'Preseason is a liar': Highlights from the latest Austin FC preseason media availability

Don't expect much in the way of wins from Austin FC's upcoming preseason.

Of course, they might rack up some wins, as they did against Charleston Battery in Clearwater, Fla., last Friday. But to Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez, that's immaterial for what he wants his team to do prior to Feb. 22's opener against Sporting Kansas City.

"In my experience, preseason is a liar," he assessed. "I think everyone wants to see a great product there and wins and everything. But is is a moment to try new things ... to learn about the players ... to give opportunities to young players.

"If you bring all those factors there, sometimes it's going to be difficult to win every preseason game, because it's a moment that you make mistakes, that you learn, that you train and try to make it better. I've been with teams where we had a really good preseason and then we didn't have a good season, and then we had a bad preseason and we had an amazing season, or we had an okay preseason, and then after we competed really well in the season. For me, it doesn't matter."

Let's quickly touch on some other key items from Thursday's media session.

Uzuni is versatile

Though new signing Myrto Uzuni profiles as a goal-minded forward with experience on the wing, Estévez regards him as more versatile than that and able to play different positions.

"He became a forward three years ago, he was a winger, and I know the coach that he had in Granada, Paco [López], they moved to a forward position and then is when he started scoring more goals, you know. And I think it was a great change for him. He also gives you an idea where he can be dangerous. It doesn't mean that he cannot play in other positions [other] that position, but he's is a typical forward. He can come and low and receive the ball, he can turn, he can pass the ball.

"Also, he's not only like a player that is a finisher," he added. "He's also a player that can make the team play in playing different positions, that will help us in different situations, that we'll have in games and contexts, that we can modify and we can adapt and adjust things and have other options, having him, a player like him, that can play in different positions."

'He has potential'

Estévez went on to say, "In modern soccer, it is more about also the collective and how other players from different positions can make an impact and be the playmakers from those positions. And this is what we are working on now, how we make our fullbacks and our central midfielders by players that can provide service to the forwards, also the wingers. I think we have quality in the team to do that."

And despite the praise Estévez has for Uzuni, he also looks for him to be even better than he's been.

"He has potential," Estévez remarked. "I think we can help him also to keep growing. He has a great mentality about keeping himself working hard and trying to get better every year. This is one thing that everyone is going to see is, this type of player that we bring as a [designated player], but he's the one that probably most is going to work off the ball and going to defend and press the opponent and fight. I think bringing a DP with these qualities also will help everyone to see that if our DPs are working hard, also without the ball, everyone has to do it. That also is the culture that we want to build here."

A captain's coming

Estévez indicated that a decision on the team's captain should come the week before the season starts — so, perhaps in two weeks' time.

"I always like to involve the players in that decision," he said. "I think it's important that they feel like the person who represents them is someone that they feel the good one ... You can have, like, six captains, and then there is only one that is gonna wear the armband. But for me, it's more like we can create a stronger group of leadership than we already have.

"What I like also is every part of the locker room feels represented in that leadership, the young players, the players that speak Spanish, players that just arrived to the club, the veterans, players that are coming from the academy. I like that the group is diverse ... that everyone feels represented and then also voted and everyone feels comfortable about it. We also, as a staff, like to have a say on that, like maybe bring in a name that we feel strongly about it, and if the players also are comfortable with that, it could be, but we like to make it a vote and that everyone has a say in this important decision."

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