The good and bad of playing so many matches for Austin FC: depth, experience vs. injuries
As Austin FC aims for a trophy in one of the four competitions it will play in this season, everyone around the club knows success in any form will be partly due to plenty of depth.
Between the MLS regular season, the CONCACAF Champions League, the U.S. Open Cup and the Leagues Cup, El Tree will play a minimum of 39 matches, with a playoff appearance pushing that number up to 40 or 42 depending on the postseason format.
Playing time will be plentiful during the year with consistent two-game weeks, and quality — and health — on the entire 30-man roster is something Austin FC will be counting on drastically more than its first two seasons.
“Depth is certainly more so important with four competitions, and we’re going to have to utilize a lot of players,” Austin FC coach Josh Wolff said following the team’s training session Monday at St. David’s Performance Center. “We’ll have to lean on our entire group. The season will come quickly, the games will come quickly and congestion will be right there on our plate. Freshness will be important and understanding what we want to do will be important. That’s why we’ve rotated a lot in the preseason.”
At the top of Austin FC's to-do list: stay healthy
While players like forward Sebastían Driussi and midfielder Alex Ring experienced multiple competitions during stints with European clubs earlier in their careers, most of the El Tree roster will be going through this type of schedule for the first time.
More: Austin FC knows it won't be taking the MLS by surprise this year
“I started in 2011 when we only had the league and the U.S. Open Cup, so it’s a very unique schedule,” said veteran defender Hector Jiménez, who at 34 is entering his 13th year in the league. “Four tournaments is a lot. … We’ve brought in players who will help a lot and there’s going to be a lot of playing time to be had. We’ll have to count on everyone and hopefully we’ll have a healthy year.”
Wolff has continually stressed during training camp the need to be physically fit and have a grasp on the playing style and concepts — some of which are new — that the coaching staff wants prior to the season opener on Feb. 25, as time during the season is precious.
Austin FC is expecting to play a heavy schedule
Though Austin FC could receive a bye in the first round of the Champions League in early March due to the ongoing political situation in Haiti — its opponent, Violette, is from the Caribbean island — it is slated to play seven times in the season’s first month.
More: Claudio Reyna steps down as Austin FC sporting director
The need for the entire roster to be up to speed right away is crucial for El Tree.
“These guys are horses when we get them going, but it will take a while to get them fit,” Wolff said. “Everyone will have plenty of opportunities as we’re going to play possibly up to 55 games depending on how we progress through the competitions, and it’s also a good opportunity to experience some international football. When the schedule is congested, you have to look at the players and the situation (on deciding who to play)."
Needing help at forward, El Tree working out Bruin
With the team loaning out Moussa Djitté to French first-division club AC Ajaccio, Wolff said signing another forward prior to the start of the season is a possibility.
The club has brought MLS veteran Will Bruin in on a trial — meaning he will practice with the club and can play in exhibition matches but is not under contract — to look at as a possibility to add for more depth.
Bruin, 33, has scored 89 goals across all competitions over a 12-year career split evenly between Houston and Seattle.
Gyasi Zardes, Dani Pereira both nursing injuries
Wolff reported that forward Gyasi Zardes — the team’s high-profile signing in the offseason — and defensive midfielder Dani Pereira are both working through minor injuries.
Zardes returned to training for the first time in nearly a week Monday while Pereira is still rehabbing.
With season about to start, MLS playoff format up in the air
Less than three weeks prior to the start of the regular season, the MLS still hasn’t announced what its playoff format will be.
Reports surfaced late Monday that the league is considering an 18-team format, with nine teams qualifying from each conference and the eighth and ninth seeds having a play-in match. The quarterfinals would then consist of a best-of-three series, with the rest of the playoffs being a single-game knockout format.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC notebook: Depth, health will be key to El Tree's season
