Argentine trio key for Austin FC in push for No. 2 spot in MLS West

When Sebastián Driussi made a call to his friend and former teammate Emiliano Rigoni in late June, he helped bring together an unusual triumvirate for Austin FC.

Officially joining the club a month later, Rigoni gave El Tree three players from Argentina — along with Driussi and Maxi Urruti — and while the South American country is known worldwide for its soccer prowess, having three players on one team in the MLS puts Austin FC in rarified air.

“It’s always beautiful to have other players from Argentina on your club,” said Driussi, who played with Rigoni for three years at Zenit St. Petersburg. “I got to experience that in Russia, where we had five other players, with obviously Emiliano being one of them. When he came here, it was exciting. Our culture in Argentina is different than others, so every time we’re together with our families, it’s great.”

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And it’s not just a trio of players who sporadically get playing time. Driussi and Urruti have been club-changing players for Austin FC this year, accounting for 30 of the team’s 64 goals. And though Rigoni has been in town for barely a month, he’s worked his way into the starting lineup for the team’s last two games coming into Saturday night’s match at Vancouver.

All three started against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 15, and they figure to play major roles as Austin FC winds down the regular season hoping to secure second place in the Western Conference and when it hosts its first playoff game in roughly two weeks.

Rigoni noted that having Driussi and Urruti on the team is beneficial for all three of them.

“To me, it’s necessary to maybe not have specifically another Argentinian on the team, but a Latino to be able to adapt faster,” he said. “So obviously when I came here, it was even better that there were two players from my exact country. It helps us a lot as the communication is easier. Driussi and I don’t speak English as well as Maxi, but having other Spanish speakers makes the communication on the field smoother.”

The trio are all from northern Argentina but grew up in different cities.

Urruti hails from Rosario, Rigoni is from outside of Córdoba, and Driussi grew up in the capital, Buenos Aires.

Driussi is 26, Rigoni 29 and Urruti 31, so they didn't interact earlier in their careers, even though they all started out with clubs in Argentina’s top division, other than Rigoni and Driussi playing against each other once.

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Driussi and Rigoni, who are midfielders, became friends during their three years together in St. Petersburg. Driussi signed with Austin FC in late July 2021, and after a match against Houston in October at Q2 Stadium, he struck up a conversation with Urruti, who played for the Dynamo.

Urruti, a forward, signed with El Tree in the offseason, and he and Driussi have become one of the most dangerous offensive duos in the MLS.

And while Driussi is unquestionably the most important signing in club history, as his 21 goals and seven assists have him in the thick of the league’s MVP race, his part in team chemistry and getting players to Austin has also been crucial for the club.

“As soon as he initiated that phone call, I was looking forward to coming here and playing with him again,” said Rigoni, who, like Driussi, is one of El Tree’s three designated players, and who spent 14 months playing in Brazil before joining Austin FC. “We’ve kind of built our own Argentina community here.”

There’s also a bit of Austin that reminds the trio of home.

The atmosphere at Q2 Stadium and the rabidness of the supporters are what the trio grew up with in Argentina.

“It’s funny, because the fans here are very similar to the ones in Argentina,” Driussi said. “The stands are always full, and they have the same passion for the game.”

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Due to the busy MLS schedule, the three haven’t had much interaction with Austin's small Argentine community, but they spend a lot of time together off the field with their families — and that’s something Urruti noted has also contributed to El Tree's success this year.

“I get along with everyone, but in the group that you have, when you have people that you feel comfortable with, you’re going to achieve better things just because you have the chemistry there,” he said. “I’m happy to have players from my home country on the team. On a couple of my previous stops, I’ve also had the luck playing with guys from Argentina, but it’s obviously a joy to have Sebastián and Emiliano here.”

Driussi aims for MVP

Driussi has been one of the stories of this MLS season with the numbers he has put up and his play overall, and though he might have surprised everyone else, it’s something he planned for.

“When I first came here and talked to the team’s sports psychologist, that’s the first thing that I told her was that I wanted to be the league MVP — and now I’m on the way,” he said.

Austin FC hopes to clinch second

Sitting on 55 points, Austin FC would clinch second place in the West and the possibility of a second home playoff game with a win or tie Saturday night or a tie or loss by FC Dallas. El Tree holds the tiebreaker if both clubs end the season with 56 points.

FC Dallas has 50 points and is third in the West.

Saturday's match

Austin FC at Vancouver Whitecaps, BC Place, Vancouver, 9 p.m., KBVO, 97.5

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC's three Argentines pushing the team to No. 2 seed in playoffs