'Con buen pie': Impressions on the last two days with Austin FC
In the last two days, Austin FC introduced Myrto Uzuni and named its captain for the 2025 season.
Newly named Austin FC captain Ilie Sánchez — an appointment we learned about during Thursday's online press conference (reminding us of the pandemic Zoom affairs of the club's first season) — had a lovely turn of phrase in Spanish that poetically described the team's mindset heading into the 2025 season.
Con buen pie, meaning "on the right footing" — as in, needing to start the season on the right footing in order to court success.
"To me, that means doing everything you can for things to come your way, and not just looking for the result, but to do every single step that comes with what you've been trained for and what you want to see in terms of performance, mentality and obviously, effort and attitude.
"So luck would be part of this equation, but we need to look for that luck," he added. "We need to fight and do the things right for us to earn that lack on the field. So other than that, I just think that we need to focus, prepare and be very motivated for what's coming, especially this Saturday."
Of course, Sánchez knows what lies ahead for Verde to a degree, having played for Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes between 2017 and 2021. While some of the mainstays he played with during that time moved on just this offseason, he takes his former team seriously despite its relatively poor form in recent years.
"I, and we, expect the best Sporting Kansas City possible for this game," he equivocated. "It will be their second game of the season, but their MLS opener," as they lost 1-0 in single-digit temperatures on Wednesday night in Concacaf Champions Cup action against Miami. "I think, and based also on the analysis that the coaching staff put together, that they went back to their basics, that are very clear, they are a team that wants the ball, that's good when they have it, and that will struggle if they don't have it.
"So with kind of that simple summary that I'm doing here, we expect them to come at us from the very first minute, and we have to be ready for that," he added. "We need to show that we are the home team, that we are as excited, if not more, as they are, for this game, and that it is vital for us to start with the right performance."
We also asked Sánchez about one of his new duties as captain: When he's on the field, he'll be the only one who can address referees on controversial decisions, per guidance issued by the league on Thursday shortly before he was announced as captain.
"They all know me. And when I say all, I mean the referees, they all know me from this [being the] eighth season that I've been in the league, and to me, I would not say that it's a pleasure to have that responsibility to talk to them, but I take it as an opportunity to try and help them, but also for our team to to have a fair game, game after game ... So other than that, as I said, I've been in this position before."
He then took the occasion to compliment his new teammates.
"In my career, I have not been on a team that has so many strong characters within the group. This will make not just my job, but everyone else's job, easier. And I think that if we can get all those characters and personalities out there and fight, align the goals to fight for them all together as a team, we can only expect good things coming our way."
Will the UVB rays shine?
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez dispelled concerns about Osman Bukari's exit following his second goal against Nashville in last Saturday's final preseason warmup. Though it looked to some watching the pirate stream that Bukari was dealing with a hamstring issue, Estévez indicated he's training as if he's preparing to start in the opener.
"Buka has trained well the whole week. He's ready to go. We have one more training tomorrow. But so far, he's doing very well."
As for seeing Bukari, Brandon Vázquez, and Myrto Uzuni playing together?
"With Myrto, I mean, for his mentality, he will play. Last Saturday, when he landed right away, he's very excited, very committed, and has a great mentality, but we have to be responsible," Estévez said. "He hasn't played a game since December, mid December or late December, and also he hasn't trained with a team since I think late December.
"We have to be responsible about the decision. He's training well. He's sleeping well, that is very important. And he's training well, but we will make a decision tomorrow, after with the medical side and the high performance side, to see what his status is going to be."
Like his predecessor, he did talk some about the math needed to make the playoffs, but came from a more optimistic (and optimism-generating place) than his predecessor's mindset of squeezing out a point per road match and a style of play to get that from a 0-0 draw.
He's here to score goals
On Wednesday, Uzuni got his introduction to both Austin media and fans, and established that he likes winning and scoring goals, and delivered that message with Lynchian determination. (That's Marshawn Lynch, not David Lynch, probably to everyone's relief.)
Sporting director Rodolfo Borrell accompanied Uzuni at the press conference, and gave media a preview of how he'll deal with questions he'll face on Friday when he goes it alone in front of the media.
In response to a question about getting Uzuni in addition to Vázquez, and how they might work together, he deadpanned, "Good players can always play together."
In response to a question in Spanish about Uzuni's alleged fear of flying, Borrell quipped, "La verdad que nadando no ha venido," which translates to "the truth is he did not come here swimming" – but rather, on a lengthy plane ride from Frankfurt to Austin.
And now that he's here, he's focused: "My job is to make [fans] happy, win games and scoring goals, of course."
A man of the (Albanian) people (Moisés Chiullán)
He got the chance to meet some of those fans on Wednesday evening at a Captain Morgan Club event that involved about 150 fans looking to get selfies — including a trio of very eager Albanian fans who probably didn't ever think they'd have an Albanian player in Austin.
(As the Austin Chronicle's Eric Goodman observed in the press conference, "You might be the first Albanian I've ever spoken to.")
Uzuni might not just be about goals, though. Estévez did point out in Thursday's press conference that he created two assists in the most recent intersquad match, which bodes well for anyone predicting numerous goal contributions for him for whatever reason.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
Newly named Austin FC captain Ilie Sánchez — an appointment we learned about during Thursday's online press conference (reminding us of the pandemic Zoom affairs of the club's first season) — had a lovely turn of phrase in Spanish that poetically described the team's mindset heading into the 2025 season.
Con buen pie, meaning "on the right footing" — as in, needing to start the season on the right footing in order to court success.
"To me, that means doing everything you can for things to come your way, and not just looking for the result, but to do every single step that comes with what you've been trained for and what you want to see in terms of performance, mentality and obviously, effort and attitude.
"So luck would be part of this equation, but we need to look for that luck," he added. "We need to fight and do the things right for us to earn that lack on the field. So other than that, I just think that we need to focus, prepare and be very motivated for what's coming, especially this Saturday."
Of course, Sánchez knows what lies ahead for Verde to a degree, having played for Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes between 2017 and 2021. While some of the mainstays he played with during that time moved on just this offseason, he takes his former team seriously despite its relatively poor form in recent years.
"I, and we, expect the best Sporting Kansas City possible for this game," he equivocated. "It will be their second game of the season, but their MLS opener," as they lost 1-0 in single-digit temperatures on Wednesday night in Concacaf Champions Cup action against Miami. "I think, and based also on the analysis that the coaching staff put together, that they went back to their basics, that are very clear, they are a team that wants the ball, that's good when they have it, and that will struggle if they don't have it.
"So with kind of that simple summary that I'm doing here, we expect them to come at us from the very first minute, and we have to be ready for that," he added. "We need to show that we are the home team, that we are as excited, if not more, as they are, for this game, and that it is vital for us to start with the right performance."
We also asked Sánchez about one of his new duties as captain: When he's on the field, he'll be the only one who can address referees on controversial decisions, per guidance issued by the league on Thursday shortly before he was announced as captain.
"They all know me. And when I say all, I mean the referees, they all know me from this [being the] eighth season that I've been in the league, and to me, I would not say that it's a pleasure to have that responsibility to talk to them, but I take it as an opportunity to try and help them, but also for our team to to have a fair game, game after game ... So other than that, as I said, I've been in this position before."
He then took the occasion to compliment his new teammates.
"In my career, I have not been on a team that has so many strong characters within the group. This will make not just my job, but everyone else's job, easier. And I think that if we can get all those characters and personalities out there and fight, align the goals to fight for them all together as a team, we can only expect good things coming our way."
Will the UVB rays shine?
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez dispelled concerns about Osman Bukari's exit following his second goal against Nashville in last Saturday's final preseason warmup. Though it looked to some watching the pirate stream that Bukari was dealing with a hamstring issue, Estévez indicated he's training as if he's preparing to start in the opener.
"Buka has trained well the whole week. He's ready to go. We have one more training tomorrow. But so far, he's doing very well."
As for seeing Bukari, Brandon Vázquez, and Myrto Uzuni playing together?
"With Myrto, I mean, for his mentality, he will play. Last Saturday, when he landed right away, he's very excited, very committed, and has a great mentality, but we have to be responsible," Estévez said. "He hasn't played a game since December, mid December or late December, and also he hasn't trained with a team since I think late December.
"We have to be responsible about the decision. He's training well. He's sleeping well, that is very important. And he's training well, but we will make a decision tomorrow, after with the medical side and the high performance side, to see what his status is going to be."
Like his predecessor, he did talk some about the math needed to make the playoffs, but came from a more optimistic (and optimism-generating place) than his predecessor's mindset of squeezing out a point per road match and a style of play to get that from a 0-0 draw.
He's here to score goals
On Wednesday, Uzuni got his introduction to both Austin media and fans, and established that he likes winning and scoring goals, and delivered that message with Lynchian determination. (That's Marshawn Lynch, not David Lynch, probably to everyone's relief.)
Sporting director Rodolfo Borrell accompanied Uzuni at the press conference, and gave media a preview of how he'll deal with questions he'll face on Friday when he goes it alone in front of the media.
In response to a question about getting Uzuni in addition to Vázquez, and how they might work together, he deadpanned, "Good players can always play together."
In response to a question in Spanish about Uzuni's alleged fear of flying, Borrell quipped, "La verdad que nadando no ha venido," which translates to "the truth is he did not come here swimming" – but rather, on a lengthy plane ride from Frankfurt to Austin.
And now that he's here, he's focused: "My job is to make [fans] happy, win games and scoring goals, of course."
He got the chance to meet some of those fans on Wednesday evening at a Captain Morgan Club event that involved about 150 fans looking to get selfies — including a trio of very eager Albanian fans who probably didn't ever think they'd have an Albanian player in Austin.
(As the Austin Chronicle's Eric Goodman observed in the press conference, "You might be the first Albanian I've ever spoken to.")
Uzuni might not just be about goals, though. Estévez did point out in Thursday's press conference that he created two assists in the most recent intersquad match, which bodes well for anyone predicting numerous goal contributions for him for whatever reason.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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