It comes as no surprise that the 2021 season wasn’t the best for the Austin FC fans. The club was left at the 12th position in Major League Soccer with only 9 wins, 4 draws, and 21 losses earning the club 31 points. The fans can’t be too disappointed as this was the first season for the club in professional soccer. The 2021 season was the opening season for Austin FC and Q2 stadium has yet to see the club win its biggest achievements.
Departures and Newcomers
With the inaugural season behind, the Austin FC board took some harsh decisions to let players go so that space can be made for some fresh blood in the team.
And speaking of fresh blood, we just have to talk about the new arrival from Saint Louis University – the youngster Kipp Keller. People thought the 20-year-old would go to expansion side Charlotte FC but the Austin FC board reacted quickly and this MLS transfer rumor turned out to be just that, a rumor.
“I think you can make some comparisons somewhere between a Tim Parker and a Walker Zimmerman,” the excited sporting director of Austin FC Claudio Reyna has said in a release. We will have to wait for the 27th of February to see just how good Keller is.
Meanwhile, Alex Ring has been re-signed by the Austin FC board as a designated player. Claudio Reyna is very happy with Ring’s performances in the inaugural season and the new deal includes 2 guaranteed seasons with the option of prolonging the deal to the 2024 and 2025 seasons as well.
“Alex has been one of the best at his position consistently over the last few seasons of MLS. He is an amazing player with great character and leadership skills, and we could not be more thrilled to keep him in Austin as we continue to grow and improve,” said Reyna in a release.
In the departure news, Tomas Pochettino has been loaned out by the Austin FC board to the Argentinian giants River Plate. The deal is through the 2022 season and River Plate has an option to buy should the midfielder score some good performances for his new club. He didn’t quite live up to the expectations in Texas as he scored 2 goals in 31 appearances for Austin FC in the inaugural season for the club and perhaps it is River Plate where he will find his best games.
What to expect?
We are expecting that this will be a better season than the previous one for Austin FC. The club made a nice combination between experience and talent in the squad and should that plan work we can expect a really strong Austin FC from the beginning of the season. The team isn’t going to probably be a major competitor for the top dogs in MLS but a fight for the final series play-offs would certainly be on the table. This is what the Austin FC board has previously set as a goal for the club during the 2022 season but we will have to wait and see. The 27th of February will bring us the answers we are hoping for as Austin FC hosts the game against Cincinnati. All the signs for success are there, let’s just wait and see if the Austin FC will live up to the expectations.