG).
“I’m a big boy, but people forget that I’m really fast,” Gabrielsen said. “I sprint three times a year, so I’m trying to play with my brain and not my physicality. Everybody's shocked, like with the Martínez thing. Everybody was like, ‘Whoa, he’s fast.’ Yeah, I’m very fast, but I'm trying to not make fouls, no yellow cards, try to play with my brain.”
Even his own daughter has experienced the cut-throat nature of Gabrielsen’s competitiveness.
“My daughter is four years old now and she hasn’t won a game yet against me,” he said. “I'm not gonna lose for you in a pickup game, on a football game or whatever it is. It’s not my nature, I want to win.”
And that mentality seeps into the rest of the team whenever Austin FC goes behind. There’s no time to dwell, for instance, when Adalberto Carrasquilla puts Cascante on his rear and scores to take the lead in the 11th minute inside Q2.
“Get the ball,” Gabrielsen said. “This is not new to us.”
Added Cascante, “I thought it was a foul, but it just happened. We keep going.”
If they keep going like this, one or both center backs could be in the mix for end-of-season awards. Gabrielsen has to be under consideration for Newcomer of the Year, and Cascante could make a real case for Defender of the Year if Verde can maintain its position atop the standings.
They’re certainly at the top of each other’s list of All-Star snubs. Cascante, meanwhile, said he hasn’t had any contact from Costa Rica national team coach Luis Fernando Suárez despite his recent form.
“I think I'm the only one that sees it, not the experts,” Gabrielsen said. “So maybe if he had a bit more Instagram followers he would be (at the All-Star Game) as well.”
But even when Gabrielsen gives the stock answer to a question about his own individual plaudits, you have to believe him.
“I just want to win a trophy with my team,” Gabrielsen said, a grin spreading across his face. “I want to win the Golden Boot, scoring a lot of goals, that's what I want to do. I'm far away from it, and Diego (Fagúndez) scored a free kick so I’m back in line now.”