Winger Osman Bukari joins Austin FC as the club’s most expensive signing to date (courtesy of Austin FC)
Austin FC rolled out the Verde carpet Tuesday afternoon for designated player and club-record signing Osman Bukari at the Continental Club in South Congress.
A modest 4.30pm crowd consisting mainly of members of the La Murga band, ATXFC staff and a handful of journalists got their first look at the 25-year-old Ghanaian winger as he emerged from the passenger seat of a classic equestrian. took the stage for a brief but friendly introduction, then moved into a media background for his first comments on record as an Austin FC player.
“It’s really nice to be given something like this,” Bukari said of the warm (literally, it was about 95 degrees when he pulled into SoCo) Austin welcome. “This is my first time seeing something like this. I’m very happy and excited to be here.”
Austin FC represents the latest chapter in Bukar’s youth career that has already included stops in six countries, from his native Ghana, to Belgium, Slovakia, France, Serbia and now the United States.
“It’s been amazing,” Bukari said of his soccer journey, but added that MLS had been on his radar as a potential destination for a while. “Since last year I was thinking (about) playing in the MLS. So when this opportunity came up, I didn’t want to say no.”
Austin wasn’t the first, or even the second, club from MLS to contact Bukar’s former club Crvena zvezda (aka Red Star Belgrade) about potentially signing the dynamic forward, whose goal resume which includes UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup.
According to an Austin FC source, both LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire approached Crvena zvezda over the winter (MLS off-season) with offers of around €10 million for Bukar. However, the Serbian champions were reluctant to sell a top player in the middle of their season (which, like most European clubs, does not sync with the MLS calendar).
As a result, LA and Chicago spent their money elsewhere. Then, when Cvena zvezda’s season ended, Austin presented them with an offer of €7 million, which the cash-strapped club had to accept.
“It was very difficult (signing Bukar) but in the end we got it out of the way and he is finally here,” said ATXFC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell. “Obviously one of the key things (he brings) is speed up front, as well as some quality and, obviously, experience playing at European level, playing at the highest level.”
Bukari will not be eligible to appear for Austin FC in a match until the MLS summer transfer window officially opens on July 18. The same goes for the club’s other two mid-season signings: Danish defender Mikkel Desler and recent signing Ukrainian centre-back Oleksandr Svatok.
Svatok, whose signing was announced on Monday, competed at this month’s European Championships with Ukraine. The 29-year-old most recently served as captain of his hometown club, SC Dnipro-1, in Dnipro, Ukraine.
“The fact is that this is a signing that has been going on since last November. So it’s been like an incredible journey,” Borrell said. “It’s been very complicated because of the situation in Ukraine.”
Suddenly, the center back position that for years had plagued Austin FC with a lack of consistency now appears to be the club’s deepest position. Julio Cascante, Leo Väisänen, Brendan Hines-Ike, Matt Hedges and now Svatok all profile as MLS starting caliber CBs.
It remains to be seen if all five players remain on the roster for the rest of the season, or if ATXFC will try to find a trade partner for Hedges, who has not started a game since April.
