'You cannot have everything in life': Nico Estévez reminds Austin FC delayed gratification is a thing
Robert Taylor won't play Saturday, but will perhaps help Austin achieve a duality Nico Estévez suggests might be borne of desire, which is the root of all suffering (but not quite in those words).
Once again, Nico Estévez is weighing in on the nature of humanity in discussing a soccer team on pace to amass 60 points (surely placing them at or near the top of the West standings) while only scoring 26 goals.[[1]]
"We humans, we want everything, right? But you cannot have everything in life," he observed in Thursday's press conference ahead of Saturday night's Copa Tejas match against Houston Dynamo FC, commenting on Austin FC's continued defensive prowess and offensive struggles. "Then if you take a risk on going forward, you know you are leaving something in behind.
"And then it's that balance between, okay, let's go, and if we score, we'll be happy, and then the opponent won't have the opportunity. But I think we can find a better balance on that. I think sometimes we we could have better protection there. We could choose the moments to move forward better, but I think it's a learning process."
That could now be remedied to a degree by sporting director Rodolfo Borrell's surprise signing on Wednesday. Borrell brought in Inter Miami player Robert Taylor to bolster Verde's attack, providing appreciable depth at the wing position where he's typically deployed, though he's also capable of playing centrally.
As Estévez told it Thursday, he's the very type of player Austin could utilize.
"He's a winger that can play on the right and the left," Estévez observed. "He can also play inside as an attacking midfielder. It's a different type of profile of the the wingers that we have ... he has a really good sense of the last pass, crossing from deeper positions. He's very vertical. He's always thinking to to play to the forwards and and he has proven [himself] in the in the league with Inter Miami, and he also brings that maturity, that experience and that willingness."
Taylor – likely to wear the No. 16 jersey he wore at Miami, previously occupied by Hector Jimenez – been a known entity in MLS for a while, not only for his abilities as a Finnish international with versatility, but also as a player that the Herons – with their high-dollar stars and roster constraints – might be willing to deal to make sure they're compliant with league rules.
"In the offseason, Rodo mentioned to me that he's looking for reinforce that position," indicating that Borrell had floated the idea to IMFC's front office even then. "Rodo always told Miami that if in any moment ... they would be open to to do a trade with him, please tell us." Assessing how it developed right at the end of the primary transfer window, allowing Verde to finally secure an 18-man senior roster following Leo Väisänen's departure to BK Häcken on March 24, "Everything worked well."
But as Estévez reminded us, you can't have everything in life — including Taylor on the squad for Saturday's match. Taylor was with the Herons in Vancouver for their Concacaf Champions Cup when the trade went down, and then returned to Miami to take care of personal business. Estévez indicated Taylor would be training with the squad by Tuesday in advance of two upcoming home matches: Against Minnesota in league play on May 3 and in the U.S. Open Cup tilt against El Paso Locomotive on May 7.
There are players out, and then there are players out
Friday's injury report revealed one unpleasant surprise for a Verde team still in search of goals – striker Brandon Vázquez is questionable with illness, following a match in which he amassed 2.1 worth of xG and missed a penalty chance but redeemed himself with a late goal to dispatch the Galaxy 1-0 in the team's most recent match.
That could open up some playing time for CJ Fodrey, whose contract extension through 2027 with 2028 and 2029 options was announced Friday. For now, Fodrey retains his Generation Adidas status and supplemental roster spot, integral to his roster value.
One other notable absence to account for on Saturday isn't an injury – it's Brendan Hines-Ike, out with a dubious (in our view) double yellow card ejection in the waning moments of last Saturday's victory. To help fill out the roster, VerDos center back Antonio Gomez was called up on a short-term agreement, as he was for matches last year (as part of the famed "Sal and Tony" pairing that led us to find our inner Italian restaurateur). But Estévez believes that Austin's just fine even with just Julio Cascante and Oleksandr Svatok as the team's two healthy available actual center backs.
"We feel like Tony is doing very well in the last weeks ... we feel like it can be a good option for us," Estévez said, also noting that Guilherme Biro and Ilie Sánchez could also be deployed at center back should they be needed.
But there are worse situations than Austin FC's current unavailable roster, which also includes Mikkel Desler, still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Look at Houston's injury list heading into Saturday's match.
The questionable list includes, in Sviatchenko and Kowalcyzk, two key starters, and Bartlow's been a solid defensive piece for the Dynamo, drafted 6th in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft that brought Dani Pereira and Freddy Kleemann to Austin.
Commenting on Hines-Ike being out, Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen said in his Friday press conference, "Cascante maybe comes in, unless they've got something else that I don't know of. He's a good player, but I don't see that being a huge dropoff. I like Hines-Ike. I think he's good, he's experienced, poised at his soccer level and his IQ is really high, but they're deep. I don't feel bad for them."
[[1]] Hat tip, of course, to Landon Cotham of Moontower Soccer for doing the math on that.
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.
Austin FC's record signing should have more than one goal at this stage of the season. We look at how he compares to other record signings other clubs made, and fret a bit.
Once again, Nico Estévez is weighing in on the nature of humanity in discussing a soccer team on pace to amass 60 points (surely placing them at or near the top of the West standings) while only scoring 26 goals.[[1]]
"We humans, we want everything, right? But you cannot have everything in life," he observed in Thursday's press conference ahead of Saturday night's Copa Tejas match against Houston Dynamo FC, commenting on Austin FC's continued defensive prowess and offensive struggles. "Then if you take a risk on going forward, you know you are leaving something in behind.
"And then it's that balance between, okay, let's go, and if we score, we'll be happy, and then the opponent won't have the opportunity. But I think we can find a better balance on that. I think sometimes we we could have better protection there. We could choose the moments to move forward better, but I think it's a learning process."
That could now be remedied to a degree by sporting director Rodolfo Borrell's surprise signing on Wednesday. Borrell brought in Inter Miami player Robert Taylor to bolster Verde's attack, providing appreciable depth at the wing position where he's typically deployed, though he's also capable of playing centrally.
As Estévez told it Thursday, he's the very type of player Austin could utilize.
"He's a winger that can play on the right and the left," Estévez observed. "He can also play inside as an attacking midfielder. It's a different type of profile of the the wingers that we have ... he has a really good sense of the last pass, crossing from deeper positions. He's very vertical. He's always thinking to to play to the forwards and and he has proven [himself] in the in the league with Inter Miami, and he also brings that maturity, that experience and that willingness."
Taylor – likely to wear the No. 16 jersey he wore at Miami, previously occupied by Hector Jimenez – been a known entity in MLS for a while, not only for his abilities as a Finnish international with versatility, but also as a player that the Herons – with their high-dollar stars and roster constraints – might be willing to deal to make sure they're compliant with league rules.
"In the offseason, Rodo mentioned to me that he's looking for reinforce that position," indicating that Borrell had floated the idea to IMFC's front office even then. "Rodo always told Miami that if in any moment ... they would be open to to do a trade with him, please tell us." Assessing how it developed right at the end of the primary transfer window, allowing Verde to finally secure an 18-man senior roster following Leo Väisänen's departure to BK Häcken on March 24, "Everything worked well."
But as Estévez reminded us, you can't have everything in life — including Taylor on the squad for Saturday's match. Taylor was with the Herons in Vancouver for their Concacaf Champions Cup when the trade went down, and then returned to Miami to take care of personal business. Estévez indicated Taylor would be training with the squad by Tuesday in advance of two upcoming home matches: Against Minnesota in league play on May 3 and in the U.S. Open Cup tilt against El Paso Locomotive on May 7.
There are players out, and then there are players out
Friday's injury report revealed one unpleasant surprise for a Verde team still in search of goals – striker Brandon Vázquez is questionable with illness, following a match in which he amassed 2.1 worth of xG and missed a penalty chance but redeemed himself with a late goal to dispatch the Galaxy 1-0 in the team's most recent match.
That could open up some playing time for CJ Fodrey, whose contract extension through 2027 with 2028 and 2029 options was announced Friday. For now, Fodrey retains his Generation Adidas status and supplemental roster spot, integral to his roster value.
One other notable absence to account for on Saturday isn't an injury – it's Brendan Hines-Ike, out with a dubious (in our view) double yellow card ejection in the waning moments of last Saturday's victory. To help fill out the roster, VerDos center back Antonio Gomez was called up on a short-term agreement, as he was for matches last year (as part of the famed "Sal and Tony" pairing that led us to find our inner Italian restaurateur). But Estévez believes that Austin's just fine even with just Julio Cascante and Oleksandr Svatok as the team's two healthy available actual center backs.
"We feel like Tony is doing very well in the last weeks ... we feel like it can be a good option for us," Estévez said, also noting that Guilherme Biro and Ilie Sánchez could also be deployed at center back should they be needed.
But there are worse situations than Austin FC's current unavailable roster, which also includes Mikkel Desler, still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Look at Houston's injury list heading into Saturday's match.
The questionable list includes, in Sviatchenko and Kowalcyzk, two key starters, and Bartlow's been a solid defensive piece for the Dynamo, drafted 6th in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft that brought Dani Pereira and Freddy Kleemann to Austin.
Commenting on Hines-Ike being out, Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen said in his Friday press conference, "Cascante maybe comes in, unless they've got something else that I don't know of. He's a good player, but I don't see that being a huge dropoff. I like Hines-Ike. I think he's good, he's experienced, poised at his soccer level and his IQ is really high, but they're deep. I don't feel bad for them."
[[1]] Hat tip, of course, to Landon Cotham of Moontower Soccer for doing the math on that.
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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