Alright, alright, all in: Austin FC’s home is open – Ghana Latest Football News, Live Scores, Results
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There’s nothing Josh Bebetski could have done to replicate what he felt last Saturday night when 20,500 green-clad fans flocked to Austin FC’s first-ever home game. Having been in the trenches for years working to make that night a reality and absorb the energy in Q2 Stadium was surreal.
About seven and a half years ago, the notion that Austin, Texas – a city with no professional sports team – could attract a Major League Soccer franchise was so absurd to some residents that those who thought it could have thought possible, well, on tin foil Hats worn.
“Local football fans would laugh in my face,” said Bebetski, one of the founders of the club’s original fan group, Austin Anthem. “MLS won’t be coming to Austin.”
The conspiracy theory officially became a reality in January 2019 when the MLS awarded the city a team after Anthony Precourt made a failed attempt to uproot the Columbus Crew, an original MLS club, but it wasn’t until last week that the dream came fully true. On this sultry Saturday with temperatures in excess of 90 degrees, fans were reminded of what made the city an attractive option for the league. The first Tifo paid homage to Austin pioneers such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson and the late US Congressman Barbara Jordan.
The legend is at home. pic.twitter.com/osdHSxM5E4
– Austin FC (@AustinFC) June 20, 2021
Then, of course, was the appearance of Matthew McConaughey, wearing a green suit, who picked up the pre-game crowd while hitting a bongo drum – a not-so-subtle reference to his infamous 1999 arrest that has since been in the City has rooted folklore.
Even with an Oscar-winning actor picking up the crowd and ensuing chanting with his trademark, some supporters contemplated the trip to get the team to town.
“It didn’t feel real until we were in the stands, until we heard people cheering ‘okay, okay, okay’ and waving our flags. I got goose bumps,” said Matt Barbour, a member of Austin Anthem. “For many of us, attending city council meetings takes years of work.”
That potential was tapped days earlier when the US women’s national team beat Nigeria 2-0 in a friendly, with Christen Press and Lynn Williams scoring the historic goals. And while Austin FC’s result could have been better – they drew the San Jose Earthquakes goalless and left the first MLS goal to be celebrated there – only a win could have resulted in a better night at the opening of the Texan capital in professional sport .
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
For years the city of Austin was a pure “Burned Orange” city. There wasn’t much of a need for professional sports because the University of Texas – and its huge, successful sports department – played that role. However, as Austin’s population has exploded in recent years, the more people flocked to it from across the country for its thriving business, music, and food scene, the less the majority of its residents were attached to the university. After all, they brought their own college sport affiliations and fandoms for professional teams.
What Austin FC aims to portray is a unifying presence for those deeply rooted in the city and for those looking to reconnect with their new community, although this was not always guaranteed. When it seemed possible, if not likely, that Precourt would move the crew to Austin, it would have affected how the team’s arrival would have been received in both the MLS and town. The team’s story would forever have been tied to some sort of “raid,” and it’s unclear how that dynamic would have affected fans’ willingness to fully buy-in.
Either way, with the crew staying in Columbus and Austin becoming an expanding city, it fostered a deeper connection with the community.
“This is the best possible result because all the players are our players,” said Jeremiah Bentley, one of the Los Verdes fan group leader. “We were annoyed about every single signing for a year. We had to open a brand new stadium. If it came the other way round.” [and the Crew relocated], they would have let them play at a major league baseball stadium or something for a while. So for a brand new franchise with new songs and new traditions, new players and new head coach, it’s a perfect setup.
“Two years ago it was frustrating because ‘I want a football team now’. But now that we are in 2021, it’s great. I couldn’t have had a better result.”
Alex Ring, acquired through trade in December, was one of the first players to see Austin’s fan base, and the city’s appeal continued to reach him when the Finnish midfielder played for New York City FC for the past four years.
“I found Austin an exciting project,” said Ring. “I kept getting these Forbes articles about Austin being the fastest growing city and these tech companies and everyone moving here.” During his off-season rehab for a knee injury in Finland, Ring said he made it clear he wanted to move to Austin. It helped that he has a close relationship with Claudio Reyna, the Austin sports director who previously held the same role at NYCFC and saw the lifestyle benefits of moving his young family to a place with a slower lifestyle.
“And I liked the idea of being in a warm and sunny place most of the year,” he said.
Josh Wolff, the team’s head coach, also kept an eye on Austin for a while. He knew Precourt from his time as assistant to Gregg Berhalter’s staff in Columbus, and when Austin was officially awarded a team, mutual interest quickly became apparent. Everything about the project piqued Wolff’s interest.
“The way they did it from the environmental, cultural and playstyle standpoints. It all resonated with me. I knew the people involved, their direction, their energy and their focus, what it would be “like.”
Between Wolff and Reyna, the two most important athletic people in the club, there are a total of 164 international matches with the US men’s national team and close ties to the MLS. Although Wolff is head coach for the first time, they did not have to learn the ins and outs of the league, which was often a challenge for other MLS clubs that made important new hires from abroad. Their shared belief placed an emphasis on leadership and players who would create a good atmosphere in the locker room as a culture was established.
“For American football, for MLS, the chemistry component is a really, very big part of it, and that’s probably no different than in Europe,” said Wolff. “But it’s important to get the foundation of your club right.”
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
In this context, there was a desire to be offensive, to attack most of the time, but to keep one’s balance. Wolff uses many of the same phrases that Berhalter uses to describe the desired style of play for the USMNT.
“I come from the background where possession, use of the ball, how to organize … these are still things that are there,” said Wolff. “But in the end it comes down to how you can cut the opponents in order to create scoring opportunities and that’s what we want to do.”
In 10 games the results did not meet the ambitions. Austin has only recorded two wins and three draws and five losses. It’s not entirely unexpected for an expansion team, but recent success stories from top clubs like Atlanta United FC and LAFC have raised the bar internally.
The most pressing problem was easy to spot: a somber ability to seize opportunities. Austin has scored just one goal in the last six games and has scored multiple goals in just one game throughout the season (a 3-1 win over Colorado in the second game). Even so, Austin is only four points behind second place in the Western Conference on nine points and with an eight game road trip early in the season they will be more at home than any other team in the league the rest of the way.
Austin greets the crew on Sunday and the irony won’t be lost when the MLS Cup champions – led by top scorer Gyasi Zardes and Lucas Zelarayan – scores the first ever MLS goal in the second quarter. All of which explains why Austin will be even more reliant on his home advantage.
“I remember when I was just before that [San Jose] Game started, I got chills. It was special, I know [the fans] “I worked so hard for it,” said Austin’s midfielder Diego Fagundez. “I know that the whole team was prepared and it’s kind of sad that we go with a draw because we pushed so hard, they sang so hard, and we wanted to give them more.
“But it’s like I said, it’s just the beginning. We’re going to make a fortress here. We’re going to make a place here where nobody wants to play.”
Source: espn.co.uk
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