Austin FC

**History** edit Austin FC is the first top-division major professional sports team in the Austin area, a market that had been previously overlooked by the major professional sports leagues. The city's previous experience with professional soccer includes the Austin Aztex, founded in 2008, but later relocated to Orlando in October 2010 and eventually became MLS side Orlando City SC; the 2011 reincarnation of the Austin Aztex, which went on indefinite hiatus following the 2015 Memorial Day floods washing out their venue at House Park; and Austin Bold, which played in the second-division USL Championship at Circuit of the Americas from 2019 to 2021. In October 2017, Columbus Crew operator Precourt Sports Ventures announced their intention to move the group's MLS franchise rights to Austin for the 2019 MLS season. After several sessions, the Austin City Council, by a 7–4 vote during a special session on August 15, 2018, granted the City Manager the authority to negotiate and execute a lease for a stadium with Precourt Sports Ventures. On August 22, 2018, the group unveiled the name and badge for the club at the North Door on Austin's east side. The crest was designed by local Austin brand studio The Butler Bros, who explained the badge as including the signature color "Bright Verde" to "project the vibrancy and creative energy of Austin", intertwined oaks that "stand for the bond between Club and City", and the four roots uniting all compass directions of Austin, North, East, South, and West. In October 2018, an Ohio-based group which includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, owners of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, and Columbus-based physician and businessman Pete Edwards, announced their intentions to acquire Columbus Crew to keep the team from moving. MLS officials stated that if the transfer of the Crew's operating rights were successful, Austin FC would be an expansion team operated by Precourt to begin play by 2021. On December 19, 2018, Precourt Sports Ventures and the City of Austin reached a financing agreement for a new soccer-specific stadium to be constructed at McKalla Place, which was projected to open by early 2021. Nine days after finalizing the stadium deal, Precourt Sports Ventures reached an agreement in principle to transfer the operating rights of the Columbus Crew to the Haslam and Edwards families in January 2019. On January 15, 2019, Austin FC was officially announced as an MLS club with a 2021 start date. In July 2019, the ownership group was renamed to Two Oak Ventures and later expanded to include local celebrities and businesspeople. **First seasons** edit Austin FC hired Josh Wolff as their first head coach in July 2019 and hired Claudio Reyna as the club's Sporting Director in November of the same year. The two were teammates for the United States from 1999-2006. In July 2020, Austin signed their first player, Rodney Redes. Before the start of their inaugural season, Alexander Ring was named the first club captain. Austin FC played their first MLS match against LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on April 17, 2021, losing 0–2. The club secured its first victory the following week against the Colorado Rapids, winning 3–1. Diego Fagúndez scored the club's first goal and the following two were scored by the club's first Designated Player, Cecilio Dominguez. Their home opener was held on June 19, 2021, against the San Jose Earthquakes, a match which ended 0-0. The team secured its first home victory on July 1, 2021, defeating the Portland Timbers 4–1. Jon Gallagher scored the team's first home goal and the first MLS goal at Q2 Stadium. Austin FC signed Sebastián Driussi, on July 29, 2021, from Zenit Saint Petersburg for a $7 million transfer fee. He became the first player to score 10, 20, and 30 career goals for the club at various points in 2022 and was named the club's first All-Star that season. Driussi signed an extension through 2025 with a 2026 option and became the second captain for the club. On September 9, 2021, Owen Wolff signed a homegrown player contract with Major League Soccer side Austin FC, signing a deal through to 2025 and becoming the club's first homegrown player signing. In 2022, Austin FC started the season with an MLS record 10 goals in their first two matches. They lost 2–1 in their first cup match in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup against San Antonio on April 20; Fagundez scored the club's first Open Cup goal. On July 16, they won the Division 1 Copa Tejas, the first trophy in franchise history. Austin FC clinched their first playoff berth during a 3-0 home win against Real Salt Lake where Moussa Djitte scored the first hat trick in club history despite entering the game as a substitute. Austin won their first MLS playoff game at home over Real Salt Lake, prevailing 3–1 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 score following extra time. Austin advanced to the Western Conference Final after defeating FC Dallas, but lost to LAFC 3-0 the following week. In August 2022, the club announced they would debut a reserves team in MLS Next Pro in 2023, Austin FC II. In early January 2023 news came out that Claudio Reyna and his wife had been involved in the release of personal information about the United States men's national soccer team coach Gregg Berhalter in response to their son's decreased play-time in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As a result, Claudio Reyna resigned as the Sporting Director, but stayed with Austin FC as a Technical Advisor. Josh Wolff was given the responsibilities of running the sporting department, in addition to coaching the team. In April 2023, it was noted that Claudio Reyna was no longer listed as a technical advisor on the Austin FC website. In June 2023 it was announced that Rodolfo Borrell was taking over the role of Sporting Director for Austin FC. Rodolfo Borrell was a former assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at English side Manchester City. Based on their 2022 finish, Austin FC qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, their first continental competition. They played Violette AC from Haiti and lost 3–2 on aggregate. In May 2023, Austin FC ended their 2023 U.S. Open Cup run with a 2–0 loss to the Chicago Fire at home. Austin FC also competed in their first regional competition at the 2023 Leagues Cup and lost their first game 3-1 against Mazatlán. They later lost to FC Juárez 3-1, failing to advance to the round of 16. After failing to qualify for the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, Austin FC announced some changes to the front office. On October 8, 2023, Rodolfo Borrell announced that both Sean Rubio and Manuel Junco were no longer with Austin FC and Borrell would be overseeing scouting and player personnel, which he started by hiring five new scouts to be located in Europe and South America. Borrell also announced that Josh Wolff would remain on as the Austin FC coach despite the disappointing 2023 results. On October 6, 2024, Austin FC announced that Josh Wolff had been released from his head coach position after the team failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row. In preparation for the 2025 season, Austin FC announced the hiring of Nico Estévez as the new head coach. Estévez joined the team after the November 2024 FIFA window. In Estévez's first season, Austin advanced to the 2025 U.S. Open Cup final, the first tournament final in club history. 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