A 2-1 loss to last-place Sporting Kansas City was the final straw for Austin FC leadership, with the club announcing Monday, May 18 that it has fired manager Nico Estevez and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell.
Austin FC started play in 2021 in front of sell-out crowds in a city that previously had no professional sports team. It made the playoffs in its sophomore season but has since struggled to match the energy off the field and within the four lines of the field.
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Estevez returned the club to the playoffs last year in a first-round exit and also pushed Austin to the final of the U.S. Open Cup. But a 3W-6L-5D start to the MLS season and early USOC elimination at the hands of lower-division Louisville City led directors to make a change.
“I think the evaluation has to be at the end of the season, right? Give time to see if I can get the team in the playoff, right? Because at the end of the day I perceive because of this six years – some of these years didn’t go in the right way – I’m grabbing all these years where I wasn’t here,” Estevez said after the SKC loss. “For me, it’s like I’m having a bad five months.
“We play a final, the first time in the history of the club. No one expected that and not so many teams play finals. Then, we qualified in the playoffs. This moment is my lowest moment in the club. That’s right. But I feel like I’m carrying four years where I wasn’t here.”
But Estevez won’t get the chance to try to put the team in the playoffs, with Austin FC retaining Excel Sports Management to lead a new coaching search as the World Cup break approaches.
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“Nico has been a trusted ambassador for Austin FC and Austin during his time as Head Coach,” Austin FC CEO and owner Anthony Precourt said in a news release. “We believe this team can compete for a playoff position, and given our results thus far, a change is necessary to achieve our goals of qualifying for the playoffs this year and becoming a consistent winner in this league.”
Austin had some rough injury luck, notably seeing forward Brandon Vazquez suffer an ACL tear just months after arriving on a club-record deal from Monterrey. But in addition to the Vazquez deal, Austin also spent big to bring in Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari on designated player deals.
Bukari moved on in the offseason, with Facundo Torres signed on a long-term deal. The former Orlando City attacker now occupies one of the club’s DP slots with Vazquez and Uzuni.
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Austin plays St. Louis City in its final game before MLS breaks two months for World Cup play. Davy Arnaud will serve as the interim manager for that contest.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Estevez, Borrell fired as Austin FC continues to struggle in MLS play
