It's good and yet it's worrying: What the Mateja Đorđević signing means for Austin FC
The Serbian center back joins as a U22 Initiative player ... taking up the last senior and international roster spots as the roster currently stands. (As the roster currently stands.)
On Thursday, Austin FC announced what Tom Bogert pretty much confirmed at our Monday Night Live event at Hopsquad Brewing close to 72 hours earlier: Serbian center back Mateja Đorđević is coming to Austin FC as a U22 Initiative player. As you can see from his video shared by the club on Instagram, he's thrilled to be part of sporting director Rodolfo Borrell's project.
However, with the signing comes two limits hit that — for now, at least — complicate the quest to bring in other summer transfer window signings, especially the attacking midfielder that many Austin FC fans believe crucial to enabling more goalscoring.
With Đorđević signed (which you'll also see rendered as Djordjevic, but we like to use diacritics wherever we can), Austin FC has its 20th and final (for now) senior roster spot filled, and what's more, the international slots look like this at present.
Again, the key words are for now and at present — as Borrell can certainly offload players to open up senior and international roster spots. But as you can see from the above list, there's really only one name on this list of nine that's viable, and that's Chicho Arango goal appreciator Jáder Obrian, as all other players on the list seem to be settled in to Verde life and actively part of Nico Estévez's plans.
(Obrian, by contrast, has 21 league appearances but only 525 minutes, five starts, and zero goal contributions, so out of these nine, he seems to be the sole expendable player on the roster — unless Nicky Beloko is seen as a Besard Šabović, but it doesn't seem the Verde way to move a new father halfway through his first season.)
At least one possible move remains — and with a move or a buyout involving Obrian, it would make a certain kind of sense. But let's first see what we've got with Đorđević in at center back.
We have a chart! (Actually, a few charts)
Even though we've got a small sample size of a little more than 600 minutes over the last 365 days, the Serbian Superliga (where Osman Bukari's former team, FK Crvena zvezda – aka Red Star Belgrade — currently leads the league once again) is part of the Men's Next 14 Competitions that FBref tracks, so we have a spider chart showing what Đorđević has done.
So, by these limited numbers (which also incorporates MLS players as part of a large pool), Đorđević is best with successful take-ons, progressive passes, and tackles. Here's how he matches up against Leo Väisänen, the center back he's ostensibly replacing, using Väisänen's 2024 MLS numbers.
Curiously enough, Väisänen and Đorđević give you about the same in tackles and blocks (and they're good numbers), but Đorđević is better in progressive passes and shot creating actions — begging the question, is Đorđević somehow a better Julio Cascante, for when the question of his option year comes up at the end of this season.
Well, actually ... Cascante's numbers are better overall, especially where offense and general ball-handling and passing is concerned, but Đorđević does more of the deep-in defensive work (which you probably would have guessed knowing Cascante's game as you do).
So, let's compare the other center back with a good deal of data to look at.
I was surprised to see the offense and defense for Hines-Ike; I would have assumed more defense for Hines-Ike, and though the clearances part of the chart is impressive for Hines-Ike, he's been among the MLS leaders, yet his 5.84 per 90 is only the 67th percentile (and he's woefully in the 1st percentile for both tackles and interceptions.
Let's go ahead and round it out with Oleksandr Svatok.
Put Svatok next to Đorđević, and you've got a center back hitting above the 60th percentile in all four defensive categories.
(And given the take-on and progressive passes numbers that Đorđević, plus the general reputational badassery of a Ukrainian next to a Serbian, and that's possibly the best center back pairing Verde could roll out.)
The Andrade question
With Kervin "Tuti" Andrade not yet snatched up by a Serie B team, and with Fortaleza reportedly evaluating whether to send the 20-year-old Venezuelan playmaker on loan, it's still possible to dream that Rodolfo Borrell could swing a deal to bring in an extremely fun player.
While he's got a small sample size with Fortaleza for the Men's Next 14 — and increased playing time would be a reason for the Brazilian club to move Andrade to MLS in the first place — since today's a chart day, look and drool.
Aside from being in the first percentile in non-penalty goals — certainly concerning — those are amazing offensive numbers otherwise, though the discrepancy between shots and goals is Something to Work On.
Still, if you 're looking for chance creation as well as really nice defensive numbers for an attacker ... well, let's just say this is a project that I find potentially exciting.
(Of course, there's got to be a player out to get this player in on the last U22 spot available to Borrell. But I'm sure – through the one remaining buyout, if nothing else — that could be arranged.)
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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On Thursday, Austin FC announced what Tom Bogert pretty much confirmed at our Monday Night Live event at Hopsquad Brewing close to 72 hours earlier: Serbian center back Mateja Đorđević is coming to Austin FC as a U22 Initiative player. As you can see from his video shared by the club on Instagram, he's thrilled to be part of sporting director Rodolfo Borrell's project.
However, with the signing comes two limits hit that — for now, at least — complicate the quest to bring in other summer transfer window signings, especially the attacking midfielder that many Austin FC fans believe crucial to enabling more goalscoring.
With Đorđević signed (which you'll also see rendered as Djordjevic, but we like to use diacritics wherever we can), Austin FC has its 20th and final (for now) senior roster spot filled, and what's more, the international slots look like this at present.
Again, the key words are for now and at present — as Borrell can certainly offload players to open up senior and international roster spots. But as you can see from the above list, there's really only one name on this list of nine that's viable, and that's Chicho Arango goal appreciator Jáder Obrian, as all other players on the list seem to be settled in to Verde life and actively part of Nico Estévez's plans.
(Obrian, by contrast, has 21 league appearances but only 525 minutes, five starts, and zero goal contributions, so out of these nine, he seems to be the sole expendable player on the roster — unless Nicky Beloko is seen as a Besard Šabović, but it doesn't seem the Verde way to move a new father halfway through his first season.)
At least one possible move remains — and with a move or a buyout involving Obrian, it would make a certain kind of sense. But let's first see what we've got with Đorđević in at center back.
We have a chart! (Actually, a few charts)
Even though we've got a small sample size of a little more than 600 minutes over the last 365 days, the Serbian Superliga (where Osman Bukari's former team, FK Crvena zvezda – aka Red Star Belgrade — currently leads the league once again) is part of the Men's Next 14 Competitions that FBref tracks, so we have a spider chart showing what Đorđević has done.
So, by these limited numbers (which also incorporates MLS players as part of a large pool), Đorđević is best with successful take-ons, progressive passes, and tackles. Here's how he matches up against Leo Väisänen, the center back he's ostensibly replacing, using Väisänen's 2024 MLS numbers.
Curiously enough, Väisänen and Đorđević give you about the same in tackles and blocks (and they're good numbers), but Đorđević is better in progressive passes and shot creating actions — begging the question, is Đorđević somehow a better Julio Cascante, for when the question of his option year comes up at the end of this season.
Well, actually ... Cascante's numbers are better overall, especially where offense and general ball-handling and passing is concerned, but Đorđević does more of the deep-in defensive work (which you probably would have guessed knowing Cascante's game as you do).
So, let's compare the other center back with a good deal of data to look at.
I was surprised to see the offense and defense for Hines-Ike; I would have assumed more defense for Hines-Ike, and though the clearances part of the chart is impressive for Hines-Ike, he's been among the MLS leaders, yet his 5.84 per 90 is only the 67th percentile (and he's woefully in the 1st percentile for both tackles and interceptions.
Let's go ahead and round it out with Oleksandr Svatok.
Put Svatok next to Đorđević, and you've got a center back hitting above the 60th percentile in all four defensive categories.
(And given the take-on and progressive passes numbers that Đorđević, plus the general reputational badassery of a Ukrainian next to a Serbian, and that's possibly the best center back pairing Verde could roll out.)
The Andrade question
With Kervin "Tuti" Andrade not yet snatched up by a Serie B team, and with Fortaleza reportedly evaluating whether to send the 20-year-old Venezuelan playmaker on loan, it's still possible to dream that Rodolfo Borrell could swing a deal to bring in an extremely fun player.
While he's got a small sample size with Fortaleza for the Men's Next 14 — and increased playing time would be a reason for the Brazilian club to move Andrade to MLS in the first place — since today's a chart day, look and drool.
Aside from being in the first percentile in non-penalty goals — certainly concerning — those are amazing offensive numbers otherwise, though the discrepancy between shots and goals is Something to Work On.
Still, if you 're looking for chance creation as well as really nice defensive numbers for an attacker ... well, let's just say this is a project that I find potentially exciting.
(Of course, there's got to be a player out to get this player in on the last U22 spot available to Borrell. But I'm sure – through the one remaining buyout, if nothing else — that could be arranged.)
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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