Back from Florida, Austin FC promises new looks and improvements for 2023

Back from its first-ever preseason trip away from St. David's Performance Center, Austin FC trained Monday in winter weather — indeed, about 50 degrees colder than they experienced during their 10 days in Florida. 

Even with the visceral reminder Monday that winter is not over – and even with the added responsibilities on head coach (and now Chief Soccer Officer) Josh Wolff's plate, after last week's Claudio Reyna resignation in which he pivoted to an advisory role — Wolff was upbeat about what this team took from the time away. 

And he also sent a signal to the rest of the league, echoed by two of his returning players — don't expect the same Austin FC you saw last year.

As good, but better

"We're putting more emphasis on our attacking and a little bit of these rearrangements that we're trying to create, to have a little more flexibility and versatility in attack," Wolff told the assembled media after training on Monday.

"We've got to continue to evolve," he added, "continue to be brave, continue to be strong with the ball, but also be a team now that can win games and be defensive." 

"We will definitely be changing so that they don't already know what we're gonna come with," Sebastián Driussi said via an interpreter in his first media availability of the preseason. "We'll still be as good as Austin, but just improved." 

"We're just trying to show a different look," Ethan Finlay added. "We have a lot of games this year. We're going to play against some opponents from Mexico that have a little bit different style of play than what you see every day in MLS, so I think to give a little bit of versatility, we're working through that. It's new to everyone, coaches and players alike, so some of the coaching elements, they take a little bit of time, a lot of time in the film room, video and stuff like that, but we're making progress." 

Wolff noted that he doesn't want to overwhelm the players, contrasting his first year with his second year, but also feels like he now knows how to introduce the new flourishes to how Verde will play. 

"We are in the process of giving more information to guys, bringing on new players, and it's about what can we go out and do in year three," he said. "So now we want to add on to what's happened in year one and year two without suffocating or drowning players. It's still about decision making. It's still about enjoying the game." 

Leo rising

One addition to Austin FC, center back Leo Väisänen, connected with his new teammates at the tail end of the Florida trip, but Wolff said that he and his staff will be easing him into action. 

"Leo got involved late down there, so we didn't want to risk him in any of these games," he remarked. "We were a little short of center backs in our last game against Cincinnati. Johan [Romaña] had a calf injury" — which he attributed to "not being fit enough to really fulfill what preseason is about." 

Regarding Väisänen, Wolff pointed out, "We did not want to risk Leo; we got him up to speed. I think today he gets in, and we'll do a lot of video with him," but also adding that Väisänen is "very clean and confident on the ball and right away he gives us that ability to utilize the ball to hurt opponents." 

That's not the only new center back needing to get up to speed; Austin FC announced the Amro Tarek signing on Friday. Wolff said, regarding the former New York Red Bull, that the MLS originals' pressing style demands a blend of speed, power and attitude that Tarek will bring to his new team. 

Wolff on Reyna

Of course, the team returns with familiar faces in slightly new roles due to the Reyna-necessitated shifts in duties, but Wolff expressed confidence they'll be able to handle what comes as they get used to the new era.

"I've been friends with Claudio for a long time," Wolff remarked, "and I expect that to stay the same. I think we all respect Claudio's decision." While he acknowledged the "some subtle changes or subtle additions that I'll take on" in the coming days of day-to-day operations, he also credited new interim sporting director Sean Rubio and the collective of coaches and front office staff who have already been integrated into player personnel and methodology matters. 

Wolff added that he liked the spirit that the team's showing back from the Florida trip, with an additional fire and perhaps a bit of a chip on their collective shoulders from dropping two straight preseason results, even as the players got to bond in a way (and in a setting) that past Verde iterations did not. 

What's next

Following a pair of 3-2 preseason losses to 2022 playoff teams on the Sunshine State jaunt — the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati – Austin FC will return home to play a closed-door scrimmage this coming Saturday against El Paso Locomotive FC, the first of two consecutive Saturday matches against USL Championship sides. With the time away behind them, and with lessons learned from that trip, expect a renewed focus from the players who went from sun and short sleeves to a brisk wind and gloves. 

"We got what we wanted to accomplish," Finlay said of the trip. "To get out of this building, a little bit of team bonding, a little bit of unity ... it's not necessarily about the results. You want to win every game out there and put in a good performance," and then adding about the performance, "I think we did that." 

"We're just going to work on improving the things that we did last year, because we're definitely a contender for a championship," Driussi added, noting that his personal to-do list — after coming as close as he did last season — is to "win MVP and win Golden Boot." 

Certainly, those are only slight improvements over the plateau he reached in 2022, but ones that Verde fans would welcome.