VERDE & BLACK... The Official Austin FC Podcast

Recapping the 2022 Season and Looking Toward 2023 with Claudio Reyna

The Evolution of High-Performance Sport with Dave Tenney

Performance is rarely, if ever, about one thing in isolation. Athletes, coaches, and management teams need to be aware of all of the physiological and psychological factors that can have an impact on a team’s competition performances. Today’s guest believes that it is only when all these factors come together and work as a cohesive, collaborative system that excellence in high-performance sport is possible. Dave Tenney is the High Performance Director for Austin FC and has spent almost two d...

From Venezuela to Austin FC with Daniel Pereira

Today we are joined by a young player with an extraordinarily humble, grounded mindset. Daniel Pereira wears the number six jersey for Austin FC and in this episode, we hear about his much anticipated first goal for the team! Dani fills us in on how he celebrated the win and how a photo of his goal made it into the Louvre via an Austin FC fan. Dani has made impressive progress from his first year into his second and he talks us through the steps of his development. We also hear some insights...

From Player to Coach with Davy Arnaud

Welcome back to another edition of Verde and Black! With us in conversation today we have Davy Arnaud, Assistant Coach at Austin FC. We dive right in with Davy sharing his thoughts on the team’s position in comparison to last year, before talking layer dynamics, and Davy’s thoughts on Danny Pereira and Sebastian Driussi. Hear about his main goal for every game: predicting the opponent’s strategy and acting accordingly. We chat reflecting, tweaking, and game management, before asking Davy abo...

Team Logistics with Andrew DiLallo

There is so much crucial work that goes on behind the scenes at a club, and today we shed some light on what some of that looks like. We are joined by Austin FC's very own Director of Sporting Operations, Andrew DiLallo! Andrew is kind enough to give us a real insider peek at what his job entails, talking about what he oversees, and how all the organizational pieces come together and contribute to team results. We also look back at Andrew's path to his current role, his days playing soccer i...

Preparing for Matchday with Sam Lawson

For this rendition of Verde and Black, we are so happy to finally be joined by Austin’s spectacular Video Performance Analyst, Sam Lawson. Sam has had quite a journey in the space and he talks about the influence of football on his youth growing up in Germany which led to him discovering his passion for video analysis thereafter. We hear about how he cut his teeth in the field through experiences thereafter in the UK, New Zealand, and a role in collegiate sports in Missouri, USA. He gets int...

Season 2 Expectations with Josh Wolff

Welcome back to the Verde & Black podcast! Today we will be kicking off season two in the best way with Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff. Year one was filled with many learnings for the Austin team and we spend today hearing Josh's thoughts about the changes he has made and what the new season will bring. He talks about recent additions to the team and the effects they will have on team spirit and vital positions that were missing from the field last time around. We get into the spirit of par...

Episode 14: The Hometown Kid with McKinze Gaines

After an impressive performance and wonderful goal against LA Galaxy, McKinze Gaines has been the name on the lips of many Austin FC fans recently. Today we host a fun conversation with the new forward and get a little of his background, career path, and his ideas about his place in the team in the future. McKinze tells us about his time in Germany, some of the important points and decisions that he and his parents made, and why he is so excited to be back in his hometown now! Like any playe...

Episode 13: Playing the Midfield with Diego Fagundez and Hector Jimenez

On today’s episode, we are bringing you double trouble with Diego Fagundez and Hector Jimenez. You’ll hear why Diego considers being a professional soccer player to be the best job in the world, and how he wants to pass his passion on to his two children. He reveals the best and worst parts of his career, and the story of how he was approached to play for Austin FC. We also ask Diego what it felt like to score the first goal in club history, and he tells us why he wants to play for as long a...

Episode 12: A Different Kind of Football with Marshall Newhouse

For today’s episode, we are in conversation with NFL legend and Austin FC fan and supporter, Marshall Newhouse, and Austin FC broadcaster, Michael Lahoud. You’ll hear about Marshall’s experience of being a full-blown fan for the first time, and Michael lets us in on the instant insight he observed Marshall having from the first whistle. Marshall gives us his assessment of the past year at Austin FC and tells us why he believes you have to have a larger perspective of what it takes to win, be...

Episode 11: Defensive Mindset with Matt Besler

Any good soccer team is built on a sturdy defense, and today we host one of the pillars of Austin FC's reliable back line, Matt Besler! We have a great conversation with the defender, hearing about his arrival in Austin, first impressions of the city and the club, and the immediate connection he felt to the supporters and the soccer culture in Austin. Matt also comments on what it has meant playing professionally for as long as he has, and the benefits of experience and growing in mental str...

Episode 10: On the Green with Dylan Frittelli

As you know, we at Verde & Black are trying to chart the history of Austin FC’s first year as a club. Part of that entails expanding the focus of the podcast beyond soccer to include other el-ements from the city of Austin, including cultural elements and even other sporting elements. Today, we welcome our first representative from a different sport, professional golfer, Dylan Frittelli. For those of you who don’t follow golf, Dylan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended the Un...

Episode 09: Playing it Forward with Jon Gallagher and Jared Stroud

In today’s episode of Verde and Black, we change things up and get together with two of Austin FC’s attacking players, Jon Gallagher and Jared Stroud. Both players share surprising similarities in their careers and physique, including being the same age and signing up with Austin FC within days of one another. Tuning in you’ll hear Jon and Jared reflect on their experiences playing a variety of positions, as well as which ones they prefer depending on the context. We discuss their transition...

Episode 08: Defending the Goal with Brad Stuver

Brad Stuver is undoubtedly the player of the first two months at Austin FC. In today’s episode, he gives us an overview of the first couple of months of the season, tells us about his experience playing for Austin FC, and the journey it took to get there. We talk about the unique expectations that supporters have of goalkeepers in comparison with other players and he tells us about how his training prepared him to play for Austin FC. Next, he tells us about his heroes growing up, Brad Friede...

Episode 07: Player Personnel with Sean Rubio

On today’s episode, we speak with Sean Rubio, Director of Player Personnel at Austin FC about the ins and outs of player acquisition, analytics, and communication. We launch our episode by exploring the three stages of the player acquisition process; identification, recruitment, and negotiation. Sean tells us a bit about his background and education leading up to developing his expertise in the analytics side of soccer. He talks about his work with coaches and tells us about a call from Tim ...

Episode 06: Adjusting to Austin with Nick Lima

In today’s episode, we get together with Nick Lima, who plays as a defender for Austin FC. We talk with Nick about his career thus far and growing up in Castro Valley. Nick first started playing soccer at the tender age of three and his love for the game was nurtured by competing with his older brothers. Tuning in, listeners will hear about his original plan to pursue football. Hear about how he decided to forego a football scholarship at an Ivy League school by prioritizing his education an...

Episode 05: Austin FC Academy Talk with Tyson Wahl

In Episode 5 of Verde & Black, we sat down with Austin FC Academy General Manager Tyson Wahl to discuss his playing career, the beginnings of the Austin FC Academy and the future of Austin FC. Tyson and host, Adrian Healey, discussed Tyson's journey from UC Berkeley to Austin FC and all the stops in between. Later, they talked about starting the Academy and how important it is in connecting the next generation to Austin FC. We discuss all of this and so much more in this week's episode. 

Episode 04: ATX Music Scene with Nané

Today’s episode of Verde & Black is a very special one because, for the first time, we are going to widen our lens to include the whole city of Austin in all its cultural diversity! You can look forward to future episodes like this but, for our first installment, we’re talking to Nané, a high-energy six-piece indie rock outfit from our very own ATX. We have used their music in some of our broadcasts and marketing campaigns and, for this episode, we had the opportunity to sit down and speak w...

Episode 3: Off the Pitch with Alex Ring

After speaking to Austin FC head coach, Josh Wolff, and the club’s founder, majority owner, and CEO, Anthony Precourt, we thought it fitting that our next guest be Austin FC Captain, Alex Ring! In today’s episode, we talk through Alex’s impressive career, from playing soccer in Finland as a child and ultimately playing for Finland in 2011 to joining MLS in the United States in 2017 and what led him to ultimately become the captain of Austin FC. Hear how Alex’s career led him to cross paths w...

Episode 02: The Making of Austin FC with Anthony Precourt

In this episode, Anthony Precourt, the club's founder, majority owner and CEO joins Adrian to talk about his ownership style and how he balances being involved and stepping back. He offers his views on the MLS landscape in 2021 and why, even though the pandemic has disrupted the league, he has remained optimistic about its growth going forward. We dive into some of the Austin FC dynamics specifically, where we hear how the various teams and major hires came to be. As an owner, Anthony unders...

Episode 01: Verde and Black Kicks Off with Josh Wolff

Welcome to the first episode of Verde and Black, the official Austin FC podcast that aims to give listeners an insider perspective on both our team and the vibrant city of Austin. We start the show by speaking to the man leading our club onto the pitch — famed soccer player and Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff. We open our conversation with Josh by discussing his career as a player. He shares his insights on playing with hardened eastern European legends including Lubos Kubik, along with his ...