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Austin FC and Seattle Sounders may be close in the standings, but their approach to the season could hardly be more different.
A team is 8-7-7, +5 and insists they will go for silver this year. This is Brian Schmetzer’s team that is two wins from an Open Cup title and 4-0-1 in their last five league games.
The other team gave up a PD early, purposely left the cap open and hopes summer help can salvage a season with just 10 games remaining, calling it a rebuilding season. Austin is 8-8-6, -6 with 7 points in their last six games.
Saturday’s game offers the winner some space away from the play-in game. The loser will hover in the danger zone to miss the playoffs.
The answer to three questions for Verde All Day IS Phil.
SaH: Sebastián Driussi was a candidate for MVP in 2022. Is he on his way back to that form, or is his time as an MLS already great?
VAD: To quote from the Magic 8 Ball classic, “Reply hazy; try again later.” Driussi had a 22g/7a season in 2022 in part because he had a good thing with Diego Fagundez as a wide man, and he can do so again with Austin FC’s newest player, Osman Bukari, who all hope it will be much better. that Emiliano Rigoni, the team’s previous DP winger, who was fired in May before a ridiculous auto-escalator would have kicked in to extend his subpar production through the 2025 season.
But he has been sidelined in part due to some injury problems, including early this season, and there are some concerns that there is a sword of Damocles hanging over his head going forward. However, his ’23 production ended up being about half of what it was in ’22, and he’s not on a much better pace this season. But while it may not show in goal contributions, Verde is definitely better when he’s on the field, even though he’s a second striker playing in a one-striker, double-8 system that’s usually deployed in a 4- 3-3.
SaH: Austin’s goals allowed are pretty middle of the road both home and away (16 allowed at home, 15 allowed away), but they’ve scored 20 goals at home and 5 away to power a MUCH better record in home. What drives that improved home run?
VAD: Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff will tell you it’s the powerful energy of the raucous Q2 Stadium crowds, and to be fair, La Murga brings it 17 times a year. But that’s also because Verde is more conservative on the road: Wolff has said repeatedly this season that an average of two points per game at home and one point per game away will get you into the playoffs, and indeed it seems that for many road games this year, Verde plays ultra-conservative as if he is trying for a draw.
I did an article earlier this week pointing out that while it’s better at home, Verde’s raw numbers for shots and shots on goal are abysmal compared to the rest of the MLS. In 22 games this season, they have had two shots on goal or fewer in 13 of them. Every other team in the league has had at least three shots on goal in more than half of their games. They are also terrible in categories like main passes and progressive passes.
SaH: With Verde nearing full player availability, is this an opportunity for them to go on the run?
VAD: They will definitely be helped by Diego Rubio and Dani Pereira returning from misconduct suspensions, and they will definitely be deployed in the back line as Julio Cascante is back from his Copa America duty. (He ended his time with Costa Rica in a match in Q2, so it was very easy for him to work out at St. David’s Performance Center the next morning.)
But I think that a run is asking a lot from this team for at least the next week. The roster has been intentionally kept thin this season so sporting director Rodolfo Borrell can bring in players, and once Bukari, fullback Mikkel Desler and center back Oleksandr Svatok can play starting July 20, Austin should be much more good. But Wolff called this a rebuilding year and they still need to improve offensively before they can do more than make the playoffs and die against a top-3 team in the West, which is my prediction for them as the ’24th is in better focus.
Look Verde All Day for reverse view and other views.
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