If there were any lingering worries over whether Austin FC would be able to do good business in the post-Claudio Reyna era, the club put those concerns soundly to bed Tuesday by announcing a multiyear contract extension with star midfielder Sebastián Driussi through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026.
It’s difficult to overstate Driussi’s importance to the Verde and Black, coming off a sublime 2022 season in which the 27-year-old Argentine scored a league-leading 25 goals – including three tallies in the MLS Cup Playoffs – and also chipped in seven assists. But as Austin supporters well know, having watched Driussi week in and week out since his summer 2021 arrival from Russia, his impact is felt even beyond the stat sheet.
Driussi’s devastating combination of spectacular on-ball quality and savvy off-ball movement has earned him practically universal recognition as one of the very best players in MLS. As part of his new deal with ATXFC, per footy newsman Fabrizio Romano, he’ll now be amongst the league’s highest-paid players as well.
“I love everything about this club and everything about this city. It’s a new club and a special project. My family is happy here, I’m happy here, and I’d [sign the extension] 10 more times if I had to,” said Driussi at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, also revealing that he had an “important” offer from a club in England during the offseason that he turned down to remain in Austin.
A well-earned pay bump, especially one that won’t have any salary cap ramifications for the rest of the roster (Driussi was already a Designated Player, whose wages are largely off the books), is a small price to pay for El Tree to lock up the franchise centerpiece through the remainder of his prime. And should Driussi’s talent continue to attract the attention of more potential suitors across the Atlantic, Tuesday’s contract extension would no doubt up any theoretical transfer fee into the range Austin FC could more easily live with.
But that’s all conjecture at this point. The here and now concerns Driussi’s role in ATXFC’s pursuit of up to five competitive trophies in the upcoming campaign, including the CONCACAF Champions League. He’s already made the switch to jersey No. 10, famously worn by the late Pelé and symbolically reserved for a club’s creative maestro. Perhaps the move is a harbinger for a renewed focus on being a goal provider in addition to a goalscorer in 2023.
If so, one man that stands to benefit is offseason free agent signing Gyasi Zardes, expected to serve as the club’s starting striker more times than not this year. A former MLS All-Star with over 100 league and playoff goals to his name, Zardes admired Austin FC from afar last season and admitted to daydreaming about bagging goals atop the Verde’s high-octane attack. Of course, much of that had to do with Driussi. The early up-close impressions throughout preseason haven’t disappointed.
“Seba’s a special player,” Zardes said after a recent training session. “I’ve been raving about him to a bunch of my buddies around the league, like, ‘This guy is legit.’ He looks for his striker every time he gets the ball … when I don’t think he can find me, he finds me every single time.”
Driussi’s extension also marks the biggest piece of business for the ATX front office since Josh Wolff and Sean Rubio jointly took over interim Sporting Director duties in the wake of Reyna’s departure. So far, Wolff has maintained an upbeat attitude regarding the increased responsibility. “It’s a very fluid space … so I enjoy being a part of that. I was part of the roster building to some degree with Claudio when we started this journey,” Wolff said. “It’s a difficult task to coach a team and have them prepared every week, so I think that’s my priority.”
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle‘s Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on Twitter: @goodman.
This article appears in February 17 • 2023 and February 10 • 2023.
