Austin FC got its man.
The Club announced that it has signed Sebastián Driussi to a Designated Player contract on Thursday, filling the last of its three Designated Player slots with Cecilio Domínguez and Tomás Pochettino occupying the other two.
A goalscoring midfielder like Driussi was top of the list for Austin FC in the transfer window. The Verde and Black have been solid in defense all season, but with just 10 goals in 14 matches this season, the team needed reinforcements up top. In the second of two signings made to bolster the Austin FC attack, it found a bright, young Argentine playmaker and a proven winner.
The 25-year-old attacker has 42 goals across eight-plus seasons in Argentina’s Primera Division and the Russian Premier League. That doesn’t include the 22 assists he also contributed across those eight seasons. Those numbers don’t touch on perhaps the most important number -- 14 trophies.
He helped River Plate -- one of the two most storied clubs in Argentine soccer -- win two continental titles in back-to-back years. First as a 17-year-old he was a contributor to a team that won the Copa Sudamericana, coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the finals. The next season he and River Plate won the biggest prize in South American club fútbol: the Copa Libertadores.
Driussi played in five matches during the tournament, starting twice, and again came on as a substitute in the second leg of the finals. River were up 1-0 in the 69th minute over Liga MX’s Tigres UANL when Driussi was inserted and he helped his team score two more goals as they ran away with a 3-0 aggregate victory. It was River’s first Copa Libertadores title in 19 years.
After the 2016-17 season in which he scored over 20 goals across all competitions, Driussi was transferred to Russian giants Zenit St. Petersburg for over $16 million. There he has helped Zenit win the past three Russian League titles with his best season coming in 2018-19 when he scored 11 goals and provided six assists.
Driussi has averaged .55 goals and assists per 90 minutes over the course of his professional career. If you compare that to the likes of Alejandro Pozuelo, Lucas Zelarayan and Carles Gil before they came to MLS -- three of the most successful attacking signings in the league over recent years -- Driussi compares very favorably.
Players |
Goals + Assists Per 90 Minutes Outside MLS |
|---|---|
Sebastián Driussi |
.55 |
Carlos Gil |
.19 |
Alejandro Pozuelo |
.39 |
Lucas Zelarayan |
.48 |
Capable of playing as a central attacking midfielder, a winger, or a striker, Driussi looks to further improve an attack that soon will include striker Moussa Djitté, too. The addition should give ATXFC a more formidable offense, helping free up space for fellow DP Domíguez, who has played out of his traditional position in the last two months of competition.
With all three Designated Player spots filled, Austin FC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna has given Austin FC the tools it needs to make a run for the MLS Cup Playoffs. With 20 matches left in the season, there’s plenty of time to make some noise.
