Right out of the gate on Thursday, at Austin FC's media availability, head coach Nico Estévez fielded a question about the LA Galaxy's moribund start to the season. Through eight matches, the O.G. franchise – coming to Austin for a 12:45 pm Saturday matchup – has yet to win, has let in 15 goals, and has only scored six to match Verde's fan-worrying total.
"What have you seen out of them through the first few months?" floated the Austin American-Statesman's Colby Gordon.
"I mean, I see the MLS 2024 champion," he responded. "This is what I see."
While not underestimating Verde's opponent, he's also not outwardly bothered by Saturday's calamitous 5-1 loss against Vancouver, a concerning outlier at best and a harbinger of losing to come at its worst.
"We've shown that after two defeats against Portland and Colorado, we responded very well against LAFC," he said. "This is sports. Sports is not about a linear way to succeed. It's about ups and downs, and when we win, we celebrate all together, and when when we lose and we're knocked out, we get back [up] together."
'We just have to learn'
The journey to healing from the team's worst loss in 10 months, according to Estévez, began with the idea of a "reset."
"I found with the experience that I had, like when things happen like that, you just have to reset and go back. And then we went back to preseason, and we talked about who we are, and we talked about our strengths ... and we just reset and start a new precision here,'" he said.
"You could see the energy was different," he said upon laying that out, "and it's like we're building something, and we had just this down part of the process to get something that we want to get, and we just have to learn and use that as a as a motivation to beat the champions from 2024."
Owen Wolff had similar observations in his time with the media Thursday.
"The last game definitely wasn't one of our better performances, but we watched it back, we reviewed it and we learned from it and [we'll] just get better and get ready for this game this weekend," he asserted.
Estévez did provide some insights on the learning that needed to happen.
"The forwards were ready to press high in every moment, in order to win the ball and to score goals, and the back line and the midfield line wanted to help," he said of last Saturday's performance. "But then we were too spread [out], and the back line, because the opponent had runners, had to drop and we were too spread [out] and large in the game.
"And then, now, as a coach, is how these answers and these thoughts from their players – we, as a staff and with the players – can bring together and have the same thought and then connect everything," he continued. "What we saw the other day is, at times, a disconnected team ... it's not about we didn't run, or there's not effort there. It's like we were disconnected. Then what will happen is, when you are disconnected, you open the field, and it makes so easy for the opponent."
He added, "What also happened is you get frustrated because you are not getting success in your actions and and then this gets in your mind, and then you lose focus, and you lose energy," before going on to say that the focus needs to include (stop me if you've heard this one before) goals.
We also got a Mikkel Desler injury update: He's closer to a return, but it sounds like full training with the team is still about a week away, so expect his return to action in what's going to be a full and challenging May, in part because a second competition is introduced into the schedule.
Open to it
Though Estévez said he's solely focused on the Galaxy this week — because he is a professional coach bound by the professional coaches' "one game at a time" mantra — the U.S. Open Cup came up in conversation Thursday, as Austin FC learned it would enter the fray on Wednesday, May 7, playing El Paso Locomotive in the venerable tournament dating back to 1914, despite recent efforts from MLS Commissioner Don Garber to limit his league's participation.
(In 2024, as you'll remember, Austin was one of a number of clubs represented by its MLS Next Pro team rather than its first team. That first-ever USOC match for Austin FC II didn't go well, unless you're affiliated with Foro SC, which dispatched VerDos.)
"I'm coming from a country [where] the cup is always important," Estévez said. "It's always important because it is the most traditional and historical competition in every country, where you give the possibility to teams that are playing in different divisions to challenge the players the teams that are playing in the first division ... It's an unpredictable competition. We're going to take very serious the competition, as we always do. Ay competition that we compete, we participate. We want to compete for the best, but as we do with the league, one game at a time right now."
He described El Paso thusly: "Good team, great coach with experience in MLS, Wilmer Cabrera," the former Houston Dynamo skipper, "with players that have played in MLS, even Liga MX ... I already had a lot of experiences last year against Tampa Bay, before against Tulsa. And those teams always exceed their level against MLS teams. We're going to expect the best El Paso team possible and we'll prepare accordingly ... it could be a good path to get something good."
Wolff was more direct when asked about it, referring to teammate Dani Pereira's observation in a recent local interview about it being a winnable tournament with a very finite number of matches.
"I see it as another opportunity to win something, a trophy," Wolff said. "So I think we should take it. I think we're going to take it seriously, and hopefully do what Dani said and win the tournament."
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.
Right out of the gate on Thursday, at Austin FC's media availability, head coach Nico Estévez fielded a question about the LA Galaxy's moribund start to the season. Through eight matches, the O.G. franchise – coming to Austin for a 12:45 pm Saturday matchup – has yet to win, has let in 15 goals, and has only scored six to match Verde's fan-worrying total.
"What have you seen out of them through the first few months?" floated the Austin American-Statesman's Colby Gordon.
"I mean, I see the MLS 2024 champion," he responded. "This is what I see."
While not underestimating Verde's opponent, he's also not outwardly bothered by Saturday's calamitous 5-1 loss against Vancouver, a concerning outlier at best and a harbinger of losing to come at its worst.
"We've shown that after two defeats against Portland and Colorado, we responded very well against LAFC," he said. "This is sports. Sports is not about a linear way to succeed. It's about ups and downs, and when we win, we celebrate all together, and when when we lose and we're knocked out, we get back [up] together."
'We just have to learn'
The journey to healing from the team's worst loss in 10 months, according to Estévez, began with the idea of a "reset."
"I found with the experience that I had, like when things happen like that, you just have to reset and go back. And then we went back to preseason, and we talked about who we are, and we talked about our strengths ... and we just reset and start a new precision here,'" he said.
"You could see the energy was different," he said upon laying that out, "and it's like we're building something, and we had just this down part of the process to get something that we want to get, and we just have to learn and use that as a as a motivation to beat the champions from 2024."
Owen Wolff had similar observations in his time with the media Thursday.
"The last game definitely wasn't one of our better performances, but we watched it back, we reviewed it and we learned from it and [we'll] just get better and get ready for this game this weekend," he asserted.
Estévez did provide some insights on the learning that needed to happen.
"The forwards were ready to press high in every moment, in order to win the ball and to score goals, and the back line and the midfield line wanted to help," he said of last Saturday's performance. "But then we were too spread [out], and the back line, because the opponent had runners, had to drop and we were too spread [out] and large in the game.
"And then, now, as a coach, is how these answers and these thoughts from their players – we, as a staff and with the players – can bring together and have the same thought and then connect everything," he continued. "What we saw the other day is, at times, a disconnected team ... it's not about we didn't run, or there's not effort there. It's like we were disconnected. Then what will happen is, when you are disconnected, you open the field, and it makes so easy for the opponent."
He added, "What also happened is you get frustrated because you are not getting success in your actions and and then this gets in your mind, and then you lose focus, and you lose energy," before going on to say that the focus needs to include (stop me if you've heard this one before) goals.
We also got a Mikkel Desler injury update: He's closer to a return, but it sounds like full training with the team is still about a week away, so expect his return to action in what's going to be a full and challenging May, in part because a second competition is introduced into the schedule.
Open to it
Though Estévez said he's solely focused on the Galaxy this week — because he is a professional coach bound by the professional coaches' "one game at a time" mantra — the U.S. Open Cup came up in conversation Thursday, as Austin FC learned it would enter the fray on Wednesday, May 7, playing El Paso Locomotive in the venerable tournament dating back to 1914, despite recent efforts from MLS Commissioner Don Garber to limit his league's participation.
(In 2024, as you'll remember, Austin was one of a number of clubs represented by its MLS Next Pro team rather than its first team. That first-ever USOC match for Austin FC II didn't go well, unless you're affiliated with Foro SC, which dispatched VerDos.)
"I'm coming from a country [where] the cup is always important," Estévez said. "It's always important because it is the most traditional and historical competition in every country, where you give the possibility to teams that are playing in different divisions to challenge the players the teams that are playing in the first division ... It's an unpredictable competition. We're going to take very serious the competition, as we always do. Ay competition that we compete, we participate. We want to compete for the best, but as we do with the league, one game at a time right now."
He described El Paso thusly: "Good team, great coach with experience in MLS, Wilmer Cabrera," the former Houston Dynamo skipper, "with players that have played in MLS, even Liga MX ... I already had a lot of experiences last year against Tampa Bay, before against Tulsa. And those teams always exceed their level against MLS teams. We're going to expect the best El Paso team possible and we'll prepare accordingly ... it could be a good path to get something good."
Wolff was more direct when asked about it, referring to teammate Dani Pereira's observation in a recent local interview about it being a winnable tournament with a very finite number of matches.
"I see it as another opportunity to win something, a trophy," Wolff said. "So I think we should take it. I think we're going to take it seriously, and hopefully do what Dani said and win the tournament."
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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