The 2023 season is still in its infancy for Austin FC, but already the buzz being felt out at the team’s training center of St. David’s Performance Center is one that centers on youth.
Look no further than the addition of the Austin FC II team. Also, there's the inclusion of 16-year-old Micah Burton to the team’s preseason trip to Florida, followed by the club's Wednesday announcement that the possible future ATX homegrown player has been called up the U.S. men's U17 youth national team — to go to the Concacaf U-17 Championship in Guatemala starting Feb. 11, with U17 World Cup qualification on the line.
Yet once the 2023 season kicks off – billed as the longest season in MLS history – Austin FC fans will most see this youth movement show up in the middle of the field.
That’s where the likes of Daniel Pereira, Sofiane Djeffal and Owen Wolff come into the fold. All three players in the center of the park are 23 or younger, giving Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff tempting options in this fixture-congested campaign.
Significant minutes on the horizon
“They are going to be a big part of it. I think they are going to see significant minutes. I think that’s where this group is at,” said Wolff in a session with reporters this week. “I talked about the rearrangement of some of our structures to give ourselves more flexibility to become more difficult to play against. I think it suits some of their qualities, like the quality on the ball, but their ball-winning skills as well.”
Djeffal is the least known of the three to Austin FC fans. A new arrival over the winter, the 23-year-old France native and Oregon State product did well in his rookie season at DC United, starting 19 games.
The departure of Felipe Martins gives Wolff a younger relief man in midfield, likely when it is time to rest Alex Ring. Playing on a last-place DC United team last year, Djeffal showed he can fulfill a holding midfield role and it would not surprise to see him and Pereira running things in that area of the field for good chunks of the season.
Djeffal was already acquainted with Austin by training with the club before his senior season at Oregon State. Now a member of the squad, the former Nantes academy product is quickly realizing what it takes to be successful in Josh Wolff’s system.
“I think I’m watching the same amount of video, but it’s the discussions that we have about those videos here are,” said Djeffal in an interview with The Striker. “We pay attention to a lot of things that we can do better in terms of position, body shape, and when you look at videos that deep, it makes it way more valuable, and makes a huge difference on the training field.
“Josh is a coach who wants to control as much as he can control and try to put us in the best situation possible to be able to perform. I think being in a game and understanding what the game is about, the other team’s shape, how we are going to try to break them, what are the options, that’s where I think I’ve already improved,” said Djeffal.
Pereira's transformation
Djeffal is already picking up on what Pereira has experienced for the last two-plus seasons, which is that a player, particularly a young one, can make great strides under the tutelage of Wolff and his staff.
No player better embodies that than Pereira. A No.10 at Virginia Tech, the 22-year-old Venezuelan has morphed into a Casemiro-crazed No.6 who fought off a stiff challenge from 2022 arrival Jhojan Valencia to lock down a regular starting spot.
“I hated defending, that was my biggest worry when I got drafted by Austin. In college I didn’t really defend much, but I knew it was going to be a big thing coming into the pros, that if you don’t defend, you’re not going to play,” said Pereira.
“If it was a 50-50, I would bail out, I wouldn’t even try to go for it. Now, I love it. I had never slide-tackled in my life until last year… I’m not kidding. I had never slide-tackled in high school, college, club, never, until last year when we were playing in midseason. I was watching people who play the position, like Casemiro, it just gave me that motivation to be that aggressive player.
“It was just learning and getting everything into my mind that’s necessary for the position, like body shape, checking your shoulder, being aware of the space that’s behind you and in front of you, especially in the middle where you have space everywhere, you have people coming from everywhere. I adapted to it and I love the 6 position now,” said Pereira.
Teen Wolff's time?
While both Djeffal and Pereira are expected to see ample time in the center of the field, the 18-year-old Wolff could well be poised for a breakout season on the right wing.
In 24 league games last season, the player many fans know as Teen Wolff hardly looked out of his element and at certain times was one of the most dynamic players on the field for the Verde.
Going into 2023, he has every reason to be brimming with confidence. A training stint over the winter at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven only strengthened his motivation to play in the top leagues in Europe, while a recent call-up to the United States Under-20 National Team could well see Wolff join older brother Tyler at the U20 World Cup in Indonesia later this year.
As for Austin FC, the expectation is for more minutes for a player who has quickly adapted to the speed of the pro game.
“I hope to get more minutes, especially with all of the games that we are going to have in these four competitions that we are going to be a part of, and so hopefully I can get more starts, more minutes and keep getting that up and hopefully we can win some trophies this year as well,” said Wolff.
“Year one was a big step for me, it’s a much different speed than when playing with younger people. The speed and intensity of the game changed a lot and I feel like I have been able to adjust to that more throughout these last couple of years,” said Owen Wolff.
Each of these three young midfielders has their own unique qualities and specialties that they bring to the squad, but they all share the experience of having improved and developed as players under the current coaching staff. It bodes well for head coach Wolff and an Austin FC team facing four different competitions in 2023.
“I was talking to [Philadelphia Union head coach] Jim Curtin," Josh Wolff said, "and he said that rarely do those young guys let you down. He says that they have instilled an idea that they will play them, they will ride with them and they have done a great job in developing and selling. I think it’s something that we have to keep our eyes on. I think these are good young players. We have to develop them and they need to play, and then we’ll see what the future holds for them."
In the near future, at least for Pereira, Djeffal and Owen Wolff, things are looking bright.