Previewing Houston Dynamo at Austin FC with Verde All Day
(image via Austin FC)
The Houston Dynamo have a short turnaround as they are back at Shell Energy Stadium tonight. We talked to our friend Phil West from Verde All Day to get some insight on Austin FC ahead of the match.
Bayou City Soccer (BCS): Former Dynamo interim head coach Davy Arnaud has taken over the same role with Austin after the dismissal of Nico Estevez. How much of a change do you think we'll see in Austin, and the way they play, for the remainder of this season as the club prepares for Jim Curtin to take over in 2027?
Verde All Day (VAD): In Verde's first match back — a 3-1 win over Seattle — Arnaud deployed Jon Gallagher (for the injured Mikkel Desler) and Joseph Rosales as inverted wingbacks, playing opposite of where they typically play for each to cut inside and use his stronger foot. Arnaud said he's worked with the squad on some new wrinkles during the midseason break, and this appears to be one of those. We're not sure what else is in store, and technically, new coach Jim Curtin isn't supposed to be involved until he officially assumes coaching duties after the 2026 season, but my guess is there are some Curtinian principles being woven into the game plan now so the players don't have as much of a learning curve with they get their third head coach in seven months. (I joked on Tuesday's Emergency Podcast about a new mystery blogger named Kim Jurtin providing extensive notes on matches Verde play the rest of the season. We also started that episode by joking about your new back-of-the-jersey. Sorry for that, but given who you chose, we had to.)
BCS: Piggybacking off the previous question a little, after the win over Seattle, is there a renewed confidence that this Austin side can make a playoff run, now that they are just 5 points back of 9th place?
VAD: Arnaud's recurring message is that he and the team are "all in" on making the playoffs, and his "all in" — though it reflects the optimism you want your team to have — may butt up in two month's time against our unofficial podcast motto, "Mathematically Possible." I believe that Austin can get results in a number of the upcoming matches, given the talent on the team and the joy the players seem to be experiencing now that sporting director Rodolfo Borrell is no longer a presence, but I also have concerns about the teams above them and what they've done to improve. It's only five points (and some goal differential) to make up, but it's also five teams to leapfrog. But the Seattle win shows that they can still beat teams above them in the standings (and, also, that at least one team currently in a playoff place might be in freefall).
BCS: Brandon Vazquez is back, along with Myrto Uzuni and Facundo Torres, how do you think they will do in a front 3 and how good do you think this Austin attack can be with that trio?
VAD: Váqzuez and Uzuni struggled to co-exist effectively last year before Váqzuez suffered the ACL injury in the Open Cup match in San Jose, but given the way that Arnaud wants to play, and given what Uzuni's shown this year, I think he in particular can flourish in a second striker role. However, I do also think it's possible the front office still tries to move Uzuni in this window, even though there's not a sporting director currently in place. (In Curtin's opening press conference, he mentioned specific players like Vázquez and Facundo Torres but not Uzuni.) And we have to specify Facundo Torres rather than just saying Torres, because 18-year-old homegrown Ervin Torres, who got two assists in 14 sub minutes on Wednesday, now has more open play assists than Facundo Torres on the season. Facu's been great from dead-ball situations, but has been underwhelming otherwise. I'm beginning to worry that he's another ill-fated Borrell DP signing like Osman Bukari before him — but it's only been half a weird season, so maybe it's too soon to worry.
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We want to thank Phil for his time and wish our friends in Austin the best of luck tonight.
